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A trace of solemnity appeared in Crocodile's eyes. He could feel that his Devil Fruit ability was surprisingly difficult to use effectively against this guy. It was as if the other party possessed a mysterious power that could counteract his.
"Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), is it?"
Taking a deep breath, Crocodile's expression became even more serious. His clenched right fist slowly relaxed. Words rolled from his lips, spoken slowly and with gravity.
As those words were spoken, the vast swathes of sand on the ground began rapidly gathering and surging toward the area where No. 2 had been buried.
There was an overwhelming amount of sand; its weight alone could crush most powerhouses to death. And at this moment, under Crocodile's control, the density of the sand continued to increase without limit.
Finally, at one moment, with Crocodile clenching his fist, "Sandstorm Funeral!"
"BOOM!"
The sand's density suddenly shifted again, becoming like hardened steel, like a clenched fist without the slightest gap between the fingers. The once-raging sandstorm's surface fell into complete stillness. No. 2's struggle ceased abruptly.
A faint scent of blood drifted from the sand, and a few thin traces of crimson began to seep out.
Crocodile slowly exhaled. His eyes relaxed. Through the sensory feedback from the sand, he could tell, the opponent had already been crushed into a pulp.
Controlling the sand, Crocodile descended from the sky and landed beside Jason.
He swept a cold gaze across the 300-meter radius of the battlefield and spoke emotionlessly: "Let's go. The enemy is taken care of."
Jason stood dumbfounded, staring at the ground that had been turned into a small-scale desert. He wanted to say something… but didn't know where to begin.
"Y-You… How did you become this terrifying!?"
After a brief pause, he finally caught up tightly behind.
"After taking the captain's advice, I made some adjustments to my powers," Crocodile replied calmly. At his shoulder, grains of sand floated together once more, reforming into a fierce sand crocodile.
"That's insane!" Jason said in utter shock.
"A 300-meter radius has now become my territory. This is already my limit." Crocodile said as he picked up the treasure on the ground and began walking away.
"Oh, right, the Den Den Mushi rang just now. I think something's happened on the captain's side; we need to pick up the pace."
"What?!" Jason's face changed. He quickly grabbed his pack and sprinted after him.
In the wooden house by the rapeseed flower field. Rojen's Den Den Mushi suddenly rang. His expression froze for a moment, then he quickly answered.
Before he could speak, Jason's anxious voice came through the Den Den Mushi: "Hey, captain! We ran into an enemy, and they've been dealt with. Crocodile and I are rushing back now. Is everything okay back home?"
"Hoo…"
Rojen let out a long breath, and at last, a trace of relief appeared in his eyes.
Just moments earlier, when facing those five attackers, he had been restrained at every turn, not just in terms of power, but in overall strategic control. First there was Rouge, then Trens, and finally Crocodile and Jason. Until he was sure those people were safe, even if he activated the Liberation System and summoned the strongest characters, it would be hard to act under such oppressive conditions.
Even a swift counterattack required time to execute.
And if even one action failed, the ones to suffer first would be Rouge, behind him, and the then-uncertain fate of Crocodile and Jason.
It was only now, with Lordling defeated, Trens seriously injured, and Crocodile and Jason confirming their safety, that Rojen felt the tight web around him begin to loosen, just slightly.
"Trens is seriously injured, and Lordling has left. You two, return at full speed!" Rojen said sternly and quickly before hanging up the Den Den Mushi.
"What?!" On the other end, Jason, who was sprinting at full speed, looked grim.
"What happened?" Crocodile asked.
"The captain ran into enemies too. Trens was wounded, and… Lordling is gone." As he spoke, Jason's expression became a bit strange.
"That little cat?" Crocodile replied calmly, then added, "That cat was unusually intelligent, more like a person. It probably has some special origin."
"Doesn't matter now. Speed up. I don't feel right about this." Jason clenched his fists.
"Just like last time… and now again, I can't let the captain shoulder everything alone!" Suddenly accelerating, Jason went full throttle.
"Don't forget me. I'm part of the crew too, remember As soon as he moved, Crocodile followed, quickly catching up.
"Crocodile…" Jason's eyes focused, then he smiled.
"Alright! No matter what's going on, this time, let's give it everything we've got!" Crocodile's eyes sparkled. On his fierce and scarred face, a rare bright smile appeared.
"I've been dying for a chance to make my name known across the world. Looks like we've gotten ourselves dragged into something big."
"Hahahahaha!"
The two burst into laughter, yet their speed increased further.
…
Meanwhile, back in the wooden house.
"It's out, it's a boy!" The midwife's joyous cry rang out, and Rojen's expression visibly softened. But right after, a chilling killing intent surged in his eyes.
He slowly stood up and said to Trens: "Rest well. Jason and the others are on their way back."
"Mm." Trens' face was pale, but his powerful will kept him from losing consciousness.
Rojen then drew the sword at his waist, Rainbow Abyss, and began walking step by step toward the outside of the wooden house.
As he stepped outside, a terrified scream from the midwife rang out.
"My god, what is that?!"
Raising his head, Rojen followed her line of sight through the rapeseed flower field, what entered his view was an unbelievably massive figure. It was like a moving mountain. With every step it took, the ground shook violently, huge sections of the flower field were trampled flat, and wherever its foot lifted, it left behind an immense footprint.
It was a gigantic, towering behemoth.
Easily eighty meters tall, its head the size of a small house, its hand like a platform. Each step it took caused the earth to tremble, dozens of meters covered in a single stride.
It appeared slow, but was actually shockingly fast.
"Get inside. Leave this to me." Rojen spoke calmly, but his eyes were icy cold.
He strode forward, and with just a few steps, he arrived in the courtyard.
Right then, a voice echoed in his mind: "System, summon a possession from an immense-type creature."
Upon hearing this, the system seemed to pause for a moment, then responded in its usual cold tone: "Summoning by specific concept, cost: 3x standard amount. Please confirm."
Rojen's gaze trembled slightly, but he didn't hesitate.
"Confirm!"
Immediately, the system's voice rang again:
"Congratulations, host. You have summoned the cyan-grade soul: Female Giant, Annie Leonhart. Cost: 300 million gold!"
"Female giant?"
Hearing this, Rojen was momentarily stunned.
But then, right before his eyes, a ferocious and terrifying giant appeared, letting out a deafening roar as it looked skyward.
"ROAR!!!"
(End Of This Chapter)
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