Chapter 96 Crocodile Defeated

“Kaguya, am I too weak…”

Tashigi lowered her head, her voice filled with frustration.

Her hand gripping shigure trembled slightly, and tears welled up in her eyes behind her glasses.

“Silly girl, you’ve only been training for a short time.”

“Your physique has just been enhanced; after training for a while longer, you will also possess Haki.”

Tashigi remained non-committal to Kaguya’s comfort, secretly vowing to double her training and learn Haki as soon as possible.

As for Vivi nearby, Kaguya gently patted her shoulder.

“You’ve already done very well, after all, your physique was only recently improved.”

Vivi bit her lip and nodded, but the light of frustration still flickered in her eyes.

She looked at Nojiko fighting fiercely in the distance, a strong desire surging in her heart—to become stronger, she must become stronger.

Just then, Robin’s voice came from behind.

“What a cold-hearted man~”

“You’re letting her face Crocodile all by herself.”

Kaguya looked back to find Robin watching him thoughtfully.

There was less wariness and more inquiry in her eyes.

“Crocodile’s strength is decent; Nojiko needs an opponent like this to temper herself.”

“She might die, you know~”

“I’m right here; how could she possibly die?”

Kaguya rolled his eyes and ignored this somewhat black-bellied woman.

On the battlefield, the fight between Nojiko and Crocodile had reached a fever pitch.

Blade light and sand blades clashed continuously, producing deafening booms.

Nojiko’s movements became increasingly fluid, and she was even faintly suppressing Crocodile’s offensive.

“Damn it… how can this woman be so strong!”

Cold sweat broke out on Crocodile’s forehead.

He discovered that he couldn’t gain the slightest advantage in a head-on confrontation.

Every one of Nojiko’s strikes contained staggering power, and her Armament Haki made his elementalization ability practically useless.

“Desert Spada!”

Crocodile roared, swinging his golden hook as a massive sand blade tore through the air, heading straight for Nojiko.

Nojiko advanced instead of retreating, the blade of Yubashiri covered in a thick layer of Armament Haki.

“One-Sword Style: Wave Breaker!”

A flash of blade light, and the sand blade was sliced cleanly in half.

Nojiko seized this momentary opening, her figure lunging forward like a ghost to stand before Crocodile.

In a hurry, Crocodile raised his golden hook to parry, but the shock of the strike left his hand numb.

“Damn it! Desert Girasole!”

Crocodile’s figure vanished instantly, merging into the yellow sand.

The sky-filling sand swept in again, even more violent than before.

Nojiko didn’t panic at all; instead, she closed her eyes.

Her Observation Haki extended through the sandstorm, capturing every trace of Crocodile’s presence.

“Found you!”

The edge of Yubashiri suddenly turned, accurately slashing into the empty dust to the right.

A muffled groan was heard as Crocodile was forced to reveal himself, a bloody gash appearing on his shoulder.

“Impossible!”

Crocodile clutched his wound, his eyes widening in disbelief.

His elementalization was actually seen through by a little girl!

“Crocodile, your strength has deteriorated severely over these years.”

“I heard you’re looking for the Ancient Weapon Pluton?”

“With your current strength, what use is finding Pluton?”

“Can you even keep it?”

Kaguya’s mocking voice suddenly rang out, causing the already furious Crocodile to lose his reason completely.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his golden hook emitted a piercing metallic screech from the excessive force.

“Shut up! You ignorant fools who don’t know the height of the heavens!”

Crocodile roared hysterically as the sandy ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed into a massive vortex.

“Let me show you the true power of the desert!”

The entire Alabasta desert seemed to respond to his fury; the ground shook violently, and countless sand grains writhed like living creatures.

In the distance, sand dunes began to collapse and reorganize, gradually forming a Sand Giant dozens of meters high.

“Now this is getting interesting.”

“Nojiko, come back. I’ll handle this one.”

Kaguya walked forward slowly, and with every step he took, his body size grew rapidly.

Soon, he also became a giant dozens of meters tall.

Everyone watched the two giants in shock.

Nojiko and the other two were also learning for the first time that Kaguya had this ability.

And the gamblers inside Rain Dinners, hearing the increasing commotion outside, finally came out and witnessed this shocking scene.

The gamblers screamed in terror.

Some even slumped directly onto the ground, their chips scattering everywhere.

“Is… is this a battle between gods?”

A gambler said tremblingly.

Kaguya’s ability was indeed that of a god; it was the innate divine talent from that drop of Torch Dragon essence blood—Law Phenomenon.

This was the divine ability bestowed upon him after the golden blood completely remodeled Kaguya’s body.

Dozens of meters was not the limit of this divine ability; limited by Kaguya’s current strength, he could currently grow to a maximum height of a hundred meters.

The Sand Giant controlled by Crocodile let out a sky-shaking roar, its massive fist carrying violent dust as it smashed toward Kaguya.

Kaguya unhurriedly raised his arm, and at the moment of contact, the sand fist was actually shattered directly into a sky of yellow sand.

“How is that possible!”

Crocodile’s voice came from within the Sand Giant, filled with unbelievable shock.

Kaguya’s lips curled up slightly.

“Your sand is too loose.”

As he spoke, his right fist glowed with a dazzling white light and he swung it violently.

This punch carried the momentum of crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, directly blasting half of the Sand Giant’s body to pieces.

“Damn it!”

Crocodile hurriedly controlled the sand to reorganize, but Kaguya gave him no chance. His massive body didn’t make Kaguya lose his agility; with a flicker, he appeared before the Sand Giant and grabbed its shoulders with both hands.

Under everyone’s horrified gaze, Kaguya lifted the Sand Giant over his head and then slammed it heavily into the distant desert.

“Boom!”

A loud bang, and dust soared into the sky.

After the dust settled, Crocodile crawled out of the sand pit in a pathetic state, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

His Sand Giant had been completely routed, and along with it, his confidence had been smashed to pieces by that throw.

“It seems this is all you’re capable of.”

Kaguya looked down at Crocodile from above, his voice echoing over the desert like thunder.

“You can’t even make me warm up.”

“Damn brat! I’ll remember this grudge!”

With that, Crocodile’s body turned into a mass of yellow sand and merged into the desert.

“Trying to run? Freeze!”

Kaguya once again used his time-stop ability, then used Observation Haki to find Crocodile, who had just merged into the sand.

“Got you.”

Kaguya reached into the desert and grabbed a handful of yellow sand.

With a gentle squeeze, under the effect of Armament Haki, Crocodile’s figure appeared in Kaguya’s hand.

When the time stop was released, Crocodile was already heavily injured and unconscious in Kaguya’s hand.

…

Join and be the Part of Family