Villain: Fairy, please offer your loyalty

The lights in the casino lobby flickered twice.

The alloy door that had been kicked away was embedded in the marble wall, and cracks spread outwards from the point of impact, like a spider web.

The patrons at the gambling table were stunned for two seconds, then screams erupted one after another.

The dealer's chip tray was overturned all over the floor.

More than thirty bodyguards in black uniforms emerged from all corners, drawing pistols and long knives, forming a dense, dark mass that blocked the center of the hall.

"Who goes there!"

The head of security, holding a gun, spoke in a trembling voice.

Gu Fan didn't even look at them.

His gaze swept around the hall and finally landed on a huge leather sofa directly opposite the entrance.

That was the best spot on the first floor of the casino, with a wide view, directly facing the entrance and the stage, and furnished with fine cigars and red wine.

"That sofa is nice."

Gu Fan strode over.

The bodyguards instinctively raised their guns.

Zhu'er didn't even raise her hand, she just glanced at it.

More than thirty bodyguards simultaneously felt an invisible pressure descend from the sky, their knees buckled, and they all knelt on the ground.

Guns and longswords clattered and fell to the ground.

Gu Fan walked to the sofa, flicked off non-existent dust, and then sat down.

Crossing your legs.

"Mei'er, pour me a cup of tea. I doubt the wine in this run-down place is any good."

"Yes, young master."

Mei took out an ice-blue glass teacup from her sleeve, condensed a wisp of cold air from her fingertip and poured it into the cup, then handed it to Gu Fan a moment later.

Luffy poked half his head in through the doorway.

"Wow, this place is huge! Is there any food?"

Nami grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"Can't you be a little more serious?! This is the enemy's lair!"

"But I can smell meat..."

Vivi stood behind Nami, clenching her fists as she watched everything in the casino.

This is Crocodile's headquarters.

The man who destroyed her country, killed her people, and caused millions to kill each other lives in this building.

She took a deep breath.

Then she looked at Gu Fan, who was sitting on the sofa leisurely drinking tea.

Strangely, seeing his back made her heart beat slower.

A slow sound of footsteps came from the direction of the stairs.

The leather shoes clattered on the marble steps, each step carrying a leisurely rhythm.

A tall figure descended the spiral staircase from the second floor.

He wore a black fur coat, held a golden claw in his left hand, and had a thick cigar in his mouth.

The scar that ran across his face was particularly noticeable under the light.

Crocodile.

The Seven Warlords of the Sea.

King of the Desert.

He stood at the corner of the stairs, looking down at the chaotic scene in the hall.

His gaze swept over the kneeling bodyguards and landed on Gu Fan, who was sitting on the sofa drinking tea.

"interesting."

Crocodile exhaled a puff of smoke, a smirk playing on his lips.

"They kicked down my door, hit my people, and sat in my seat."

"Kid, do you know whose territory this is?"

Gu Fan took a sip of tea without even looking up.

"Know."

"A guy playing in the sand."

Crocodile's smile froze on his face.

The air temperature in the hall dropped several degrees.

It's not a physical cooling process.

It was the oppressive aura and killing intent emanating from Crocodile that caused all the gamblers present to instinctively shrink back.

Vivi's body trembled slightly.

She knew this feeling all too well.

During her time as an undercover agent at Baroque Works, she experienced this oppressive feeling from the Seven Warlords of the Sea countless times.

Each time, it made her feel like she was only one step away from death.

Luffy's expression turned serious.

He sensed the danger emanating from the man.

This is on a completely different level from the grunts we encountered before. Update released! Readers, go check it out!

"Is it him?" Luffy asked Vivi in ​​a low voice.

Vivi bit her lip and nodded.

"Straw Hat Luffy, and the traitorous princess."

Crocodile descended the stairs, and with each step, a layer of fine sand filled the air around him.

"I thought you guys would come to see me secretly. I didn't expect you to be so high-profile."

His gaze fell on Gu Fan again.

"And we brought along an ignorant guest."

Gu Fan put down his teacup and finally looked up at him.

"You're Crocodile?"

"I thought the Seven Warlords of the Sea in this world were something special."

He tilted his head.

"this one?"

Crocodile's pupils contracted slightly.

It wasn't because of anger.

It was because he saw no fear, tension, or even hostility in the young man's eyes.

That look in his eyes was like looking at a stone on the side of the road.

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

"A good-for-nothing who doesn't know his place."

Crocodile's smile vanished completely.

He raised his right hand.

The power of the Sand-Sand Fruit was unleashed in an instant.

The floor of the entire casino hall began to crack, and countless golden sand streams gushed out from the cracks, swirling, rising, and converging into a sandstorm that blotted out the sky.

His body had begun to elementalize, his lower body turning into quicksand that merged with the storm, and his entire body was suspended in mid-air.

"The Desert Sword!"

A giant sand blade slashed towards Gu Fan.

This strike contains the terrifying power to slice a building in half.

Wherever the Sand Blade's tip passed, the moisture in the air was completely sucked away. Gambling tables, chips, bottles—anything touched by the blast shattered and crumbled in an instant.

Luffy clenched his fist, ready to charge forward.

Zoro placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Sanji stubbed out his cigarette.

But none of the three of them had time to move.

Because Gu Fan was still sitting on the sofa, still with his legs crossed, still holding that cup of tea.

He didn't even twitch his eyebrows.

"Mei'er".

Only two words.

His tone was exactly the same as when he had asked her to pour tea earlier.

Mei took a step forward.

Just one step.

She raised her right hand, her slender, fair fingers lightly touching the air.

No sound.

No special effects.

There were no unnecessary movements.

Just a little bit.

The sandstorm in Crocodile has stopped.

It wasn't broken up.

It's not that they were suppressed.

It's frozen.

Starting from the outermost layer of the sandstorm, a layer of transparent ice crystals spreads inward at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The sand grains were frozen into slush.

The storm was frozen into icicles.

Crocodile's elemental body, starting from his toes, is freezing at an irresistible speed.

"Wh...what!"

Crocodile's expression changed drastically.

He desperately tried to break free by activating the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit, but the cold laws were like an invisible hand, completely suppressing his elemental transformation ability.

He is a natural science major.

The greatest advantage of the Nature type is its elemental nature, rendering it immune to physical attacks.

But at this moment he discovered that he could not maintain his elementalization at all.

It wasn't broken by some kind of domineering force.

The ice was at a temperature so low that it was beyond his comprehension, freezing the molecular motion of the sand grains that made up his body.

The prerequisite for elementalization is free recombination at the molecular level.

When molecular motion approaches zero, the natural system is no different from a brick.

Ice crystals spread up to his chest.

Crocodile looked down at his body, which was turning into an ice sculpture, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Who...who are you people...?"

I'm currently reading Chapter 125, Absolute Zero, and I'm completely engrossed in it.