"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Shano seemed quite intrigued, leaning closer, "What ancient secret?"
Yes, closer, a bit closer.
Just give me a little more time to prepare.
Shhh...
This was a sound only Crocodile could hear, it felt like countless grains of sand flowing, gathering, and swirling beneath his skin—
"Do you think I've been active in Alabasta for so long for no reason? That country, a civilization with a millennia-old history, hides an ancient weapon capable of destroying the world..."
Crocodile spoke while panting, his voice growing weaker with each word.
Until Shano had to lean in to barely hear him, a sinister grin suddenly spread across his lips—
You fell for it, kid!
"Sandstorm, Celestial Ball Rain!!!"
Boom!
With a low shout, countless fine cracks suddenly appeared on Sand Crocodile's skin surface.
Golden sand grains spurted out crazily from the cracks, and then his entire body exploded at that moment!
This was no ordinary explosion but a self-destructive attack that compressed the sandified body's interior to the extreme.
Numerous grains of sand entwined with Armament erupted like bullets, forming terrifyingly penetrating shockwaves at an extremely close distance!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The dense sand grains madly struck Shano's body, sounding like rain hitting a plantain tree.
Each grain of sand burst with terrifying impact, even pushing Shano to slide back over ten meters.
His arms were raised to shield, while his feet plowed two deep trenches on the sand surface.
"Brother!"
"Captain!"
Shocked cries came from the Endgame.
Nami was the first to flip over the railing, intending to jump ashore.
But just as she crossed one leg, Shano's calm voice immediately came through the rising yellow sand:
"It's nothing, no need to come over."
The smoke and dust dispersed, Shano's figure gradually became clear.
His top was tattered all over, so he simply tore it off and tossed it aside, revealing his strong upper body.
The terrifying sand bullets capable of penetrating steel plates mostly only left dense red dots on his skin.
Only a few places like his chest, waist, and arms, where the impact was densest, were blurred and slightly bleeding.
"Did I bleed?"
Shano spat out some bloody saliva, looked down at his injuries, then raised his head again, "Is this move your latest development? It's finally a bit interesting, can you use it a few more times, let me experience it again?"
He grinned, uncaringly smiling.
Clearly a harmless and friendly smile, yet in Crocodile's eyes, it was as terrifying as a demon from Hell.
"Cough, cough cough, this is really boring..."
Crocodile laboriously flipped over, lying on the sand looking at the night sky, trembling fingers took a cigar from his coat pocket, bit it in his mouth, and finally lit it after several attempts.
After lighting, he took a big puff, exhaled smoke mixed with bloody foam, and his blood-stained lips curled into a self-mocking arc:
"Even with such a move, I can't deal with you? What kind of monster are you..."
At this moment, his body was like a torn sack, leaking everywhere, continuously flowing out sand, and his aura grew weaker.
Shano glanced over.
It was clear that without timely treatment, Crocodile's life would soon be at its end too.
"Looks like there won't be a second time."
Shano looked somewhat disappointed, squatting down, "A self-explosive move, just using it once almost takes you away with it, no wonder I've never seen you use it before."
"Before?"
Crocodile exhaled a puff of smoke, sneered, "What nonsense are you talking about, kid, this is clearly our first meeting, don't speak as if you know me well."
Nonsense, of course I know.
If only the trade market could screen the Pirate King anime.
Shano would definitely show a few raw episodes of Nika falling into water and getting thrashed, and see if the opponent would faint the spot out of anger.
Now that you mention it.
Though he seemingly approached unguarded earlier, he had been fully vigilant for some time already.
The way this guy suddenly displayed such servility earlier was unnervingly suspicious.
He's at least a formidable figure of the seas.
A bit weak maybe, but he dared to confront Akainu and Whitebeard.
How could losing to me scare him into trembling like Koby?
When something's off, there's always a backup plan.
So, before the opponent launched a self-destructive attack, he had already pushed Tekkai to the extreme.
And at the instant the sandstorm exploded, he directly covered his body with a large amount of Armament.
Otherwise, there was indeed a slight possibility of being overturned by the opponent.
"Logically speaking, I could just leave, letting you fend for yourself here."
Shano began, "But you guys have such tenacious lifespans, can't really give you a chance."
"Save the pretentious nonsense, get started." Crocodile squinted, "If our roles were reversed, I wouldn't possibly show mercy either."
"No hurry, I'll wait till you finish that one."
"..." Crocodile was stunned, glanced at the cigar in his hand, "...Thanks."
So Shano quietly waited until Sand Crocodile finished smoking the cigar, then placed his right hand on his neck.
"Once you reach Hell, don't hold a grudge against me."
"Wishful thinking."
Crocodile sneered, "I'll remember until my next life, I couldn't accept even being defeated by Whitebeard, how could I forget the humiliation of being beaten up by a newbie?"