Chapter 913 - 913: Some Things Are More Important Than Life

"Pfft!"

Amid this oppressive silence, Crocodile glanced at Shanks and suddenly let out an extremely harsh snort of laughter.

That laughter was filled with undisguised mockery.

"Spineless!"

The next second, Crocodile bit through the cigar in his mouth. The black coat on his body suddenly fluttered loudly in the windless forest, and his figure moved in an instant.

Yellow sand rose from the ground in all directions. The originally vibrant grass and trees around them were instantly drained of their moisture within a fraction of a second, withering, cracking, and turning into powder.

"Desert Gold Blade!"

Accompanied by a hoarse and unrestrained roar, four enormous blades of sand condensed from extremely high-pressure sand took shape in Crocodile's hands.

The four giant blades, each as large as a door panel, tore through the air with terrifying force capable of splitting everything in two and slashed mercilessly toward Rosse and the two women beside him.

Shanks did not dare draw his sword, but Crocodile dared.

He had once lost to Whitebeard, and had once been pierced down from the sky to the ground by Shirahoshi in a single attack. Every time, he had been only a step away from death, but not once had he lowered his proud head.

If he had to watch the woman he loved being held in the arms of an enemy and cowardly beg to stay alive like Shanks, then he, Crocodile, would rather die fighting here.

The reason Crocodile had been unwilling to join the World Government was precisely because he was unwilling to compromise this rotten life of his.

If, after reaching the end, he still had to face powerful enemies by cowardly tucking his tail between his legs like a dog, then what had he originally rejected the offer of amnesty for?

"I'm not burdened by as many things as you are. Die for me!"

The raging sand blotted out the sky, and the sharpness of the Gold Blade illuminated Sabaody's dim forest at this moment.

Faced with Crocodile's sudden attack, everyone was so frightened that they froze.

Crocodile was actually this brave?

He actually dared to draw his sword against Rosse?

These were things they only dared to think about. They simply did not dare to do them.

"Not bad!"

Faced with this ferocious attack, powerful enough to instantly cut a giant warship into pieces, Rosse had no intention of dodging at all.

He did not even remove the arms around the two women. Instead, as if admiring some clumsy street performance, he gave his assessment in a condescending tone.

BANG!

The four enormous high-pressure blades of sand exploded violently less than half a meter in front of Rosse.

The raging sandstorm roared like a beast that had lost control, yellow dust flying wildly through the air and instantly blocking everyone's vision.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of dry dust.

Just as everyone held their breath and stared tensely at the cloud of sand and dust, trying to see the result clearly, an extremely faint sound of a blade suddenly rang out.

BOOM!

A terrifying, visible pressure wave, like a crescent-shaped hurricane, swept out horizontally from the center of the sand and dust.

It was merely the aftermath produced by the sword's edge rubbing against the air, yet it instantly swept away the entire sandstorm with overwhelming force. Even several thick mangrove trunks around them had been silently cut open with smooth cracks that went so deep they could not be seen.

The next second, the wind and sand dispersed, and Crocodile's figure suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Crocodile..."

The instant Shanks saw this scene clearly, his entire body trembled violently, his pupils contracting sharply. He closed his eyes in pain, unable to bear looking any further.

On the grass ahead, Crocodile maintained his wild posture of charging forward with both hands swinging in a slash, yet he was frozen in place three steps away from Rosse like a statue struck by a binding spell.

Beside Crocodile, Gion had her back toward him and was slowly and elegantly pushing Konpira into its sheath little by little.

Shanks's Observation Haki clearly saw that the vitality inside Crocodile's body, originally as vigorous as a wildfire, was rapidly draining at an irreversible and terrifying speed, like water leaking from a punctured water balloon.

"Shanks, you bastard... remember this for me..."

That rebellious cold smile still hung at the corner of Crocodile's mouth. He did not turn around, merely shouting with all his strength in an extremely hoarse voice, "If you don't even have the courage to draw your sword... then pirates aren't pirates anymore! Freedom... isn't fucking freedom anymore—"

Clank!

Accompanied by a crisp clash of metal, the guard of the long sword in Gion's hand finally entered the sheath completely.

At the exact moment the sword guard struck the sheath, Crocodile's unfinished words came to an abrupt stop.

Two extremely fine cross-shaped blood lines simultaneously burst open across his chest and back, scalding blood gushing out like high-pressure jets, blooming into two enormous, beautiful yet tragic blood flowers in midair.

As the dazzling blood flowers burst forth, the final trace of light in Crocodile's eyes completely faded.

Crocodile was dead.

Thud!

That tall body fell heavily onto the bloodstained grass like a puppet whose strings had been cut, never making another sound.

Sizzle!

The iconic cigar rolled from his mouth, making a faint sizzling sound in the pool of blood before completely going out.

From beginning to end, Gion did not even raise her eyelids, nor did she frown.

It was as though what she had just cut down was not a renowned great pirate, but merely a fallen leaf casually brushed from her shoulder.

No, not just Gion. Even Makino, who merely possessed strength without any experience, showed little excess emotion as she looked at Crocodile lying in the pool of blood, aside from the instinctive trace of sorrow and grief that flashed deep in her eyes.

In Makino's view, Crocodile's seemingly heroic attack just now had been doomed to be futile from the very beginning.

Apart from pointlessly throwing his life away, it could not cause even the slightest ripple.

She did not believe there was anything in this world more important than life. As long as one remained alive, even if one lived in humiliation, it was still better than being dead.

Only by staying alive was there hope of accomplishing everything.

In a sense, her way of thinking was actually somewhat similar to Shanks's.

"Crocodile! AAAAAH! You bastards!"

Luffy's eyes nearly split with rage. Having witnessed this scene with his own eyes, the blood vessels in his eyes seemed ready to burst.

He let out an extremely grief-stricken roar, his legs suddenly stomping a deep hole into the ground as he charged toward Rosse's position without regard for anything.

But at this life-or-death moment, even though Crocodile had just paid for his life to roar out those words that struck directly at the soul, Shanks absolutely could not let Luffy rush forward recklessly to his death.

The bloody fact was right before their eyes.

Rosse really dared to kill people, and he killed without the slightest mercy.

"Yasopp! Get over here and help!"

Shanks let out an anxious roar that tore at his throat. He suddenly turned around and hurriedly raised both hands to grab Luffy.

The strong arms belonging to Rayleigh instantly bulged with veins, tightly locking down Luffy's rubber-like arms as they desperately pulled and struggled.

On the other side, Yasopp reacted extremely quickly. Hearing his captain's roar, the battle-hardened man hurriedly rolled and crawled over.

He did not even have time to care about his appearance. He threw himself onto the ground, using all his strength to grab Luffy's feet and tightly pin him to the ground, absolutely refusing to let him use his rubber body's elasticity to make any attack-oriented movement.

He was afraid that even the slightest action might anger Rosse.

One second!

It had not even been a full second!

Crocodile, who had been imposing just moments ago, had been struck by a sword so quickly that not a single one of them could even see how he had been hit.

Let alone Luffy, who was young and hot-blooded and had not yet reached the peak of his strength, charging forward.

Even if the Red-Haired Pirates all attacked together, facing that woman who wielded the sword, they would probably only end up being instantly killed.

"Luffy! Don't act rashly! Don't move! Listen to me! There's still a chance in the future! Calm down!"

Yasopp tightly held Luffy's legs, shouting loudly with bloodshot eyes.

Looking at this ridiculous scene ahead, which even seemed somewhat absurd, some of the others standing farther away felt an indescribable sense of absurdity and irony well up in their hearts.

Their own companion had just died in a magnificent manner beneath the enemy's blade for the sake of dignity and freedom.

Yet now they were desperately holding back another companion who wanted to avenge him, even begging him not to cause trouble.

A team like this, pirates who had lost their bloodlust like this, really had a future...

"Luffy! Wake up! You are the hope of all of us. Don't cause trouble here!"

Shanks tightly pressed down on Luffy's shoulder and shouted angrily, spittle even spraying onto Luffy's face, "With your current strength, what result can you achieve by charging forward except throwing your life away for nothing? Do you really want to watch all of us who have protected you and helped you survive until today die here together with you?"

At this moment, Shanks's heart was bleeding.

He agreed with what Crocodile had said just now, but looking at the blood covering the ground, he still could not help blaming the other man's impulsive actions in his heart.

Reality was cruel, but they had ways to avoid some deaths and preserve their living strength for the future.

Everyone silently endured and remained quiet, tucking their tails between their legs and running away. That was far better than bleeding and sacrificing themselves like this now.

Originally, as long as they were humble enough, perhaps they could have passed through this ordeal safely.

If Crocodile had not gone mad and charged forward just now, he would not have died at all.

Although he also admitted that there were indeed some beliefs and dignity on this sea that were more important than life.

But life only came once. It was not something to be wasted like this, without even hurting a single hair on the enemy's head.

"Shanks..."

Luffy, who had been struggling wildly like a mad dog, froze when Shanks shouted those words filled with despair.

He stopped struggling and simply lay spread-eagled on the ground under their restraint, staring blankly at Shanks above him.

Looking at the guide whom he had admired since childhood, who was now covered in sweat, his face showing hysteria under extreme tension, a deep sense of unfamiliarity and sorrow flashed through Luffy's eyes, and he suddenly said in a trembling voice:

"You've changed... Shanks, you've really changed! Back in Foosha Village, you clearly told me this... You said that being a pirate meant giving everything for your companions!"

"I haven't changed!"

Shanks was like a lion whose sore spot had been struck. With bloodshot eyes, he shouted miserably at Luffy below, the veins on his forehead throbbing violently, "You're supposed to give everything for your companions, and everyone is willing to give everything for you! But you have to understand, that everything doesn't only include passion and life. It also includes humiliation and endurance! You rush up in the heat of the moment, get your head chopped off by the enemy, and then drag all your remaining companions into death with you. Is that also called revenge? Is that how you repay everyone?"

Tears slid down Shanks's dust-covered cheeks as he roared through clenched teeth, "If our strength isn't enough right now, then we endure it! We go train! When one day we have enough strength to overturn everything, we'll come back and avenge every grudge! Otherwise, if you die here today, who will avenge Crocodile, and everyone else who died, in the future?"

Does Shanks not want to draw his sword?

Does he not want to die gloriously in battle?

It was precisely because of that despairing gap in strength!

When Gion attacked just now, she moved so quickly that even he could only barely see a vague afterimage.

He had no doubt that if he took Crocodile's place, Gion would only need one simple and clean slash to kill him as well.

Not to mention that behind that woman stood the even more unfathomable Rosse.

He was not naive enough to think that Rosse, whom everyone revered as a god, would be weaker than Gion.

"But, Shanks... pirates shouldn't be like this..."

Listening to Shanks's almost blood-tear-filled speech, Luffy tightly pursed his lips until they were bitten bloody, and two streams of clear tears slid from the corners of his eyes.

Like a child whose faith had collapsed, he dejectedly abandoned all resistance and weakly lowered his four limbs that had been filled with strength.

In his heart, a pirate's adventure should not be like this.

Even when facing an enemy they knew they could not defeat, they should still fight them with their fists and only know the result afterward.

If they fought with everything they had and still lost, then at worst everyone could face death together with a smile. Even if they were reduced to nothing, they would have no regrets.

If, whenever they encountered an enemy, they had to worry about this and that, weigh life and death before throwing a punch, and hesitate and agonize over gains and losses before even beginning to fight, then where was the meaning of freedom?

If they survived cautiously like this, then in the future, everyone would gradually lose that pure faith they had when they first went out to sea, wouldn't they?

But at this moment, the force coming from Shanks's and Yasopp's hands was also cruelly telling Luffy one fact.

He was currently so weak that he could not even break free from the companions holding him back.

Even Shanks and the others were already so afraid that they did not dare attack. If he could not even break free from them, then what right did he have to attack Rosse, whom they needed courage even to look directly at?

[🙇🏻 You Can Support through P@tr3on—AmbitiousTranslator. It also has 40+ advanced chapters of all the novels and fanfics. It gets updated daily. Thanks for reading, have a great day~]