Those once-unstoppable beams of death gradually lost their former menace under the combined assault of the two sandstorms.
Bit by bit, their energy was ground away until they vanished entirely, like candle flames slowly being snuffed out by a raging wind.
"See that, Bullet?"
Crocodile turned his head slightly and called out to his friend standing nearby, his voice full of confidence and pride.
"Now that is how you fight with style. No pointless bloodshed or brute force—just a contest of intelligence and technique."
However, just when everyone thought the situation had been settled, something unexpected happened.
One particularly thick laser, its light growing increasingly intense, suddenly broke free from the sandstorm's restraints.
Like an enraged beast, it came roaring toward Crocodile.
Faced with the sudden danger, Crocodile remained remarkably calm.
Without rushing, he raised the golden hook gleaming on his hand, a resolute light flashing in his eyes.
"Weighted Sandstorm."
At his command, the surrounding grains of sand seemed to answer some mysterious summons.
They rapidly condensed together, forming a barrier of astonishing density that appeared impossible to break.
The massive laser slammed into the sand wall with a heavy boom.
To everyone's shock, the beam that seemed capable of piercing through anything was completely absorbed by the barrier.
Even more astonishingly, the sand began undergoing a strange transformation after taking in the laser's energy.
A dark-red glow gradually spread through the grains, growing brighter and brighter as if they now contained limitless power.
The entire scene became eerie and mysterious, as though some unknown force had quietly awakened.
Amid the tense, oppressive atmosphere—
"Sending it back."
A savage smile twisted across Crocodile's face, making him look like a demon crawling out from the depths of hell.
He swung his strangely glowing golden hook.
The sandstorm, now filled with an enormous amount of absorbed energy, awakened like a primordial beast.
Instead of continuing to ravage the ground, it reversed direction and shot violently toward the distant sky.
The countless grains within it ground and crashed together, releasing faint dark-red sparks.
From afar, they looked like countless crimson meteors burning with fury, tearing across the heavens with enough force to destroy everything in their path.
"The wrath of the desert…"
Crocodile calmly lit another cigar.
The small flame flickered across his cold face, casting shifting shadows over his features.
He drew in a deep breath before slowly exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, his eyes filled with disdain.
"…isn't something fragile toy lasers like you can endure."
"Hahahaha! Now that's more like it!"
Bullet's thunderous laughter instantly shook the entire area, making everyone's ears ache.
As his laughter boomed, the muscles across his body swelled violently.
Each one rose like a rolling mountain range, displaying overwhelming physical power.
Every muscle seemed packed with explosive energy, as if it might burst through his skin at any moment.
Under everyone's stunned gazes, the mysterious power of the Clank-Clank Fruit activated.
All the surrounding matter was seized by an invisible force.
The seawater surged toward him as though answering a summons.
Fragments of shattered ships broke free from gravity and flew to his side.
Even tiny particles of dust nearly invisible to the naked eye were dragged into the gathering mass.
Those completely unrelated materials spun rapidly around Bullet, merging together and gradually forming an enormous vortex of energy.
"Gigantification: Magma Giant!"
He opened his mouth wide and unleashed a roar that shook heaven and earth.
At the sound of his voice, his body began expanding wildly, growing larger at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a magma giant over a hundred meters tall, standing between heaven and earth.
Molten rock flowed wildly across his body like rushing rivers, releasing a suffocating heat and the sharp stench of sulfur.
The sea beneath him began boiling from the temperature.
Every step he took vaporized vast amounts of water, sending thick steam rising around him until his enormous body was partly hidden within a hazy mist.
"Missile Carnival!"
Bullet roared once more.
His gigantic magma arms spread wide like two gates opening into hell.
Countless launch ports split open across them, packed together as densely as a honeycomb.
Missiles infused with Armament Haki erupted from those ports like a swarm of enraged hornets, rushing toward the enemy with the scent of death.
Each missile dragged a blazing trail of magma behind it, glowing brightly through the darkness like scars left by Death's swinging scythe.
"Come on! Come on! Come on!"
Bullet looked like a wild primordial beast, his eyes wide and his body radiating scorching, violent power.
His thick arms pounded furiously against his broad chest.
Every strike sounded like a war drum, making the surrounding air tremble.
As he moved, the boiling magma splashing beneath his feet transformed into powerful missiles one after another, shooting into the sky with long trails of flame.
"I'll blast every last one of those toy lasers out of the sky!"
Bullet's voice boomed over the battlefield like a great bell, filled with limitless confidence and arrogance.
In the next instant, missiles and lasers began a breathtaking clash in midair.
Brilliant lights intertwined like a magnificent fireworks display, illuminating the dark sky until it became as bright as day.
Explosions bloomed in red, blue, purple, and green, reflecting off one another in a beautiful yet deadly spectacle.
But behind that dazzling display, what shocked everyone most was Bullet's unbelievable precision.
He could freely control the trajectory of every single missile.
"Three degrees left! Elevation fifteen!"
Bullet shouted.
His enormous fingers moved with the skill and force of a master conductor's baton.
Following his commands, the missile swarm changed formation with the discipline of trained soldiers, drawing elegant yet deadly arcs through the air.
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