Pirate: I, Buggy, am the Emperor, the Emperor of the Clown King!

Chapter 69 Pretending to be Sweet, Sneaking a Trick on Him!

Bucky didn't say anything more.

He simply stood there, holding a sword in each hand, the tips pointing downwards, planted in the sand.

The night wind blew from behind him, causing the hem of his clothes to flutter in the wind.

Observation Haki is the power of "hearing," the power of perception, and the power of "mind."

Armament Haki—is the armor of will, the power of belief, and the power of the "heart".

They all need the support of a "heart".

If one's ambition is extinguished, one's domineering aura will disappear.

Crocodile is like that; he used to have it, but now he doesn't—maybe a little bit is left, but it doesn't have much of an impact on the battle anymore, who knows?

What Bucky is going to do now is take advantage of this—that's why he deliberately released a message before.

Bucky raised his hands to make a circle shape.

"Clown Magic: Flame Wheel"

A ring of flames flew out from the center, growing larger and brighter, and flew towards Crocodile.

Crocodile frowned as he watched the incoming flame, then waved his right hand, sending a cloud of sand spinning rapidly up from the ground to meet the flame.

"Sand Blade - Vajra Sword!"

The sand and flames collided, making a hissing sound. The flames were extinguished in the sand and the sand dissipated in the flames.

"You're testing me," Crocodile said.

"Yes," Bucky admitted, his smile not fading. "I was testing your limits."

"Have you tested the waters?"

"not yet."

—Actually, yes, but Bucky won't say, hehehe~

Bucky clasped his hands together again, and another fire wheel flew out.

Then came the third, the fourth, and the fifth.

Rings of flame flew from his hands, heading towards Crocodile from different directions.

Clown Magic: Flame Wheel VS Sand Blade: Vajra Sword Crocodile's right hand kept waving, and clouds of sand rose from the ground, extinguishing the flames one by one.

In fact, Crocodile was also testing the waters, using less than 50% of the power of the Vajra Blade.

Both bastards are putting on a show, trying to outsmart each other.

Because Bucky's abilities seem too strange to Crocodile.

As a seasoned veteran who had spent a long time in the Grand Line, Crocodile knew very well that some Devil Fruit abilities were quite sinister.

If you don't understand the full extent of Bucky's abilities, attacking recklessly could easily backfire and get you into trouble.

So what exactly is this ability?

It wasn't a Devil Fruit, it wasn't physical combat, it wasn't any fighting style he had ever seen before.

Crocodile gritted his teeth and stomped his right foot on the sand.

The sand beneath his feet seemed to be lifted up by an invisible hand, and a huge sand wall rose from the ground, blocking his way.

The fiery wheel crashed into the sand wall, scattering flames, but the sand wall remained completely still.

Bucky withdrew his hand and stopped releasing the fire wheel. The fire wheel was meaningless; it had never been meaningful in the first place.

They were merely props to attract Crocodile's attention; their true killing move was never that.

Bucky's gaze fell on Crocodile's back, where the Diamond and Club swords flew back after spinning around in the distance.

They were launched from the start of the battle and were ignored by Crocodile.

It's normal to ignore it.

Since those two swords had attacked Crocodile many times before, each time passing right through his "body" without causing him any harm, it seemed like a form of harassment.

The passive elemental transformation of the Logia-type Devil Fruit user is enough to defend against most physical attacks. Generally speaking, without Armament Haki and Seastone, they cannot be hit.

Crocodile had grown accustomed to the presence of the two swords and no longer considered them a threat.

This is also Pakistan's goal.

All you need to pay attention to are these two swords in my hand, which are covered with Armament Haki.

Without Observation Haki, your perception on the battlefield is too poor.

Bucky lowered his hands from in front of him and let them hang at his sides, his left hand with the five fingers slightly bent, and his right hand the same—making a strange gesture.

Then his gaze fell on Crocodile's face, the smile on his lips undiminished.

Crocodile.

"What?"

Do you know why you lost?

Crocodile frowned.

Buggy didn't wait for his reply and continued, "It's not because you're not strong enough, nor because your Devil Fruit ability is weak. It's because—"

As he said this, Bucky first released the two swords in his hands, and then threw the handkerchief away.

A clown magic trick: the magic handkerchief!

The handkerchief grew larger in the air after being thrown, and then Bucky was able to retrieve the two swords.

This time, the blades of both swords were wreathed in a very strong Armament Haki.

Upon seeing the magic handkerchief and the Haki wrapped around the two swords, Crocodile's attention was completely drawn, especially to the handkerchief in the sky.

Bucky's actions in Loguetown were purposeful.

People don't understand his abilities, but they do know that being hit by a handkerchief will turn him into a doll. So what will happen if he throws a handkerchief during a battle?

The answer is that their attention was completely drawn to the handkerchief.

While in Loguetown, Bucky was already thinking about how to set a trap for Crocodile.

And this person, who was deliberately trying to outwit the unsuspecting, was tricked by him.

After all, the Loguetown incident occurred before Whisky Peak, and in Crocodile's view, the conflict between the two sides only arose during the Whisky Peak incident.

As for the seemingly powerful ability of the magic handkerchief, is it not worth exposing it so much?

The Magic Handkerchief is actually a seemingly wonderful ability, but in reality, it's not very useful in combat.

The handkerchief itself is too fragile and can be easily damaged. In a fight, the opponent will be wary and won't let you cover it with the cloth.

In other words, the probability of successfully executing it in a battle of the same level is extremely low.

In that case, why not turn this ultimate move into a decoy move? As long as it's used, it will attract the opponent's attention.

The price-performance ratio immediately skyrocketed.

It's wonderful to hit the target, but it's not a loss if you miss.

"Playing tricks!" Seeing that Buggy was putting in a lot of effort this time, Crocodile's arms transformed into four sand blades.

Three sand blades slashed at Bucky.

As for the other one?

Of course, it's that threatening handkerchief in the sky!

Full Power! Sand Blade! Vajra Sword!

boom!

The two sides clashed head-on.

Meanwhile, the square sword and the plum blossom sword silently accelerated behind Crocodile.

This attack, coming from a blind spot, was extremely fast, accurate, and ruthless.

If Crocodile still possessed his former level of Observation Haki, he could indeed detect it, but he can't do that now.

More importantly, Crocodile had become accustomed to the presence of these two swords during the previous battles, and now his attention was entirely focused on Buggy.

Crocodile has four diamond swords.

Two swords blocked Bucky's path, one knocked away the handkerchief falling from the sky, and the other, a Vajra sword, was about to slash Bucky from the side.

However—Crocodile, who lacks Observation Haki, has a limit to his attention span.

This is the fatal flaw.

And this fatal flaw can now determine the outcome of the battle.

Before that, Bucky placed his hands on either side of his body and made a strange gesture.

The clown magic trick, "Water from the Air," doesn't have any special meaning; it simply produces a little water, barely enough to cover the blades of two swords.

The layer of water spread out on the blade, thin and unable to last long.

But so what?

That's enough.

Although both sides wanted to use a trick to sabotage the other, it's clear that Bucky has succeeded this time.

Because Crocodile ignored their existence, they have finally come in handy.

The square sword and the plum blossom sword pierced Crocodile's back, their blades sinking into his body.

Crocodile's body instinctively wanted to become elemental the instant the blades made contact.

This is the passive ability of Logia-type Devil Fruit users.

But this time, the sandstorm did not dissipate.

The water on the blade came into contact with the sand grains.

Sand grains absorb water, instantly clump together, and harden.

They are no longer sand and dust that can flow, disperse, and combine at will, but rather a clump of wet sand stuck together.

Elementization failed.

Crocodile's pupils contracted sharply as he felt that long-lost pain.

The blade pierced his body, entering from his back and exiting from his front.

Blood gushed from the wound, flowing down the sword and dripping onto the sand with a "plop, plop" sound.

He knelt on the sand, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

The two wounds on his chest were still bleeding, soaking through and staining his shirt red.

"It feels so good to stab someone in the back~" Baji stood there, looking down at him, a slight smile playing on his lips beneath his mask: "Any liquid can subdue you, Crocodile."

Even a small amount of water, rain, or blood will partially materialize you, directly locking your elementalization ability.

"Without your domineering aura, you are no longer qualified to be considered one of the strongest in this world."

97

This is the intelligence gap between the two sides.

While Crocodile was still gradually probing Buggy's abilities, Buggy already knew at least 5% of the truth about Crocodile's abilities, and even knew his weaknesses.

It's like two people playing a video game, one knows the opponent's skill mechanics, and the other doesn't.

The difference is huge.

As for the Desert Diamond Sword that struck Bucky?

After Crocodile was stabbed through the chest, the force gradually weakened, and it couldn't penetrate Buggy's Armament Haki defense.

"Damn it! You bastard!" Crocodile was clearly furious that Buggy had tricked him.

He looked down at the two sword blades protruding from his chest, sand flying around him, grabbing the hilts from behind, trying to pull the blades out.

"ah!!!!!"

Crocodile cried out in agony as he tried to pull out the blade.

The two swords, like two blood-sucking leeches, were firmly embedded in his body, because they were still under Bucky's control.

When the clown magic is combined with the Ace Throwing Knife, it becomes extremely bizarre and unpredictable.

For example, after these two throwing knives pierced Crocodile's body, the front blades became wider and longer.

This is the ace throwing knife; it can be big or small, long or short.

If he were to forcibly pull it out, Crocodile would die right here—and clearly he doesn't want to die.

Crocodile knelt on the sand, breathing rapidly and heavily.

Blood was still gushing from the wound, dripping onto the sand and pooling into a small puddle.

The night wind blew, stirring up the fine sand on the ground and slowly burying the drops of blood.

Bucky turned around, his back to him, and stood with his hands behind his back. Now was the time to show off.

"I have the ability to kill you." Bucky's voice was filled with obvious smugness. "But I won't kill you today; that's the sincerity of our bet."

"Actually, I really hope to see you regain your former strength —"

Bucky knew that Crocodile at his peak was strong enough to fight Barrett, otherwise he wouldn't have provoked Whitebeard.

Unfortunately, just like Moria was defeated by Kaido, Crocodile was also defeated by Whitebeard.

The common point between the two is that their spirits were crushed, their willpower was dampened, and their domineering abilities gradually disappeared.

The Diamond and Club swords flew out of Crocodile's body, the bloodstains on the swords were shaken off, and the Heart and Spade swords were inserted into the scabbards behind him.

Crocodile knelt on the sand, head bowed, looking at the grains of sand soaked in blood.

The night wind blew from behind him, making his coat flutter loudly.

He didn't say anything, stood up from the sand, swayed for a moment, and then steadied himself.

The wound on my chest still hurts—but it's nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

Then his body began to turn into sand and dust, spinning, condensing, and gathering in the night sky, finally transforming into a swirling sand whirlwind.

The cloud of dust rose slowly from the ground, swirled in the night sky for a moment, and then flew away into the distance.

In the end, Crocodile was left with only one sentence: "Since you've won, then do as you say."

Although he was defeated by Bucky's underhanded tactics, Crocodile kept his word and accepted his defeat.

Anyway, Crocodile thinks this condition is good and he's not at a loss; he still has basic self-respect.

Although losing was a bit embarrassing, he no longer had the same fighting spirit as before.

As for Bucky's arrogant words earlier—since Bucky demonstrated that he was stronger than him, he had the right to say that.

That's the case, at least until Crocodile gets his revenge.

"Hehehehe—Ahahaha!"

Pakistan burst into laughter in the middle of the desert.

Crocodile himself has acknowledged the bet—and the next round of the bet is about to begin.

I really want to see Crocodile's face turn as if he'd eaten shit.

That's not right either. Crocodile has eaten feces before, since that's what Devil Fruits taste like.

It's probably even more unpleasant than eating feces.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

When Bucky thought about this, the smile on his face became even harder to suppress than AK's.

Tonight's battle is over.

The night wind swept across the desert, stirring up the fine sand on the ground, which shimmered with tiny lights under the moonlight.

The sand grains soaked in blood have been buried by fresh sand blown in by the wind, leaving no trace.

Only the deep trenches carved into the ground by the Desert Vajra Blade still bear witness to that brief clash.

Crocodile————

"All of this will be a matter of fate."

"Your future is already in the Clown King's script."

"Hehehehe————"

The moonlight shone on the black and white mask, and the corners of the mouth beneath the mask turned up slightly.

Bucky could already picture Crocodile's future furious state.