บท 64: 62. Crocodile, Who Lost All Face When He Debuted!

When Crocodile showed up, the whole place got hyped. Every Baroque Works member was cheering and waving their arms for him.

Al stared at the man, furrowing his brow a bit, then grinned lightly. "So, the Sand-Sand Fruit user has arrived at last!"

"Secret Technique: Tom's Bowling, let's do this!" Al commanded.

Carina wasted no time, swiftly controlling Tom's bowling ball to change its course. She laughed heartily, shouting, "Yoshi, take this!"

Before Crocodile approach, Tom Bowling darted forward with a "whoosh" and landed the initial explosion!

Everywhere he went, the air was thick with yellow sand!

Crocodile maintained his smile, paying Tom Bowling no mind whatsoever. He even chuckled more arrogantly!

In his view, being a Logia fruit user meant physical attacks couldn't touch him!

As Crocodile stood there, brimming with confidence, he imagined the expressions those little rascals would wear when they realized their attacks were futile.

In the blink of an eye!

As Tom Bowling grazed Crocodile.

Feeling a twinge of pain in his arm, Crocodile's smile vanished instantly!

He couldn't comprehend how the ball managed to strike him!

Right after that, Crocodile locked onto Tom!

Suddenly, he noticed that Tom Bowling had been tainted with Bloodline while passing through the crowd just now!

A feeling of danger surged from the depths of his heart!

Tom's bowling ball missed its mark for the first time, prompting him to swiftly turn around and aim back at Crocodile!

Despite his mind reacting swiftly, hisbody lagged behind by a step!

Crocodile, after enduring another attack from Tom, no longer wished to engage with Tom Bowling.

"Hmph, let's see how long you can keep this up!"

"Your time of death will come soon enough!"

He watched as Crocodile snorted, his lower body transforming into swirling yellow sand.

Without a moment's hesitation, he swiftly darted in the opposite direction of Tom's bowling ball.

Under Carina's control, Tom Bowling pursued him without delay.

As Crocodile was chased by Tom Bowling, the once serious battlefield began to take on a more absurd tone.

Upon witnessing this spectacle, the members of the Baroque Works crew exchanged puzzled glances, bold question marks forming in their minds.

Was the guy who got chased away the moment he showed up really the boss of their Baroque Works crew?

As this question surfaced, many were in denial, trying to convince themselves otherwise.

How could the BOSS be caught up in such chaos? It must be an illusion, a trick of the mind...

Members of the Baroque Works crew gently wiped the sweat from their brows, unable to help but breathe a sigh of relief.

However, in the next moment, as Crocodile's deep, raspy reprimand echoed, the members of the Baroque Works crew widened their eyes in disbelief.

"You worthless bunch, get it together and finish them off!"

With turbulent emotions stirring within them, the members of the Baroque Works crew glanced at the man who had been relentlessly pursued by Tom Bowling.

"That guy really is the BOSS!"

"But, Boss...why..."

"You fools, now's not the time for questions! Deal with them swiftly!"

Crocodile's yelling and cursing continued.

Miss Valentine utilized her Devil Fruit ability to reduce her weight to less than 1 kilogram, then floated into the air.

"Kyahaha~ Behold my 1,000-kilogram weight...!"

Miss Valentine, wielding an umbrella, unleashed a sharp laugh mid-air, as if her strike could obliterate Al and the others in a single blow.

Carina regarded her with a look of disdain, silently crossing her arms. She conjured a layer of thorny barrier over her head, then turned to Al and asked, "Captain Al, Tom's bowling ball is acting erratically, what should we do!?"

Gazing at the diminishing figure in the distance, Al smiled confidently and placed a reassuring hand on Carina's shoulder. "Don't fret. It's Tom. Even if the universe were to explode, I believe he'd survive."

Feeling ignored, Miss Valentine gritted her teeth in anger and spoke icily, "If you're so eager to meet your end, then I'll do it! Witness the power of my 1,000-kilogram weight!"

With that, there was a swift rush of air.

Before Miss Valentine could begin her descent, Spike stepped in front of her.

Spike clenched his fists tightly and delivered a powerful blow to her face, sending her hurtling through the air.

Spike clapped his hands, his expression twisted with disgust, as if silently remarking, "This guy's spouting nonsense."

When Carina unfurled the barrier, Spike noticed the spikes adorning it and anticipated the woman's leap.

Yet, she didn't just leap, she also rambled on with a lot of nonsense!

Unable to tolerate it any longer, Spike resolved to pummel this guy into submission.

However, Spike wasn't one to give up easily. The instant Miss Valentine landed, Spike reappeared behind her once more.

Then he kicked her right into the barrier bristling with spikes!

"What—"

Hearing her scream, Spike grinned with satisfaction, but grumbled, "If you'd just jumped earlier, you wouldn't have gotten kicked. Why can't this guy understand?"

After his complaint, Spike's expression twisted into an evil smile, as if he had just remembered something, and he resumed his ruthless rampage on the battlefield.

It's safe to say that tossing one and seeing the other fall is quite the satisfying game.

Observing the crowded figures impaled on the barrier, Carina eagerly extended the length of the spikes.

Al couldn't help but feel jubilant as he watched the steadily increasing EP in his mind.

[Received 999 EP from Crocodile]

[...]

As Al observed the scrolling messages in his mind, his gaze towards Crocodile shifted.

"This is truly the spirit of camaraderie!"

Al folded his hands together, bowing slightly, and said, "Amitabha, Lord Crocodile, please continue to contribute generously."

After completing his actions, Al found himself unable to contain his laughter, promptly opening the lottery page.

Since those two items had been drawn last time, Al felt a renewed sense of hope for the lottery.

With this mindset, Al swiftly opted for an automatic lottery draw, earning EP with each spin, feeling ecstatic.

[Thank you for your patronage]

[…]

After scanning through the lottery information, Al simply let it linger in the background, no longer giving it much attention.

Gazing at the screen filled with repeated expressions of gratitude, it unsettled his inner peace!

He refused to believe that after such a battle, not a single rare item could be obtained!

To ascertain the current value of a rare item, one could say it's reached astronomical heights in the system mall!

The price had already escalated to 500,000 EP following the exchange of a crew summoning card before.

However, with the recent update to the system mall and the subsequent price hike, the EP skyrocketed from 500,000 to 5 million!!!

This development utterly floored Al!

Instead of being an emperor of the liver, it seemed more fitting to be an emperor of Europe! (T/N: Term for having good luck, liver is bad luck, and europe is good luck)

As the saying goes, when you reach the pinnacle, you're bound to stumble. He may have faced numerous failures, but the lottery machine can only fail once!

As the number of foes continued to multiply, Carina began to exhibit signs of fatigue, clearly struggling to keep up.

Glancing back at the barrier, a mound of corpses had accumulated, and the once pristine barrier was now stained red with blood.

Witnessing this horrifying sight, even the seasoned members of the Baroque Works crew, who had taken countless lives, couldn't help but tremble uncontrollably.

"Run, the monster is approaching!"

Amidst the chaos, the source of the yell remained unknown.

The surviving members of the Baroque Works crew were gripped with such terror that their nerves felt like they were being shredded. They frantically pushed and shoved those ahead of them, letting out desperate cries.

"Run, you idiot, run for your life!"

"Damn it, hurry and flee! I don't want to die here!"

"Who the hell is pushing me? I swear I'll end them right now!"

"What are you, daring to stand in my way? Do you want to meet your end!"

"Ah...my hand! What in the world is this monster?!"

Al noticed Carina's fatigue and asked softly, "Are you okay?"

Carina bit her lower lip tightly, shook her head, forced a smile, and replied, "I can hold on a little longer."

"There are still many enemies outside. If we back down now, Spike will be in danger."

Al froze for a moment, his gaze shifting through the gap towards Spike, who appeared like a raging berserker outside. He struggled to find the right words to explain.

"Carina, lower the barrier. If we don't intervene, Spike might end up getting killed."

Al gently patted Carina's head and offered a soft smile.

As Carina met Al's tender gaze, she fell silent for a brief moment, then let out a soft hum and opened a passage within the barrier.

With his western sword raised, Al unleashed a casual slash, sending waves of sword energy to clear the path of corpses outside the opening.

Gripping Carina's wrist firmly, he strode out from the barrier.

"Carina, you should take some time to rest and regain your strength."

"Captain Al, you... please be careful..."

With those words, Carina slowly closed her eyes, leaning against a nearby stone with Al's support, and drifted into slumber.

It was evident just how exhausted Carina was.

Indeed, utilizing one's abilities for extended periods can drain one's energy significantly, and Carina is still getting accustomed to her Devil Fruit ability.

After settling Carina, Al returned the western sword to his backpack.

Immediately after, he retrieved a common knife from the pirate world from his system backpack. His cold gaze harbored boundless killing intent.

Geppo!

With those words, Al surged into the crowd like a streak of lightning.

However, he didn't wield the blade; instead, he used the blunt side...

To handle the vulnerable, one must adopt an attitude of compassion!

However, the members of the Baroque Works crew sensed an opportunity when they witnessed the collapse of the mound of corpses!

While that monstrous individual may be formidable, they noticed it wasn't striking down foes with the same lethal efficiency as before!

Furthermore, their current adversaries numbered only two, while they still had hundreds in their ranks!

In the presence of significant gains, when the imminent danger recedes, human desires tend to surface.

What Al desires is their obliviousness, sparing him the need to exert himself unnecessarily!

As a blur darted across their field of view, dozens of members of the Baroque Works crew failed to comprehend what had transpired.

They only felt a searing pain in their abdomens before collapsing on the spot.

With Al's arrival, Spike grew even more ruthless, seizing a member of the Baroque Works crew and hurling them skyward.

Al also demonstrated exceptional coordination, slicing through the air with sword energy as though he were striking a moving target.

Amidst the siege of hundreds of Baroque Works members, Al and his canine companion seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.

"What a bunch of fools. They can't even handle these minor players. It's truly embarrassing for Baroque Works!"

"Mr. 1, why waste time with these individuals? Quickly capture that 50 Berries guy."

"And as for that foolish dog, just put it down."

His cold tone dripped with disdain and self-assurance.

Simultaneously, it conveyed their collective disappointment with the Baroque Works members.

However, upon hearing these words, the Baroque Works crew dared not display even a hint of dissatisfaction.

In fact, upon catching sight of the speaker, their eyes suddenly lit up, and one of them exclaimed:

"Look, it's the members with the highest bounties!"

"We're saved!"

"Everyone, quick! Scatter!"

"When they're busy fighting each other, that guy's head will be mine, hahaha!"

Upon spotting these individuals, Al remained expressionless as he stowed away the props and drew his Western swords.

"Go to hell, Al!"

Several members of the Baroque Works crew, upon seeing Al switch weapons, mistakenly interpreted it as fear. They rushed forward, intent on taking Al down preemptively.

Al's gaze turned icy, and he casually slashed with sword energy, leaving several bloody gashes on their chests, instantly ending their lives.

Then, he locked eyes on the cadre members.

Spike grabbed a fleeing Baroque Works member like a chicken and hurled them straight at the cadre.

Mr. 1 moved to intervene, but was obstructed by Mr. 5.

Observing Mr. 5 inserting his fingers into his nostrils, then producing a "Bomb" and flicking it lightly, a resounding boom echoed as the pill collided with the fleeing Baroque Works member, resulting in a massive explosion.

Witnessing this, Spike gawked at Mr. 5 in utter disbelief.

Unfathomable! He vigorously shook his head, then extended his arms like rubber, seizing a fleeing member and hurling them out with 8 times the force.

Boom—another explosion resounded, filling Spike with both curiosity about the individual before him and a heightened desire to emerge victorious.

Spike sported an evil grin, his arm spinning like a propeller at maximum power, even conjuring a phantom image!

No matter how far away they were, members of the Baroque Works crew found themselves ensnared by Spike's arms, capable of extending at will.

They were then launched like cannonballs!

As Spike's velocity steadily increased, the distance to the nearby members closed in at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Boom, boom

From the instant Spike launched the first member, three full minutes passed without cessation of explosion sounds!

Yet, what's truly alarming is despite the intense physical exertion, there's not a hint of fatigue evident on Spike's face.

On the contrary, his excitement only intensified!!

Meanwhile, Mr. 5, fueled by the increasing speed of deploying the "pill," remained focused and determined.

His body started trembling violently, and his clothes were drenched in sweat.

Even his nose appeared swollen, discolored with shades of blue and purple, looking extremely embarrassed!

Observing Mr. 5's deteriorating condition, Spike's smile gradually twisted into a malevolent grin.

Just as he was about to deliver the final blow to his opponent, he noticed that the members of the Baroque Works crew surrounding him had vanished?!

Seeing this, despite the exhaustion weighing heavily on his body, Mr. 5 managed a grin and taunted, "How's that, you foolish mutt..."

However, before he could finish speaking, a mace flew straight into his face, knocking him out cold.

Numerous teeth were sent flying in all directions!

Spike extended his middle finger defiantly, then with disdainful nonchalance, he clapped his hands and retrieved a pair of sunglasses from behind. He coolly slipped them on.

In front of everyone, he arrogantly performed the gangster dance!

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