The sky was dim, the scorching sun obscured by endless yellow sand.
The wild wind howled, kicking up sand and dust that filled the sky, leaving only a chaotic world of golden and dark intertwined between heaven and earth.
The air was filled with a hot and dry scent, and the wind on one's face felt like countless blades tearing at the skin.
The distant ground trembled slightly, and the sand dunes rolled erratically, blown by the fierce wind.
Kai and his group, guided by Vivi, were rushing towards Alabasta.
The royal capital was almost within reach.
However, at this very moment—
Kai, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji all stopped simultaneously!
Luffy stood at the very front, a slow smile spreading across his lips, revealing an excited grin, his fists clenched, battle intent burning fiercely.
Zoro tilted his head slightly, a cold smirk also gracing his lips, his eyes sharp as blades.
Nami, Vivi, Usopp, and Chopper were stunned. They looked at the group who had stopped, their faces filled with confusion, and exchanged bewildered glances.
Usopp cautiously asked, "Hey... what's wrong? Why aren't we moving?"
Kai smiled faintly, his tone calm and confident: "The person we're looking for has come to us."
"...!!!"
Usopp and Vivi's expressions changed, and they immediately exclaimed, "C-Crocodile!?"
No sooner had the words fallen than Zoro had already moved to the very front of the group, slowly reaching out and gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"Clang—" Accompanied by the crisp sound of metal friction, Wado Ichimonji was drawn!
Just as Nami and Chopper hadn't yet reacted—
Boom!!
From deep within the desert ahead, a deafening roar suddenly erupted!
Immediately after, the entire ground seemed to shake, and a terrifying aura swept over them!
Whoosh—!!
In the distant desert, an impossibly massive sandstorm tornado suddenly rose!
The tornado was several hundred meters high, soaring into the sky, sweeping across the land with a violent whirlwind!
Countless grains of sand were caught in the fierce wind, transforming into sharp blades, spinning wildly within the storm.
The gale raged, engulfing everything it could devour.
Wherever it passed, the sand on the ground was directly stripped away, revealing cracked yellow earth, as if the land was being torn apart bit by bit!
That wasn't just a storm! That was destruction! A natural disaster that annihilated everything!
"Th-This... what kind of monstrous sandstorm is this?!" Usopp's legs were trembling with fear, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
Nami's face was ashen, her voice trembling, "This isn't an ordinary sandstorm... this is completely man-made..."
Vivi's eyes widened, filled with shock and terror, her voice quivering with fright:
"It's... it's the Shichibukai... Crocodile... he's here!"
However—
Kai, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji remained unfazed, not even showing a hint of surprise.
Because, even before the massive sandstorm tornado appeared, their Observation Haki had already detected the approaching destructive aura!
"Whoosh—!"
The sandstorm drew closer and closer, the howling wind seeming to tear the sky, leaving only the roar of the wind in the entire world!
Just then—
An arrogant voice came from afar, piercing through the storm, echoing across the land!
"You brats from the East Blue!"
"This is my greeting for you—"
"Desert Spada!!!"
Boom—!!
The massive sandstorm violently slammed into the Straw Hat Pirates, like a giant beast opening its bloody maw, intending to completely devour them!!!
The ferocious sandstorm swept across the land, the tornado raging across the ground like a giant beast devouring everything, leaving behind collapsed sand dunes and torn air wherever it went.
Within the storm, the world was dim, sand and dust swirled, and in Vivi and Nami's eyes, the entire world was plunged into chaos and destruction.
However—
Just as Vivi thought this disaster was unstoppable, Zoro slowly took a step forward.
His feet were planted firmly on the ground, his aura suddenly changing, like a majestic mountain, standing unmoving in the midst of a fierce storm!
The next second—
"Clang—!"
He slowly raised Wado Ichimonji, and an extremely dense Armament Haki appeared on the blade.
The blade instantly became profoundly deep, black as ink, like a black hole devouring everything!
The surrounding air began to vibrate violently, and an indescribable sword pressure swept in all directions, as if everything in heaven and earth would crumble under this aura!
"—One Sword Style: Great Dragon Shock!"
Zoro swung his arms violently, and a terrifying sword momentum tore through the sky!
At this moment, heaven and earth seemed to stand still, the air suddenly solidified!
Boom!!
The next second, a destructive sword light erupted!
A black sword slash, carrying deep red lightning, burst forth from Zoro's hand!
The sword light cut through the void, and wherever it passed, space seemed to be torn apart, the violent sword energy seemingly capable of splitting heaven and earth in two!
The air collapsed in that instant!
The world seemed to be twisted by this single slash, and the violent sword light exploded with a roar in the storm, transforming into a destructive torrent that tore through all things, slamming into the raging sandstorm!
"Hiss—!!!"
The sword light instantly pierced through the tornado, black and red lightning exploded within the storm, and the terrifying slash directly cut the several-hundred-meter-high sandstorm tornado in half from the middle!!
Rumble—!!
The entire sandstorm, under this single slash, completely collapsed!!!
The sky-filling yellow sand lost the support of the wild wind and fell with a roar, the air filled with the lingering aftershocks of the sword energy.
Black and red electric light moved through the dissipating dust, and the violent aftershocks swept across the desert, tearing the earth, leaving behind an unfathomably deep crack!
In an instant, the natural disaster was brought to an end!
After the storm, heaven and earth were silent.
Only Zoro slowly sheathed his long sword, his gaze as cold as a blade.
—This single slash was enough to cleave heaven and earth!
At this time, Zoro had perfected his new move and was not exhausted after using it, only slightly out of breath.
In the distance, Crocodile had been watching his sandstorm sweep forth with smug satisfaction.
In his opinion, even if this move couldn't completely wipe out the Straw Hat Pirates, it was enough to severely injure them, or even make them lose their fighting ability entirely!
But he never expected... a nameless swordsman from the Straw Hat Pirates, with just one slash, to destroy his proud "Desert Spada"!
How was this possible?!
Crocodile's eyes suddenly narrowed, and the cold smirk on his face froze.
He looked at the ruins of the sandstorm, his fingers trembling slightly, his face extremely grim.
"...What a joke..."
His gaze slowly fell on Zoro, and a storm raged in his heart.
A swordsman... with no bounty? He actually... cut through his sandstorm with one slash?
This was no ordinary sandstorm, but a natural disaster unleashed to the extreme by his Devil Fruit ability!
Yet, this swordsman had completely shattered his attack as if he had casually cut down a dead tree!
Crocodile's pupils constricted slightly, and his heart seemed to skip a beat.
Originally, his attention to the Straw Hat Pirates had only focused on Luffy and Kai, the two guys with 100 million Beli bounties, but now—
He suddenly realized that the terror of this pirate crew far exceeded his imagination!
Not just the captain, but even the un-bountied members... were incredibly strong!
He suddenly clenched his jaw, his eyes becoming extremely grim.
"It seems... I must re-evaluate you all."
At this moment, for the first time, a genuine sense of apprehension rose in Crocodile's heart!