King had already realized the true nature of the sand giant.
And as King's captain, Kaido of the Beasts, naturally reacted quickly.
After witnessing himself blowing the sand giant apart at the waist, but the sand giant still standing tall, Kaido, in his Azure Dragon form in mid-air, was briefly stunned.
In that instant, Kaido realized the key to the problem!
That sand giant—it wasn't a single entity, but an "aggregate."
Each grain of sand that made up the sand giant was independent!
Under Ryan Rowan's control, each grain of sand had its own path.
The reason it had the external appearance of a "sand giant" was simply because these grains of sand "happened" to move along the sand giant's path!
This also explained why the sand giant could still swing its fist with all its might even after its wrist was almost severed.
In fact, what propelled that fist to attack wasn't the sand giant's wrist, but the sand itself that Ryan Rowan controlled to launch the attack!
It could even be said that even if the sand giant's entire body was destroyed, leaving only a fist, that fist could still be swung without holding back!
But... how was that possible?
Could humans really control so many grains of sand to perform such complex actions at the same time?
With such a vast and complex amount of calculation, Kaido couldn't believe that one person could do it.
What's more, even if they could, why would they spend so much power and brainpower to do it?
Wouldn't it be better to just control two fists?
And if he could control the fist itself, wouldn't it be more powerful to use the sand that made up the sand giant's body to create more fists?
Several reasons why Ryan Rowan would do this flashed through Kaido's mind.
But he couldn't figure it out.
...
That's what Kaido thought, questioning in his heart.
That's what King thought too, unable to resist questioning in his heart as well.
He slowly stood up from the large pit in the desert, staring intently at the man who had suddenly appeared before him—
One of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile of the Sand!
King's eyes narrowed slightly, and he began to ponder secretly.
As expected, he's with the Four Seas Alliance. This man...
Crocodile of the Sand, his reputation on this sea was far greater than many people imagined.
Although his bounty was low, only 81 million Berry, there was a reason for that.
Once someone became a Warlord of the Sea, their bounty would be fixed and would no longer increase.
Therefore, this man named Crocodile was essentially a powerful pirate who received a bounty of 81 million Berry just after setting sail, and was immediately targeted by the World Government, invited to become one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea!
Such a man should have a place even in the New World.
And it was also heard that Crocodile himself was the kind of person who couldn't stand being lonely.
Therefore, many people on the sea speculated that the reason Crocodile continued to stay in the Four Seas Alliance was because he had other plans, and wasn't completely loyal to Ryan Rowan.
So when Crocodile himself appeared before King, King was actually very surprised.
"I didn't expect you to actively participate in the battle?"
King breathed slowly, adjusting his condition.
The sand giant's fists were too heavy, so King had to buy himself enough time to recover, otherwise he would be like a fish on a chopping board, at their mercy!
"Are you working for Ryan Rowan? Or do you have other plans?"
King asked.
He was stalling for time, but it was also a question that King was genuinely curious about.
Hearing this, Crocodile took out a cigar from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep puff.
"Hoo..."
He exhaled a puff of smoke and said slowly:
"I saw you earlier, you seemed to be staring at that sand giant, right?"
"Are you curious? Or have you realized what that big thing really is?"
After thinking for a moment, Crocodile answered himself:
"Well, you're working for one of the Four Emperors after all, you should have noticed it, right?"
"That old guy isn't controlling the sand giant at all, but the sand itself that makes up the sand giant!"
"Very... incomprehensible, right?"
Crocodile smoked his cigar, talking to himself in a casual manner.
"He could clearly create more powerful moves, but he has to spend so much effort to create such an exaggerated sand giant."
"It's a completely thankless task!"
Crocodile seemed to be complaining, or perhaps just chatting.
Is it because he thinks I'm badly injured? Arrogance? Underestimation?
—King recovered his strength while pondering silently.
If that's the case, then it's all for the best.
If King had to fight Crocodile in his current physical condition, it would undoubtedly be extremely difficult.
But King's true self was extremely "special," with physical abilities far exceeding ordinary people.
If he could rest for a moment, he would definitely recover most of his fighting ability, which would be all for the best in this battle.
But Crocodile's next words made King's pupils shrink uncontrollably, and a chill washed over him.
"I say, are you done resting?"
This guy knew I was recovering?!
King turned his head sharply, only to find that Crocodile was sitting cross-legged on the sand, examining the sand giant in the distance with great interest!
"If you haven't rested enough, then rest some more."
Crocodile flicked the ash off his cigar and changed the subject, saying slowly:
"Aren't you curious as to why that old guy would create such a complex thing?"
"I'll tell you the answer."
Hearing this, King couldn't help but perk up.
But Crocodile's words were something that King never expected.
"Because—he's happy to."
...
Huh?
Happy to?
King doubted his ears, but he was sure that he hadn't misheard.
What does..."he's happy to" mean?
Was he saying that Ryan Rowan himself simply wanted to spend a lot of effort to create a sand giant?
That made no sense at all!
Crocodile looked at King.
He couldn't see King's expression, because King was wearing leather armor and a mask on his face.
But compared to the current King, he must have looked shocked!
Crocodile continued:
"A person who is extremely hungry can't be picky about their food."
"But a person who is full will care about whether the next bite they eat is a delicacy."
"Just like now—"
"When a difficult war breaks out, the weaker side will definitely try to win by any means necessary."
"But the stronger side can choose the 'way to win.'"
"Coincidentally, in this war, 'we' are the stronger side."
Crocodile looked at King, who was gradually standing up.
The latter had basically recovered.
Crocodile put the cigar in his mouth and said with a sinister smile:
"Didn't I make myself clear?"
"I said, 'we' are the stronger side."
"That old guy thinks so, and so do I."
"That's why I waited for you to recover before attacking."
"Because—I'm also happy to."
A sandstorm began to rise.
Crocodile's smile looked incredibly sinister.
"Now, the one who will use any means necessary should be you..."
---
You can read 50+ more chapter on patreon com/JYouyi