"The captain always has the strangest things!" Crocus muttered curiously, observing the Gold-Armored Warriors.
He recalled the bet he'd made with Ryuuto. Ryuuto had produced something from thin air to cure Laboon's internal injuries.
Since then, Ryuuto had never shown any healing abilities again.
Crocus held the Sandai Kitetsu, surveying the battlefield. In just a few moments, three more Gold-Armored Warriors had been incapacitated, one of them being Darola.
Only five Gold-Armored Warriors remained standing, and they were in a precarious position under the assault of Mr. 4, Miss Merry Christmas, and Miss Valentine.
"I'll be your opponent!" Nami declared, standing before Mr. 3 with her Clima-Tact in hand.
A fine sheen of sweat covered her forehead as Nami gripped the Clima-Tact, heat bubbles already forming at its tip.
"My dear lady, you don't look like much of a challenge," Mr. 3 said, adjusting his glasses and affecting a deep, thoughtful tone.
"You won't know until you try!" Nami retorted. She swung the Clima-Tact back with her right hand, producing a burst of cold air, then settled into a fighting stance.
"Then come!" Mr. 3's lips curled into a slight smile. "Candle Sword!"
As he spoke, Mr. 3 drew a sword made entirely of wax from the ground with his right hand.
This was the power of the Paramecia-type Wax-Wax Fruit, which allowed him to freely manipulate wax into any shape he desired.
Meanwhile, Crocus leaped effortlessly in front of one of the Gold-Armored Warriors. He watched Miss Merry Christmas charge toward him with a faint smile.
Tunneling through the ground, Miss Merry Christmas intended to use her signature move. She planned to burst out from beneath the Gold-Armored Warrior, drag his lower body into the earth, and then slam him into a wall.
This time, however, she was facing Crocus, and to his eyes, her movements were plain as day.
As Miss Merry Christmas drew closer, Crocus, holding the still-sheathed Sandai Kitetsu, slammed its hilt into the ground.
A powerful shockwave instantly traveled from the scabbard through the earth.
Thump!
With a muffled sound, Miss Merry Christmas, who had just emerged halfway from the ground, was struck by the force. Swirls appeared in her eyes, and she collapsed, knocked unconscious.
"So strong!" the Gold-Armored Warrior behind him exclaimed, amazed that Crocus had defeated Miss Merry Christmas with a single, swift move.
"Hahahahaha! You rookie pirates just haven't seen enough of the world!"
Crocus let out a hearty laugh, glanced at the unconscious Miss Merry Christmas, and then shuffled in his sandals toward Mr. 4.
"Let's see what you've got!"
With a calm smile, Crocus tossed the Sandai Kitetsu into the air. As it fell, he guided it so that the sheathed blade plunged straight into the ground, standing upright.
He then leaped directly under the massive baseball bat that Mr. 4 was swinging down.
Wielded with Mr. 4's immense strength, the heavy iron bat became a blur, descending upon Crocus with unstoppable momentum.
"Don't do it!" a nearby Gold-Armored Warrior cried out in fear.
CRACK!
The sound of a massive impact echoed as a cloud of dust billowed up from the ground.
When the dust settled, it revealed Crocus, casually holding Mr. 4's heavy baseball bat with a single hand.
The contrast between the towering Mr. 4 and the wiry Crocus created a striking image under the light.
"Incredible!"
"To be one of the captain's crew... even an old man is this powerful!" the Gold-Armored Warriors murmured in utter shock.
"This..." Mr. 4 felt his bat completely immobilized by the hand below. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead like rain.
"Looks like these old bones aren't completely rotten yet!"
Crocus tightened his grip on the bat and hurled both it and Mr. 4 toward the city wall.
"Ah!" Everyone's jaw dropped to the floor.
CRASH! With a tremendous boom, Mr. 4 slammed into the wall and crumpled to the ground, unconscious and bleeding from his head.
Seeing Crocus effortlessly dispatch Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4, Miss Valentine was terrified.
She leaped forward, and using the power of her Kilo-Kilo Fruit, she instantly reduced her weight to a single kilogram, intending to float away and escape.
Whoosh!
With a sharp sound of displaced air, Miss Valentine, who had only floated a few dozen meters, looked up to see Crocus standing above her.
"Get down!" Crocus sent her plummeting with a single kick.
THUD!
Miss Valentine shot down from the sky like a cannonball, crashing straight into the ground.
The kick, backed by Crocus's decades of power, was devastating.
A glance into the crater she had created confirmed that Miss Valentine was no longer breathing.
"Just like that..."
"He's too powerful!"
The remaining Gold-Armored Warriors stared in disbelief at the three incapacitated Baroque Works officers on the ground. It was an absolute rout.
"It's been a while since I've gotten to stretch my legs!" Crocus said as he landed. He stretched his arms, and his joints popped and cracked.
Despite seeming to exert himself, only a few mere seconds had passed.
Nearby, a certain sausage dog was trying to sneak away.
Likewise, Miss Goldenweek was backing away slowly, paintbrush in hand.
"Hm?" Crocus's gaze snapped toward the pair.
An overwhelming wave of fear washed over them. Both Lassoo and Miss Goldenweek froze, their faces pale, unable to move a muscle.
"Is that old man using Haki?" Belo Betty wondered, sensing an unusual ripple of power as she studied Crocus.
She hadn't been surprised when Crocus had casually defeated Mr. 4's group; she could have done the same herself.
But she had more important things to do.
That last burst of energy, however, was unmistakably the ripple of Conqueror's Haki.
Where in the world did Ryuuto find this crewmate.
Was he once a great pirate?
Belo Betty made a mental note of it, resolving to dig up some information on him later.
Now was the time to press the attack. Belo Betty waved her revolutionary flag with even greater vigor.
The warriors in the plaza felt a surge of power course through them, and they charged at the Baroque Works Millions with renewed ferocity.
From a rooftop, Robin and Mr. 2 had also witnessed Crocus defeat the three officers.
For reasons of their own, Robin's expression relaxed as she leaped down from the roof, while Mr. 2 wore a grave look as he departed in another direction.
"You lot, clean up this mess!"
Crocus ordered the few Gold-Armored Warriors before slowly walking over to where Nami was fighting.
There, Nami was manipulating hot and cold air bubbles to create a localized cyclone, which was now swirling toward Mr. 3.