If it were Crocodile in the past, he would have turned around and left. He didn't want to lose his life for no reason, but now that he is cursed, there is no room for retreat.

On the one hand, if he retreats, I am afraid that the curse on him will never be lifted. Crocodile is now tortured by hunger and desire all the time. Although his temperament is strong enough, it also makes his temper a lot more irritable.
p>

On the other hand, Tang Sen was right, he couldn't die anyway.

There is a palace in the center of the largest island, but Crocodile did not go there directly. Instead, he came to the edge of the island and placed his left hand on the island.

"Erosion of reincarnation!"

Under the power of dryness, both the grass and the earth are drying up rapidly. With Crocodile as the center, invisible ripples spread out, and everything within the ripples turns into yellow sand.

"In the desert, I am invincible, even facing the golden lion!"

Perhaps the Golden Lion had been comfortable in his own kingdom for too long. He didn't react until half of the island turned into yellow sand. Suddenly, a figure rose into the sky from the palace, and a thunderous sound resounded throughout the island.

.

"Who dares to invade my territory!"

The sound of air explosion sounded, and the figure of the golden lion shot towards Crocodile like an arrow.

"Such a powerful force." Crocodile's brows were furrowed under his mask, and his heart was awe-inspiring.

He could see clearly that the flying man's long and fluffy blond hair was waving in the wind like a cloak. Only the top of his head was bare, with a rudder stuck in it.

The opponent's legs were amputated below the knees and replaced with a pair of blades.

"It is said that the golden lion cut off his legs and escaped from the underwater prison. It seems that the rumors are true, and a rudder was inserted into his head as Tang Sen said. But this does not look like he is weak."
p>

Naturally, Crocodile would not be stupid enough to wait for the golden lion to get close, wave his left hand, and fly four huge sand blades towards the golden lion.

"Desert Diamond Sword!"

Take action with all your strength!

"Lion·Senkiriya!"

The speed of the golden lion in mid-air did not slow down, its legs were waving, and the two blades made dense slashes in the air, directly smashing the four sand blades.

"The power of sand? Sign up!"

The golden lion did not rush to attack, but hovered above Crocodile's head and asked condescendingly.

"The person who is about to kill you!"

Crocodile had no intention of chatting, and under the control of his ability, the wind and sand rolled toward the golden lion as if it were material.

"Are you an arrogant new pirate?" Golden Lion laughed loudly: "You dare to embarrass yourself in front of me with such a weak attack? Forget it, it's been a long time since anyone dares to trouble me, I will play with you!"

"Lion Power·Earth Scroll!"

The yellow sand that was sweeping towards the golden lion suddenly stopped, and then, as if it had life, it condensed and turned into multiple huge lion heads, crushing towards Crocodile.

"How is it possible! He actually controlled my sand——"

Crocodile's pupils shrank suddenly. He was a user with the ability of the Shasha Fruit, but at this time he was completely unable to control the lion heads that came from the sand.

"This is my territory. As long as the objects I touch, whether it is the earth, sand, or sea water, they are all under my control——"

The golden lion laughed: "Newcomer, you are so naive!"

Crocodile's body became elemental, floating into the air to avoid attacks.

"It's not over yet!"

The moment his body condensed, the golden lion appeared above Crocodile and punched Crocodile hard in the face.

Boom!

Crocodile's body crashed directly into the ground.

"What if the Golden Lion cannot use Haki smoothly?"

How could it be possible to hit the elementalized self without using Haki!

Crocodile was filled with grief and anger. Judging from the brief confrontation, although he was not as desperate as facing Whitebeard, the gap between himself and his opponent was obvious.

Fortunately, due to the curse, Crocodile did not feel pain, nor was his combat effectiveness affected by this attack.

"Damn Tang Sen, you better show up in time like you said, otherwise I will have no choice but to run away."

With this thought in mind, Crocodile crawled out of the pit, raised his hand and swept several sand blades towards the golden lion.

"Huh?" The golden lion made a surprised voice: "Can you still fight after being hit by my punch? It's a bit unexpected."

"But that's it."

He swung his blade again and chopped the sand blade into pieces, and his body stretched into a golden shadow, almost in sync with the slashing, and came to Crocodile.

"Sha Lan!"

The white sand attacks the golden lion.

"It's useless!" The Golden Lion relied on more than just Devil Fruit abilities. He was a great swordsman himself, and his slashes were almost indestructible. With one foot raised high, the white sword light flashed across, Crocodile's

The head soars into the sky.

No one noticed that Crocodile gritted his teeth under the mask, looking sad and angry.

The headless corpse collapsed to the ground.

"It's true. A large area of ​​the garden has been destroyed. The person responsible for monitoring should be damned."

The golden lion held the rudder above his head and frowned.

"A little effort will give me a splitting headache. Facing the natural system, this is the only way."

He slowly walked up to Crocodile's headless body and lit a cigar.

"It's been a long time since I've done anything, kid. It's an honor for you to die in my hands, kid. It's a pity that you lost the opportunity to tell me your name."

"Let's turn it into fertilizer for wild beasts here."

He exhaled a puff of smoke and was about to turn around when the scene in front of him suddenly changed. He seemed to see the headless corpse suddenly move and grab his thigh. Then, the water in his body was quickly drained and turned into a mummy.

Falling to the ground.

What followed the picture was an even more severe headache. The rudder was about to penetrate into his head, stirring his brain crazily.

The golden lion held back his headache and quickly dodged, narrowly avoiding the raised hand of the headless corpse.

"How is that possible!"

The pain blurred his vision, and then he saw the headless corpse standing up unsteadily, walked over and picked up his own head.

"What a pity. Are you so keen on seeing and hearing Haki?"

While talking, the head was attached to the neck, making a few clicking sounds, which looked particularly weird when paired with the crocodile mask.

The last trace of the sunset has disappeared, night falls, and a bright moon rises.

Crocodile raised his hand and took off the crocodile mask with his skeletal palm with distinct knuckles, revealing his bony face.

"Actually, I hate the way I look now."

"I can't enjoy it, I don't feel it, I feel like I'm cut off from the whole world, and I'm forced to abandon my identity. But, now it seems, it's not all bad."

"After all, there are probably not many people who can make the legendary golden lion show such an expression."

A weird smile appeared on the skeleton's face:

"I just heard it. If you use Haki, your old injuries will be aggravated, right?"

"Can you still——"

"How long will it last?"

The golden lion stared at Crocodile and squeezed out a few words through his teeth.
Chapter completed!