As soon as Gojo said, "I am a good person," on the other side, Vivi and Igaram—who were quite far away but still close enough to hear the conversation—almost burst out laughing. They quickly covered their mouths, holding back their chuckles. The way Gojo casually declared "I am a good person" was genuinely funny, especially because it was completely contrary to his actions up until now—particularly what he had done to Crocodile's organization, Baroque Works, where he had killed or severely injured its members to the point that only Crocodile remained, along with just a few officer-level experts.
Crocodile felt the mockery in Gojo's words as well. His expression darkened, and without hesitation, he slammed his right hand onto the ground. Instantly, the area around him began to change as he sucked away the moisture from everything touching the surface.
"Ground Death!"
As the moisture was drained, the earth crumbled into sand. The entire area transformed into a vast sandy field, and even the surrounding buildings turned to dust as their moisture was stripped away. The ground was now completely under Crocodile's control. A massive whirlpool of sand formed where Gojo had been standing, spiraling violently upward.
But none of that truly mattered.
Gojo was no longer on the ground.
He hovered calmly above the swirling sand, floating effortlessly over the raging whirlpool below.
Seeing this, Crocodile's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn't expected Gojo to have the ability to fly. This just made things even more troublesome. All around Gojo, the sand surged upward like jagged waves, forming sharp, cone-shaped tips that rose from the ground and lunged toward him. Yet every time they reached him, they failed to make contact. Within moments, the attacks dispersed, collapsing back onto the ground as lifeless sand. Crocodile continued his assault relentlessly, but not a single attack ever reached Gojo.
Gojo looked down at Crocodile and said, "That was your best attack, I guess. Now it's my turn. It's not my strongest attack—but it is one of my fastest."
In the next instant, Gojo vanished.
He reappeared beside Crocodile, slashing toward his already injured arm. His black blade was coated in invisible Armament Haki. A deep cut appeared before Crocodile could even react. By the time Crocodile realized what had happened, Gojo had already disappeared again, reappearing from a completely different direction and striking once more.
Gojo moved back and forth around Crocodile at an extreme speed, his presence flickering from one point to another. Before, Crocodile had been able to track Gojo's movements. But now, that was no longer possible.
At this point, Crocodile was no longer reacting with his eyes.
He was moving purely on instinct.
Gojo had created four pulling areas—Blue—applying them at the four corners around Crocodile. Using the powerful pull of each Blue, he moved around Crocodile in rapid succession, his body being dragged and redirected through space with terrifying precision. At the same time, his sword—coated in Armament Haki—continued to carve into Crocodile, cutting across different parts of his body again and again.
At first, Crocodile barely managed to avoid the attacks. Relying purely on intuition, he twisted and shifted his body just enough to prevent immediate fatal wounds. Still, as Gojo's assault continued without pause, a grim realization surfaced in his mind: If this continues, I will die here.
Gojo never gave him the chance to elementalize, nor any opening to escape or create distance. The pressure on Crocodile was overwhelming. His instincts—honed through countless battles in the past, even though he hadn't needed to rely on them so intensely for many years—were being pushed to their absolute limit.
Under that crushing pressure, it was as if all of his past combat experience surged back at once.
Crocodile awakened his Observation Haki.
Even with Observation Haki, he could only barely predict Gojo's movements. Avoiding them completely was impossible. Out of every five attacks, at least two landed solidly on his body. Crocodile focused most of his effort on defending his vital organs, which left other parts of his body more exposed. Still, thanks to his newly awakened Observation Haki, he was just barely managing to hold on against Gojo's relentless, multi-directional assault.
After a few moments, Gojo suddenly stopped.
He stood directly in front of Crocodile, who had fallen to one knee on the ground under the weight of his injuries. Multiple cuts covered his body—his pants torn, his shirt shredded. Blood flowed freely from the wounds, dripping onto the sand below. Crocodile was in a completely tattered state. He hadn't died yet, but he was clearly on the verge of death. Without immediate treatment or a chance to recover, his end was inevitable.
Gojo walked toward him, intent on finishing him off.
But just as Gojo was a few steps away, Crocodile's body suddenly dissolved into sand. It collapsed into the ground and vanished in an instant.
Gojo tried to track him with Observation Haki, pushing it to its full potential—but he couldn't sense anything. Frowning slightly, he removed the blindfold he had been wearing. His sky-blue Six Eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for even the smallest discrepancy in the terrain, any sign of Crocodile's presence.
There was nothing.
Crocodile was completely gone.
Gojo let out a slow breath and said, "It seems that he escaped."
Gojo looked around him. What lay before his eyes was a vast sandy area and numerous destroyed buildings, their foundations reduced to dust by Crocodile's "Ground Death" technique.
The remaining Baroque Works officers—Mr. 2, Mr. 3, and Miss Goldenweek—began to flee the moment they saw Crocodile escape and noticed Gojo's gaze shifting toward them. Gojo paid them no attention; his eyes were fixed solely on Miss All Sunday.
With her sharp intellect, she immediately understood the situation. The others might be allowed to escape, but she would not. After all, she was the second-in-command. With Crocodile gone, there was only one thing left for Gojo to do: seize all of Crocodile's wealth—and for that, Miss All Sunday would be indispensable.
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