Chapter 236: The Defeated Sand Crocodile

The sound of slow, rhythmic footsteps approached. Uchiha Feiyu, sitting in a chair, turned his head to look at the visitor who had emerged, speaking indifferently:

"You're too slow, Sand Crocodile."

At this moment, the vast majority of the gamblers and waiters in the casino had already fled, leaving behind only those too cowardly who had been scared into fainting. The once-lively casino looked a mess, causing the man who had just walked out of the secret room to frown.

A black coat, a scar running across his entire face, an arm with a golden hook, plus a cigar and a slicked-back hairstyle—this look, which seemed like a fusion of a mafia boss and a pirate, was the current Seven Warlords of the Sea, Krokfar.

Upon hearing Uchiha Feiyu's condescending tone, blue veins popped on the Sand Crocodile's forehead. He bit his cigar in half and let out a cold laugh:

"Hahahaha... brat, so you're the one who came to my turf to smash the place?!"

"Your laugh is quite normal, but it really lacks character. No wonder you'd ask such a meaningless question."

Uchiha Feiyu raised an eyebrow and replied irrelevantly, drawing the Sandai Kitetsu at his waist; a grim and tragic aura instantly permeated the air.

The Sand Crocodile felt his whole body go cold, goosebumps rising on his skin. He squinted at Uchiha Feiyu, his golden hook ready for action.

The current Krokfar finally understood how the other party had managed to stun and scare away the people in the casino. This pure, unparalleled killing intent and aura could actually exert power comparable to Conqueror's Haki. He wondered just how many people this young man had killed?

However, even though he was extremely wary, Krokfar could not afford to lose face or his composure. He still spoke with a rampant expression:

"Heh, meaningless? Indeed it is... Since you dare to come to my casino to stir up trouble, then prepare to turn into a Dried Corpse!!"

"Sand-Sand Blade!"

Fine yellow sand condensed into a massive, golden-hued blade that shimmered like gold, slashing directly down at Uchiha Feiyu.

A flash of light also appeared from Uchiha Feiyu's hand. He did not roar, and the momentum of his strike was far inferior to Krokfar's; yet, the Sand-Sand Blade that had been slashing toward Uchiha Feiyu dissipated halfway, sliced directly in two.

Krokfar's chest instantly dissipated into yellow sand, yet faint blood still seeped out from the sand. When his body reformed, one could see a long blade mark on his chest.

"Armament Haki... I never imagined that you would have trained Haki to this level while only in the first half of the Grand Line."

This Sand Crocodile reached out and lightly wiped the wound on his chest. Uchiha Feiyu's strike just now had not only shattered the Sand-Sand Blade but had nearly sliced him in two.

If it weren't for Krokfar being a veteran of a hundred battles, and his remaining Observation Haki taking effect at the critical moment, he likely would have been killed in a single blow.

Even though Krokfar eventually reacted and actively elementalized to dodge, he was still a step too slow, resulting in some injuries.

(That's not right. This wound is only a few centimeters deep; why is there absolutely no sign of the bleeding stopping? Is the opponent's weapon special, or is it some other technique?)

Frowning, Krokfar's expression grew even uglier. One had to know that although his physical fitness couldn't compare to monsters like Luffy, he had been able to roam the New World and return unscathed; his physique couldn't be that poor.

Basically, pirates who had been to the New World all understood a bit of Life Return. Even if they couldn't heal ordinary wounds in a short time, they could at least control their muscles and blood vessels to easily stop the bleeding, rather than being unable to stop the loss of blood like this.

Feeling the abnormality of the wound, Krokfar felt a slight sense of urgency. He no longer intended to use probing attacks and transformed his entire body into a terrifying sandstorm:

"Sandstorm!!"

With a loud boom, Krokfar's casino exploded completely. A terrifying sandstorm surged out like a tornado, beginning to ravage the city.

Then, a blood-colored crescent light flashed out from within the sandstorm, slicing the sandstorm in two. The now-powerless sandstorm gradually died down, and in the center of the infinite sandstorm, Krokfar was revealed, with yet another wound on his body.

"Armament Haki projection... to be able to imbue Armament Haki even into a Flying Slash. I still underestimated you, brat. What is your name?"

"Heh, still calling me a brat? The waves of the sea push the waves ahead, and the waves ahead die on the beach. This 'wave ahead,' please remember: my name is Uchiha Feiyu."

The Sand Crocodile's pupils constricted, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke:

"How arrogant! Do you think that just because you have a slight advantage now, you can really beat me? The cruelty experienced by the older generation of pirates is something you cannot imagine."

"You'd better stop the bleeding before you start talking tough to me."

Uchiha Feiyu rolled his eyes, having no interest in bickering with Krokfar anymore. His figure flashed, performing his first displacement.

So fast! The moment Krokfar saw Uchiha Feiyu's figure disappear, he immediately initiated elementalization. Even so, he still felt a chill on his back, and the coat behind him was sliced in two.

"Tsk, talking the toughest talk while fighting the most cowardly fight—is this the style of you old-generation pirates?"

"Bastard... you forced my hand! Erosion Cycle!"

Krokfar pressed one hand onto the ground, and immediately, from the ground he touched, endless yellow sand began to permeate and spread.

This move was a large-scale attack unique to the Sand-Sand Fruit. Upon touching the ground, it sucked the moisture out of the ground and any living creatures or objects it touched, gradually spreading to the surroundings and turning everything into yellow sand. Whether living or dead, even rocks and buildings would be completely desertified.

If he had a choice, Krokfar certainly wouldn't want to use this move in his own city. The spreading Erosion Cycle could turn the entire Rain Dinners, and even the city of Rainbase, into yellow sand. It could be said that the city and reputation he had built up over so many years would be lost entirely under this move.

However, Krokfar's own life was now in jeopardy, so he naturally didn't care about the so-called city or reputation. At worst, after killing this bastard, he would just kill everyone else; naturally, no one would know that he had destroyed the city and killed everyone!

It must be said that Krokfar and Donquixote Doflamingo, as the most similar Seven Warlords of the Sea, had similar personalities and thoughts.

The only question was, could this move really deal with Uchiha Feiyu?

Looking up at his opponent, Krokfar's originally ferocious smile suddenly froze, revealing a look of horror:

"How is this possible? You guy... how exactly did you do it?"

In the endless yellow sand, Uchiha Feiyu walked over slowly. Not only did he not sink into the desert, but his muscles were full, moist, and lustrous, without the slightest symptom of dehydration, let alone being drained into a dried-up husk of yellow sand.

"Perhaps it's because my Armament Haki is a bit special and can directly merge with my blood. After the Armament Haki and blood merge, your Sand-Sand Fruit seems to have no effect on me."

Uchiha Feiyu said indifferently with a smile on his face. Long-term fusion of Armament Haki and Blood Scripture Dharma Power did have some benefits; Armament Haki could now merge with the blood in Uchiha Feiyu's body. When used, it not only increased external defense but also significantly increased internal defense.

Haki itself had the effect of resisting Devil Fruit Abilities. Although Uchiha Feiyu's Haki level couldn't be called the pinnacle, by relying on the fusion with his blood, he easily resisted the most dangerous moisture-draining ability of the Sand-Sand Fruit.

"Bastard! Go to hell! Desert Sword! Ugh, cough, cough..."

With his moves useless, Krokfar immediately fell into a state of impotent rage, using a Desert Sword attack. However, Uchiha Feiyu returned the favor with a single slash, instantly slicing him away. With a loud boom, he crashed into the half-desertified building behind him and was buried.

A moment later, the building debris gradually turned into sand and soil. Krokfar, clutching his chest, stood up again:

"Damn it... why exactly did you come to find trouble with me? Are you a pirate rookie wanting to make a name for yourself?"

"Tsk, sorry, I'm not any kind of pirate."

Uchiha Feiyu glanced at the bewildered Krokfar and decided to let him die knowing the truth:

"As the boss of Baroque Works, you should know about Princess Vivi, who is undercover among your subordinates, right!"

Krokfar's eyes shifted, revealing a look of astonishment:

"Are you a powerhouse brought here by the Alabasta Royal Family?"

"No, I am a powerhouse brought here by Princess Vivi!"

"What exactly did that woman give you? No matter what she gave you, I can double it. You should be clear that Alabasta is already in my pocket. Neither that princess nor that useless king can control this country anymore!"

"You talk as if you can control this country. As the King of Alabasta, no matter how down-and-out Cobra is, as long as he holds the moral high ground and has military support, he can still easily govern this country!"

"Are you prepared to act as the military force supporting him? What terms did he offer you?"

"Princess Vivi is now my fiancée."

Krokfar was instantly rendered speechless; these terms were equivalent to handing over Alabasta for free, something the Sand Crocodile truly could not bring himself to do.

"So, since you already understand everything, then be on your way!"

"You brat, do you think you have me cornered?!"

Facts proved that Uchiha Feiyu indeed had Krokfar cornered; despite his desperate struggles, utilizing the Sand-Sand Fruit and his poisonous golden hook to their limits, and even re-awakening a certain level of Two-Color Haki during the intense battle, he was still thoroughly taken down by Uchiha Feiyu after half an hour.

The original city of Rainbase had now completely transformed into a desert ruin; the marketplace, which had been bustling and noisy just moments ago, was now left with nothing but the sound of the wind mixed with yellow sand whistling and cracking through the ruins.

In some places, there were occasional moans and cries—the sounds emitted by the lucky ones who had managed to escape with their lives from the aftermath of the battle.

Observation Haki swept across this land, and Uchiha Feiyu shook his head; the original city of Rainbase had a population of at least over one hundred thousand, but now, the survivors here likely numbered less than a few thousand.

It was not that everyone had died; a small portion had been swept up by the battle's aftermath, while most had simply fled the city and entered the desert. It was unknown how many would ultimately manage to escape; the desert was not so easy to cross.

Regardless of the final outcome, the Sand Crocodile's reputation in Alabasta was ruined once and for all; after all, the vast majority of the battle's aftermath was caused by Krokfar, a Logia user, and the number of ordinary people he had killed was at least eight or nine thousand.

Moreover, once the so-called Seven Warlords of the Sea failed, they lost all deterrent power, and the World Government and the Marine would abandon them directly. Coupled with the fact that Krokfar himself was not exactly clean, and with the Alabasta royal family helping to testify, Uchiha Feiyu was not worried about attracting hostility from the World Government.

Drawing the Sandai Kitetsu from his hand and looking at the dying Krokfar lying on the ground, Uchiha Feiyu casually slashed, splitting open the ground that had already turned to sand.

That direction was exactly where the underground secret room of the original casino was. Uchiha Feiyu remembered there should be quite a few items made of Sea Prism Stone there. Sure enough, after the ground split open, he found many Seastone Handcuffs, and even a Seastone Prison.

He directly put the Seastone Handcuffs on Krokfar; this was a living Devil Fruit user, and Uchiha Feiyu did not want to kill him just yet, otherwise, Uchiha Feiyu would not know where to put the Soul of the Sand-Sand Fruit.

……

At the same time that Uchiha Feiyu had achieved a great victory, the Baroque Works employees who had been gathered on the other side had also been subdued by Robin and Princess Vivi.

There was no help for it; the vast majority of Baroque Works employees did not even know who their boss was. They only knew Robin, the boss's secretary, so naturally, whatever Robin said went.

And... the average member did not necessarily have much loyalty to Baroque Works. After all, even the boss played at mysticism and never showed his face. It would be strange to expect these Baroque Works employees to truly believe in the empty promises of the organization.

When it came down to it, the relationship between the Agent members of the organization and the organization itself was simply: you pay, I work. It was just that Baroque Works paid enough, and there was a tradition of brutally hunting down traitors, which was why a facade had been maintained.

Even so, when it was time to betray, these Agents did not hesitate. For example, Mr. 9, Princess Vivi's partner—his relationship with Princess Vivi could only be considered that of ordinary good friends, but when Baroque Works wanted to deal with Princess Vivi, he turned against them without the slightest hesitation.

While it was true that the single-celled organisms of the Pirate King world indeed placed greater importance on companions and friendship, it also showed that they actually did not care much about Baroque Works.

(End of this chapter)