"You guy, you guy."
Crocodile stared at Kouta and the other three, veins bulging on his forehead. "Who do you think I am! I am a Shichibukai, Crocodile!"
"Oh..."
Kouta and the other three turned their heads in unison to stare at the enraged Crocodile, feigning innocence. "So what?"
"Hahahahaha!! Look at this guy, he looks almost cooked. You say he's sand, will he be burned into glass if he's cooked!"
Kouta propped his hands on his knees and laughed heartily, "Glass, glass, glass."
"Hahahahaha!!"
The other three didn't understand Kouta's joke, but that didn't stop them from laughing along with him.
"Fire, open fire..."
Crocodile stared at Kouta, his eyes bloodshot, his murderous intent about to burst from his chest.
*Click, click!!*
"Ah..."
Bullets were chambered. Those without guns grabbed swords and roared as they charged towards Kouta.
The other three dropped their smiles and retreated, standing behind Kouta.
Kouta straightened his back and stared at Crocodile, his eyes widening.
"Get out of my way, weaklings!"
*Crack—!!*
*Rumble—!!!*
Thunderclap in broad daylight.
An overwhelming aura swept across the battlefield in an instant.
The countless Baroque Works thugs behind Crocodile, who were raising their guns to fire, and the countless others who were stepping forward towards Kouta, froze in place as if under a spell.
*Bang—!*
The first fell, then the second.
*Bang bang bang...*
Countless sounds of falling bodies echoed, kicking up dust.
Crocodile didn't need to turn around to know what was happening behind him. He wasn't a rookie pirate.
"Hoo~"
"Haoshoku Haki."
Crocodile took a deep breath and stared at Kouta, his gaze cold and solemn.
His anger had completely vanished.
Not everyone with Haoshoku Haki was a top-tier fighter, but all top-tier pirates definitely possessed Haoshoku Haki.
He knew this much.
Sensing that Vivi behind him and Igaram to his right were unaffected, he knew that Kouta's Haoshoku Haki had not just awakened but had awakened long ago.
His control over Haoshoku Haki was incredibly precise.
"What is this!"
Vivi looked at the countless figures lying on the ground behind them, her eyes wide.
"Kekekeke!!"
Indigo quickly reset Kaloo's dislocated joint. He stood up and met Vivi's astonished gaze, laughing, "Our captain is a man who truly possesses kingly qualifications!"
"Kingly qualifications?"
Vivi regained her senses slightly, her lips moving as she muttered, "King, king..."
Her eyes then lit up, and she remembered.
She looked up at Indigo and stated with certainty, "The 'Haoshoku Haki,' which only one in a million people possesses."
"Kekekeke!!"
Indigo nodded with a smile, then patted Kaloo's head and lowered his head to tell Kaloo, "Alright, you can get up now."
"Gaa—!"
Kaloo immediately struggled to stand up.
It staggered and spun in place a few times. Once it had its balance, it happily rushed towards Vivi.
Upon reaching Vivi, it let out loud cries.
"Gaga gaga!!"
"Mmm mmm mmm!!"
Vivi smiled happily and nodded at Kaloo, saying, "It's okay now, Kaloo."
"Gaa—!"
"Okay? I'll make sure you're not okay right now."
Without Crocodile's command, the four executive agents knew that today's confrontation could not be ended peacefully.
Mr. 5 turned his head to look at Indigo, his finger stopped picking his nose. He then pinched a black booger and, with his middle finger bent and thumb holding it down, shot it towards Indigo.
"This guy is the doctor with the silver hair's group. His bounty is only 20 million. He should die sooner rather than later!"
Indigo watched the rapidly approaching booger bomb, not moving at all.
He stood in place, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
Just as the booger bomb was about to reach Indigo, a figure moved at extreme speed, as if teleporting, and instantly appeared in front of Indigo.
"What do you think you're doing to our doctor? Huh! Are you in such a hurry to die?"
The newcomer, with his large belly, turned his right hand into a rabbit's claw and swatted the incoming booger bomb, sending it flying.
*Boom—!*
The booger bomb flew into the air with a "whoosh" and exploded.
"Ah! This is truly disgusting."
After his brief moment of coolness, the newcomer's right hand returned to normal. He stood in place, stomping his foot and shaking his hand repeatedly, as if he had touched something extremely revolting.
Only then did everyone clearly see the newcomer's face. It was none other than Ah Hua!
"Mr. 5."
Mr. 5 stared at Ah Hua, his face grave.
This guy's speed was too fast! He didn't even know how this guy had weaved through them and gotten behind them.
Let alone him, even their strongest, Mr. 1, Daz Bones, could only see an afterimage.
Crocodile could see Ah Hua's movements, but he couldn't intervene because Kouta's aura was locked onto him.
Seeing Ah Hua looking down and shaking his hand in disgust, Mr. 5's forehead pulsed with veins. He stomped his feet on the ground and charged rapidly towards Ah Hua.
What good is speed?
He had eaten the Bomu Bomu no Mi, the Explosion-Explosion Fruit, and as long as he touched someone, no one could escape his self-detonation.
Upon reaching close range, seeing Ah Hua still unmoved.
A fierce glint flashed in Mr. 5's eyes. He drew his right hand back, veins bulging on his arm, which instantly grew a size larger.
He jumped up and swung his fist, the size of a sandbag, directly at Ah Hua's head.
"Little..."
Vivi saw Mr. 5 charging over. Before she could even utter "careful," she saw Ah Hua stand up, and his right hand had once again transformed into a rabbit's claw.
*Bang—!*
Ah Hua grabbed Mr. 5's fist, which seemed tiny compared to his now-enlarged hand, and turned back to Vivi, grinning. "This beautiful lady, little what?"
*Boom—!*
At this moment, behind Ah Hua's head, a muffled explosion erupted from his palm, and flames flared, illuminating Vivi's face.
Vivi looked at Ah Hua's unharmed rabbit hand, a slight pause on her face. Her beautiful cheeks glowed red under the firelight.
"Amazing."
"Hahahahaha!!"
Ah Hua let out a hearty laugh upon hearing Vivi's praise, his face filled with pride.
"You guy."
Mr. 5, suspended in the air, tried to wrench his fist free from Ah Hua's grasp with all his might, but he couldn't.
He stared at Ah Hua, bloodshot eyes filled with rage.
Since he couldn't pull it out, he wouldn't bother.
Ignoring his fist held by Ah Hua, he drew his other hand back, also forming it into a fist, and slammed it forcefully towards the back of Ah Hua's head.
"You're asking for death."
Sensing the danger from behind, Ah Hua's smile vanished. He turned his head to stare at Mr. 5, a trace of disgust flashing in his eyes.
This guy actually used a booger to throw at him, to disgust him. Wasn't that asking for death?
He had clearly forgotten that he was the one who actively intercepted Mr. 5's booger.
But none of that mattered.
Ah Hua stared at Mr. 5, his body rapidly swelling. In an instant, he transformed into a four-meter-tall, plump white rabbit. The rabbit's eyes were blood red, and an aura of fierce hostility emanated from its entire being.
The whirlwind formed by its aura stirred up the sand beneath Ah Hua's feet and blew it outwards.