One Piece: Rayquaza of the Beasts Pirates

Kane withdrew his hand, casually flexing his fingers. He glanced at Crocodile's utterly astonished expression, a playful smile curving his lips: "What? Surprised?"

"It seems you know absolutely nothing about my abilities."

That's the importance of intelligence.

As the god of the sky, he rides the wind, but his basic abilities are already instinctive.

Not to mention, Rayquaza's skill set includes Sandstorm.

Using this tactic against him is like trying to teach a master craftsman to use his axe, showing off his sword skills in front of Guan Yu, playing mid lane in front of Faker, or comparing looks and physique in front of a handsome reader.

The seemingly dangerous wind pull between the two sandstorms became as docile as a spring breeze brushing against willow branches under his will.

He reached out just now simply to personally experience the wind structure of Crocodile's move and see if there was anything he could learn from it to enhance his own Sandstorm skill.

"Alright. This farce should end now."

Kane smiled calmly and casually waved his right hand.

The two enormous sandstorms that were originally blotting out the sky and roaring wildly suddenly stopped as if they were being choked by an invisible hand!

The violent wind force contained within was easily dispelled and vanished by him.

If the sandstorms are allowed to continue ravaging the area, this royal tomb will likely be completely razed to the ground.

The former king of Alabasta was thus forced to live a life of utter poverty—literally, utterly destitute.

slam-la-

Without the support of the wind, countless yellow sand, gravel, and broken logs that had been swept up into the air poured down like a torrential rain, scattering across the ground.

The sky suddenly cleared up, as if the apocalyptic scene just now was only a dream.

Before anyone could react, the sand roll had suddenly disappeared.

On the other side, Crocodile's pupils suddenly contracted to dangerous pinpoints!

Kane has vanished from his sight!

In the next instant, an unprecedented sense of crisis enveloped his entire body.

A black shadow with red eyes, throwing a punch, had already occupied his entire retina!

not good!

Crocodile's alarm bells rang loudly. Driven to the limit by his survival instinct, the Sand-Sand Fruit's power caused his body to begin turning into sand at an unprecedented speed, and he was about to completely merge into the endless yellow sand beneath his feet.

It was a success...

Crocodile was overjoyed.

As long as he hides in the vast desert, he will still have a chance to launch an attack!

but……

Suddenly, a light, mocking laugh rang out from close by.

"Elementalization is not invincible."

As Kane spoke casually, a tangible black and red Conqueror's Haki erupted from him like a bursting flood!

The powerful lightning struck Crocodile's location with perfect precision.

"Ugh—!"

Crocodile, who was about to completely transform into his elemental form and escape, let out a painful groan. Under the violent mental impact, his consciousness was momentarily blurred, and his sand-like body was forcibly forced back into solid form, staggering as he reappeared!

How can it be? !

This intensity, this quality, is the king of colors!

In a daze, he seemed to see that man standing at the top of the world!

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

How old is this kid?

Just as Crocodile's beliefs crumbled and he began to question the meaning of life, Kane's cold, emotionless voice rang out.

"That's the end of it... Sand Crocodile."

A jet-black right hand reached for Crocodile's neck.

"That's it?! Are you kidding me?!"

Crocodile's face contorted in a ferocious grimace as a dark aura instantly enveloped his right fist, which he then fiercely slammed into Kane's palm.

Stimulated by the life-or-death situation, his Armament Haki became much more solid than before.

pity……

The gap in strength is not so easy to bridge.

"Muda!"

The moment their fists collided, Crocodile's right arm, which had gathered all its power, only managed to block for a moment before a sickeningly loud cracking sound rang out!

As if run over by a dump truck, his entire right arm bent at an odd angle, rendering it completely useless.

Kane's right hand did not stop, and like an iron clamp, it precisely gripped Crocodile's neck.

"do not want!"

"Let go of our president!"

Upon seeing this, the remaining Baroque Works cadres panicked.

Just as they were about to go to the rescue, Kane's companions blocked their way.

On the other side, Kane didn't act immediately, but instead smiled and said, "To show my respect, take another puff."

"Tch...respect? I didn't know such a thing existed."

Crocodile gave a twisted, disdainful smile, but his body greedily took a deep drag on the nearly burnt-out cigar.

As the embers of his cigar glowed, his gaze gradually drifted away, as if he were recalling his eventful yet ultimately unsuccessful life.

My life has been a complete failure.

"call--"

He slowly exhaled the last puff of smoke that had accumulated in his lungs.

"Yu Yan...the boss's office, all my things are kept there."

"If possible, spare the lives of my men."

"Sure, as long as they know what's good for them."

"...Thank you."

With that barely audible thank you, Kane tightened his grip slightly.

Click.

With a soft thud, Crocodile's head slumped limply, the last glimmer of light in his eyes vanishing completely, and he fell silent.

Crocodile, the "Sand Crocodile" who dominated the Alabasta underworld for many years and once rivaled Whitebeard... is no longer able to rise again.

Kane glanced down at Crocodile's lifeless body on the ground, feeling little emotion.

The victory was too boring.

If it weren't for Crocodile's final act of courage in the face of death, he wouldn't have bothered to take action.

"The president... is really dead..."

The last remaining cadres of the Baroque Works who witnessed this scene completely lost their will to resist.

They understood that in the face of absolute power, any underhanded tactics were superfluous.

Kane's gaze swept across the battlefield.

After the brief exchange, only four of the nine Baroque Works executives remained, still breathing.

Miss. Two-Finger Sarah, Mr. 2 Foncray, Mr. 3 Gardino and Miss. Golden Week Marianou.

Kane said, "You're luckier than those who are lying down; the sand crocodile spared your lives."

The four men's eyes lit up immediately, and without daring to ask a single question about whether it was true or false, they turned and ran.

"stop!"

Kane's impatient voice was like ice water being poured over his head.

The four of them froze on the spot, cold sweat pouring down their backs. They didn't even dare to turn around, fearing that the terrifying man behind them might be playing some kind of word game, saying that "if we meet again after turning around, it will be considered that we have already let each other off the hook."

Fortunately, the next second, Kane's words were like heavenly music to their ears.

"Before you leave, help me retrieve Crocodile's legacy."

"No problem! Leave it to me!"

As the most pragmatic and capable member of the team, Galdino was the first to react, his face beaming with a fawning smile as he hurriedly took credit.

"Lord Kane, rest assured! My Candle Fruit can open any lock with a keyhole, ensuring that you won't miss anything."

Rain Banquet Casino, top-floor office.

A huge safe embedded in the wall has now been opened by Gardino using his abilities.

The box was wide open, revealing piles of gold bars, thick ledgers, and some yellowed documents and materials that looked very old.

Robin immediately picked up the documents, her slender fingers quickly flipping through them, her delicate brows furrowing slightly, before gently shaking her head a moment later.

"Most of it is just hearsay and unverified anecdotes. Its only value is probably that it guided Crocodile to Alabasta."

From these fragmented pieces of information, Crocodile was only able to ascertain two things back then:

Hades is so powerful that he could destroy an island, and Alabasta may hold clues to his existence.

Kane was not disappointed.

If these materials contained any crucial information, Crocodile wouldn't have spent over a decade in this country without making any substantial progress.

If I hadn't shown up, following the original trajectory, he would still be here stubbornly guarding the place until the day he was defeated by Luffy.

Kobra, on the other hand, had a "very fruitful" harvest.