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After discovering that seawater actually has a special effect on Logia users, Jason hurriedly wiped the water that had seeped through his soaked clothes. He rubbed until his entire hand was wet, then finally released it with satisfaction.
"Now it's perfect, I'm not afraid of you anymore, haha!"
Laughing loudly, Jason took two steps forward.
His strength was naturally immense, and after eating a Devil Fruit, it was like adding wings to a tiger, reaching an incredible level. Without relying on any strange powers, he feared no one.
"And for the Suna Suna no Mi (Sand-Sand Fruit), which is completely a nemesis to water, any weapon or fist tainted with seawater can cause powerful and fatal damage."
The young man crouched on the edge of the ship, his eyes amusingly fixed on Crocodile as he spoke slowly.
"For you, Crocodile, if your own power is strong enough, dealing with you would actually be quite easy!"
Crocodile's eyes narrowed sharply, then he relaxed and asked, "Who are you?"
His intuition told him that this young man, crouching casually on the ship's edge with a relaxed expression, was an even greater threat than the big man standing before him.
"My name is Rojen."
The young man smiled. In an instant, his figure became a blur, and he was already in front of Crocodile.
His speed was so fast it was completely impossible to see clearly, causing Crocodile's pupils to shrink.
Such speed was beyond Crocodile's ability to match or resist, like teleportation, truly elusive and unpredictable.
"Rojen!"
Crocodile began searching carefully through his memory for any impression of that name. After a brief moment of recall, his heart suddenly jolted.
Then, with disbelief, he looked at the boy in front of him.
"It's actually you!"
"With a 150 million Beli bounty, Rojen, the name and face have only appeared on that one unique wanted poster for so long."
Then, as if recalling something else, he suddenly glanced at Jason nearby.
"Armor-Splitter Jason! Bounty 110 million!"
"It's those two!"
Crocodile's expression grew grave.
Caught off guard, he hadn't initially connected these two with the recent duo who had drawn the attention of every Grand Line pirate and bounty hunter. But upon hearing their names and seeing their familiar faces, he recognized them instantly.
These two before him were exactly the two powerhouses he had been paying special attention to lately.
"Rojen, Jason!"
"I never expected these two to be together!"
Crocodile's gaze darkened. Anyone with a bounty over 100 million Beli who identified as a pirate was already a great pirate. In the first half of the Grand Line, such figures were extremely rare.
Even though Crocodile was proud and wielded the power of a Logia Fruit, he knew deep down that his current fame and status were far below theirs.
Together, their combined bounty reached a hefty 260 million Beli, a figure that would make any pirate in the first half of the Grand Line wary.
At the same time, Crocodile's heart grew heavy. He hadn't expected that just by casually testing the waters mid-journey, he would run into such a tough challenge.
"Crocodile, your ability is impressive. Are you interested in joining us?"
Seeing the other man's face flicker with changing expressions, but his initial move to strike had already stopped, Rojen clearly knew that his opponent was now wary of them.
With a slight curl of his lips, he smiled and spoke.
As soon as those words came out, Jason's expression turned strange.
Crocodile's face immediately darkened, turning ashen.
It was something he had heard before, but now said by his opponent in a different way.
Still, he had to admit, the words had a strong gravitational pull on him.
Dragons and Dragons, Phoenixes and Phoenixes , People of Different Levels Rarely Get Along
He was an ambitious man with great aspirations. From the very beginning, his goal was to become the World's Strongest, wanting his name to be known across the entire sea. But after entering the Grand Line, he realized just how difficult that goal truly was.
A pirate crew, a strong captain, capable crewmates, precise navigation, countless details like these were endless.
Although he had rarely faced setbacks, Crocodile knew very well that was only because of his own abilities. As for his crew, he furrowed his brows, already not having much hope for them.
On the other hand, if he joined forces with these two, leveraging their strength along with his own powerful abilities, his ambitions could be realized far more thoroughly.
"Interesting!"
A smile appeared on Crocodile's face, but after a moment, his expression turned cold again.
"Still, let's first see what kind of spirit you have!"
Suddenly, his right hand shot forward to grab at the air ahead.
His lower body had already transformed into grains of sand. Utilizing his levitation power, his speed at this moment was pushed to the limit.
Like a snake composed of sand grains, Crocodile's hand instantly crossed more than ten meters, arriving in front of the two.
At this moment, his target was clear, straight for Jason.
Whoever dared to hurt him, he would reclaim his honor.
"Still daring to come!"
Jason roared when he saw the attack coming. His right fist clenched tightly and swung out fiercely.
"Buzz, "
The air trembled, the airflow condensed and began to boil.
"Bang!"
The punch came from behind and above, arriving at Crocodile's eyes in a flash.
His pupils contracted, and a trace of shock appeared on Crocodile's face.
He hadn't expected his opponent's speed to be so fast, completely overwhelming him in close combat!
The punch struck his face hard. When the fist hit, sand grains scattered. Crocodile's face visibly dented inward at incredible speed and then collapsed apart.
"Pfft!"
A large amount of sand was blasted against the cabin wall behind, punching countless tiny holes.
"Haha, it really works!"
Jason laughed loudly, seeing blood on Crocodile's face as he understood this punch had truly landed.
He stepped forward again, coming right before his opponent, clenching his fist tightly and swinging hard once more.
"Damn it!"
Crocodile also threw a punch, but the simple-minded Jason possessed formidable fighting talent; just by lowering his head, he dodged the blow.
Then, Jason grabbed Crocodile around the waist with a fierce hug.
"No good!"
In Crocodile's horrified eyes, at that moment his body could not Elementalize, and Jason lifted him forcefully, then slammed him onto the deck.
"Bang!"
The deck was dented, blood splattered, and Crocodile was slammed deeply into the wooden planks.
From the back of the battlefield, Rojen smiled and gave Jason a thumbs-up.
(End Of This Chapter)