"Ugh!"
"Dangerous, extremely dangerous."
Crocodile glared, staring at Kuina who had suddenly appeared before him. In that instant, he felt needle-like stings simultaneously in his neck, chest, and lower limbs.
"This kid's Armament Haki can hit him, but it's impossible for it to inflict fatal damage!"
He looked at the three slashes Kuina had unleashed, his smile vanishing instantly. With no time to retreat, he quickly elementalized the parts of his body in front of the slashes.
But he had underestimated the speed of 'Tsubame Gaeshi' (Swallow Return). Before he could fully elementalize, the three slashes struck his neck, chest, and leg.
*Puff puff puff!!!*
The slashes instantly tore through Crocodile's body, drawing three streaks of blood.
"Minor injuries."
Crocodile breathed a sigh of relief as the three slashes disappeared.
But just then, he suddenly felt the presence of death.
Yes, the presence of death, a sense of being swallowed by death, he had only felt this when fighting Whitebeard.
"No, it's my back."
He was given no time to react. The returning three slashes struck his back squarely.
*Pugh!*
This time it wasn't his front. This time it was when Crocodile was completely unprepared.
Although Kuina's Haki had only just reached the advanced stage, and her Haki couldn't yet compare to Crocodile's Devil Fruit mastery.
But... this was truly striking the guy's body when Crocodile was completely unprepared.
Although Crocodile's Devil Fruit ability, the passive nature of the Logia type, blocked most of the damage for him, this was the slash of a master swordsman! Even if most of it was blocked, it still caused severe damage to Crocodile's body.
From behind, three massive wounds that penetrated deep into his internal organs were bleeding profusely.
"Cough!"
Crocodile felt as if his strength had been drained. His legs stumbled, his body swayed, and he stumbled backward.
He reached up with his left hand to cover his mouth, preventing the blood in his throat from surging out, and extended his right hand behind him. He felt three holes in his back.
Drip, drip, drip.
Blood poured unceasingly from Crocodile's back, soon soaking his clothes, then his coat, and then dripping from the hem of his coat onto the dry sand.
"Now you know what I'm going to fight you with!"
Kuina stood upright, her eyes fixed on Crocodile, a sarcastic smile on her face. She then released 'Wado Ichimonji' with her left hand, spun the blade with her right, raised it upwards, and then swung it diagonally to the right.
*Pugh!*
The bloodstains on the blade left a striking horizontal "一" (one) on the sand to Kuina's right.
"Cro...c...odile, now you know!"
Kuina asked again.
This sentence had a completely different tone from the previous one; this one was filled with mockery.
These Logia users were always so arrogant. That smoker in Loguetown was like that, and this Shichibukai was the same. Did they really think Logia types were invincible?
"Cough! Cough cough cough!!"
Crocodile covered his mouth, coughing continuously. He knew he had been careless.
If he hadn't been so arrogant and prepared to elementalize in advance, even if he was injured, he wouldn't have been this severely wounded.
Now he had three holes in his back. Others might not know the fatal flaw of his Devil Fruit, but how could he not know?
He couldn't even stop the bleeding from wounds of this extent.
However, although he couldn't stop it, he could slow the bleeding.
He lowered his hand, letting the blood from the corner of his mouth flow out, then elementalized his back, attempting to use sand to plug the wounds.
It was unavoidable. If he didn't do this, he would probably collapse from excessive blood loss before long.
"Kid, I admit I was careless, but next time, you won't be so lucky."
Crocodile stared at Kuina, then elementalized his legs, then his hands, and finally his entire body.
The wind blew.
The sand, carried by the wind, completely disappeared from its original spot.
Of course, Crocodile had also disappeared from his spot.
Kuina's right hand went to her sword hilt, warily scanning her surroundings, her eyes flashing red.
*Whoosh whoosh!!!*
*Rustle rustle!!!*
The wind continued to blow, and there was no movement around, as if Crocodile had never appeared.
Just then, Kuina suddenly turned and, with a "shing," drew her sword and slashed behind her.
*Pugh!*
"Sand."
Kuina stared at the sand pillar emerging from the ground before her, her eyes flashing red. Her head tilted to the right.
A golden hook weapon shot past Kuina's neck from behind her and flew forward, disappearing into the sand.
"Troublesome!"
Kuina stared at the spot where the hook had vanished, lowered her head, and stared at the ground, her gaze more serious than ever.
This guy had completely merged with this desert. Her Observation Haki couldn't sense any presence at all.
Kuina looked up and taunted the surroundings, "Still a Shichibukai? Only capable of hiding and peeking?"
"Kid, don't be so arrogant."
Crocodile's voice echoed from all directions.
"Hmm!"
Just then, Kuina suddenly looked down. Without hesitation, she stomped on the ground.
With a "swoosh," she vanished from her original spot.
Where she had been standing.
With a "bang," a golden hook shot out from the sand.
"Any attack from you is futile in front of me. What else can you do besides hide and ambush?"
"Don't be too arrogant, kid."
"Desert Great Sword!"
Behind Kuina, a sand-made sword materialized from the ground and swiftly slashed towards Kuina's back.
"Didn't I tell you, it's useless?"
Kuina gripped her sword with both hands, turned, and with a "puff," severed the Desert Great Sword before it could reach her.
"Desert Kongo Treasure Blade!"
Just as Kuina severed the Desert Great Sword before her, behind her, a sand-formed figure appeared, its hands transforming into two large blades. It then rapidly lunged towards Kuina like a pair of scissors.
*Pugh!*
With a flash of red light, 'Wado Ichimonji' easily severed the sand figure's hands and the sand figure itself.
Kuina pushed off the ground with her feet and leaped into the air. She stared at the spot where the sand figure had been below.
The ground below had formed a circular shape, and sand was continuously flowing into a hole in the center.
Kuina stepped on the 'Moon Walk' and hovered in the air, staring at the sand below and loudly taunting.
"Crocodile, is that all you've got? If that's all, then I'm not playing anymore!"
She wanted to lure him out to fight her. Otherwise, if he hid underground, she was helpless against him.
Deep in the desert, Crocodile stared at Kuina, who was suspended in the air, his eyes filled with killing intent.
"Observation Haki."
"What kind of monsters are these guys!"
He glanced at Aru, who was sitting on a camel, holding a gun, then looked at Sora.
In a pirate crew that had only been sailing for five months, there were three people who could use Observation Haki.
This quality, in the New World, only a handful of pirate crews could possess.
Observation Haki, you see, was not as common as Armament Haki.
It required not only extensive training but, more importantly, innate talent to awaken.
Although he hadn't deliberately trained his body or Armament Haki, he had never forgotten to train his evasion skills and reaction speed over the decades!
Armament Haki was secondary, but he desperately desired Observation Haki.
Once he awakened Observation Haki, he could further develop his Devil Fruit abilities, reaching the level of an Admiral.
"Truly enviable kids! And so young."
Crocodile stared in Sora's direction, his eyes flickering. At this moment, he conceived the idea of retreating.
He didn't want to die.
He still had many things he wanted to do.
He still wanted to challenge Whitebeard in the New World!
Dying here would mean all his ambitions and aspirations would be buried forever.
"Escape?"