"Tch!"
Crocodile's lower body transformed into a sandstorm as he landed on the mountaintop. Not seeing Reddy, he walked to the edge and looked down at the activity below.
The island was quiet.
Only one area had continuous explosions, indicating intense fighting.
"What is that guy doing?"
Crocodile couldn't understand Reddy's plan.
At first, when the 50,000 elite Marines landed on the island, with 20,000 conducting a full-scale search before retreating, he could still somewhat grasp Reddy's intentions.
But now, he couldn't figure out what Reddy wanted to do.
Hunting?
This was a battlefield Reddy had specifically prepared. It was impossible that he hadn't set up traps to track every target that landed on the island.
Yet now, only one area was engaged in combat.
The most destruction since the battle began was caused by Sakazuki's single Meteor Volcano.
What about the other Warlords?
Crocodile bit his cigar, deep in thought.
The next moment, a blade suddenly pierced through his chest.
Crocodile looked down at the blade protruding from his chest and smiled meaningfully before dissolving into sand and reforming nearby.
"Dr. Reddy, ally with me!"
The attacker, Invis, had exposed himself by landing the sneak attack, but Crocodile didn't even glance at him. Instead, he scanned the mountaintop for Reddy's figure.
"With the two of us working together, we can rule this world!"
"Without the World Government and the Marines, you can do whatever you want!"
"Everyone will bow before us!"
"Marine Admirals?"
"Yonko?"
"Celestial Dragons?"
"As long as we join forces, no one can stop us!"
Crocodile clenched his cigar, confident that his offer would tempt Reddy.
Though he admitted he wasn't yet Reddy's equal—after all, even the world's greatest swordsman, Mihawk, was being held up by Reddy's clones—he still had an unbeatable trump card: the ancient weapon Pluton!
The response came in the form of his own shadow suddenly sharpening into a blade that skewered his abdomen.
"So this is your answer?"
Crocodile's smile vanished, replaced by a dark expression.
Being sneak-attacked twice in a row, the man who dared challenge the world's strongest, Whitebeard, was furious.
Invis had already disappeared again.
Meanwhile, Shadow, after landing his sneak attack, retreated as a shadow.
The next moment, a door suddenly opened in the air behind Shadow.
"Trying to run?"
Crocodile pressed his hands to the ground, his arms transforming into sand blades that shot toward Shadow in an instant.
The sand blades erupted from the ground, aiming for Shadow's abdomen.
Having been ambushed through his shadow earlier, Crocodile now returned the favor with Desert Spada.
Just as the sand blades were about to bisect Shadow, he abruptly vanished.
A second later, Shadow reappeared from Crocodile's shadow, launching a point-blank attack.
Crocodile quickly turned into sand.
But the moment Shadow emerged, his right fist was coated in Armament Haki, delivering a heavy punch to Crocodile's face.
In that instant, Crocodile's face distorted.
He was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into a massive boulder on the mountaintop.
The boulder cracked, spiderweb fractures spreading across its surface before collapsing, burying Crocodile under the rubble.
"Armament Haki?"
Sand surged from beneath the rubble, reforming into Crocodile, who laughed arrogantly.
"I'm a Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit user. These cheap tricks won't work on me!"
Having dared to face Whitebeard head-on, Crocodile's physique was extraordinary. Even after taking Shadow's full-force punch, he remained unfazed and fearless.
While boasting, Crocodile spread his hands, small sandstorms forming in each palm.
With a flick of his wrists, the small sandstorms rapidly expanded, merging into a massive sandstorm that engulfed the entire mountaintop.
Mihawk, who had been warming up, stopped attacking the barrier and looked up at the sandstorm-covered peak, smiling faintly.
"So he's still on the mountaintop."
"Hey, don't run away!"
Bartolomeo blocked Mihawk's path.
"You're interesting. Farewell."
Mihawk was intrigued by Bartolomeo's Barrier-Barrier Fruit ability. There weren't many things in the world that could withstand his slashes, so he gripped his black blade, Yoru, with both hands and delivered a full-power strike.
The barrier wasn't broken, but it couldn't withstand the sheer force of the slash.
Bartolomeo was sent flying with a scream.
After sending Bartolomeo flying, Mihawk sprinted toward the sandstorm-covered peak with Yoru in hand.
"Horo horo horo horo... You're not going anywhere!"
Perona floated in the air with her parasol, blocking Mihawk's path.
This was the task Reddy had given her.
He had promised that if she could delay Mihawk from interfering in his hunt for Crocodile and Doflamingo, he would build her a dream dark castle.
For the dark castle, full speed ahead!
Perona was fearless. Who cared if she was blocking the world's greatest swordsman? If she got cut, she'd just lose!
"Strange ability."
Mihawk slashed at Perona casually.
As Yoru's blade passed through her waist, Mihawk frowned.
No sensation of hitting a physical body.
"Horo horo horo horo... What a fool."
Perona was thrilled.
She excelled at dealing with opponents like this.
With a wave of her hand, three Negative Hollows rushed toward Mihawk.
"Dr. Reddy really has some strange people under him."
First, he encountered the unbreakable Barrier-Barrier Fruit user Bartolomeo, and now this bizarre little girl who ignored his slashes. Mihawk shook his head and dodged the three Negative Hollows.
Her Devil Fruit ability was too strange. Without understanding it fully, he wasn't going to take risks.
"Don't run!"
Perona taunted from the air, directing the Negative Hollows to chase Mihawk.
...
At the edge of the island.
Doflamingo had just arrived on the uninhabited island.
Looking at the sandstorm-covered peak, he grinned savagely and took out a Den Den Mushi.
Once connected, he got straight to the point.
"Mihawk and Crocodile are tying up at least two clones right now. This is the perfect time for a full-scale attack."
"Mihawk just wants to spar with the clones, and Crocodile has his own ambitions."
"Boa Hancock, Jinbe, even Kuma have their own goals and might not act against him."
"Sakazuki, what are you waiting for!"
The Den Den Mushi perfectly mimicked Sakazuki's furious tone.
"I don't need you to remind me, Doflamingo."
The call ended.
Doflamingo laughed triumphantly.
Mihawk and Crocodile were holding back at least two, if not more, clones. If the Marines launched a full-scale assault... how could that guy possibly win?
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