One Piece: I am the Empress, and the more sycophants I have, the stronger I become.

Hancock's sarcastic remark about "dehydrated crocodile" was like the last spark that ignited a powder keg, completely setting off Crocodile's rage.

He had roamed the seas for years; when had he ever suffered such humiliation?!

"Arrogant woman! You will pay the price for your ignorance!"

Crocodile roared, no longer caring about the superficial harmony among the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

With a sudden swing of his right golden hook, his entire arm instantly transformed into a massive, sharp sand blade composed of countless grains of sand.

With a piercing shriek that seemed to tear through the air, it slashed down at Hancock's waist!

"The Desert Sword!"

This attack, unleashed in fury, was incredibly powerful, enough to cleave a medium-sized warship in two.

However, Hancock did not even move a step in the face of this fierce attack.

Her stunningly beautiful face still held that mocking sneer, but she gracefully raised her right leg, which was covered in jet-black armor coloring.

With a speed too fast for the naked eye to detect, it struck first despite being behind, precisely hitting the most vulnerable side joint of the sand blade.

"Fragrant feet!"

"boom!!"

The pitch-black toes collided violently with the sand blade.

Contrary to expectations, the sand blades were forcibly destroyed and disintegrated the moment they came into contact with the advanced Armament Haki.

It shattered like broken glass, disintegrating into ordinary dust that fell gently down.

Crocodile's pupils contracted as he felt his Sand-Sand Fruit ability being greatly restrained by the opponent's concentrated Haki!

Elementalization is not invincible!

Hancock retracted her long leg, her posture as elegant as if she had just finished a dance.

She looked at Crocodile's grim face, shook her head, and her tone was almost dripping with sarcasm.

"Crocodile, Crocodile... this is so unlike you."

She seemed to be lamenting the inferior quality of a collectible.

"It's only been a few years, yet you've regressed so much. Did Whitebeard crush your spirit, or have you been ruling this Sand Country for too long, losing even your basic combat skills?"

It's not that the Empress looks down on Crocodile.

Whether it was going head-to-head with Akainu at Marineford or founding the Cross Guild two years later.

It is undeniable that the Sand Crocodile does indeed possess some characteristics of a top-tier powerhouse.

However, during this period, Old Sha's mental fortitude and combat skills were extremely low.

Someone who could be defeated by Luffy at Gear 1, disregarding the protagonist's plot armor, is simply a disgrace to the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

These words hurt Crocodile more than a direct attack, like a sharp knife stabbing into his sore spot.

His crushing defeat in his challenge against Whitebeard was indeed a thorn in his side, and one of the reasons why he later became obsessed with finding ancient weapons.

When the Empress exposed his wounds in front of so many people, his face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, and veins bulged on his forehead.

"Shut up!"

Crocodile was enraged and could no longer remain calm.

He suddenly spread his arms wide, sand and dust swirling around him, unleashing his powerful Devil Fruit ability at full force!

"Sandstorm!"

"Salon curls!"

In an instant, a violent sandstorm formed around him.

It rapidly expanded and rotated, transforming into a giant sand tornado connecting the sea and sky, with a diameter exceeding tens of meters.

Yellow sand filled the sky, obscuring the sun, and swept towards Kuja's pirate ship with a terrifying, all-consuming force.

He wanted to drag this ship, along with that wretched woman, into the hell of the yellow sands!

Faced with this attack that resembled a natural disaster, the Nine-Headed Serpent Warriors on the ship all paled.

Even Arya gripped her weapon tightly, as if facing a formidable enemy.

However, Hancock merely furrowed her brows slightly, as if annoyed that the sand and dust had dirtied her boat.

She watched as the massive, roaring sand roll hurtled towards her.

And hidden in the eye of the storm, Crocodile, with a sinister look on his face, curled up a calculating smirk at the corner of his red lips.

"A trivial skill."

She didn't even use Conqueror's Haki or any more powerful physical techniques.

With a flash, she appeared on the side of the ship like a ghost, and stretched out her slender hand in front of the engulfing sandstorm.

The next moment, something happened that left everyone, especially Crocodile, speechless!

In front of Hancock's palm, the air seemed to be stirred by an invisible force, and the sea surface beside the ship suddenly caved in.

Immediately, a thick water dragon shot into the sky as if it had been gripped by a giant!

This wasn't a Devil Fruit ability; rather, it was her incredibly powerful Armament Haki combined with her exquisite control of power that allowed her to "borrow" a massive amount of seawater from the ocean.

"go!"

She gave a soft shout and pushed her palm forward!

The enormous water jet, like a cannonball, roared deafeningly and struck the center of the raging sand torrent with perfect accuracy!

"laugh--!!!"

Like a red-hot iron piercing ice and snow, the moment the seawater came into contact with the sandstorm, it emitted a huge, teeth-grinding vaporization sound.

Countless grains of sand become heavy and sticky the moment they come into contact with water, losing their ability to move with the wind!

The seemingly invincible giant sand tornado rapidly disintegrated and collapsed under the impact of the water jets at a speed visible to the naked eye.

One moment the mighty dragon of yellow sand was a menacing sight, the next it had turned into a limp, wet mass of sand.

It crashed back into the sea with a splash, stirring up a cloud of murky water.

Caught off guard in the eye of the storm, Crocodile was drenched in a torrent of powerful seawater.

Although he managed to transform into his elemental form in time to avoid some of it, the overwhelming force contained within the seawater and his innate restraint still caused him to grunt.

His figure blurred and fluctuated, almost losing his elemental state!

He watched as his killing move was instantly broken, and then he looked at the woman on the opposite deck whose clothes were perfectly intact, still stunningly beautiful, with a mocking smile on her lips.

I felt a mixture of shock and anger, but mostly a sense of powerlessness.

When fighting against an opponent who can control water at sea, his Sand-Sand Fruit was too severely restrained!

If this fight continues, he will only suffer the consequences!

"Boa Hancock... I'll remember this debt!"

Crocodile knew the situation was hopeless, so he uttered a harsh threat before instantly turning into sand.

They fled as quickly as stray dogs, not daring to look back.

Hancock looked in the direction Crocodile had disappeared but did not give chase.

She knew all too well how difficult it was to keep a Logia-type Devil Fruit user who was determined to escape on the vast ocean, especially when the other party was in such a sorry state. Pressuring them too much might only make them desperate and reckless.

She slowly turned around, the sea breeze ruffling her white skirt, her stunning beauty even more radiant under the sunlight and the reflection of water droplets.

She looked toward the cabin, as if she could see through the wooden planks the archaeologist who must be feeling a surge of emotions at that moment.

A faint smile appeared on my face.