Chương 28: This is the real deal – critical hits with every strike!

The saying goes, "An army is raised for a thousand days, but used for only one."

When others hire secretaries, it's either when there's something to do, or when there's nothing to do, the secretary is there for them.

However, Crocodile wasn't so superficial. He protected Nico Robin, the demon child, precisely because he valued her ability to decipher Poneglyphs.

Crocodile uses his title as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to protect his opponent, while Nico Robin needs to help him decipher the Poneglyphs when necessary; it's a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Besides, in his eyes, mere women are less important than a piece of "Hades'" deck.

On this vast ocean, ships and steel are a man's romance; women only slow him down when he's playing in the sand.

(Iceberg: I agree that ships are a man's romance, but a secretary is also very important, except for the CP9 type, of course.)

"Although I do know where the Poneglyphs that record the whereabouts of 'Pluto' are, why should I tell you?"

"Is it because you're a boss who's never paid me? Or is it because you're one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

"I think you're courting death!"

Feeling like he'd been constantly being teased, Crocodile couldn't stand Yang Cheng's provocation any longer.

Anyway, as long as he doesn't kill the other party, he will still find a way to get the information he wants from Yang Cheng in the end.

"Sandstorm—!"

He flicked the small vortex he had gathered in his right palm forward, and the surrounding sand and dust were instantly drawn together. In an instant, the small vortex had become a huge sandstorm more than ten meters high when it swept in front of Yang Cheng.

If this were in the Alabasta desert, Crocodile's move, over time, could eventually create a sandstorm comparable to a natural disaster.

After all, the phenomenon of sandstorm tornadoes is just like a snowball; it gets bigger and bigger over time.

The sandstorm that initially arose might have been Crocodile's Devil Fruit power, but the final catastrophe that swept everything away was the power of nature itself.

This is why Yang Cheng had always said that in an environment like Alabasta, Crocodile was practically invincible.

If Crocodile had used a full-scale area-of-effect attack the first time he encountered the Straw Hat Pirates, the main characters would have been wiped out long ago.

Given the terrifying ability to absorb even the moisture of the earth in an instant, isn't it just ridiculous for Luffy to carry that bucket of water?

But Old Sand doesn't play by the rules. He could have easily defeated the opponent, but he preferred to talk about ideals and mock the chosen one of the world, giving him a boost of his power. In the end, who can he blame but himself for his defeat?

Seeing the sandstorm sweeping towards him, Yang Cheng quickly drew his sword from his waist and cleaved his wound.

"One-Sword Style: Sky Breaker!"

Seeing Yang Cheng attempt to cut through his Sandstorm with a slash, Crocodile, who was chewing on a large cigar, couldn't help but show a look of disdain on his face.

If it were a great swordsman, he might indeed have the ability to use sword energy to directly cleave through his sandstorm.

But what about a mere swordsman...?

Have you ever seen sandstorms that can be cut open? As long as he, the user of the Sand-Sand Fruit, is present, no matter how many times the sandstorm is cut open, he has the ability to restore it.

What Crocodile didn't expect was that as Yang Cheng's slash cleaved through the sandstorm from top to bottom, the longsword in his hand also burst forth with a dazzling light at the same time.

"boom------!"

With a loud explosion, the shockwave and blast instantly dispersed all the sand and dust that were about to regroup.

This is the power of a famous sword that has gained the power of the "Boom-Boom Fruit" by using the ability conversion technology!

The real critical hits are no joke! Even if you don't kill your opponent with one strike, you can still give them a second nuclear explosion experience.

"shave------!"

Yang Cheng, who cut through the sand and created a huge crater on the ground due to the explosion, causing a large amount of sand and dust to rise around him, disappeared from the spot in the next second.

And when his figure reappeared, he was already in front of Crocodile, who was slightly surprised.

Seeing Yang Cheng wielding a knife in one hand and slashing it down at him, Lao Sha didn't dare to be careless at all. He immediately swung his left hand and used the golden hook to meet the attack.

"bite------!"

Seeing that Lao Sha did not choose to avoid him but instead chose to confront him head-on, Yang Cheng's lips curled up slightly.

Just as the cracked blade collided with the golden hook in his left hand, the longsword in his hand seemed to activate a special effect, bursting out with a dazzling light.

"boom------!"

As a small mushroom cloud rose from the whiskey town, the powerful storm created by the explosion blew away many surrounding buildings.

As the smoke from the explosion gradually dissipated, a huge crater tens of meters in diameter was left on the ground.

Besides Yang Cheng, who was standing with a sword in one hand, Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, was nowhere to be found.

Nico Robin, Princess Vivi, Mr. Valentine, and others who were watching the battle were overjoyed to see what was happening.

With their limited combat experience, they all thought that Yang Cheng's attack had blasted Crocodile to pieces.

However, as a sandstorm swept by, the sand scattered by the wind quickly gathered on a small house not far away, and soon Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, reappeared intact under the accumulation of sand.

Logia-type Devil Fruit users are considered the strongest because, before their Devil Fruit abilities awaken, Logia users possess the "naturalization" ability that Paramecia and Zoan types do not have.

The ability to naturalize allows the user's body to adopt the same attributes as the fruit, thus making them almost completely immune to physical damage.

Just as Yang Cheng activated his "Boom-Boom Fruit" ability, Crocodile sensed the danger and immediately chose to naturalize to withstand the impact of the explosion.

Although he was affected to some extent at the moment of the explosion, the injury was not enough to directly change the course of the battle.

"It seems that you dare to stand up against me not just because you are stupid, but because you do have a certain amount of strength."

I can give you one last chance. If you tell me the whereabouts of "Pluto", I will not only spare your life, but also promote you to a higher position.

Once I get my hands on "Pluto," I have no intention of staying in a small place like Alabasta for long.

Perhaps you think you are very strong now, so you are quite arrogant, but I can only say that your vision is still too narrow.

Someone of your caliber certainly has the right to act arrogantly and domineeringly in the first half of the Grand Line.

But in the latter half of the Grand Line, pirates of your caliber, and even stronger than you, are as numerous as carp crossing a river.

In their brief exchange, Yang Cheng's displayed strength earned Crocodile's respect.

To possess such strength in the first half of the Grand Line is indeed quite remarkable.

Once he gets his hands on "Pluto," he will inevitably return to the New World to compete with the real great pirates for the leading role of this era.

But everyone else has a group of henchmen, so if Crocodile goes it alone, it would be too undignified.

Old Sha doesn't even consider those bounty hunters from Baroque Works.

After all, apart from Mr. 1 who is somewhat decent, the rest are almost all low-level trash.

(Salted Fish Diary: I've been too lazy lately, and my weight has increased rapidly. I've now become one of the fat people.) In a few years, if he goes bald, he'll probably become one of those greasy middle-aged men in hentai anime who specializes in dating brothels with beautiful, middle-aged women.

Thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem so bad (￣∇￣)……