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"This is a Devil Fruit!"
Someone exclaimed in fear as this miraculous ability was truly unprecedented for them.
In the blink of an eye, Crocodile took about ten steps forward, reaching a meter away from them. His terrifying sand rope had already killed nearly fifty people.
Instantly turning enemies into dry corpses, the sand rope then turned into grains of sand, drifting back to Crocodile's shoulder, transforming into that menacing crocodile.
"Crocodile, why did you intervene?" Jason strode up to Crocodile, displeased.
"Your speed was too slow," Crocodile replied calmly.
Jason hesitated for a moment, clicked his tongue, and said no more.
"Now, Kornans, can you proceed?"
Smoke swirled between Crocodile and Kornans. However, their attitudes at this moment were drastically different. Compared to Crocodile's calm demeanor, Kornans was sweating profusely, intimidated by the eerie power of the sand.
"What do you need?" Kornans asked calmly.
"Money, treasure, as much as you have!" Crocodile demanded.
"Alright, I can hand over all the treasure to you, but please, do not attack again!" Kornans replied loudly.
The power of these three individuals was truly astounding to him. Kornans swore that in all his years in Alabasta, he had rarely encountered such power.
"Smart move," Crocodile nodded in satisfaction. But in the next moment, his smile vanished, replaced by coldness in his eyes.
Looking down at the dagger stuck in his chest, Crocodile exhaled smoke.
"What do you mean by this, Kornans?"
"Who do you think I am, Kornans? You fell into my trap, die, fool!"
Kornans roared loudly, his face contorted in fury.
He had first agreed to relax his guard, allowing the enemy to lower their defenses, and then he launched a surprise attack. In such close quarters, he was a hundred percent sure he could kill the opponent.
"Hmph!"
Upon hearing Kornans' words, Crocodile exhaled smoke again, his eyes colder than ever.
"Are you looking for death?"
Upon hearing this, Kornans pulled out the dagger lodged in Crocodile's chest, but at this moment, his face changed.
"How is this possible?!"
He actually saw sand flowing from where he had struck, in Crocodile's chest.
"You're not human?!" Kornans looked up in horror, disbelief in his eyes.
"It seems you know nothing about Devil Fruits," Crocodile's deep voice echoed. But I don't need to explain anything to you. Die!"
Crocodile's voice echoed like the shriek of a Shinigami. The crocodile on his shoulder suddenly opened its mouth, expanding to about three meters in a second, enveloping Kornans in an instant.
Then, Crocodile closed his eyes abruptly.
"Attend a funeral!"
The loosely expanded sand grains in Crocodile's mouth suddenly compressed violently, shrinking to about a meter.
Bright red blood flowed out from it, a strong smell of blood permeating the air.
As the sand grains were reclaimed and returned to his shoulder, transforming back into Crocodile, it was clear within a short time that Crocodile had reached a new realm of control over his fruit ability. His understanding of his form changes completely surpassed his previous limits.
A puddle of blood and flesh stained the ground where Kornans had stood. The horrific scene immediately made the people behind him turn pale, some even began to vomit.
"I trust none of you are as foolish as he was."
Crocodile swept his cold gaze across the crowd and spoke in a flat tone.
"We'll hand it over, take all the treasure, just spare us!"
"I know where Kornans kept his treasure. I can take you there!"
"Don't kill us! Whatever you want, it's yours!"
Witnessing Kornans being crushed into pulp had terrified the crowd beyond reason. Such terrifying power, this wasn't even human anymore.
"Father!"
At that moment, a cry of anguish pierced the air. Somu ran over, his face full of rage and grief. Seeing the blood on the ground, he trembled with terror and seethed with fury.
"Trens, he's yours now."
Seeing the newcomer, Jason patted Trens on the shoulder, then followed Crocodile and the others deeper into the courtyard. Watching the two figures disappear into the inner compound, Trens turned his gaze toward Somu.
His eyes were calm, like still water, distant and indifferent.
"It was you! You did all of this!" Somu suddenly looked up with bloodshot eyes, his expression feral with rage.
"It was me," Trens replied with a nod.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!" Somu roared, pulling out a decorative fencing sword from his waist and lunging at Trens.
But with his poor physical skills, how could he possibly match the specially trained Trens?
With a simple sidestep, Trens dodged the attack and struck Somu on the back, instantly knocking him to the ground.
"Damn it! If you've got guts, just kill me already!"
Realizing he was no match, Somu quickly turned over and shouted in defiance. Trens said nothing. He silently raised his right hand, aiming the rifle directly at Somu's forehead.
"It's not about guts," he said flatly. "I came here for one reason, to kill you."
The cold voice sent a shiver down Somu's spine.
"No, no, please don't!" Faced with death, Somu even forgot his father's murder.
"Just like your evil, blood-soaked father… the sins you've committed over the years, frankly, you should've died ten million times already." Trens inhaled deeply.
"You were never a good person. You should've gone to hell a long time ago!"
"But because the Kornans family had power, bribed officials, and colluded with both the underworld and upper world, you got away with everything."
"The victims hated you. They wanted to kill you. But they didn't have the strength."
As Trens spoke, Somu's face grew more terrified and desperate. He saw it, the killing intent in Trens' eyes. Cold. Resolute.
"They couldn't do it, but I can."
"That's why I came."
His right index finger touched the trigger. Trens' gaze was icy cold.
"No, please! I can give you money! I'll even give Lusha back! Just don't kill me!"
"Bang!"
The gunshot rang out. The scream was cut off.
"Go to hell and repent, you scum."
A deep voice echoed. Trens stood, gun in one hand, a surge of unmatched dominance radiating from his body in that moment.
(End Of This Chapter)
PS-"For every 100 power stones, I'll release one bonus chapter (Current-0)!"