Instantly, black lightning bolts struck both Crocodile and Robin directly!
Crocodile was overwhelmed by this terrifying burst of Conqueror's Haki; his hands and feet turned ice-cold, and he stood frozen in place.
Robin, who was far weaker, fell immediately to her knees and nearly lost consciousness right there.
Even the sand Crocodile had summoned lost all power and collapsed onto the ground, rendered useless by the sheer pressure.
Crocodile stared at El in utter disbelief.
I am a Warlord of the Sea! A great pirate who rules and dominates the seas!
And yet… I was just suppressed and stunned simply by his aura!
His eyes burned with intense unwillingness and defiance.
Robin was equally shocked as she looked at El.
Just by releasing his Conqueror's Haki… he almost knocked me out, Robin thought to herself. This man is terrifying! I have never met anyone this powerful in my entire life!
She recalled her encounter with Aokiji years ago.
Aokiji was already a Marine Admiral back then, yet the impression he left on Robin was nowhere near as overwhelming as El.
Moreover, seeing Crocodile — who had always been arrogant and confident — rendered completely helpless before El… shook Robin's entire understanding of power.
She could only stare at him in awe.
El stood calmly where he was.
"You two really have quite the nerve," he said indifferently.
To come here and try to steal from him… they truly had a death wish.
Crocodile snapped out of his stunned state and retreated frantically.
His entire body turned into a sandstorm as he moved backward, covering dozens of meters in an instant, trying to put as much distance between them as possible.
It was an instinctive reaction — though he forgot that against Conqueror's Haki, a distance like that meant absolutely nothing.
Crocodile steadied his mind as best he could and spoke, forcing a compliment: "Lord El… you are truly incredible indeed!"
"Your mastery of Conqueror's Haki… is something truly admirable!"
In truth, Crocodile knew he had already lost. Just moments ago, he had been unable to even move under El's pressure.
But he was a proud man. Ending the fight like this was unbearable for him. He had to measure his true strength against El at least once!
El looked at him calmly.
"Crocodile… you really won't believe until you've seen your own doom."
"Fine then — I will give you a chance to challenge me."
"If you can block or dodge one strike from me without getting hurt… I will forgive what you did here today. If not… you pay the price. What do you say?"
Hearing this, Crocodile actually felt a surge of confidence.
Even if I can't defeat him… surely dodging with everything I have is possible?
After all, he was a Logia-type Devil Fruit user!
He looked up at El and replied: "Very well! Come at me!"
Nico Robin watched from the side.
She was weaker than Crocodile, but right now she saw the situation far more clearly than he did.
She knew perfectly well that Crocodile stood no chance against El.
Her mind raced, thinking frantically about how to save herself from this disaster.
"I'm ready!"
Crocodile adjusted his breathing and focused his energy, taking a battle stance.
El, on the other hand, looked completely relaxed — not even trying.
His supreme-grade blade Slash God still hung at his waist, still sheathed.
Seeing El's casual attitude, Crocodile thought: Good… there's an opening!
El is too arrogant. If I focus entirely on evasion, I can definitely dodge his attack!
Yes — Crocodile never intended to clash or fight back. His only plan was to escape the strike.
He had felt firsthand just how terrifying El was; the gap between them was too wide.
Crocodile didn't even possess Conqueror's Haki.
How could he possibly stand against El in a direct clash?
The moment Crocodile shouted "Come!"…
El moved.
His figure flashed past like a streak of black lightning, disappearing instantly.
The air itself exploded with a white shockwave.
Where he stood only a second before, nothing remained but a fading afterimage.
El gripped Slash God with one hand.
Every ounce of strength in his body gathered in his arm and erupted fully.
He slashed down toward Crocodile!!
The strike tore through the air with a roar like thunder.
Black Armament and Conqueror's Haki coiled around the blade, releasing a terrifying aura like a vengeful demon.
Down it came!
Crocodile activated Observation Haki to its absolute limit — yet even so, El's terrifying speed left him utterly stunned.
Before his mind could even process what was happening…
El was already right in front of him.
Crocodile retreated faster than he ever had in his life.
Most of his body turned into sand, drifting away with the wind.
But El's black blade followed him like a curse — sticking close, impossible to shake off!
In that split second…
True fear flashed in Crocodile's eyes.
His whole life seemed to flash through his mind.
Swish…
The blade sliced through the mass of sand.
Haki forcibly solidified Crocodile's body, turning him back into flesh and blood.
A massive spray of blood shot into the air!
Thud!
Crocodile collapsed heavily to the ground, powerless.
El sheathed his sword and returned to his original spot. Not a single drop of blood stained his clothes.
Nico Robin, watching from the side…
Didn't even catch a single detail of what happened.
All she saw was a flash of black light between them — and then Crocodile fell, vomiting blood.
From her perspective, El never even moved from where he stood!
Robin was terrified and amazed.
El's speed was so fast her eyes couldn't track it at all!
If someone far stronger than her like Crocodile ended up in such a miserable state…
If she had dared to raise a hand against El, her fate would have been far worse.
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