"What else can we do besides escape?"
Fighting this blue-haired guy was already this bad, and there was an even stronger silver-haired one over there!
He hated swordsmen.
These guys' sword strikes were too fast, too fast for him to even react.
If he were fighting someone who used fists right now, he wouldn't be suffering so much.
"Let's go!"
Crocodile's gaze, piercing through the thick sand, lingered on Kouta one last time, his eyes filled with unwillingness and rage.
This guy had completely shattered his painstakingly devised plan.
Since this guy was leaving, he could no longer stay in Alabasta and continue his plan.
Because Vivi was here, and once Cobra returned and learned the truth, Cobra would surely inform the whole nation, and might even seek the World Government to strip him of his Shichibukai status.
"These brats are truly damn it all!"
He withdrew his gaze, his body turning to sand, silently traversing beneath the boundless desert, heading towards Yuba.
"It seems I have no choice but to leave this island."
As for his subordinates, the Baroque Works members.
He wouldn't bother with them.
These guys were originally recruited as cannon fodder. If it weren't for the silver-haired group being too powerful, he would have eliminated all of them after they learned of his plan.
"Oh? Trying to run?"
Kouta leaned back lazily in the void, his hand holding the wine gourd pausing.
He turned his head to look at a stream of sand moving at high speed beneath the ground, a mocking smile spreading across his lips.
This guy's entire body was elementalized and merged with the desert. If it were someone else today, even an Emperor, they might only be able to let this guy escape.
Because in the sand, this guy had no presence or sound, and even the most top-tier Observation Haki couldn't detect his traces.
But…
In his perception, this guy's presence was like a beacon in the dark, so bright and glaring.
No matter how this guy tried to hide, he couldn't conceal the disgusting aura emanating from his evil soul.
Unless this guy could hide even his soul.
Kouta straightened up, standing from his Void Throne.
He didn't intend to stop Crocodile immediately, because he still had to fight him later, and if the commotion was too great, fighting at the city's entrance was clearly not an option.
He'd let this guy run for a while. After all, this guy was just a grasshopper in his palm; no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't escape.
He turned his head and glanced at Ah Hua and the other two, chuckling, "What are you three still gawking at? Are you that weak? How come you haven't dealt with your opponents yet!"
"Hahaha!! Isn't it just that your hands are itchy and you want to play a bit longer?"
Ah Hua gave Kouta an embarrassed smile, then turned his gaze to Jem in front of him. The smile on his face vanished, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his blood-red eyes.
"Alright, I'm done playing with you."
"Play!"
Jem was jolted by Ah Hua's killing intent. He turned his head to meet Ah Hua's blood-red eyes, his heart tightening instinctively, followed by a desperate will to survive.
"No, I can't beat this guy. Run, run, run…"
Without hesitation, Jem pushed off the ground with his legs and fled backward.
From their brief exchange, he knew he wasn't Ah Hua's opponent. If this guy hadn't been fighting him so casually, he would have fallen long ago.
Now that his boss, Crocodile, had disappeared, likely having already fled, what reason did he have to stay here?
To wait for death?
"Run? Can you escape?"
Ah Hua looked at Jem's retreating back, his lips curling into a cruel smile.
He bent his knees and pushed off the ground.
*Bang*—!
The ground instantly caved in.
His body, like a cannonball, drew an arc through the air.
With a *bang*, he landed in front of Jem. His enormous four-meter-tall body completely blocked the sunlight, casting Jem entirely in Ah Hua's shadow.
"Run? How are you going to run!"
Ah Hua raised his palm and swatted down at Jem.
It was as if he were swatting a mosquito.
"Can't dodge, can't run anymore."
Jem stared at the rapidly descending palm above him, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.
"You don't want me to leave, do you? Then let's die together!"
As he spoke, Jem's entire body erupted like molten lava, with irregular cracks appearing continuously on his surface.
This was his final move, and his final destination.
That was self-destruction.
*Bang*—!
Before Jem could detonate, Ah Hua smashed Jem into the sand with a single palm strike.
However, this clearly wouldn't stop Jem's explosion.
Countless beams of light shot out from Ah Hua's hand through the cracks in the ground and the earth, followed by a massive explosion that echoed throughout the rain-soaked land.
*BOOM*！！！！
The shockwave of the explosion first propelled Ah Hua's hand upwards, and then an orange-red fireball began to expand outwards.
Ah Hua stared at the fireball in front of him and quickly coated himself in Armament Haki.
He had transformed into a rabbit, greatly increasing his defense, but he couldn't afford to be careless. It was better to be cautious. If he were to capsize in a ditch, A'lu would tease him for a long time.
He didn't want to be teased by that guy!
*Boom*—!
A second, even larger explosion sounded. A giant mushroom cloud rose from where Ah Hua had been standing. The shockwave, mixed with sand, formed a gale force wind akin to a Category 12 hurricane, rapidly surging outwards in all directions.
*Whoosh*—!
Guina's figure appeared beside Kouta. She turned her body, gazing at the distant mushroom cloud, her pretty face illuminated crimson by the explosion's fiery glow.
She didn't concern herself with Ah Hua but spoke of Crocodile.
"That guy Crocodile got away."
"It's fine, he can't get away."
Kouta withdrew his gaze, glanced at Guina, the red light in his eyes disappearing.
Ah Hua, after four months of training, was no longer the Ah Hua of before. This kind of explosion wouldn't injure him.
"Later, I'll deal with that guy. It's not convenient to fight here, after all, I still want to properly gauge that guy's true strength. I can't let that guy unleash his full power here."
"Mm!"
Guina nodded, withdrew her gaze, and turned towards the camels.
There was nothing else for her to do now.
Logia users were truly troublesome, especially in locations that matched their elemental attributes.
That guy, without any Armament Haki and with unawakened Observation Haki, was actually able to completely evade her by relying on this desert.
It seemed her Observation Haki needed further strengthening.
Otherwise, if she encountered such an opponent again, she would be clueless and utterly helpless.
In fact, she didn't know that in this world, there were very few Logia users who could achieve what Crocodile had.
Furthermore, Crocodile happened to be perfectly suited to sand, which made him so difficult to deal with in the desert.
If it were in a different location, with Guina's movement and striking speed, even if Haki dealt little damage to Crocodile, she could have slowly worn him down through continuous damage stacking.
Of course, this was only achievable if that guy had no other tricks up his sleeve.