"Instant Annihilation." Rosen struck with a prepared palm strike, his strongest move, derived from the ability to instantly wither and kill his enemies.

He hit his target, but strangely, Eric's body shrank significantly in an instant. Judging from the shock in Eric's eyes, this was an instinctive reaction, faster than his own conscious response.

Life Return ability? A fleeting thought crossed Rosen's mind, though it wasn't entirely unexpected.

The important thing was that he had still struck Eric, even if only on the arm. Rosen's instant withering ability activated, though it seemed to slow down this time.

About a third of a second later, Eric's arm began to wither, quickly spreading to his shoulder. By then, Eric had reacted, the unprecedented crisis driving him nearly mad.

"Crocodile!" With a furious roar, Eric twisted his body violently. The strongest attack he had intended for Queen Hathaway was instead directed at his own rapidly withering arm.

With a sharp sound, his arm was crushed under his own fist, the withered limb disintegrating like paper, dry and devoid of moisture or blood.

Rosen retreated swiftly, avoiding the shockwave, and frowned as he observed Eric, now missing an arm at the shoulder and with part of his left side withered. He remained calm.

This strike should have been fatal. After all, he had been lying in wait for a long time, and with Law's ability, he had caught Eric completely off guard.

Ever since Queen Hathaway and the others began their fierce battle in the underground fissure, Rosen, prompted by Natalie, had been lying in wait.

At that time, his body was only able to allow Law, who had arrived temporarily, to move him near the wall. Using his sand ability to turn the soil into sand, he had hidden nearby.

From beginning to end, he had silently observed the battle. His body had only recovered slightly, and his combat strength wasn't enough to pose a threat to them. Moreover, he hadn't found the right opportunity.

However, this patient waiting had paid off. Just before Queen Hathaway was attacked by Charles, Rosen had seen it.

But Rosen didn't warn her. A warning would have been useless—it would have only exposed him. Charles's ambush had been perfectly executed, and Rosen had only noticed it the moment Charles struck.

Secondly, Rosen indeed needed an opportunity. If Queen Hathaway died from Charles's attack, the battle would shift to Charles and Eric, and he would continue to wait for his chance.

If Queen Hathaway survived, both Eric and Kuma would seize the opportunity to attack her with full force, which would also present a chance for Rosen.

But Rosen never expected that his explosive power, due to his severe injuries, would cause his Instant Annihilation to fail to kill Eric quickly enough.

In truth, it wasn't slower than when he had killed Reiser, but Eric's instincts had still reacted. At their level, even a sneak attack was hard to pull off successfully.

Eric had demonstrated the decisiveness of a true powerhouse. Just as the withering was about to evaporate his blood and moisture, he chose to abandon his attack on Queen Hathaway and sever his own arm.

With his arm severed, Rosen's ability could no longer affect Eric.

"Cough... Damn you! Why are you still alive?!" Eric, now missing an arm and with part of his body withered, struggled to contain the spread. His bodily functions were severely compromised.

Rosen's evolved withering ability wasn't something that could be healed by simply drinking water, as Luffy had done in the show. This was permanent damage.

The withered flesh and blood were dead, and unless there was a special ability or healing method, the damage done would not disappear.

So, although Eric had narrowly escaped death, he was now on the brink, his combat power plummeting. He coughed up blood violently, clearly suffering from internal damage caused by the withering.

But he wasn't defeated yet, nor was he dead. He could still fight, though his strength would continue to decline rapidly.

Queen Hathaway, realizing the opportunity, her eyes flashing with bloodlust, swung her broken blade at Eric. Now was the perfect time to finish him off. In his current state, Eric would struggle to resist her counterattack.

Though she herself was heavily injured, she still had the ability to fight. At their level of physical training, their resilience far surpassed that of ordinary people. A normal person would have died from such injuries, but they could still keep fighting.

Whoosh!

But at that moment, Kuma teleported, taking Eric with him and dodging Queen Hathaway's attack. Rosen shouted again, "Law!"

Whoosh!

Teleportation versus teleportation—who was afraid of whom? Rosen suddenly appeared behind Kuma. He couldn't use Instant Annihilation again—it wasn't an easy skill to master, and he was still injured, though recovering.

So he conserved his energy as much as possible. High-speed movement consumed a lot of stamina, but with Law around, it was manageable.

Law stood with Natali, frowning at Rosen's commands. He felt like he had become free labor.

But Law was genuinely surprised. After surviving that catastrophic energy explosion, Rosen had not only lived but had regained his fighting strength so quickly. This level of power, defying common sense, was no weaker than Doflamingo's.

So their deal still stood.

Boom!

Kuma hadn't expected Rosen to teleport and was caught off guard. Rosen's punch sent him flying, his metal skin cracking and revealing sparking circuits beneath.

Though Kuma hadn't been fully transformed into a mindless machine yet, most of the modifications were complete. Based on the timeline, if nothing unexpected happened, the Marineford War would begin soon.

Kuma crashed heavily into the ground. Though not a fatal injury, it was still serious. Kuma frowned and suddenly said, "His attack power has increased."

Eric, still in Kuma's grasp, looked incredulous. "How is that possible?! What kind of monster is he?!"

He refused to believe that Crocodile, who should have been dead, was not only alive but had also grown stronger. How was that possible? Could it be that he was one of those rare individuals with terrifying innate talent?

On the seas, such people did exist—those who grew stronger in battle or unlocked their potential. Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji, who had been hailed as monsters in their early days, were examples of such individuals.

The Yonko of the pirate world also shared this trait.

Could it be that after years of obscurity, Crocodile had become one of these exceptional powerhouses?

The rank of Marine Admiral was a significant threshold for countless strong individuals on the seas. Many who surpassed Vice Admirals in strength were considered top-tier fighters, but the majority were stuck at this level.

Rough estimates suggested that many Yonko commanders, powerful Shichibukai, outstanding Marine Vice Admirals, and some prisoners from Impel Down's Level 6 were at this pre-Admiral level. It was clear that reaching the rank of Admiral was extremely difficult.

Those who possessed Admiral-level strength were already monstrously powerful at their current level, with the potential to grow even stronger.

Crocodile was one of them? Impossible!

"Mission failed. It's time to go," Kuma said, accepting the outcome. Continuing to fight in this situation would only lead to Eric's certain death.

With Eric's combat power drastically reduced and Kuma also heavily injured, Queen Hathaway's side now had an even stronger Crocodile and a pirate with teleportation abilities.

Retreating now, Kuma could justify it as saving Eric. Similarly, Queen Hathaway would likely survive, given that Charles's predatory gaze was still fixed on her.

"Retreat," Eric gritted out through clenched teeth. Kuma nodded and teleported them both to a distant location.

"Don't even think about it!" Queen Hathaway, unwilling to let this opportunity slip, ignored her bleeding wounds and tried to pursue. But as soon as she took a step, her body wavered, and Charles roared once more.

With its roar, countless monsters surged forward, and Charles lunged at Queen Hathaway.

"Queen, be careful!" Natali called out anxiously.

Rosen didn't pursue either. He was also at his limit, having just recovered a bit of strength. After a few full-power attacks, he was running on empty. Now, they had to deal with Charles's assault.

(End of Chapter)

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