Chapter 56: 55. Beaten
"Itto-ryu·Raikiri!"
Atlas didn't let Crocodile's disdain affect him. He promptly drew the Sandai Kitetsu from his waist. The blade gleamed brightly, and an intense sharpness permeated the entire space. The whirling sand and dust seemed to freeze as if someone had pressed the pause button, and a colossal blood-red slash surged towards Crocodile!
Crocodile, who looked contemptuous, seemed to have no defense at all. The blood-red slash passed through his body so easily, and his whole body was neatly chopped in half from head to toe.
Yet, the anticipated spurt of blood was nowhere to be seen. The initially smooth cut surface gradually transformed into grains of yellow sand, and miraculously, the incomplete body restored itself! However, Atlas hadn't expected this casual strike to inflict any harm on Crocodile.
"Swordsman?" After recovering, Crocodile's face became a little ugly again. The kid who originally thought he could be easily manipulated turned out to be a swordsman.
"However, you can't touch me like this. I am a Sand-Sand Fruit user," Crocodile declared, maintaining his Sand-Sand Fruit ability despite his surprise at Atlas being a swordsman. He gazed at Atlas with an unaltered demeanor.
"Haha! Your face truly disappoints me..."
Atlas put the Sandai Kiketsu into the scabbard and felt a little itchy in his fist.
Shinsoku no kamisori (Divine speed razor)
The ethereal figure continued to dance through the air, moving so swiftly that Crocodile could hardly track the movements clearly. This sudden speed made Crocodile more cautious of Atlas.
"Tekkai ken Kowasu"
The shadows of fists in the sky almost drowned Crocodile, but he made no move to dodge, as if any unnecessary movement was an insult to his Sand-Sand Fruit.
"As I mentioned, your attacks are futile against me..." Crocodile declared proudly, maintaining his elementalization. "Unless... poof!!?"
Just as he was reveling in the 'wrath' from Atlas, Atlas secretly coated his fists with Armament Haki, catching him off guard and landing a powerful punch before he could fully elementalize. The blow struck Crocodile forcefully.
"Armament Haki!!?"
Crocodile's body quickly transformed into elements, turning into a pool of yellow sand scattered in the desert, then appeared twenty meters away from Atlas, and said with gritted teeth.
"Haha, are you surprised?" Atlas's keen eyes naturally tracked Crocodile's form, but he didn't press on for victory. This inflicted damage didn't have a substantial impact on the overall battle situation.
"Why is someone like you only a Marine captain!" Crocodile uttered this sentence almost word for word. His eyes were fixed on Atlas, and the arrogance in his expression finally diminished. He now harbored a newfound respect for Atlas. The attention he paid became even more intense because the previous battle had taught him that underestimating his opponent might lead to his downfall today!
"Well, who knows," Atlas replied, clearly having no intention of engaging in a lengthy conversation with the individual before him. He nonchalantly dismissed the question with a shrug.
Desert Girasole!(Desert Sunflower)
Crocodile repeated his old tricks, controlling the flow of water veins under the desert, forming quicksand that could swallow people.
Geppo!
"This trick is of no use to me, Mr. Sand Crocodile!" Atlas mocked Crocodile condescendingly, imitating Crocodile's previous tone.
Desert Spada!(Desert Sword)
Although Crocodile's face turned a little ugly, he ignored Atlas's sarcastic words, and his hands turned into four huge sand blades, with a sharpness visible to the naked eye coming from above.
Observation haki! Shinsoku no kamisori
Atlas's eyes flashed red, and his body kept moving in the air to avoid the sand blade. At the same time, the distance between him and Crocodile was getting shorter and shorter!
Tekkai Bokushingu Senshi no ude U~ohanma(Iron body boxing warrior arm warhammer)
Atlas's arm suddenly swelled, a layer ofhaki quickly covered it, and his huge fist directly met Crocodile's head!
Blow your head off!
boom!
Huge power was released on his head, and Crocodile suddenly turned into yellow sand and disappeared, then reappeared nearby.
Crocodile regarded Atlas with a lingering sense of unease. The punch moments ago had nearly convinced him that he might face immediate death. Fortunately, he had preserved his life by elementalizing in the nick of time. Initially intending to elementalize only his head, he hadn't anticipated the strength of Atlas's blow, necessitating a complete transformation of his entire body.
"You won't be so lucky next time, Sand Crocodile!"
Atlas kept talking and trying to psychologically attack Crocodile.
Suddenly, Atlas pivoted to the right, and a massive sand blade erupted from the spot where he had just stood. If he had hesitated even for a moment, he might have been impaled by the attack.
"It's quite cunning!" Atlas licked his dry lips, but he didn't dwell on the sneak attack from a moment ago. An attack of that caliber didn't pose much of a threat to him.
"Heh heh heh...you are still so naive, Marine brat!"
"haha, really?"
Atlas sneered, and then the rich haki quickly covered his whole body, as if he was wearing a black and red armor, and then quickly rushed towards Crocodile!
Full body haki!
"What a stupid thing to do!" Crocodile was not surprised but happy when he saw this scene. He was very disdainful of Atlas's actions. At the same time, he activated the fruit ability in his hands and turned his hands into four huge sand blades.
Desert Spada!
But Atlas's momentum continued unabated, and he collided directly with Crocodile's sand blade!
Clang! boom!
Atlas was in a stalemate with Sand Blade for a second, and then the huge momentum actually knocked Sand Blade into a bunch of loose sand!
Then he approached Crocodile in the blink of an eye, and before he could react, arms covered in haki grabbed his neck!
"I've got you, little crocodile!" Atlas grinned, and his resolute face looked so hideous and terrifying in the eyes of the astonished Crocodile.
Atlas paid no mind to Crocodile's terror. He seized him by the neck, anchored himself to the ground with his feet, lowered his center of gravity, and assumed a standard over-the-shoulder throwing posture, employing his waist and abdomen in unison!
boom!
"Let you boast!"
boom!
"Let you deny!"
boom!
"Let you ridicule!"
boom! boom! Bang bang bang!
Crocodile's body hung like a ragdoll in Atlas's hands. The tremendous strength subjected him to repeated close encounters with the desert below!
While his body could utilize elementalization each time to avoid severe injuries, his neck was firmly gripped within the palm of Atlas's Armament Haki, and he couldn't break free at all!
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The third bonus chapter
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