White smoke descended from the sky ahead, coalescing into a stout Marine with short, silver-white hair.
Chopper came to an abrupt halt.
Nami, Carina, Robin, and Vivi had no choice but to stop as well.
Smoker's voice was cold. "You won't escape today."
They looked back.
Dozens of Marines had already caught up.
"It's really over..." Robin murmured softly, a sense of resigned despair in her eyes.
After so many years on the run, she was finally caught.
She felt that she had been indirectly captured by Luo Chen.
Otherwise, without all these Marines, the Straw Hat crew would have had a chance to hold off Crocodile, and she could have taken the opportunity to leave.
Seeing everyone trapped in a desperate situation because of her, Vivi knelt on the ground and cried out.
Tears streamed down her face.
"The one destroying this country is Crocodile!"
"He's the one who caused the three-year drought in most of the country's cities, starving tens of thousands to death and inciting a civil war that has killed countless innocent people!"
"You Marines should be arresting him! Why? Why do you insist on capturing Luffy and the others? They're here to help me!"
Vivi screamed herself hoarse.
She truly couldn't understand why these Marines were so certain she was being coerced by Luffy's crew.
Was it just because they were pirates?
Was it just because Crocodile was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, specially appointed by the World Government?!
Smoker's expression was moved. For a moment, he did not act.
At that moment, a golden hook flew in from the distance, caught Vivi's clothes, and pulled her into the air.
Crocodile stood on the sand in mid-air, one hand choking Vivi by the neck. He smiled.
"Princess Vivi, it's time to wake up. The one persecuting this country is Nico Robin. She's also the one who has killed countless people."
He leaned in close to Vivi's ear and whispered with a smile, "No one will believe you."
"After today, the Straw Hat crew will cease to exist."
"I will still be the hero of Alabasta, the hero who defeated the Straw Hat Pirates and saved the kingdom's princess."
"Princess Vivi, just watch in despair as I seize power and take over Alabasta."
Vivi's eyes were crimson. She lost her reason in a fit of rage, flailing her fists and feet wildly at Crocodile.
A cold smile hung on his lips. His body scattered and reformed like yellow sand, completely unharmed.
"Look at that straw-hatted boy. Thanks to you, he's about to die."
Crocodile pointed to a large, sunken sandpit not far away.
The sand inside the pit was flowing rapidly downward.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji struggled frantically, but they could not escape the quicksand and were about to be completely buried.
Tears streamed uncontrollably from Vivi's eyes.
It was all her fault. She had asked Luffy and the others for help, and in the end, she had gotten them all killed.
Crocodile snorted coldly. "In the end, I have to thank Luo Chen for attracting so many Marines. Otherwise, if that straw-hatted boy and 'Fire Fist' Ace had teamed up, it really would have caused some trouble."
Vivi's eyes were full of despair, dim and lifeless.
The arrival of the Marines was completely unexpected.
When they had formulated their battle plan, they had not taken the Marines into account. That was why they had been caught completely off guard, fleeing wretchedly into the desert only to be cornered.
"Someone's coming over there!"
Suddenly, a Marine on the ground shouted.
Vivi, Crocodile, and the surrounded Nami and the others all turned to look.
Immediately, the look of despair on Vivi's and Nami's faces deepened.
Crocodile narrowed his eyes.
Another squad of Marines.
He recognized the one in the lead.
The Marine Vice Admiral, Onigumo, a powerhouse who ranked among the top of the Vice Admirals.
"'Cat Burglar' Nami, where is Luo Chen?!"
Before Onigumo even arrived, his voice, filled with murderous intent, preceded him.
His figure shot out, kicking up a large cloud of yellow sand. His longsword was unsheathed, and he made a beeline for Nami.
Surrounded by dozens of Marine Captains and Rear Admirals, Nami's face was filled with alarm and fear.
"Colluding with the major criminal Luo Chen... don't expect me to show any mercy," Onigumo's long hair flew as he ran, making him look like a ferocious, multi-legged spider.
His voice was like cold iron. "I will cut off your limbs and force you to tell me Luo Chen's whereabouts!"
Onigumo was incredibly fast. His figure was like a line, crossing a hundred meters in an instant to arrive in front of Nami.
The sharp longsword in his hand slashed down, drawing a white arc in the air.
Carina, Usopp, and Chopper couldn't react at all and could only scream in terror.
Although Robin was still calm, she was also powerless in the face of an elite Marine Vice Admiral.
She looked at Nami's ashen face and sighed inwardly. 'You can't trust anyone so easily.'
The longsword slashed down abruptly. The blade cut through the skin of Nami's right shoulder, and crimson blood oozed out.
Nami's face was deathly pale, her lips also white and bluish. Tears glittered in her terrified, wide eyes.
At the last possible moment.
A figure appeared out of thin air beside Nami.
CLANG—!
A crisp sound, like the clash of metal and stone, rang out.
A spark flashed and was gone.
Luo Chen had raised a single pitch-black finger, blocking the path of the slashing sword as steadily as Mount Tai.
The longsword had only cut through the top layer of skin on Nami's shoulder and could not advance another inch.
Luo Chen's black eyes held a coldness like iron. "Onigumo, I've finally found you."
Onigumo's pupils suddenly constricted.
He lifted his sword and slashed again without the slightest hesitation.
This time, he held nothing back. It was a full-power slash, the bright blade coated in pitch-black Armament Haki.
Black markings appeared on Luo Chen's face.
Sage Mode activated in an instant.
His body's strength suddenly increased by a level.
Luo Chen's finger, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, once again blocked the blow.
A fierce shockwave erupted from the point of contact between his finger and the blade.
As if a bomb had detonated underground, the yellow sand around the two of them rolled and surged in all directions like a tsunami.
Behind the curtain of sand falling like rain, Onigumo's pupils were filled with shock.
It was as if he had never expected that even his full-power slash could be blocked by Luo Chen.
In that moment of shock, Luo Chen's black hand grabbed his blade and yanked hard.
Onigumo's body lost its balance and pitched forward.
Before he could readjust his center of gravity, Luo Chen lifted his leg in a violent side kick.
A transparent ring of air rippled out from Onigumo's abdomen.
His entire body, as if hit by a sea train, was sent flying back a hundred meters, kicking up a large cloud of yellow sand.
"Are you alright?" Luo Chen asked, looking down at the person in his arms.
Nami's pretty face was still bloodless, not yet recovered from the shock.
Hearing his voice, color quickly returned to her face, as if she had gone from a harsh winter to a warm spring.
Her expression was full of pleasant surprise, her big eyes sparkling with the reflection of her tears, looking cute and charming.
"Luo Chen, you scared me to death just now!"
Like a small child who had found her family after being bullied, Nami's mouth trembled, and tears rolled down her face.
She hugged Luo Chen tightly with both hands, sobbing softly.
"Alright, it's okay," Luo Chen said, gently patting her shoulder to comfort her.
His gaze shifted to the deep sandpit at Crocodile's feet.
Three or four large trees grew out, their dense crowns lifting Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, who had been on the verge of sinking deep into the sand.
The three of them sat on the treetops, gasping for breath, their hearts still pounding with fear.
They looked at Luo Chen, and smiles of survival after a disaster appeared on their faces.
Although Luo Chen had arrived late, he had arrived in the end.
He had saved their lives again.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]