"Watch carefully, and learn well. Battles of this caliber are not common in Paradise."
Raleigh clapped his hands, urging his Marine subordinates to observe the fight closely.
The soldiers had quickly disembarked from the warship and, following Raleigh's strict command, spontaneously formed a wide, semi-open circle around the combat area.
At the dead center of the circle stood Douglas Bullet and Sir Crocodile, locked in a deadly confrontation.
As the Marine soldiers secured the perimeter, some bold civilians tried to inch closer to join the spectacle.
Raleigh did not outright drive these curious onlookers away.
He simply had the soldiers instruct them not to bypass the military formation; they could watch the battle, but only from a safe distance.
Once the encirclement was complete, Raleigh and Gion casually strolled through the ring of soldiers to observe from the front row.
Amid the violent, swirling sandstorm that Crocodile had kicked up, Bullet stood with his massive arms crossed, completely ignoring the abrasive, blinding sand.
The razor-sharp grains struck Bullet's hardened Armament Haki without causing even a single scratch.
However, Bullet was not the type of man to simply endure attacks without fighting back.
His eyes tracked Crocodile's rapid movements through the sandstorm like an eagle fixated on its prey, ready to strike at any moment.
Boom!
From deep within the swirling sand, an enormous fist made of compacted desert sand materialized without warning, launching a heavy, crushing punch toward Bullet's position.
Bullet leaped high into the air, easily evading the strike. The massive sand-fist crashed into the street, disintegrating into fine powder upon impact and transforming the solid stone beneath Bullet's feet into loose, shifting desert sand.
Landing on the unstable surface, Bullet's expression darkened. His massive, muscular body could not generate his usual explosive speed on this loose sand—it was simply too slippery and offered no traction.
Indeed, every pirate who made a name for themselves in the New World had their own unique, lethal traits. While Bullet's physical attacks were undoubtedly devastating, his methods for dealing with tricky, environmental fighters were still somewhat limited.
"Conqueror's Haki: Full Release!"
Bullet unleashed his unique aura, combining his raw Conqueror's Haki with his terrifying, demonic energy in one overwhelming burst.
The tremendous, suffocating pressure made even the sand that Crocodile had been controlling with ease suddenly difficult to maneuver.
The heavy sandstorm previously suspended in the air plummeted straight down to the ground.
Many of the observing Marine soldiers and civilians could not withstand the mental impact.
Their eyes rolled back into their heads as they collapsed unconscious. Raleigh simply sighed and directed the still-conscious soldiers to drag the fainted men to safety.
"Do you think you are the only one with Conqueror's Haki?!" Crocodile roared through gritted teeth.
A matching, invisible aura erupted from the Desert King's body.
In the air between them, black and red lightning continuously sparked, clashed, and vanished.
Crocodile's face was dark with pure fury, while across from him, Bullet wore a casual, twisted smile, completely unconcerned by the pressure.
Crocodile took a deep breath.
His body once again manipulated countless tons of sand to soar into the sky, accompanied by a fierce, howling gale that swept directly toward Bullet.
The massive sandstorm blotted out the sun, devouring all light within the area.
Bullet showed absolutely no fear as he watched the seemingly endless wall of sand approaching him.
Instead, he stood completely still, his grin widening.
"Rock-Earth Fusion."
With just a light stomp of his foot, Bullet used the Clank-Clank Fruit.
Solid rocks and debris from beneath the soil rapidly pierced through the sand Crocodile had created, tightly encasing Bullet's massive body.
Bullet's original burly frame instantly turned into a towering stone statue, allowing himself to be willingly buried by the wind and sand.
Seeing Bullet standing motionless and letting himself get swallowed by the sandstorm, Crocodile's face revealed a mix of raging anger and icy killing intent.
He knew exactly what Bullet was doing—the bastard was deliberately not dodging, just to test the raw strength of Crocodile's attack.
"Fool! You will regret this! Desert Burial!" Crocodile forcefully slammed both of his hands downward.
Instantly, a massive, crushing shockwave surged through the sand, compressing the earth violently directly over Bullet's location.
This was one of Crocodile's deadliest signature moves, and since his debut as a pirate, it had proven lethal time and time again!
No matter how physically powerful the enemy was, once trapped deep in his sand, they would be defeated by this technique.
There was no way around it, because this move was not a one-time attack.
As long as the enemy could not break free from the sand's range, they would be constantly, endlessly crushed by the shifting grains from all sides.
When their lungs could no longer withstand the pressure, they would inevitably be squeezed to death.
However, today, Crocodile's dream of an easy victory was destined to be shattered.
From deep within the compacted layers of sand burying Bullet, a mocking, echoing voice suddenly emerged.
"Crocodile, your desert massage is quite good. If you ever get the chance, I highly suggest you open a massage parlor... because right now, my muscles are feeling thoroughly relaxed."
Hearing Bullet's taunting voice echoing from beneath the earth, Crocodile's expression turned extremely grim.
If looks could kill, Crocodile's glare would have already transformed into sharp arrows, piercing deep into the sand to riddle Bullet's body with holes.
"Hmph, you have plenty of time to act stubborn now. Let us see who lasts until the end!"
Crocodile's figure slowly melted, merging seamlessly into the yellow sand. When his Logia body fused with the desert environment, his destructive power reached its absolute peak.
Deep underground, Bullet's figure remained motionless. But the situation was completely different from the beginning—countless tons of heavy sand were now tightly pressed against the outer surface of his rock-and-earth shell.
At an extremely rapid pace, the grinding sand wore down the rock exterior like industrial sandpaper.
Inside his armor, Bullet's expression gradually shifted to pure excitement.
He realized that, in this specific situation, he truly had no clever trick to escape—only raw, absolute brute force could break this deadlock.
Crocodile had shifted his real body to the very center of the yellow sand.
He was surrounding Bullet on all sides—front, back, left, right, above, and below—with impossibly heavy grains of sand, making it almost impossible for Bullet to move his limbs.
Simultaneously, the sharp, grinding sand continuously eroded Bullet's rock shell, attempting to penetrate his body and crush his organs.
'Excellent... excellent! This is the exact feeling I wanted!'
To Bullet, the crushing pressure Crocodile was exerting felt exactly like the old days when he used to train on the Galzburg military warships, carrying massive naval cannons and heavy iron plates just to build his muscles.
No, this feeling was actually better, because the multi-directional pressure was forcibly exercising muscle groups that even his brutal daily training could not reach.
"Crocodile, you useless fool! Is this all you are capable of?!" Bullet roared, his voice shaking the earth.
"If you are this pathetic, then you will not escape death today! Considering we are both pirates, I will make it quick for you!"
Bullet spoke with fierce, deliberate mockery.
Crocodile's attacks were currently serving as a great training weight for him, but they still fell far short of the lethal intensity Bullet truly desired.
To pressure Crocodile into giving him a real challenge, the usually silent Bullet began mercilessly taunting him.
His crimson eyes seemed to pierce right through his own rock armor, through the thick layers of sand, directly locking onto Crocodile's hidden figure.