Crocodile's left arm wouldn't stop trembling; the escaping cold air, in particular, had left his entire arm somewhat numb.
Lorne looked at Crocodile's pathetic state and spoke in a quite flat tone, "It seems staying in Paradise for too long has made you forget a lot of things!"
These words were like an invisible needle, accurately piercing Crocodile's most sensitive nerve. On his face, twisted by anger, every expression momentarily froze.
He recalled his crushing defeat in the New World and the humiliation he had deliberately buried deep in his heart, followed by a low, suppressed cold laugh.
"Guhahaha... It's just a bit unexpected that you've already mastered Haki as well."
Crocodile slowly stood up straight as the surrounding sand became restless again, swirling and dancing around his body.
"But in the end, it's just an ability that even the small fry in the New World can master!"
Before his voice had even faded, a pitch-black hue emerged from his right wrist and his remaining left arm, possessing a metallic luster like black iron.
"Who doesn't know how to use it?!"
Having reclaimed this power, Crocodile's entire aura changed. He was no longer just a natural disaster relying on Fruit abilities, but more like a lethal blade drawn from its sheath.
"Desert Spada!"
He roared, swinging his Armament Haki-covered right arm. The arm instantly turned into sand, condensing into a massive black sand blade wrapped in Armament Haki.
Crocodile roared as he swung his arm down. The black sand blade, entwined with Haki, tore through the air. It was far more concentrated than the previous "Desert Girasole," and with Armament Haki attached, its power was more than doubled!
Facing this powerful strike that fused Fruit abilities with Haki, Lorne also wanted to see if he could touch his own limits.
He calmly raised his right hand, fingers spread. A layer of translucent ice crystals and equally deep Armament Haki instantly covered it as he reached out to grab the massive black sand blade.
Boom!
The moment the black sand blade collided with the black hand, a deafening explosion erupted. A violent shockwave spread madly in all directions, peeling a layer off the ground.
Clang!
A piercing sound of clashing metal burst out. The black sand blade, capable of cleaving mountains, was caught firmly by Lorne's bare hand.
"What?!"
Crocodile's eyes bulged. He could clearly feel a surge of extreme cold power frantically eroding through the sand blade, which was a combination of his Haki and sand, disintegrating his attack.
Crack... Crack... Along with the crisp sound of shattering, the massive black sand blade began to crumble inch by inch from where Lorne held it, finally turning into a pile of sand on the ground.
"Too weak!"
Lorne's voice rang out again, calm and without a single ripple, yet it still made Crocodile feel a chill throughout his body.
"And, too slow."
Before his voice had even faded, Lorne's figure had already vanished.
Warning bells rang wildly in Crocodile's heart. He had already pushed his Observation Haki to the limit, frantically perceiving everything around him.
Yet he captured nothing! No flow of wind, no shift in presence—the man had simply vanished into thin air!
"Behind you."
That demonic voice actually sounded directly behind his head.
How could this be?!
Crocodile whipped his head around, only to see Lorne's face right in front of him, and a fist entwined with pitch-black Armament Haki rapidly enlarging in his field of vision.
The punch was plain and unadorned, without any fancy techniques—only power and speed pushed to the absolute extreme.
Bang!!!
The fist slammed solidly into Crocodile's cheek.
The Armament Haki instantly pierced through his hastily gathered defense. That overbearing power even forcibly interrupted his elementalization, acting solidly upon his physical body. The terrifying force caused his entire face to twist and deform.
His body twisted into a bizarre shape in mid-air as he was sent flying by the massive force. He smashed through several remaining buildings along the way, finally crashing violently into the mountainside of Whiskey Peak in the distance.
Rumble~!
Dust and rubble soared into the sky, leaving a massive human-shaped crater on the mountain wall.
"Cough... Cough, cough..."
As rubble tumbled down, Crocodile stumbled out of the crater in the mountain wall.
His appearance was wretched to the extreme. His black fur coat was already in tatters, half of his cheek was swollen high, his face was covered in blood and dust, and the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth stained his chest.
He gasped for air. The sandy ground beneath his feet and the surrounding rubble were turning into sand at a visible rate, replenishing his stamina and attempting to mend his wounds.
However, in the next instant, a figure appeared before him again like a ghost.
It was that same fist wrapped in ice and Haki, slamming heavily into his chest.
Boom!
Crocodile, who had just managed to steady himself, didn't even have time to react before he was sent flying again, crashing heavily into the mountain wall behind him and creating an even deeper spiderweb-like crater.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood mixed with visceral fragments sprayed from Crocodile's mouth. He struggled to get up, only to find that every bone in his body felt like it had fallen apart; even moving a finger had become incredibly difficult.
He had lost, completely and utterly, without any suspense.
A strong desire to survive overwhelmed all his dignity and pride. He looked up at the figure walking slowly toward him and shouted in a hoarse voice:
"Wait!"
Hearing this, Lorne's footsteps actually came to a temporary halt.
"Name your price..."
Crocodile cast aside all his status, his tone carrying a hint of urgency. "Anything I can give, I will satisfy you! Money? Power? I can give it all to you!"
Seeing that Lorne seemed unmoved, he hurriedly threw out an even more tempting bargaining chip.
"I can use my status as a Warlord to cover your tracks from the Navy and the World Government! You killed a Celestial Dragon; they will never let you go!"
Lorne walked slowly to Crocodile's side and looked down at him from above, his face devoid of any expression.
He suddenly leaned back slightly.
Crack!
An ornate ice sculpture throne condensed out of thin air behind Lorne. Lorne sat steadily upon it, legs crossed, chin resting on one hand, observing the defeated dog on the ground with a scrutinizing gaze.
At the same time, several sharp ice spikes suddenly erupted from the ground, crossing and piercing past Crocodile's body, firmly pinning him in mid-air.
"Why should I trust a..."
Lorne's voice rang out leisurely with a hint of mockery, "...fellow who's so eager to be a dog for the Navy and the World Government?"
"Cough... Cough, cough..."
Held up by the ice spikes, Crocodile coughed violently. "That's just... acting for them to see!"
"A powerhouse like you must also have no small amount of ambition!"
He looked up and stared intently at Lorne, his eyes flashing with the light of ambition as he threw out his final bargaining chip.
"Give me a way to live..."
"I can tell you a secret... an ancient secret sufficient to let you challenge the World Government!"
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