Chapter 563: Encounter in the Sand Sea! (Two in One)

"Gah--"

There was a busy tone from the Den Den Mushi. In the beautifully decorated study, Crocodile smoked a cigar silently and looked at the Den Den Mushi in front of the table without saying a word. It seemed that he had not yet recovered from the words of the Five Elders.

That's right, the one who just talked to him was the Five Elders, the highest authority of the World Government.

"Save my life?!"

"Are you kidding? I'm Crocodile."

"Admiral Qu, can you still threaten me?"

"Even if Tsugikoku Yoshiichi appeared in Alabasta in person, I would not be afraid at all!"

Crocodile's low voice echoed in the study. He did not doubt the intelligence provided by the Five Elders. It was actually very easy to verify such intelligence. The Five Elders had no need to deceive themselves on such things.

It was the World Government that actively sought cooperation with him. If he wanted to reach a preliminary cooperation intention with him, he must show his energy. If even the most basic intelligence work could go wrong, then the World Government would never be able to gain the trust of Crocodile.

"Da-da-da"

Crocodile's fingers tapped the table lightly, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

He had no good feelings towards the World Government, and he could not completely trust the Five Elders. At the same time, Crocodile was a proud man. Even if he knew that he was in danger and was about to face the admiral of the navy, he had no fear in his heart.

But then again, Crocodile was very concerned about the promise given by the Five Elders.

Seven Warlords of the Sea.

When the people in this world focused all their attention on the Navy Headquarters and the New World, the title of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, which appeared a few years ago, was quietly developing.

Once the pirates recruited by the World Government were given the title of Seven Warlords of the Sea, they had the qualification to plunder legally.

It seemed like nothing, but in fact, the energy contained behind this privilege was unimaginable to outsiders.

The Seven Warlords of the Sea, who obeyed orders but not announcements, also had great freedom, and the privilege of legal plunder could also nourish the Seven Warlords of the Sea to develop their own power to the greatest extent.

If they can avoid being hunted by the navy, no pirate would refuse the title of Shichibukai.

Even though the navy headquarters has undergone drastic changes, the title of Shichibukai is still of great value.

Crocodile took great pains to control the Kingdom of Alabasta in order to make this country his base and build his own "independent and autonomous" ideal country.

He will never allow anyone to threaten his rule, not even the admirals of the navy.

"World Government."

"From what they said, it seems that the Holy Land has no way to restrict the actions of the admirals of the navy?!"

"Aokiji."

"Hmm"

After thinking for a long time, Crocodile finally made up his mind. He did not call the Five Elders back immediately and agree to cooperate with them.

He wanted to confirm what level the real combat power of the admirals of the navy had reached.

If the appearance of Aokiji did not pose any threat to his rule, of course he wanted to get the title of Shichibukai, and after taking down Aokiji, he would have more bargaining chips to trade with the Five Elders.

The pirates who can win the war and the pirates who are forced to flee by the generals have different strengths and different prices in the Five Elders.

Waiting for the merchant to sell.

Crocodile, who has been in this sea for many years, naturally understands this truth very well.

"MR.1!"

The scorching sun is like fire, scorching the endless desert.

The golden sand dunes are rolling, like waves on the earth.

The sand is shining brightly under the sunlight. There is no cloud in the sky. The heat waves are steaming and surging on the ground, distorting the vision in the distance.

The hot wind blows, rolling up the yellow sand.

Little Luffy suddenly stopped, covered his eyes with his hands, and followed Kuzan, leaning forward and falling directly into the shadow behind him:

"Ah——"

"It's too hot, I can't stand it."

"I feel like I'm going to melt, I can't stand it anymore, let's take a break!"

I don't know if Luffy's fake Nika fruit is true. Under the scorching sun, his body actually showed the characteristics of rubber, and the whole person became soft and weak.

The group walked in the desert for only a few hours, and Luffy couldn't stand it anymore.

Although he was young, his physical strength and energy were not what a child of his age could have. Normally, this intensity of rushing would not make him feel tired at all.

In the final analysis, it was the surrounding environment that had a great impact on Luffy.

"Hey, Luffy, are you okay?!"

Ace, who had a felt hat on his head, saw Luffy fall in the sand, and quickly came to Luffy's side, squatted beside Luffy and carefully checked Luffy's condition.

Unlike Luffy, Ace was not affected by the hot environment at all. He even did not sweat after walking for so long under the scorching sun.

Ace's ability to adapt to the environment is far beyond Luffy's.

As for Sabo, he was holding a popsicle in his hand and sucking the moisture on the popsicle happily. Seeing Luffy collapse on the ground, Sabo also came to Luffy's side and stuffed the popsicle in his hand into Luffy's mouth, and asked with a smile while stuffing it:

"Is it cooler?"

Several children went with Kuzan. Even in this desert called the scorching Dead Sea by the locals, there was no need to worry about replenishing water.

The ability of the ice fruit showed unparalleled value in such a Jedi.

"Ice wall!"

Kuzan stopped and waved his hand, directly erecting three ice walls around him. At the same time, a thick ice top appeared above everyone's head, covering several people in it.

The appearance of the simple ice house immediately lowered the surrounding environment by dozens of degrees.

Luffy sat up from the sand and chewed the popsicle in his hand.

"Hiss~~~"

"Comfortable!"

Luffy took a deep breath of cool air and felt that he was alive. Lying on the sand, he suddenly showed a bright smile on his face.

"If we keep walking and stopping like this, how long will it take us to cross this desert?"

"Luffy, you're too slow!"

Kuzan came to Luffy and sat cross-legged. Several people took a short break in the ice house. Luffy was a little delicate along the way, or rather, he was too dependent on his two brothers and himself.

Although he could understand that a child of Luffy's age should not suffer such hardships, he hoped that Luffy could have the precious quality of not fearing difficulties and be independent and self-reliant like his grandfather.

Luffy is a little snotty.

"Hey, Kuzan."

"Can you make an ice rink?"

"If we skate on the ice, won't we be able to go faster?"

It must be said that Luffy's little brain is still very flexible.

When he was lying on the sand, he thought of Kuzan's ability to make an ice road on the sea surface, and he thought of a way to speed up his journey.

"Ice rink."

Kuzan's eyes twitched slightly when he heard this, and he couldn't help but sighed softly.

Make an ice rink? This kind of thing is naturally not a problem for him. He can freeze even a volcano that is erupting with his ability, let alone a "mere desert".

But the reason why he took a few children across the desert is because he thinks this is a rare opportunity and wants to take these children to experience it in an extreme environment.

If you skate and rush, won't you be able to achieve the purpose of experience?

"Luffy, don't have such thoughts."

Kuzan reached out and touched Luffy's forehead, with both love and reprimand in his tone.

"Luffy, don't be as delicate as a girl."

"Be stronger and braver!"

Ace stood in line with Kuzan at this time. Although he said words of reprimand, in action, Ace grabbed Luffy's arm from behind and helped Luffy to get up from the sand.

Seeing Luffy about to collapse to the ground again, Ace hugged his younger brother, patted Luffy on the back, and encouraged him: "The old man hopes that you can become a real man, don't let him down, Luffy."

The old man in Ace's mouth naturally refers to the one who has lost Garp.

Luffy, who heard this, had a gloomy look in his eyes, and then quickly cheered up and nodded heavily to Ace.

When people face difficult environments, the support and encouragement of their families can often bring great energy to people.

To be honest, Luffy's talent is actually not comparable to Ace, who can awaken the domineering color domineering at the age of 8, but Luffy's advantages are also very outstanding. He will do his best to respond to the expectations of his family and friends. Similarly, he will do his best to protect his family and partners around him.

It is precisely because of this kind of "talent".

Luffy can burst out his potential in crises again and again and help himself overcome difficulties.

Perhaps it is because of this quality that he was chosen by the Nika fruit.

Or only people with this quality can awaken the Nika fruit.

"Whoosh--"

Outside the igloo, the wind was howling.

A sandstorm brewed in the desert without warning, and was quickly approaching the igloo of several people, hitting the wall of the igloo, making a rustling sound. The hole that Kuzan deliberately left, a lot of yellow sand poured into the room.

"Sandstorm?"

The sky outside was already covered by yellow sand, and the scorching sun was already obscured by the yellow sand. Kuzan turned his head to look outside the house, but his brows were furrowed.

Ace and others also looked outside the house with astonishment on their faces. The day changed too quickly, and they, the children, had never experienced such an experience.

"It's not a simple sandstorm."

"You guys, protect yourselves, you must..."

Before Kuzan finished speaking, he suddenly realized something and rushed towards Luffy and Ace. In this small ice house, Kuzan's figure instantly appeared in front of Luffy and Ace, picked up the two and left the place.

And just the next second after the figures left the place, a sharp sand knife pierced the sand surface directly.

If Kuzan moved a little slower, Luffy and Ace would probably be pierced through the chest by this sharp sand knife like a string of candied haws.

"Is there an enemy?!"

This sudden scene startled everyone in the ice house. Sabo let out a low cry. The next second, he seemed to realize something and immediately lowered his head to sweep the ground, but the attack from the ground was too sudden.

A sand knife also appeared silently under Sabo, directly cutting off Sabo's entire body.

"?!"

Sabo's severed upper body swayed slightly and quickly fell towards the sand.

Kuzan also noticed the movement on Sabo's side, and when he saw this scene, his pupils suddenly shrank. Frost instantly filled the air under Kuzan's feet, and the sand beneath him froze into a solid ice surface within a moment of his breath.

The yellow sand was churning under the ice, but there was no way to break through Kuzan's defense in a short period of time.

"Zizi——"

There were bursts of electric currents in the igloo, and Sabo, who was cut in half by the sand knife, turned into two lightning beams. The lightning beams condensed together in mid-air. After a while, Sabo's body condensed again.

"How dangerous!"

"Just a few hundred million seconds away from death!"

Sabo patted his small chest with some fear, glanced down at the churning yellow sand under the igloo, and showed a nonchalant smile on his face.

Kuzan, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Sabo's elemental form re-condensed into his body.

He was also concerned and confused. At the moment when Sabo was attacked and killed, he forgot that Sabo was still an esper who ate the Thunder Fruit.

Compared to Sabo's fake fear, Kuzan's fear was real.

If Sabo hadn't been a natural devil fruit user today, the attack from the strange and powerful group just now might have directly killed Sabo.

Seeing that Sabo was safe and sound, Kuzan also looked outside the house with a serious face.

The sandstorm that covered the sky and the sun came and went quickly. In just a few seconds, it became sunny again outside the house.

"rustle--"

A burst of footsteps came from outside the house. Kuzan, who heard the movement, waved his hand, removed the surrounding ice wall, and then looked in the direction of the footsteps.

Several figures appeared on the sand dunes not far away.

The leader is a scarred young man wearing a tan suit and holding a golden hook. On both sides of him are three young men: a short-headed man with his hands folded across his chest; a man with strange makeup, A weird man wearing a short skirt; a man with glasses and a weird hairstyle.

Hmm.

A very unique group of people.

Kuzan looked from a distance and recognized the leader, a young man of similar age to himself who held a golden hook - Crocodile!

"Admiral Aokiji!"

"I never thought a big shot like you would show up in Alabasta."

"It really surprised me."

Crocodile stood on the sand dune, lowered his head and looked at Kuzan with three children, saying hello politely, but with a ferocious smile on his face.

His eyes swept over Kuzan and the others, and then his eyes stayed on Sabo for a few seconds before turning back to Kuzan.

"Sand Crocodile, Crocodile."

Seeing that Crocodile recognized him, Kuzan also protected the three children behind him, put his hands in his pockets, and looked at him calmly.

A powerful aura burst out from the two of them, rushing towards each other.

In the sea of ​​sand, strong winds appeared inexplicably and swept towards the surroundings.

Kuzan didn't think it was a coincidence that he met people like Crocodile in such a place. He thought he was discovered when he landed on the island.

But if he knew that the other party was aware of it, then the other party's power in the Kingdom of Alabasta might have to be re-evaluated.

unless

Someone at the Navy Headquarters tipped off Crocodile!