Pirates: Going out to sea? Cultivate to the Mahayana stage first

"You actually know the whereabouts of ancient weapons?!"

Crocodile stared at Anno with eyes wide open, looking at him in disbelief. His fiery and crazy eyes seemed to want to eat him alive. At this moment, all the doubts and suspicions in his heart were ignited by this sudden news and burned fiercely.

An Nuo's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a mysterious smile.

He slowly took out a yellowed parchment map from his pocket, deliberately waved it in front of Crocodile's eyes, and then said pretentiously: "Hey, look, this is the legendary ancient weapon map! What do you think, do you really want to get it?"

The so-called map exuded an old and decayed atmosphere, with densely packed lines and symbols drawn on it, making it look quite complicated and difficult to understand.

However, for Crocodile, who was eager to find ancient weapons, this map undoubtedly had a fatal attraction. He stared at the map with his eyes almost popping out, just like a hungry hyena smelling the taste of delicious meat and drooling.

"Humph! I was wondering why a mysterious person like you would suddenly appear in this small East China Sea. It turns out that the magical body-tempering pill was just a bait you used to lure us into the trap!"

Crocodile said as he cast his greedy eyes towards the graceful Nico Robin not far away, with a sly and sinister look in his eyes, "I guess you also saw the powerful power that this lady possesses, so you took great pains to set up this trap?"

Facing Crocodile's aggressive questioning, Anno remained unusually calm. He shook his head slightly and replied with disdain: "Things like ancient weapons have no appeal to me at all."

Before he finished speaking, he raised his knife and tore the precious map into pieces in front of Crocodile without hesitation. The scraps of paper fell like snowflakes, completely shattering Crocodile's last hope.

Anno's face was as calm as water and he spoke slowly: "I can tell you with absolute certainty that your attempt to obtain the ancient weapon Pluto in Alabasta is nothing but a futile effort." Hearing this, Crocodile's originally narrow eyes narrowed slightly, a cold light shot out from them, and an extremely dangerous look appeared on his face.

He snorted coldly and said sarcastically with disdain: "Humph! You want to deceive me? At least you should make up a slightly better excuse. But just because you are talking nonsense like this, I am more convinced that the legendary ancient weapon Pluto is in Alabasta!"

At this time, Crocodile's face became more and more gloomy. He continued coldly: "The World Government has issued an order to me not long ago, asking me to capture you and discuss with you in detail about the Body Tempering Pill. Since you know so many unknown secrets, today is the day you die!"

When he spoke the last few words, his tone was as cold and ruthless as ice, as if An Nuo standing in front of him was already a lifeless corpse.

As we all know, once more people know about such a great secret as ancient weapons, it is very likely to trigger a series of unpredictable changes and crises. So even if An Nuo is willing to hand over the map to find Pluto, it will definitely not change his tragic ending of dying.

As Crocodile finished speaking, the atmosphere around him suddenly became extremely solemn, and even the air seemed to freeze in an instant. At the same time, fine sand began to spread out from under Crocodile's feet.

The originally solid and intact ground was gradually cracking and shattering at a speed visible to the naked eye under the influence of his powerful devil fruit ability, and finally turned into tiny grains of sand.

Looking at Crocodile in front of him, who exuded hostility and murderous intent, Annuo's eyes seemed unusually calm, as if all this was within his expectations.

Anno actually knew what Crocodile was thinking at the moment, but he had no intention of explaining it. Because he knew that he had said everything he needed to say, and whether the other party was willing to believe it depended entirely on Crocodile himself. After all, a person like Crocodile was far from being able to make him spend a lot of time and effort to explain in detail about the ancient weapons.

"Humph, your methods are really good!"

Crocodile said coldly, "Especially the place called 'Orange House'. Until now, I am still afraid of it and dare not set foot there easily. Presumably, that is the place where your ability is displayed?" At this point, Crocodile's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a sarcastic smile.

However, in the face of Crocodile's provocation, Anno remained unmoved.

Crocodile waved his hands violently, and the motionless sand and dust suddenly seemed to be given life and began to surge wildly. At the same time, Crocodile's eyes became more and more fierce, and the murderous intent contained in them was gushing out without any concealment. Obviously, at this moment, he had made up his mind to use all his strength and no longer had any reservations.

Crocodile slowly walked towards Anno, accompanied by the surging dust. Every time he took a step, a thick layer of dust would immediately cover his feet, as if the whole earth was shaking because of his actions. When he was only a few meters away from Anno, Crocodile suddenly stopped, and then, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and the whole person rushed forward as fast as lightning.

In an instant, Crocodile's right arm quickly turned into a ball of quicksand and swung at an astonishing speed. As his arm swung, a huge crescent-shaped sand dune suddenly appeared, like a crescent moon hanging in the air.

On the sand dune, there was an extremely sharp crescent-shaped sand blade, flashing a frightening cold light. This sand blade swept towards An Nuo with a destructive force.

The extremely sharp sand blade in Crocodile's hand seemed to be covered with a layer of creepy black mist, and an extremely dangerous aura emanated continuously from it.

This strange weapon cannot cut a human body as easily as an ordinary sword, but it has the terrifying ability to drain all the water from the body of any living thing it touches, turning it into a shriveled corpse!

An Nuo stood firmly in place, his eyes as deep as the sea were as calm as cold stars, flashing with sharp light. His body sank slightly, his legs slightly bent, his hands clenched into fists, and he took a strict defensive posture.

At the moment when the surging sand waves were approaching like raging waves, his figure suddenly disappeared from the spot like lightning, and the speed was so fast that it was impossible to capture it with the naked eye.

"Hmph, since you've already made your move, be prepared to risk your life." An Nuo raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a slightly sarcastic smile and said, "If I can successfully kill a dignified Shichibukai, I really can't wait to see how the Navy and the World Government will react."

Hearing this, Crocodile couldn't help but frown, thinking to himself: "This ignorant kid is so arrogant!"

At the same time, the golden hook in his hand, which was shining with cold light, drew a cold arc in the air, accompanied by a whistling sound, trying to accurately capture An Nuo's elusive trace.

Chapter 227: The Pirates Are Missing

However, Anno's figure kept appearing and disappearing around Crocodile like a ghost.

Every time he appeared, he would be accompanied by a fierce attack that was as powerful as thunder, making Crocodile unable to defend himself. For a time, this powerful Shichibukai was actually caught in a passive situation of being attacked unilaterally.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Crocodile's eyes flashed with a fierce look, and he quickly stretched out his right hand and pressed it hard on the ground. With his action, the originally calm sand suddenly set off a violent sandstorm, and countless tiny gravels whizzed like bullets and shot in all directions.

There was a loud bang, and it seemed as if the whole world was shaking.

He used all his strength to activate the terrifying power of the Nature Sand-Sand Fruit. The ground, which was already shattered and riddled with holes, seemed to be torn apart in an instant, and countless huge cracks suddenly appeared. These cracks were centered on the place where his palm was pressed, and extended wildly in all directions like a spider web.

The black soil that was originally full of moisture, under the influence of his powerful ability, changed at an astonishing speed. First, it quickly changed from deep black to dull brown, and then in the blink of an eye it turned into a withered yellow color, and finally completely turned into extremely dry dust.

Almost in an instant, the entire land within a radius of dozens of meters was completely engulfed by the dust. The wind whistled past, sweeping up the dust all over the sky, forming a surging sandstorm, which rushed towards An Nuo in the middle of it, as if to strangle him mercilessly.

However, in the face of such drastic changes, Annuo always maintained extraordinary calmness and composure.

His eyes, as calm as water, stared quietly at the street in front of him, which had turned into an endless expanse of sand in an instant. There was not a single ripple in his eyes, like an abyss with no bottom to it.

"Are you trying to create a more favorable combat environment for yourself by changing the terrain?" Annuo said slowly, his voice steady and low, revealing an indescribable confidence and calmness. "It's a pity that you are not the only one who can control the power of sand..."

Before he finished speaking, An Nuo's wrist flickered slightly, and a mysterious earth-attributed talisman flashing with light suddenly appeared in his hand. As he muttered something, a powerful spiritual power suddenly poured into the talisman.

In an instant, a dazzling light burst out from the talisman, and a powerful and heavy force of the earth element gushed out.

The rolling yellow sand that was sweeping towards him was instantly wrapped tightly by a thick layer of earth and rocks after it came into contact with the power of the earth element.

These rocks and earth moved flexibly as if they had life, swallowing up all the sand and dust in the blink of an eye. Not only that, under Anno's exquisite manipulation, they followed the direction of the sand and dust, and like a ferocious python, they wrapped around Crocodile's body at lightning speed.

Then, Anno put his hands together and shouted, "Squeeze it!" Following his command, the layer of earth and stone wrapped around Crocodile suddenly tightened, making a creepy creaking sound. Crocodile felt an irresistible huge pressure coming, as if he was about to be crushed into a meat pie.

Under the huge squeezing force, Crocodile's huge body instantly disintegrated like a sand dune swept by a strong wind, turning into yellow sand flying all over the sky. These tiny grains of sand seemed to have life, quickly surging towards a distance and gathering together again in the blink of an eye.

Accompanied by a slight rustling sound, Crocodile's familiar figure appeared in front of everyone again, returning to human form unharmed.

His cold eyes stared at An Nuo, without revealing the slightest bit of surprise. Instead, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, outlining a sneer full of sarcasm. "Huh, your ability is really weird!"

Crocodile said coldly, revealing a disdainful attitude in his words.

However, he immediately changed the subject and his tone became more stern: "But, in front of me, a natural devil fruit user, you actually want to compete with me in elemental control? You are too confident!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Crocodile suddenly raised his strong right arm and waved it in the direction of Anno. In an instant, the sand that had been lying quietly at Anno's feet seemed to have suddenly been given life and began to stir at an alarming speed. They were like a surging torrent, rushing towards Anno at lightning speed.

At the same time, the rapidly flowing sand gradually condensed in midair, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into sharp sand blades that flashed with cold light. These sand blades were like the sickle in the hands of the god of death, whistling straight towards Anno, as if wanting to cut him in half.

Facing such a sudden and extremely fierce attack, An Nuo seemed extremely calm. With his powerful observation Haki, he had already clearly sensed the arrival of this fatal blow.

He remained calm and collected as he raised his right hand nonchalantly, then pressed it down seemingly casually.

Unexpectedly, the moment Anno's palm touched the sand blade, an invisible force gushed out from his palm. Under the control of this mysterious force, Crocodile's originally indestructible sand blade suddenly lost its support and could no longer maintain its original form. With a loud "bang", the entire sand blade exploded in an instant, turning into countless tiny dust particles, which madly drifted around like a golden sandstorm.

Just as the flying dust in the sky was gradually dissipating, Annuo's eyes focused, and he suddenly pushed the ground with both feet. The whole person was like an arrow shot from a bow, and in an instant he turned into an afterimage that was difficult to capture with the naked eye, and rushed towards Crocodile with the force of thunder!

At the same time, her right hand clenched into an iron fist, containing endless power, and smashed towards Crocodile like a volcano about to erupt!

Facing the aggressive Anno, Crocodile snorted coldly and faced him without fear.

He also swung his right fist, and in an instant, his fist began to rapidly turn into sand, and in the blink of an eye it transformed into a terrifying giant fist that was almost twice as big as An Nuo's body! This giant sand fist condensed from sand and dust came straight towards An Nuo with overwhelming momentum and terrifying pressure!

In a flash, two fists with amazing power collided in the air like two meteors! For a moment, a dazzling light burst out from the collision point, accompanied by a deafening roar, and the surrounding air seemed to be torn apart!

The giant sand fist that seemed indestructible suddenly exploded violently with a "bang" like a ignited barrel of explosives under the impact of Anno's surging spiritual energy! In the billowing smoke and dust, Crocodile's strong and powerful arms and iron-hard fists finally appeared.

However, Annuo's offensive did not stop there.

His extremely powerful punch continued to move forward, carrying an unstoppable momentum, and continued to collide fiercely with Crocodile's fist again! In an instant, sparks flew, and energy overflowed. The ground under the feet of the two began to tremble slightly because it could not withstand such a strong impact!

At this moment, Crocodile's eyes flashed with coldness, and he secretly thought in his heart: "Good opportunity! Watch me use my devil fruit ability to suck all the water out of this ignorant guy's body and turn him into a shriveled corpse!"

Thinking of this, he immediately prepared to activate his own abilities. However, what he never expected was that before he could exert his power, a violent and unparalleled spiritual energy had already poured down his arm like a flood!

This sudden spiritual energy contained unparalleled destructive power. Under its crazy ravages, Crocodile's arm, which had just fought hard with Anno, was unable to resist at all.

With a crisp "crack" sound, Crocodile's entire arm was completely destroyed by the twisting force in an instant, turning into countless fine yellow sands that splashed in all directions!

Immediately afterwards, Crocodile, who had lost his support, flew backwards involuntarily like a kite with a broken string, and fell heavily to the ground in the distance, raising a large cloud of dust!

"Haha, you guy actually has such ability, that's pretty good! It's a pity that you are not so lucky to meet me! Let me tell you, I am an extremely powerful natural devil fruit user. Your childish attack is like scratching an itch to me, it has no effect at all!" Crocodile sneered at his opponent in front of him - Anno, with disdain on his face.

At this moment, a loud noise was heard: "Bang!" It turned out that Annuo seized the opportunity and swung a punch, hitting Crocodile's side hard.

However, a surprising scene occurred. Crocodile's originally hard body turned into countless fine sands in an instant and collapsed. But in just a moment, the scattered sands quickly gathered and condensed into his complete body again as if being pulled by some mysterious force.

Seeing this, An Nuo couldn't help but frown slightly, thinking to himself: "Could this be the elemental transformation unique to the natural devil fruit ability users like me? It's really powerful..."

At the same time, Nami and the others had also hurried down from the Orange Cabin. They stared intently at the fierce battle not far away, their faces full of tension.

You know, they are not unfamiliar with the magical and powerful existence of natural devil fruits. After all, Nojigo once ate a natural star fruit on Sky Island!

At this moment, Gion and Hina looked at Anno who was fighting bravely with Crocodile, and they couldn't help but feel a little worried. Although Anno was very powerful, the enemy he faced this time was not an ordinary one.

If Enelu on Sky Island is compared to a powerful man who is hidden and not yet famous, then Crocodile can definitely be called a well-deserved member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and is recognized by the world as one of the top powerful men standing at the top of this vast ocean!

Of course, in comparison, Gion was not worried about Anno's personal safety, but was worried about the chain reactions that might be triggered after this fierce battle and the various impacts of subsequent events...

If Anno succeeded in killing Crocodile, then this vast ocean would inevitably bring about a huge change like a storm. At that time, not only would the World Government and the Navy regard it as a top priority, but even other powerful forces would inevitably focus their attention on this little-known village in the East China Sea - Cocoa West Village.

Compared to the complicated and indescribable thoughts in Gion and Hina's minds, Nami and the others' minds seemed much simpler. At this moment, their eyes were fixed on Nico Robin not far away.

Nami blinked her big watery eyes and asked curiously, "Does my brother-in-law know that woman?"

Nuo Qigao on the side nodded and agreed, "From the looks of it, it seems that An Nuo does know that woman. From their conversation just now, we can tell that the relationship between them is extraordinary."

At this moment, Kerla suddenly seemed to remember something, and slapped her forehead hard, and suddenly realized: "Oh! I finally remembered it! No wonder I felt that I had seen that woman somewhere. It turns out that she is Nicole Robin! The terrible woman known as the 'Devil' by the world!"

Hearing this, Madam Makino couldn't help but tremble slightly, and murmured to herself in her soft and slightly timid voice: "Finally...finally, there are pirates coming to us..."

As soon as the words fell, the faces of the many women present changed rapidly, some were surprised, some were frightened, some were worried... After all, as time went on, the number of women gathering in the Orange House continued to increase, and the composition of the personnel became more and more diverse.

Speaking of the three sisters Nami, Nojiko and Makino, they are all ordinary people with relatively simple and innocent backgrounds.

And Kerla is a cadre in the revolutionary army;

Hinata and Gion, both dressed in righteous marine uniforms;

As for Laqi, she came from the lofty sky island, and her special race attracted a lot of attention.

In addition, there is the mysterious Kalifa, whose real identity is a spy for the World Government. After counting them all, it seems that the only thing missing is a woman who is a pirate.

Chapter 228 Fierce Battle

While everyone was talking enthusiastically, the battle on the other side was also in full swing. A roar was heard: "Erosion...Reincarnation!"

In an instant, the entire earth seemed to be cast under a spell, and with Crocodile as the core, desertification began to spread wildly in all directions again.

Whether it was the solid soil underfoot, the extremely hard stones, or the towering buildings, everything seemed vulnerable to the powerful erosion power of the sand-sand fruit. They collapsed and turned into flying yellow sand in an instant.

However, An Nuo, who was in mid-air, was not affected at all. He relied on his powerful spiritual power steadily and floated in the air as lightly as an immortal.