He stared at Kong Tai, raising the spear in his hand once more.
"Do you know why I can fight that guy Barrett?"
As he spoke, he leaned back slightly, then thrust his right hand forward forcefully. However, this time was different from before; he directly hurled the spear in his hand at Kong Tai.
Before the spear left his hand, he once again reached out and grabbed the empty space to his right. In the sandstorm, weapons identical to the spear he had thrown began to form around him.
He snatched a spear and, with the same motion, hurled it at Kong Tai for the second time.
Kong Tai looked up, watching the spear stab towards him at high speed. A flicker of impatience flashed in his eyes.
He extended his right hand, slapping towards his left. His palm accurately struck the tip of the spear.
The immense force diverted the spear, causing it to embed itself into the sand to Kong Tai's left, just past his left shoulder.
He then bent his legs slightly and leaped upwards.
*Bang*—!
He easily dodged the second spear thrown by the giant.
Then, he sank down, landing on the shaft of the spear. He looked up, watching the giant reach out to grab another spear for the third time. The impatience in his eyes turned to coldness.
"You guy, when will you ever stop! This thing is completely useless against me. Do you really want to provoke me, wanting to die sooner?"
"Then..."
As he spoke, he rested his left hand on the scabbard of the Zankong, his right hand reached for the hilt of the Zankong, and then gripped it firmly.
He stared at the giant's head, a killing intent appearing out of thin air.
*Zing*—!
A pleasant sword hum echoed through the heavens and earth, causing even the howling wind around them to pause for a moment.
Following the sword hum was a massive crescent-shaped, silver-gray slash.
The slash arced upwards, with a "pfft" sound, it effortlessly severed the spear in the giant's hand, severed the giant's arm, severed the giant's head, and then disappeared into the sky beyond the giant's head.
"Useless, gu, hahahahaha!!"
In the giant's cold, colossal pupils, Kong Tai's figure was reflected. A burst of laughter came from the giant's severed mouth.
"As long as I'm in this boundless desert, no one can kill me."
As he spoke, the giant's head, hands, and even the spear held in his hands all rapidly restored themselves in a gust of sandstorm.
"You wanted to know how I could fight Barrett to a standstill, didn't you?"
The giant looked at Kong Tai and raised the spear in his hand once more. "Of course, it's with my invincible 'body,' this kind of body I call 'God of the Desert'."
"Gu, hahahahaha!! How is it, isn't it imposing enough!"
The giant burst into laughter, and the spear in his hand rapidly thrust towards Kong Tai.
"So that's how!"
Kong Tai looked up at the giant, his eyes flashing red, completely ignoring the approaching spear.
This guy was harder to find within the giant's body than hiding in the desert. Even if one's Kenbunshoku Haki was cultivated to an extremely high level, without such a special ability, one still couldn't find him.
"No wonder this guy can fight anyone to a standstill."
As long as this guy wanted to leave, there truly weren't many people who could stop him.
If he hadn't awakened his special Kenbunshoku Haki, and his mental energy hadn't given him unparalleled penetration, then from a distance, he would have been utterly helpless against this guy.
After all, ordinary Kenbunshoku Haki, even the most top-tier, couldn't penetrate thick layers of earth to detect what was hidden beneath the ground.
Of course, if it were within his spatial domain, let alone Crocodile, even a true god would be detectable by him.
He could find Crocodile using Kenbunshoku Haki and mental energy, and he could also find him using his spatial domain. Then... what about Monkey D. Luffy?
*Bang*—!
He extended his right hand and batted away the oncoming spear. Looking at the giant's head, his mind drifted into thought.
"Is there really such a thing as a protagonist's halo?"
The red light in his eyes intensified, and his gaze moved downwards, settling on the giant's chest.
If he wanted to know if this guy truly had the fatal weakness of "fear of water," wouldn't it be enough to just pull him out?
"Hmm! You found me??"
Crocodile, hidden within the giant's chest, looked at Kong Tai's direct, azure gaze and his smiling face froze.
"How could it be..."
He stared at Kong Tai and shook his head. "It must have been a random glance. Yes! That's it."
Crocodile nodded, sinking downwards, and stopped in the giant's stomach.
"Hmm!"
He looked up to the outside again, his body stiffened, the smile on his face completely vanished, and his entire face became rigid.
Kong Tai's gaze was fixed directly on the giant's stomach, on him.
"This guy is really looking at him."
His rigid face suddenly came alive, then flushed red, and contorted.
Outside, the giant, staring at Kong Tai's gaze, showed emotions other than coldness for the first time. He opened his large mouth and roared at Kong Tai, "Who the hell are you, what kind of monster are you! Why, why can you find me, find me!"
At this moment, Crocodile was completely panicked and utterly driven to madness.
If Kong Tai could find him in the desert, it could be explained by extremely strong Kenbunshoku Haki and special perception. But now, he was within the 'God of the Desert' created by his Devil Fruit ability!
If he could be found even now, it couldn't be explained by simple Kenbunshoku Haki.
After all, with this unparalleled stealth and invincible, colossal body, he stood firm in the New World and dared to contend with anyone.
Even Barrett, known as the son of the devil, had to fight him to a standstill. Even Edward Newgate, the strongest man in the world, had to reluctantly let him go after his defeat.
Could he really duel with these two based on strength alone?
Of course not.
It was by relying on this invincible stealth!
As long as he was within the 'God of the Desert' created by his Devil Fruit ability, no one could find his true form.
What if one had Busoshoku Haki?
What if one had Kenbunshoku Haki?
If he couldn't be found, he could only be worn down to death by his 'God of the Desert,' by the invincible regeneration ability of the 'God of the Desert.'
But now, Kong Tai could actually find his true body within the 'God of the Desert.' How could he not be furious and panicked!
After so long of fighting, he knew the gap between himself and Kong Tai all too well.
Once his true body was found by this guy, he probably wouldn't even be able to withstand a single blow.
"Well! Isn't it just about finding your true form?"
Kong Tai tilted his head, staring at the giant's stomach, his gaze piercing through the thick sand layer on the giant's abdomen to the true body of Crocodile hidden within.
"Why are you suddenly so nervous?"
"Ah! Don't get too carried away, brat..."
The giant roared at the sky, then grabbed a spear in each hand and thrust them towards Kong Tai.
"When will you ever stop!"
Kong Tai withdrew his gaze, looking up at the sky, his brow furrowed slightly.
He didn't want to play with this guy anymore.
To be honest, the giant's 'God of the Desert' body was indeed formidable. As long as his true form couldn't be found, it was practically immortal.
However, in front of him, the giant's 'God of the Desert' was no match.
He stared at the spears above, starlight swirling in his eyes, and his spatial domain instantly expanded.
"Get lost."
*Bang*—!
The rapidly expanding spatial domain instantly shattered the spears, then, carrying the fragments of the shattered spears, shot towards the giant's head.