One Piece Gunslinger

This also shows that Crocodile did not want to damage the decorations and furnishings in the house, which is why he came up with a move that only hurts people and not things.

Regardless, Li Ang dared not greet them. He could only slam his fist on the floor, lean his back against the sofa, and flip the entire sofa over.

Hehe, since it doesn't have the power of a real blade, a leather sofa is enough to block it. Li Ang could then take this opportunity to hide behind the sofa, using it to separate the two of them.

As expected, Crocodile's move only grazed the bottom of the sofa before reverting to his right hand, without harming the sofa in the slightest.

"Robin, tie him up." Crocodile wasn't stupid. Seeing that Leon was agile and his attack missed, Crocodile didn't want to use a technique with extremely high destructive power that would require repairing Rain Banquet afterward. So, he naturally thought of Robin.

Robin didn't hold back, immediately sprouting four arms from Crocodile's body and grabbing at his limbs. "Four-Wheel Flower."

Actually, Robin had already realized what Crocodile was saying before she even heard it, and was already preparing to make a move, it's just that the target was different this time.

Crocodile was taken aback when Robin turned against him, becoming his adversary. He was furious, his face ashen, and he yelled, "You betrayed me, Robin! Do you know what the consequences of betraying me are?"

However, when Leon saw Robin actually attacking Crocodile, he was also surprised: "What are you doing! Why are you attracting hatred? I told you to leave it to me."

Unfortunately, Robin's attack was something Leon hadn't anticipated. In Leon's view, this was tantamount to putting himself in a dangerous situation as well, and Crocodile certainly wouldn't let Robin off easily. Robin's actions were essentially a taunt.

But all Robin could do was taunt him; her limbs and hands were completely useless, grabbing at nothing. Crocodile's body was made of sand, and Robin would need Haki to catch him.

Therefore, in Li Ang's opinion, given Robin's intelligence, he should absolutely not have taken action at this time. At the very least, he should have just stood by and pretended to comply while doing nothing, going through the motions without putting in any real effort.

Leon was also helpless. Just because he wasn't afraid of Crocodile didn't mean Robin wasn't. Protecting himself was easy for Leon, but protecting Robin would be a real problem.

However, it's not entirely fair to blame Robin for her good intentions backfiring, even though Leon didn't follow the expected plan and disrupted things. And it all happened incredibly fast, in just a few seconds. In her panic, Robin instinctively acted. Intelligence was useless in that situation.

As expected, Leon's concerns were justified. After discovering Robin's betrayal, Crocodile no longer cared about the furniture. In a fit of rage, his right hand once again turned into sand, and he slashed at Robin along the ground at an extremely fast speed.

"Desert Treasure Sword!"

Taking advantage of Crocodile's distraction after being mocked by Robin, Leon had already drawn Red Nine, which was loaded with Seastone bullets. However, he was a step too slow. Before Leon could fire the bullets, Crocodile turned and attacked Robin.

Li Ang had no choice but to jump between the two men and use a flying kick to strike the Desert Sword, which was rapidly advancing along the ground.

Although it didn't cause Crocodile any real damage, at least the sand slick was kicked away and stopped in front of Robin.

Fortunately, this "Desert Blade" move wasn't actually used in the desert, and the sand was all created by Crocodile himself, so it didn't have much power or the speed required to move through the desert. Otherwise, Leon might not have been able to save Robin.

"How did you even think of provoking him? Did you really think you could do anything to him?" Li Ang said to Robin, still shaken by the experience.

"I'm just concerned about you. And why are you blaming me first? You were the one who went off-plan first." Robin was about to say this, but Crocodile was a little faster than her.

"Fishman Karate?" Crocodile gathered the scattered sand and reformed it into his right hand, saying, "I hate Fishman Karate the most, especially that Fishman named Jinbe."

It seems Crocodile has a discerning eye; he immediately recognized that Leon was using Fish-Man Karate. However, Leon doesn't know Fish-Man Jujutsu, and his karate skills aren't at Jinbe's level. Therefore, he can't conjure water out of thin air like Jinbe, otherwise Crocodile would be in serious trouble.

Therefore, Jinbe is a perfect counter to Crocodile, being completely outmatched in terms of attributes.

"However, you're still far inferior to Jinbe," Crocodile sneered. "Since you enjoy saving people, I'd like to see how long you can protect her."

"Until death do us part."

"Hmph, then try this move, Chain Attack, Desert Blade!"

Chapter 224 Nothing is more sorrowful than a broken heart

Even with just one Desert Blade, Li Ang used all his strength, let alone now that several Desert Blades were flying towards him and Robin behind him.

If he were to use his legs to kick the sand apart as before, he might be able to clear one or two sands, but trying to catch them all would be wishful thinking. And even if Li Ang managed to catch them, he would probably lose a leg.

and so……

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Li Ang didn't even want to take it. He simply turned around gracefully, grabbed Robin, and jumped to the side.

Of course, this was purely a tactic of sacrificing a pawn to save the king, and it would inevitably take Li Ang some time to turn around and hug Robin. So in the end, he was still slashed in the back by the first Desert Blade, but at the cost of this, he successfully avoided several more Desert Blades that followed.

"Hahaha, ridiculous, until death do us part. Looks like it wasn't that long, was it? If this happened twice more, would you still be alive?" Crocodile, of course, saw the gaping wound on Leon's back and laughed heartily.

To be honest, if Li Ang hadn't had such good physical condition and had spent a lot of money to upgrade it to level nine, this wouldn't have been as simple as just opening up a major road.

Robin was tackled to the ground by Leon. Upon hearing Crocodile's words, she quickly looked up and, looking over Leon's shoulder, saw the deep wound on his back.

"Ah! Behind you!"

When Li Ang uttered "Until death do us part," Robin was already stunned. Overwhelmed by a powerful sense of happiness, she had forgotten her current predicament. Until now, when she saw the large wound on Li Ang's back.

"It's okay, I won't die." Li Ang grinned. He knew Robin was probably blaming herself, so he quickly pretended to be fine, even though his back was really sore. Robin had finally gotten over her trauma, and Li Ang didn't want to do any more counseling.

"At least they've survived, and..."

As he spoke, Leon lay on the ground, propped himself up with one hand, held Red Nine in the other, turned his upper body to the side, and fired a shot at Crocodile.

"Besides, you exposed your weakness with this move, Crocodile," Leon said smugly, looking at the blood splattering on Crocodile's shoulder.

Crocodile's attack was powerful, inflicting the first serious injury on Leon since his escape from Baltimore. However, it also had a major weakness: it couldn't be controlled with perfect precision.

If it were in the desert, Crocodile could use sand to increase the power of his attacks. In that case, the sand that he himself turned into would only serve as a catalyst, and the rest would be made from the sand in the desert.

Now, in an indoor environment, not only is the power greatly reduced, but all the sand Crocodile uses originates from himself. This means that after each sand throw, he must retrieve it, or he'll lose his hands. And if he doesn't retrieve it, what will he use for the next attack? Is he supposed to throw sand from both hands until he runs out, then throw sand from both feet?

If it were just one Desert Blade, Crocodile could quickly retract it, like before, and continue his attack. But now, in order to launch a series of attacks on Leon and inflict damage, he used several Desert Blades at once. This made retraction difficult, giving Leon a chance to catch his breath and counterattack.

From beginning to end, Li Ang only needed one moment to fire a shot. If you give me that chance, the battle will be over.

However, Robin had no time to watch the heroic moment when Leon defeated Crocodile, nor did she check Crocodile's injuries or take this opportunity to completely subdue him.

Instead, she stood up nervously, looked at Li Ang's wound with concern, and said anxiously with a sob in her voice, "Ah, such a big wound, I'll bandage it for you right away, you'll be alright."

"Wait, go and subdue him first, okay? I know I'm fine without you saying anything. You don't need to bandage me, I can handle it myself."

After saying that, fearing that Robin might doubt him, he quickly took out a first-aid spray and sprayed it onto the huge wound from behind.

Watching the wound on Li Ang's back heal visibly under that peculiar spray until it miraculously disappeared completely, Robin's anxiety and worry gradually vanished as well.

Robin immediately slapped the torn part of Li Ang's clothes hard, feigning anger, and said, "You had this too? Why didn't you say so earlier? You made me worry."

Leon didn't know what had gotten into Robin; she had suddenly become inexplicably angry. However, through his observations of Sabo over the years, Leon had long since learned that one should never try to reason with an angry woman, as that would only lead to a more miserable end.

So Li Ang had no choice but to surrender, grimacing in pain and saying, "Ouch, that hurts! I know I was wrong, please have mercy, heroine."

When Robin heard Li Ang cry out in pain, he didn't think much of it and assumed that the injury hadn't fully healed. He asked anxiously, "Is the wound still not healed inside? Did you hurt it again just now?"

Li Ang thought to himself, "It's not that I'm not better, I'm just admitting defeat. It's a product of the system, I don't even know what kind of magic pills are in that white jar, there's no injury that can't be healed."

But this time, Li Ang had learned his lesson and dared not blurt out the truth again, lest he anger Robin. He could only chuckle awkwardly and say, "That's alright. I'll lie here for a while. You go and subdue Crocodile, and I'll be fine in a bit."

Robin didn't think much of it and believed it. Seeing that Leon was indeed alright, she quickly used the Flower Flower Fruit's power to restrain Crocodile and summoned some hands along the way to carry him over.

Seeing this, Li Ang grinned. "I never expected Robin to be like this. He got everything done without walking a single step. This ability is practically a lazy person's dream!"

However, at this moment, Crocodile was unable to use his powers because of a Seastone bullet embedded in his shoulder. Therefore, he could no longer ignore Robin's restraint as before and could only obediently let Robin pull him to the front.

"I never expected this. It was actually a Seastone bullet." Although Crocodile was defeated, he still lost with composure and did not become hysterical. However, there seemed to be a sense of resignation in his words.

"I'd only ever heard of this thing, and like many others, I just considered it a strange tale. I'd only heard that former Admiral Zephyr had it, but it turns out it really exists. I never imagined I'd actually encounter it today." Crocodile lay on the ground, staring at the ceiling with a wry smile.

Sigh, after so many years of venturing out to sea, I never imagined I would be defeated by something so rare. Is this just fate?

Li Ang didn't dare stand up either, still pretending to be in pain from his wound, otherwise Robin would inexplicably throw a tantrum again. He could only lie on the ground and say, "Hehe, it's precisely because this thing is rare, and some people have never even heard of it, that others are often caught off guard. Most people fall victim to this when they think they could never be shot. Sometimes it's always better to be careful."

"Are you kidding me?" Crocodile said. "Even if I knew there were seastone bullets in yours, I still couldn't dodge them. Maybe I should learn some physical techniques, or even Armament Haki. If I had known Haki, I could have deflected it. Observation Haki would also work, so I could have dodged the bullets in advance."

Indeed, this move only works on people who don't have an imposing aura. If the person does have an imposing aura, then this move is unlikely to be effective unless it is unexpected and the other person doesn't expect it to be a Seastone bullet.

“Hmm, maybe.” Li Ang did not refute.

The two lay there, one on the floor and the other prone, in silence for a long while. Finally, Leon couldn't stand it any longer, got up from the floor, and asked Crocodile, "Now if I asked you again, would you like to join us? What would you say?"

Crocodile chuckled, "If someone had asked me this question before, I would have sucked them dry. But now I've been defeated and captured. According to pirate rules, the defeated and captured either join the ranks of the strong or are thrown overboard to feed the sharks. I don't have many other choices, so..."

"So you want to go feed the sharks now?" Leon interrupted before Crocodile could finish speaking.

Robin was stunned when she heard Li Ang's quick answer. She didn't know why Li Ang would say such a thing. Shouldn't he just accept Crocodile's surrender?

However, Crocodile himself burst into laughter: "Oh, Leon, Leon. If I had met you ten or twenty years earlier, we might have become friends. I never expected you to understand me so well. This is the first time I've met someone like you."

Even if Leon didn't know Crocodile, seeing his resigned expression, he could guess Crocodile's thoughts pretty accurately. Crocodile was clearly tired of struggling and had given up.

In the original storyline, after Crocodile and his crew were defeated by Luffy, the Baroque Works team launched an escape from prison. At that time, they even located Crocodile and wanted to rescue him.

However, Crocodile, who was defeated by Luffy at that time, refused and was willing to go to prison and Impel Down.

This moment was so similar to that one. Crocodile never imagined that he would be defeated by a novice with little experience, and he became disheartened from then on.

Incidentally, at that time, Mr. 1 was also in the same cell as Crocodile in the prison. Since Crocodile didn't leave, Mr. 1 chose to stay with him and go to Impel Down together.

This also reflects that Mr. 1's loyalty is simply insane; he would be loyal even if it meant going to prison with him.

However, this is no challenge for Leon. If Crocodile was able to recover in Impel Down, he can certainly do it now.

Chapter 225 Persuasion

From a rational perspective, Crocodile shouldn't be someone who can't withstand setbacks and becomes despondent. No one is born incredibly strong, and no one is born with a smooth life without experiencing any setbacks.

Moreover, Crocodile personally witnessed Roger's execution and heard his last words. Having spent so many years at sea, he was now a middle-aged man. He had also experienced many things, including his clash with Whitebeard, and must have suffered quite a few setbacks.

So why did he give up his life's ideals and resign himself to death after suffering a minor setback in Alabasta? This seems a bit illogical.

Therefore, Li Ang believes that either Crocodile's life had been smooth sailing before, with almost no setbacks or blows, so in Alabasta, after Li Ang or Luffy dealt him a heavy blow, he suddenly fell into a trough.

Or perhaps Crocodile's life had been incredibly difficult, requiring immense effort, immense struggle, and countless sacrifices to climb to his current position through countless hardships. After finally gaining some respite after becoming a Shichibukai, he was dragged back into his old ways, finally feeling exhausted and unwilling to move on.

However, judging from Lao Sha's calm demeanor, Li Ang, despite lacking evidence, leaned towards the second possibility.

Regardless of the situation, facing Old Sha like this, Li Ang has no choice but to resort to his trump card.

"It seems you really aren't planning on joining us," Li Ang said, feigning regret. "Even Robin joined us, but you're the one who's unmoved."

"Heh, I did expect Robin to betray me one day, but I didn't expect it to come so soon," Crocodile sneered. "Didn't you learn your lesson? Robin can betray me today, and she can betray you tomorrow. She's a devil's child whose entire life is filled with betrayal."

Robin's eyes widened as she listened to Crocodile's words about her, and she was about to say something when Leon stopped her.

“The term ‘betrayal’ sounds too harsh,” Li Ang shook his head and said. “It’s just like a fledgling bird that can’t find its home and is changing places to avoid the rain. But those simple cages can’t shelter it from the wind and rain, and they have to lock it up tightly. Now we can give it a warm house. Where else can we find a place that compares to this?”

Crocodile simply said, "It seems you have considerable power," and then said no more.

"Don't you want to know my identity?" Leon looked at the dejected Crocodile and continued down the line of questioning.

“What does it matter? I’m already in this situation anyway,” Crocodile sighed. “But speaking of your identity, I can guess a few things without you telling me. To have Seastone bullets and to claim you can obtain a large number of weapons and ships, you must belong to one of the major powers.”

Leon didn't interrupt, waiting for Crocodile to continue to see if he could guess correctly. After thinking for a while, Crocodile continued, "And the only ones who can protect Robin and make her willingly follow you can definitely be ruled out as the World Government and the Navy. And if you continue thinking, the fact that you have Seastone bullets and medicine that can instantly heal injuries means you're definitely not a nobody. Even if I'm seeing these things for the first time, I can tell how precious they are."

"But after thinking it over, I can't think of anyone whose forces have someone like you. But if you are a hidden trump card of some force, then the strength you just showed is far from enough. If it weren't for the Seastone bullets, and if it weren't for this environment, you wouldn't be my opponent. You are much weaker than those I know, such as the captains under Whitebeard or the Sweet Commanders under Big Mom."