The next moment, a voice echoed from within the swirling sands.
"You think you can come and go as you please? Do you take us so lightly? Sun Disc!"
Boom!
Space trembled as a massive golden disc rose slowly from the desert haze.
It hovered in the sky like a miniature sun, illuminating the entire area with brilliant light.
"I am... the Emperor of Sands!"
With the sound of clashing metal, a man clad in gleaming golden armor and wielding a golden staff walked out from the storm.
Behind him, figures began to materialize one by one.
One... five... ten... a hundred!
In the blink of an eye, an entire army stood assembled!
...
Yellow sand filled the sky, winds howling.
With the appearance of the Emperor of Sands · Azir, soldiers continued to manifest behind him.
One... five... ten... a hundred!
In an instant, their numbers swelled into a massive army!
Every soldier was clad in golden armor and wielded golden weapons, standing tall and imposing. The aura of an ancient, mighty empire spread across the battlefield.
Seeing Azir appear out of nowhere, Gecko Moria's face turned ashen.
There was no need to guess; this man was definitely a member of Phantom!
"Emperor of Sands?" He gritted his teeth. "I've never heard of such a title!"
Judging by the name, he sounded like the ruler of some desert kingdom, but there were plenty of those in the world. Who knew which one this was?
Compared to Moria, Crocodile's expression was far more complex—pale from injuries, twisted with anger at the hopeless situation.
"A Nine-Tailed Fox... and an Emperor of Sands... Damn it, we should have retreated earlier!"
He frantically searched his mind for an escape route.
Golden Lion, the Nine-Tails, and the Tsar. The three formed a triangular formation, completely surrounding them. To escape, they would either have to break through together or burrow underground.
Burrowing was possible with his Suna Suna Fruit ability. He could turn the ground into sand and dive down, exiting from the underside of the island. But it took time. Unless Moria could hold off all three enemies, it simply wasn't feasible.
By the time he finished digging, they would have caught up long ago.
Therefore, their only option was to forcefully break through the encirclement—and they had to do it instantly.
"Golden Lion is tough. The Nine-Tailed Fox is an Officer, Admiral-class... then..."
Making up his mind, Crocodile shouted at Moria, "Attack together! Now!"
The two shared a strange sense of tacit agreement. Hearing the shout, Moria immediately understood.
In the next moment, both of them launched their attacks simultaneously at Azir.
"Shadow Box!"
Pfft pfft pfft!
Moria roared, his shadow splitting into countless black bats. They swarmed forward with terrifying speed, surrounding Azir completely.
In an instant, the swarm of bats condensed into a massive black box, trapping the Emperor of Sands tightly inside.
"Hee hee hee... Trapped in my Shadow Box, you can't escape!"
Moria laughed maniacally, charging forward and delivering a powerful punch straight into the black box.
BOOM!
The entire box caved in, as if about to be shattered, and went flying backward.
At the same time, Crocodile swung his right arm. "Desert Spada!"
His arm transformed into a razor-sharp blade of sand, unleashing three massive crescent slashes that tore through the air toward the black box.
Swish!
In a split second, the black box was sliced into six pieces, cut apart as easily as tofu.
"Go!"
Having landed their attack, the two immediately turned and fled without looking back.
They didn't care what happened to the Emperor of Sands. Besides, they knew it would take more than that to kill a member of Phantom—their abilities were always bizarre and unpredictable.
However, Crocodile felt a strange sense of unease. It was too quiet. Neither Golden Lion nor the Nine-Tailed Fox had moved a muscle.
Worse yet, the Nine-Tailed Fox was just standing there watching them with mocking eyes.
Just then, high above in the sky, the enormous golden disc suddenly erupted with blinding light.
"Shoot them down."
A calm voice commanded. The next instant, the disc blazed with divine radiance and unleashed six golden beams of energy, homing in instantly on the two fleeing men.
"Not good!"
Crocodile's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected this. One of the golden projectiles was already flying straight toward his face.
BOOM!!
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