Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

This is a tradition among Alabasta residents: whenever it rains, they store some fresh rainwater to prevent a drought from causing a lack of water.

However, just as the residents finished putting away their containers and were about to go home to avoid the rain, a strange change suddenly occurred in the sky.

In the distance, a visible, chaotic current of air shot into the sky, piercing through the heavens like a sharp blade.

The thick clouds were torn apart, as if an eye had opened, and the moon, like a pupil, peeked out from above, looking down at the earth.

"What...what is that?!"

"A hole has been opened in the sky!"

"Shouldn't that direction lead to an uninhabited desert?"

"..."

The residents were utterly shocked by what they saw. Despite the heavy rain soaking their clothes, they couldn't help but chatter amongst themselves.

Finally, an experienced old sailor tapped his pipe and slowly said:

"Since it's an uninhabited desert, let's leave it alone and tell the young men not to approach it easily."

The old sailor, being knowledgeable and experienced, guessed the general outline of the matter.

"There are probably some powerful figures fighting. Let's not go looking for trouble; it might even be dangerous."

……

As it turned out, the old sailor's judgment was absolutely correct.

The fight between Rowan and Garp, which involved using only "three-tenths of their strength," was indeed excessively loud and had a wide-ranging impact.

Gravel flew wildly, swirling around the sand dunes.

At first, Crocodile didn't think it was anything special; he could unleash a similar sandstorm.

But when a pebble flew by and smashed his head, Crocodile realized why these two had come to fight in this deserted desert.

The aftermath of the storm stirred up by these two is far too terrifying.

That wasn't an ordinary sandstorm at all; it was a meat grinder capable of tearing ordinary people to shreds!

As his elemental head gradually returned to normal, Crocodile noticed Granny Tsuru standing nearby.

From the outside, she was indeed just a very energetic old woman, but the powerful sandstorm couldn't do anything to her.

With her Observation Haki activated, Granny Tsuru subtly shifted her feet, dodging the deadly pebbles flying through the storm.

……

In the distance, sand dunes.

More accurately, because of the storm stirred up by Rowan and Garp, the sand dune has now turned into a "sand pit".

Countless grains of sand churned and surged, and the two men were caught in the middle, their gun tips and fists clashing back and forth, neither giving an inch.

Garp laughed even more heartily than before, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

What a great after-dinner activity!

He knew very well that for long-handled weapons, close-quarters combat ability was far inferior to that of fists.

The speed is not fast enough, and there is not enough space to use the swing to increase the power.

But Rowan was able to deflect his attacks one after another with just a long spear, and even attempt to counterattack!

No wonder Xiao He told me before not to let my guard down, after all, he was the emperor of the empire eight hundred years ago!

As Garp thought of this, he suddenly clenched his fist, and the veins on his right arm bulged.

He could indeed use the speed of his hands to disrupt Rowan's defensive rhythm, but that's not what Garp likes to do.

It's rare to encounter such a worthy opponent, so let this old man relax a bit!

Garp's attacks suddenly slowed down.

But rather than being "slow," it's more accurate to say it's become "heavy."

Garp raised his right fist, which was completely enveloped in Armament Haki, like a heavy iron hammer, and then brought it down with a thud!

Ding!

The hammer collided head-on with the spear, and Rowan's right hand was instantly numb from the shock.

Garp grinned and continued to raise his right arm, repeatedly slamming it down on Rowan.

Click!

The clash of top-tier Armament Haki created several visible black lightning bolts in the surrounding area!

After blocking dozens of Garp's attacks, Rowan finally couldn't withstand the onslaught of such force, and his hand was still sore.

"Well!"

Rowan subconsciously withdrew his hand, interrupting the rhythm of his movements.

It was precisely because of this momentary hesitation that Garp found Rowan's weakness and threw a heavy punch forward.

Swish!

Rowan could only holster his gun and use the gun itself for defense.

But Garp's punch was far too heavy, far exceeding any of his previous blows.

The dark, heavy fist struck the gun. Rowan's arm couldn't withstand the force and was forced to pull back, causing the fist and the gun to slam into his chest together.

In that instant, Luo Wen felt his internal organs churning violently.

Truly worthy of being called the "Iron Fist" who is renowned throughout the seas...

It's quite heavy!

Rowan was hit by the attack and was thrown into the air. After landing, he took several steps back.

He clutched his chest, gasped for breath, and finally managed to catch his breath.

The confrontation between the two has temporarily ceased.

Because of this scene, the terrifying sandstorm finally dissipated, and visibility in the surrounding area was restored.

Garp cracked his knuckles, making a series of snapping sounds.

He looked at Rowan, smiled, and asked, "Continue?"

"of course."

Rowan nodded, straightened up, and planted his scepter on the ground, causing the surrounding sand to become restless again.

Then, Rowan beckoned to Garp with his finger and smiled, "Come on."

"it is good!"

Garp uttered a single word, then strode forward at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

Its speed far surpasses that of the Navy's Six Styles technique, "Shave"!

Rowan pushed off with both legs, stepping backward while raising his left hand and clenching it tightly.

More than ten gravel soldiers rose from the ground, holding long guns, and charged at Kapu.

……

Seeing this, Crocodile, standing in the distant ruins, couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, these ordinary gravel soldiers can't possibly handle a master of that level, can they?"

……

as predicted.

Garp spread his arms and grabbed two gravel soldiers in front of him, one in each hand, easily crushing their heads.

It seems it really won't work...

Not also!

Rowan's eyes darted around, scanning the surroundings to assess the overall situation on the battlefield.

While continuing to retreat, the five fingers of the left hand successively changed into different hand gestures.

Immediately, more gravel soldiers stood up, gripping their gravel spears, and charged at Garp once more.

Seeing this, Garp planned to use brute force to rush past the gravel soldiers as before, but then he realized something was wrong.

I couldn't possibly bump into anyone!

The gravel soldiers did not stand in his way, but instead attacked him from all directions in different formations and groups.

Garp's expression clearly showed some surprise.

If he hadn't seen with his own eyes that those sand soldiers were formed from sand, he would have almost doubted that they were living, breathing people!

Their movements, postures, marching, and formations were no different from those of real soldiers!

Under Rowan's control, this incredibly "realistic" army of sand unleashed a combat power far exceeding that of ordinary armies!

They were fearless and undaunted by sacrifice.

Even Garp, when faced with such an unusually large army, couldn't help but feel a bit troubled.

What if you defeat one? What if you defeat a thousand?

More gravel soldiers rose from the ground, preventing Garp from getting close to Rowan again, let alone pulling him into close combat to his advantage.

The two sides were once again locked in a stalemate.

……

Crocodile frowned as he watched this scene unfold.

Granny Tsuru chuckled, "Little crocodile brat, you never thought your Devil Fruit power would be used like this, did you?"

Crocodile snorted and said in a gloomy tone, "Blindly following others will only lead to more losses than gains. I have my own way of using them!"

"Haha, stubborn little crocodile brat."

Grandma Crane, watching the continuous stream of sand soldiers rising to their feet, suddenly said:

"Before coming to Alabasta, I looked up information about Ryan Rowan."