Robin turned around to see a towering figure standing before her. The golden hook on his hand exuded a purple poisonous mist, glinting ominously under the moonlight.
Crocodile looked down at Robin from above, his eyes radiating obvious killing intent.
"What are you doing here?" Crocodile demanded, his voice low and menacing.
Suppressing her fear, Robin forced a calm smile and said, "Didn't the boss send me to carry out a task?"
"Is that so?" Crocodile sneered. "Does the mission from Baroque Works require infiltrating the palace?!"
With that, Crocodile suddenly sprang into action, grabbing Robin by the throat and lifting her into the air with his right hand.
Bloodshot eyes filled with rage, Crocodile roared, "Speak! What did you find in the palace? Is it the Poneglyph?!"
Struggling to breathe, Robin's face turned blue as she choked out, "Yes..."
Crocodile, impatient and furious, shouted, "What does it record? Is it Pluton?!"
Robin's vision was blurring, but she firmly denied, "No... it only records... Alabasta's history..."
"You're lying!"
Crocodile violently threw Robin to the ground, causing blood to trickle from the corner of her mouth.
"How dare you deceive me?!" Crocodile swung his golden hook, redirecting his anger at Noir onto Robin.
As the hook came down, Robin quickly rolled to the side, but the sharp, poisonous tip still left a nasty wound on her pale waist.
Blood gushed from the wound, and Robin clutched her waist, enduring the excruciating pain without making a sound.
At this moment, Crocodile was clearly losing his mind.
Today alone, he had gone through a series of drastic changes.
First, a ridiculously strong newcomer discovered his secret. While he went out to catch the person, Noir had stolen from his home!
Upon returning to the base, that guy had even destroyed his source of income right in front of him!
Now, before he could recover, he found that another secret had been stolen by Robin!
What he had been pursuing all this time had been snatched away, and Crocodile was now in a rage, wanting to rip Robin's brain out.
Then, he would see exactly what was written there!
"Bastard! Die!"
Finally, Crocodile could no longer restrain his murderous intent. Countless grains of sand gathered in his hand, forming a blade as he slashed towards Robin's head.
Severely injured, Robin couldn't dodge and could only watch as the sand blade descended.
As the despair of death loomed over her, Robin surprisingly felt a sense of relief.
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Having hidden all her life, she ultimately couldn't find the "companions" that Saul had spoken of...
Robin gently closed her eyes, calmly awaiting the arrival of death.
But just as she was about to resign to her fate, a loud crash snapped her back to reality.
The sharp sand blade shattered into dust, and Crocodile was punched in the face, sending him flying.
Standing before her was a man with cool, glowing, colorful sunglasses and a cigar in his mouth.
His coat flapped in the wind, making a rustling sound, and his stern face was full of solemnity.
Even the surrounding quiet seemed to change to the exclusive entrance BGM of Star Wars: Imperial March
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DGeLt6XXqs )
Robin opened her eyes wide in astonishment, while Crocodile, sitting on the ground, glared at the face he hated.
Strangely, though, why was there music...?
Robin speechlessly watched Noir make his dramatic entrance and said, "What are you mumbling about?"
Holding a prestigious system-granted cigar, Noir, who was humming the BGM, awkwardly scratched his head and said, "A hero rescuing a beauty needs a bit of atmosphere..."
Both Robin and Crocodile were left speechless.
Seeing Robin's bleeding wound, Noir quickly became serious, crouching down to ask, "Are you okay?"
A warm feeling passed through Robin's heart, and she shook her head.
Noir nodded, stood up, and with a dangerous smile, said, "Nico-chan, step back, I want to have some fun with this guy."
Robin knew her earlier feeling of gratitude was definitely misplaced!
Crocodile wiped the blood from his nose and arrogantly asked, "What? Are you going to avenge her?"
"Do you know what kind of person this woman is?"
"She can betray me for her own goals, so she can betray you too!"
"Tch..." Noir couldn't be bothered to respond to Crocodile's attempts to sow discord. He raised his fists, preparing for battle, and looked at him intently.
Seeing that his provocations had no effect, Crocodile decided not to waste any more words.
Time to settle accounts!
Having been toyed with like a monkey by these two, Crocodile couldn't bear it any longer!
"Be buried beneath the sands!!"
Crocodile activated his desert powers, and a sea of sand surged, blotting out the sky. Scorching sand rushed in, trying to drain the moisture from Noir's body.
Fearlessly, Noir charged into the center of the sandstorm, his left hand controlling sand and his right hand unleashing flames simultaneously.
With both hands clenched, Noir tried to merge the two elements, soon creating a firestorm more intimidating than the sea of sand.
The flame-infused sandstorm collided with the sand sea, but Crocodile used the blurred vision to swiftly approach, aiming his deadly hook at Noir.
Noir dodged the hook, then drew his sword, slashing upwards, leaving a bloodstain on Crocodile's face.
Damn Busoshoku Haki!
Crocodile, wary his power, quickly tried to touch Noir, hoping to turn him into a dried-up mummy.
But black flames suddenly ignited on Noir's body, forcing the quick-reacting Crocodile to withdraw his hand, allowing Noir to seize the opportunity to strike and scatter his body.
Crocodile skillfully used his abilities to evade attacks, while Noir found himself frustrated.
Previously, he hadn't noticed this when sparring with Ace.
But compared to Crocodile, who had trained with the Suna Suna no Mi since a young age, Noir's use of his fruit abilities was pathetic.
Despite having many Devil Fruit abilities, Noir, like a busy harem king, couldn't excel at any single one, spreading his focus too thin.
Noir felt troubled, while Crocodile grew irritated.
This kid had too many abilities, like a hedgehog!
Combined with his Haki, Crocodile couldn't land a hit!
As their battle reached a stalemate, Crocodile suddenly noticed Robin hiding in the distance.
Immediately, Crocodile came up with a plan, evading Noir's attack, and pressed his hand to the ground, shouting, "Desert Spada!"
The sand dunes began to move, and hundreds of meters of ground instantly turned into quicksand, resembling a bizarre coffin, trying to drag everyone into the realm of death.
As a Sand Devil Fruit User, Noir showed no fear. But when he turned his head, he saw Robin, heavily injured and unable to move, panic-stricken as she was slowly being swallowed by the quicksand!