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"All the rocks on the earth's surface will one day crumble!"
The ground around him began to turn to sand. The rocks cracked, the plants withered, and the desertification spread rapidly outward.
"Haki? Don't be so naive! The true essence of my power is to drain the life from everything! And it has no limits! I will turn everything to sand! Everything within my reach will be reduced to dust!!"
"Ground Death!"
The desertification spread out from him in a massive wave.
The Banana Gator carriage was caught in it. The wood rotted, and the unconscious animals were reduced to dried husks, then to sand.
Robin scrambled back, her heart pounding in terror.
The entire area was turning into a swirling vortex of sand, threatening to swallow everything, including Jin.
It had all happened in a matter of seconds.
Jin, who had been charging forward, leaped into the air, using Moonwalk to kick off the air itself.
"It's useless!" Crocodile roared, his eyes fixed on Jin. "No one can escape! Sink!"
The desert floor bulged, and massive hands of sand shot up, hundreds, thousands of them, clawing at the sky, trying to drag Jin down.
A single touch, and he would be instantly desiccated.
In the air, Jin moved with incredible speed, a thunderclap with every step, weaving through the countless sand hands.
His Observation Haki allowed him to navigate the storm with ease.
From a distance, Robin watched in astonishment. The man could walk on air. It was unbelievable.
"Croc-boy, your version is outdated."
Jin weaved through the sand hands, closing the distance.
Crocodile was filled with a mixture of rage and terror.
"Desert Grande... Espada!" he roared.
His arms controlled the desert.
One, a hundred, a thousand massive "desert greatswords" erupted from the ground, a forest of blades stabbing at the sky, at Jin.
"DIE! KUAHAHAHA! Even with Haki, you can't possibly dodge an attack of this scale!"
But in the next instant...
BOOM!
A sound like a thunderclap ripped through the sky.
A sand blade shattered.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Jin was now completely covered in Armament Haki, a shimmering, black-and-red aura burning around him like a raging fire.
He threw a flurry of punches, and the sand blades shattered, one after another. He fell from the sky, his presence terrifying, overwhelming.
"Hey, Croc-boy!" Jin's voice boomed. "Ever seen a hand that can split the sky?"
He used his hand as a blade, and it cut through everything in his path.
He was unstoppable.
Even as Crocodile continued to unleash his "desert greatswords," he couldn't stop Jin's descent.
The sand around them was whipped into a frenzy by the wind from his attack, as if he were the one controlling the storm.
"BASTARD!" Crocodile roared.
He removed the outer shell of his golden hook. Beneath it was a silver hook, dripping with a purple poison.
"Even if you have Haki, you can't block my special poison!"
He swung the hook, aiming for Jin.
His hand met the hook.
For a moment, they were locked in a stalemate.
CRACK!
The poison hook shattered on impact. It hadn't even scratched the hard, steel-like, Haki-coated hand.
Then, the hand slammed into his golden arm.
Crocodile was sent flying, blood spewing from his nose and mouth, his upper arm hanging limp, shattered.
The golden arm was dented, a network of cracks spreading out from the point of impact. A piece of it had even chipped off.
It was solid gold.
The force of the blow was terrifying.
As he fell, a memory flashed through his mind.
He, too, had once been young and full of ambition. But after being so utterly crushed by Whitebeard, he had lost his confidence.
That monster... could he ever hope to reach that level?
And so, he had placed his hopes on the legendary Ancient Weapon, Pluton.
For twenty years, he had neglected his own training, his own growth. No, not neglected... he had deemed it unimportant.
And today, a young man had defeated him with the very power he had cast aside.
THUD!
Crocodile's back hit the ground, and the impact sent him bouncing into the air. He coughed up another mouthful of blood, and his consciousness began to fade.
The last thing he saw before the world went black... was a fist wreathed in Haki.
THUD!
Crocodile landed in a bloody heap.
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Robin had seen it all.
She covered her mouth, a mixture of shock and terror in her eyes.
He lost?!
One of the Seven Warlords, Sir Crocodile... defeated!
That king... in one month, he's defeated two Warlords, by himself?
He was terrifying.
Her whole body trembled. She wanted to run, but she was afraid of being seen, of being hunted. She was frozen with fear.
Jin stood over Crocodile's unconscious body. He looked down at the schemer and hesitated. Should he kill him?
If he did, he would get a Logia fruit.
But... the memory of the Five Elders' intervention after his fight with Hanafuda was still fresh in his mind.
The Seven Warlords were a force the World Government used to balance the Four Emperors and the Marines.
He had already caused a stir by defeating Hanafuda. If he killed Crocodile as well, how would the Five Elders react?
This wasn't the post-Summit War era. The world was still in a state of flux.
If he stood out too much... the tallest tree attracts the strongest wind.
"And I have too few capable people at my disposal," he thought. "Crocodile is a skilled administrator. He managed Rainbase well. He's a man of talent. If he's willing to submit, I'll spare him. If not... I can always kill him later."
Jin reached down, grabbed Crocodile by the collar, and slung him over his shoulder. As he was about to leave, he glanced at the woman in the distance.
"You're with me."
Robin froze.
She struggled with herself, but in the end, she didn't have the courage to run. As if pulled by an invisible string, she followed.
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The commotion from the battle had already alerted the royal capital.
The sound of beating wings, and Pell, the second-in-command of the royal guard, landed.
"King Jin!" he said, bowing.
"Good timing," Jin said. "I was just sparring with Crocodile here and got a little carried away. Go find a doctor."
"Y-yes, sir." Pell glanced at Crocodile's unconscious form, his chest heaving. He couldn't believe it. This was a Warlord.
Pell was the user of the Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Falcon. He could fly high and see far. He had witnessed Jin's victory over Crocodile with his own eyes.
He had to report to the king immediately.
And Crocodile had been hailed as a "hero" by the people for driving away pirates. He couldn't die here.
Just as Pell was about to take off, the other second-in-command, the jackal-man Chaka, arrived with a squad of guards.
"King Jin," he said, "what happened?"
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