Vice-Captain of the Six Paths Pirates

"Come aboard my ship, Crocodile. The sea is where you truly belong."

Gato dropped the subject and recruited Crocodile once again. However, he did not expect Crocodile to agree this time. He was prepared for a long campaign. If Crocodile refused, Gato would just beat him up again and force-feed him more toxic motivational drivel. Repeat as necessary.

"Hehehe... Turn the world upside down? You really dare to say it... Fine. I accept..."

Bang!

Gato kicked Crocodile flying again.

"Ah! What the hell is wrong with you?! I said yes!"

Sand Crocodile was so furious it felt as though his skull was about to burst open. That kick had come completely out of nowhere. Hadn't he agreed to join? Was this how Gato's pirate crew treated its members?

"Huh? You agreed? That's great... Uh, well... hehehe, I heard what you said at the start and thought you were going to refuse again, so I kicked you on reflex. Sorry about that. I couldn't help it, couldn't help it."

Gato was somewhat embarrassed. The moment he heard that "hehehe" laugh, he assumed Crocodile was mocking him and sent another kick his way. Fortunately, he caught the rest of Crocodile's words and held back at the last moment. Otherwise, poor Sand Crocodile would not have recovered so quickly.

Crocodile was nearly angered to death. He also got a rough idea of what kind of person his captain was. When it came to shamelessness, perhaps no one in the world could beat him.

"Let me make this clear: no matter what you intend to do, don't stop me from taking revenge on Whitebeard. Otherwise, you'll pay with your life."

Crocodile forcefully suppressed the nameless rage in his chest and stated his condition. Whether it was Pluton or Gato, both would help him challenge Whitebeard. And challenging Whitebeard was his one and only goal.

Just as Gato had said, Crocodile felt that Whitebeard had once crushed his will. He did not want to become someone who amounted to nothing more than that. That was also why he had agreed to board Gato's ship.

He wanted to face Whitebeard once more.

Gato grinned slyly. "Hehehe, if you can beat me, I'll even give you the captain's position..."

"You bastard!"

Crocodile was already beginning to wonder whether he had made the wrong decision and boarded the wrong ship.

"Gahahaha, don't get angry. Of course I want to meet Whitebeard—the man called the strongest in the world...

"But it's still too early. You and I are both far from being at the level where we can take part in that kind of battle. Still, I think you have the potential."

As he spoke, Gato rolled up his pant leg, revealing the leg Crocodile had grabbed.

Unlike the rest of his body, which was still brimming with vitality, that leg had completely withered, like a mummy without a trace of moisture left in it.

Erosion Reincarnation was Crocodile's most powerful move, after all. Taking it head-on with his body, even though Gato was far stronger than Crocodile, was still more than he could endure.

If he had not constantly used chakra to resist the erosion, Gato would have long since been reduced to a dried-up husk.

But once he mastered water-nature chakra, doing something like this again would leave him completely unscathed.

Gato's old-fashioned words did not anger Crocodile. Instead, when he saw Gato casually reveal the wound Crocodile had inflicted on him, he felt that this guy was somehow different from other people.

"Hehehe... I see. Then we truly are an interesting pirate crew."

Gato nearly kicked him again. Only later did he learn that Crocodile's low "hehehe" laugh was just his normal laugh, not mockery.

"Yeah. I guarantee we'll be very interesting."

Gato drank the water he had prepared beforehand, and his withered leg began filling out at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, it had returned to normal.

Someone once said that if you wanted a person not to betray you, you should never give them the chance to do so. Yet Gato was openly giving Crocodile precisely that chance, letting him know that he was capable of hurting Gato.

Gato knew that forcing Crocodile to become his crewman through brute strength meant Crocodile would never truly accept it easily. But that was no problem for him. He had the confidence to conquer all unwillingness with his strength.

It would be fine if Crocodile did not make a move. But if he truly believed he could defeat Gato, Gato would show him what real cruelty was.

For the same reason, Gato had absolute confidence in himself, which was why he recruited Drake. Whether Drake was a Marine spy or had genuinely abandoned the Marines was irrelevant to him. As long as he was strong enough, nothing could threaten him.

Crocodile smoothed back his slicked-back hair. His clothes were made of sand, which was also one of a Logia user's abilities, so no matter how fierce the battle became, his clothes would never be disheveled.

"So... Captain Gato, how many people are in our pirate crew now?"

With the dust finally settled, Crocodile had regained his usual air of a domineering figure. With a cigar clenched between his teeth, he asked calmly.

"Two."

"What?"

"You heard right. Just the two of us."

"I'm leaving."

"Hey, don't! Hey! You're really leaving?!"

"Croc, don't let our small numbers fool you. We're taking the elite route. Not just now—even in the future, our pirate crew won't have many members."

"Do you know what pirate crew we are? The Six Paths Pirates! Aside from me, there will only be six core members, including you. And I already have rough targets for the others."

"Of course, if you want to lead your own subordinates, that's up to you. I'm only recruiting the six of you, and I'll only manage the six of you. If you want underlings, recruit them yourselves, just like I did."

After much effort, Sand Crocodile finally suppressed the urge to disband. Of course, if he truly could not suppress such "evil thoughts," Gato would help him suppress them.

With his fists, that was.

"Who are the other five?" Crocodile looked at Gato with a pair of dead fish eyes.

"Hmm, let me think. There are only two who are basically confirmed: the artist Vivi and the navigator Drake."

"I feel like I've heard those names before..."

"Of course you have. One of them is even an acquaintance of yours. Vivi is Princess Vivi of Alabasta. Drake is still a Marine rear admiral and one of the Marines' rising stars, but it probably won't be long before he starts following me."

"Drake is one thing. I admit he has what it takes to join us, but what does that little blonde girl have? Does she deserve to be called an elite?"

Crocodile had heard of Drake's reputation before. After all, Marine rear admirals as young as him were indeed rare.

Crocodile did not question why a Marine talent like Drake would leave the Marines, either. Since the captain had said so, he had to offer at least basic trust—even if Sand Crocodile had not truly joined of his own accord.