Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

Swish!

With a powerful swing of his right hand, a violent sandstorm tornado hurtled towards the sand soldier.

boom!

The gravel soldiers were instantly shattered, scattering into countless grains of yellow sand.

Crocodile roared, "So what if we have ten thousand of these things to deal with trash and small fry!"

"On this vast ocean, individual strength is everything!"

Rowan did not answer, but instead raised his left hand, summoning more gravel soldiers.

They charged toward Crocodile, spears in hand!

Crocodile roared and twisted his body, unleashing a massive sand scimitar from within him.

Desert Sword!

Swish!

The blade sliced ​​through the air, cutting all the surrounding gravel soldiers in half at the waist!

One of the gravel soldiers, now only his upper body, struggled as Crocodile stomped on his head and then exerted force.

boom!

The soldier's head was crushed by the sand, and his body instantly vanished.

"This kind of toy might have worked well eight hundred years ago, but it doesn't work now. It's an old relic!"

Crocodile suddenly crouched down and charged forward!

Ode!

In the desert, users of the Sand-Sand Fruit can reach astonishing speeds.

In an instant, Crocodile was close to Rowan's body.

The protective sheath on the gold hook in his left hand was removed, and the sharp hook was pressed against Rowan's neck.

Above it, dark purple liquid slowly dripped down, corroding a small pit in the gravel on the ground.

That's venom.

As a user of the Sand-Sand Fruit, Crocodile was all too aware of his weaknesses.

If the user gets wet with liquid, that part will temporarily lose its ability to become elemental and can be hit by physical attacks.

Now, Crocodile's venom-covered hook is pressed against Rowan's vitals!

He chuckled darkly, "You may be very good at military campaigns, but your true form must be incredibly weak, otherwise you wouldn't have created so many sand soldiers to protect you!"

"Now that you're about to die again, how do you feel?"

Rowan thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Don't you want to know about [Pluto]?"

Crocodile was overjoyed.

That's why he didn't immediately kill him!

Eight hundred years ago, he was the old monster who created the Alabasta Empire. He was an old guy from the same era as the first Celestial Dragon. Such a person must know something!

Crocodile nodded. "Yes, go ahead and say it."

Rowan shrugged, looking apologetic.

"Well, Nefertari should know a lot about this. Why don't you try to bring him back to life too?"

Crocodile: "..."

I was stunned for a few seconds.

The sand crocodile is enraged!

He gripped his left hand tightly, ready to kill this infuriating old monster.

But at that moment, Rowan suddenly spoke up: "Little Crocodile, you actually got three things wrong."

Crocodile paused for a moment, when suddenly a grain of sand floated past his eyes.

Ok?

What's so special about a grain of sand?

It's very special.

Because it was a black grain of sand.

Crocodile felt a power that was all too familiar to him upon it.

Armament Haki!

The next second, an extremely dangerous feeling surged into Crocodile's heart.

He immediately raised his golden hook to block.

In an instant, a black spear light flashed!

Ding!

A crisp metallic clang rang out, and Crocodile's expression immediately turned into a grimace.

numb.

Just one collision was enough to completely numb my left arm!

That's incredibly strong!

Crocodile staggered back several steps before finally regaining his balance.

Rowan's voice came through.

"First of all, I am the emperor, not the king."

Crocodile looked up again and saw that Rowan's scepter was now covered in black Armament Haki. The scepter, which was originally shaped like a spear, had now become a genuine Armament Haki spear!

huh... huh...

The desert wind picked up.

Countless grains of sand surged around Rowan.

This is not difficult for a user of the Sand-Sand Fruit.

But what truly astonished Crocodile was that some of the sand contained black gravel!

Those are sands enveloped in Armament Haki!

"The second thing—"

Luo Wen gripped his spear, twirled the shaft in a backhand motion, and pointed the spear tip diagonally downwards as he slowly moved forward through the surging gravel.

Each step felt like tearing open a thin veil of sand.

"In that era of fierce competition and conflict, both individual battles and wars between nations were far more brutal than you can imagine."

"So, I'm very good at fighting."

Swish...swish...

The black sand surged faster and faster, converging into four black sandstorms behind Rowan.

Four figures gradually took shape amidst the sandstorm.

The faint sound of metal colliding and rubbing could be heard.

It's crisp and pleasant to hear.

Rowan stepped through the floating gravel and came to Crocodile.

Behind him were four soldiers whose bodies and spears were entirely black!

They stood guard around Rowan like the most loyal protectors.

Rowan looked at Crocodile and said slowly:

"The third thing."

"It is not soldiers who protect the emperor, but the Imperial Guard."

Armament Haki, full coverage!

The Gravel Guard!

[6. Chapter Six: The Wall of the Imperial Guards]

At this moment, in the desert.

Crocodile was confronted with a scene that shocked him.

Yellow sand filled the sky, mixed with black gravel, which gathered together.

They resembled black ribbons, appearing and disappearing, encircling Rowan and connecting him with the other four gravel soldiers.

A massive amount of Armament Haki surged through the sand, turning the soldiers' bodies black.

The scepter in Rowan's hand was also stained black.

Rowan grabbed it with his backhand and swung it horizontally like a spear, tearing open a curtain of sand!

Step out.

The blackness gradually spread, and Rowan's armor and body were also covered by Armament Haki!

……

Devil Fruits are extremely rare, and Logia-type fruits are even rarer.

Only when a user with a Devil Fruit power dies can a Devil Fruit containing the same power appear on the sea.

But this world is just too big.

A person with superpowers might spend their entire life trying to find even the slightest trace of a previous person with superpowers.

Crocodile never imagined that he would one day be able to fight against a former user of the Sand-Sand Fruit!

He recalled the words Rowan had spoken in the tomb: