Doflamingo had thought that, after speaking so solemnly, Issho would properly investigate Alabasta's dark side. Instead, after arriving in the Golden City, the man had become immersed in gambling, having the time of his life.
His gambling skills were fairly decent, but everyone knew that unless you cheated, no individual could ever beat a casino. Even based on the most basic principles of probability, the house always made a guaranteed profit.
Yet Issho was both a seasoned old gambler and a man bound by strange principles. As long as his opponent did not cheat, he likewise refused to use his extraordinary Observation Haki.
Thus, this Admiral from the original story was soon cleaned out, shamelessly coming over to borrow money from Doflamingo.
Doflamingo: "..."
He truly saw it now. This guy really was a veteran gambling addict. Coming to the Golden City, he had probably wanted more than anything else to have a good time gambling!
Issho stayed in the Golden City for a month or two. After several more days of special training, the Straw Hat Crew soon left Alabasta with their two new members.
They then went through another adventure on Sky Island. Of course, Sky Island now also belonged to Doflamingo's territory, so there was no conflict with the Straw Hat Crew. It merely broadened their horizons.
After leaving Sky Island, the Straw Hat Crew quickly arrived at Water 7, where they ran into CP9 agents enhanced by Doflamingo and Sakrok Dal.
The current Sand Crocodile had been hypnotized by Doflamingo, and so had spent all these years training. Combined with the enhancement from Doflamingo's Soul Fragments and the Haki he had retained after being hypnotized—his will had not declined at all—he could practically be rated among the very best of the second tier.
The CP9