Consciousness surfaced from the abyss of darkness. Crocodile's eyes snapped open.
The first thing he saw was the lifeless body of Mr. 1 lying not far away.
Daz Bones his most loyal and formidable subordinate was dead.
A chill raced up his spine and froze his mind, followed by a volcanic surge of rage that burned through his veins.
An unbearable humiliation consumed him.
Memories flooded back like a tidal wave the moment his knees hit the sand, crushed beneath that suffocating aura; the cold, emotionless expression of that young Marine officer; and that single punch that sent his consciousness spiraling into darkness.
He, Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the man who had once challenged Whitebeard himself, the so-called "God of Alabasta," had been flattened in front of his entire organization by a single man.
"AAAAAAH!!!"
His silent roar burst within his chest, fury consuming the last shred of reason.
Dignity, ambition, future everything had been shattered in that single kneel, that single fall.
He would bury everyone here. The Marines, the soldiers, and especially that accursed man who humiliated him!
"Marines… all of you… die!!!"
Crocodile's body dissolved into sand, merging with the endless desert beneath his feet.
A deafening rumble echoed across the wasteland.
The ground trembled violently as, centered around him, the desert itself came alive. Yellow sand roared and surged like a living creature, forming waves hundreds of meters high.
The earth wailed. The sky dimmed.
A colossal tsunami of sand rose up, towering higher than the golden casino pyramid in the distance. Its massive shadow devoured the entire battlefield.
Sunlight vanished. The world turned into an apocalyptic haze of gold and dust.
Within the raging sandstorm, faces of agony twisted and screamed, arms of sand reached out like demons clawing at the world, trying to drag everything into hell.
This was his ultimate attack his final, desperate gamble.
"Sables… Burial!!!"
From the newly landed royal hawk, King Cobra and Princess Vivi watched in horror.
"This is… the end…" Cobra muttered, lips dry, voice trembling.
It was divine power an unstoppable calamity.
But then, through the roar of destruction, a calm voice pierced the chaos.
"Crocodile."
"I told you to stay down."
At the center of the battlefield, Renn Hawk slowly raised both fists.
The next moment, his body vanished.
Then came the storm of sound.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A rain of fists exploded against the rising sand tsunami.
Each punch carried the raw force of condensed Armament Haki black, pure, and absolute.
Fist after fist crashed into the colossal wall of sand, every blow echoing like thunder.
Crack.
Crack crack!
The towering tsunami that could bury a city shattered under sheer brute force.
BOOM!
A violent shockwave tore through the battlefield. Amid the cascade of golden dust, a figure was launched from the collapsing wave Crocodile's elementalized body, blown skyward by Hawk's unrelenting power.
The massive storm of sand disintegrated, falling as a golden rain.
Sunlight pierced the clouds once more.
"You…"
Hovering midair, Crocodile's expression twisted in disbelief and terror. His so-called "Sables Burial," the move capable of engulfing an entire kingdom, had been obliterated by fists.
Impossible.
This wasn't the power of a Marine Rear Admiral.
If every Marine officer wielded this kind of strength, there would be no need for Warlords the New World itself would have already been conquered!
Before his thoughts could settle, a black shadow appeared beside him.
Hawk's face was calm, devoid of mercy. His fist, wrapped in blackened Haki, drove straight into Crocodile's chest.
The impact shattered through the sand body and struck his true form within.
"Guh !"
Crocodile crashed into the ground like a meteor, the sand beneath him erupting in a ring of dust. Blood and fragments of flesh spilled from his mouth as unbearable pain wracked his body.
He could barely breathe.
Renn Hawk landed lightly, the white coat of justice billowing behind him, unblemished by a speck of dust.
Each step he took toward Crocodile was steady, deliberate, and absolute.
The battlefield fell silent. Marines and Baroque agents alike stopped fighting, all eyes fixed on the man who had subdued a Warlord.
From afar, King Cobra and Princess Vivi held their breath.
"Sir Crocodile," Hawk said, his voice calm but heavy as a judge's verdict.
"Former bounty: 81 million Berries. Upon becoming a Warlord, you exploited your position to orchestrate rebellion in the Kingdom of Alabasta."
"You used Dance Powder to manufacture a three-year drought, plunging the nation into famine and despair."
"You established the criminal organization Baroque Works, incited civil war, and sought to seize the ancient weapon Pluton."
Hawk stood over him, eyes cold as steel.
"Each crime is punishable by death."
"I, Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral Renn Hawk…"
"…hereby, in the name of justice, sentence you "
He raised his right fist.
"…to death."
The strike was swift and final.
The Armament-clad fist pierced straight through Crocodile's chest.
The warlord's eyes widened. Rage, disbelief, and fear drained away, leaving only lifeless emptiness.
Then came the mechanical chime of the system in Hawk's mind.
[Target eliminated: Former Warlord of the Sea – Crocodile (bounty 81,000,000 Berries).]
[Justice Points gained: 8,100.]
[Additional targets eliminated: Mr. 1, Mr. 2, and other Baroque Works executives.]
[Justice Points gained: 10,000.]
[First-time elimination of a government-affiliated Warlord of the Sea. Significant impact on global criminal deterrence detected. Triggering bonus reward.]
[Bonus Justice Points: 30,000.]
[Total Justice Points gained this operation: 48,100.]
[Current Justice Points balance: 102,168.]
Renn Hawk let out a faint smile.
"Oh? Finally broke a hundred thousand, huh?"
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