Chapter 339: Willful, Don't Want to Write a Title
As long as she could still translate the ancient text on the Poneglyph, as long as she could still obtain information about the ancient weapon Pluton, Crocodile wouldn't kill her!
That was Robin's reliance. She believed Crocodile wouldn't let her die.
But... Robin had misjudged Crocodile's personality. What Crocodile couldn't tolerate most was betrayal.
The hand gripping Robin's neck suddenly released, completely letting her go. Then he reached out, placed his hand on Robin's head, and said to her, "Do you really think that without you, I can't find Pluton?"
Robin looked up in shock, staring at Crocodile.
Crocodile felt immensely pleased by Robin's expression and laughed loudly, "Let me tell you! From the very beginning, I never trusted you, because I only trust myself! From the day you joined the organization, I knew you would betray me one day. Isn't that right? Nico Robin, the Demon Child—haven't you always survived by betraying others?!"
A flicker of gloom passed through Robin's eyes. She knew Crocodile was right.
"Goodbye, Nico Robin!" Crocodile began applying pressure to Robin, pushing her down into the quicksand!
The quicksand slowly engulfed Robin's chin, then her entire head. Robin sank completely into the sand. Crocodile watched as her black hair was also fully submerged, and couldn't help but burst into wild laughter.
However, at that moment, a cold voice came from the sky: "If she dies, then you'll be buried with her!"
Crocodile was startled and looked up toward the sky. He saw a figure with huge black flame wings spread behind him, hovering in midair, looking down at him from above.
Who else could it be but Ian?
He had been pushed to the edge of the sand pit by Robin's hands earlier, but Crocodile had suddenly appeared, grabbed Robin's neck, and caused her ability to falter. The hands pushing Ian had vanished abruptly.
So Ian, unluckily, had rolled back down the sand pit...
He had told Robin not to push him—he had a way out—but Robin hadn't listened, and he ended up eating a mouthful of sand.
And when he rolled down, due to the nature of the quicksand, he couldn't steady himself. He could only lie flat in the pit and summon the Black Dragon Wave down.
After absorbing the Black Dragon Wave and gaining the ability to fly, Ian finally broke free from the quicksand's grip and soared into the air. That was when he saw Crocodile pressing Robin into the quicksand's depths.
Ian was furious. Regardless of whether Robin had good intentions that backfired, she had tried to save him. Even if Ian didn't understand why her attitude had suddenly changed, the fact that someone who wanted to save him was being pressed into the quicksand by Crocodile was absolutely infuriating.
Black flames suddenly erupted from the blade of the Thousand Cherry Blossoms in his hand. Gripping the sword, Ian dove fiercely from midair toward Crocodile's position.
"Not good!" Crocodile's heart jolted, and his entire body instantly scattered into wind and sand.
However, to Crocodile's surprise, Ian's target wasn't him at all. Seeing Crocodile disappear, Ian didn't slow down—he plunged straight into the quicksand!
Crocodile was stunned, but then realized: Ian was trying to save Nico Robin!
Sure enough, after about two or three seconds, Ian's figure suddenly burst out of the quicksand with a loud bang, flying out again. But this time, there was someone tucked under his arm.
When Robin was submerged by the quicksand, her instinct had made her hold her breath. That single breath saved her, allowing her to endure a little longer in the suffocating sand layer until Ian fished her out.
Ian held Robin under his right arm, spreading his flame wings to hover in midair while frantically clearing the sand from her mouth and nose. Once she could breathe freely, Robin immediately coughed and gasped deeply.
She opened her eyes, found herself suspended in the air, and turned her head in surprise to look at Ian, who had saved her.
"Why did you save me?" Robin asked Ian.
Ian rolled his eyes at her and couldn't help poking her forehead, saying, "And you! You made me eat a mouthful of sand just now. What were you trying to do?"
"I wanted to save you..." Robin said, her head drooping as he poked her forehead.
"Did I ask you to save me?" Ian was exasperated. "Didn't you see I could fly?!"
Robin fell silent. She realized that her earlier efforts had been in vain.
"See? I told you, Crocodile never trusted you," Ian said to her.
"I know..." Robin lowered her head, no longer looking at Ian, and said quietly, "I was just thinking, maybe ending my life here wouldn't be such a bad thing... A woman like me, who always betrays others, has little place in this world..."
"Stop right there!" Ian interrupted her. "Don't talk about that nonsense. If you really wanted to die, why did you hold your breath when the quicksand swallowed you?"
Robin didn't know how to answer that. Seeing her hang her head, letting him carry her in his arm, Ian sighed and said, "Survival is human instinct! Once I deal with Crocodile, come with me!"
Without waiting for Robin's response, Ian slowly descended to the ground, set her down, and said, "Stay back!"
At that moment, Crocodile appeared on the opposite side of the sand pit, facing Ian from a distance. He sneered at Ian, "You really want to take that woman away? Haven't you seen it? Since she could betray me, one day she'll betray you too!"
"Shut up, what's it to you?" Ian picked his ear dismissively. "You talk so much, are you an old gossip?"
Crocodile's forehead bulged with veins again. His body instantly turned into wind and sand, moving to the other side of the pit in a flash, appearing before Ian. He swung his right hand sharply.
"Crescent Sand Dune!"
A crescent-shaped sand blade formed on his wrist, slashing toward Ian.
Though this move looked like a blade, it wasn't meant for cutting. The sand, once it passed through a person's body, would absorb all moisture, turning them into a mummy—a terrifying technique.
Ian knew he couldn't take Crocodile's drying ability lightly. As soon as Crocodile appeared, Ian swung his blade and launched the Hundred-Style: Demon Fire.
His Psychic Field was active. Ian's perception range had expanded again, allowing him to predict any close-range attack from Crocodile.
But what Ian didn't expect was that Crocodile was cunning. His Crescent Sand Dune was just a feint!
The moment Ian counterattacked, Crocodile's body scattered again, drifting back a distance. He knelt on one knee, pressing his right hand against the sand-covered ground.
Whoosh! The sand beneath Ian's feet suddenly turned into thin blades, shooting up from the ground to slash at him.
Fortunately, this attack was within Ian's perception range. Sensing something wrong, he immediately stepped back, and the rising sand blades barely grazed past his face.
"Hahaha!" Crocodile laughed arrogantly despite missing, saying, "You think I don't know you use Observation Haki? I told you, this is my turf! Even if I don't get close, I can still attack you!"
"Damn it!" Ian cursed under his breath. Crocodile was showing a very intelligent side in this fight. Knowing Ian might use Observation Haki to track him, he completely avoided close combat.
And in this desert environment, once Crocodile turned into wind and sand, blending with the rest of the sand, Ian found it extremely hard to distinguish him.
Observation Haki was like a hearing-based power, but the flow of wind and sand also made sounds, creating interference. So even if Fujitora were here, if Crocodile wanted to hide, Fujitora might not find him immediately either.
That was the so-called home-field advantage. Elsewhere, Crocodile turning into wind and sand would be easily spotted, but not here. This entire block had been turned into a desert by him... This fighting style might seem cowardly, but it was effective!
Ian ignored Crocodile's taunts, focusing on using Observation Haki to track his movements, waiting for an opening. But Crocodile seemed to guess Ian's intent and refused to come close, instead slashing a Desert Saber from a distance.
Zap! Ian pulled a bolt of lightning into his palm and fired a Lightning Spear at Crocodile, crossing paths with his sand blade.
Ian used Armament Haki to harden himself and withstand Crocodile's slash, while the fast Lightning Spear pierced through Crocodile's body.
But to Ian's surprise, the Lightning Spear had no effect on Crocodile!
Then he suddenly realized: sand doesn't conduct electricity!
Oh man! Did he really have to learn from Luffy and coat his fists with blood to hit Crocodile? Or should he just find some water... This was a city, so there should be a water source, right?
But then again, Crocodile was playing guerrilla warfare. Even with water, it might not be easy to land a hit...
Crocodile was indeed a seasoned veteran. Against unknown small fry, he might be careless, but against Ian, another Warlord, he was going all out.
Damn it! As expected, none of the Warlords were easy to deal with. Ian had always thought Crocodile might be the weakest, but now that they were actually fighting, he found it equally troublesome.
Was he really going to have to use that move?
Ian focused his mind on the system backpack interface in his head. There, a card with a red border lay quietly.
On the card was the image of a cold-faced man with white hair. He spread his arms, bare-chested, with a strange pattern on his chest.
Orochi!