"Heh... Captain, can I take him on first?"
The nameless anger in Crocodile's heart had not subsided after defeating the priest, because that guy had gone down far too easily.
Instead, his fighting spirit flared up again. Even when facing a powerful enemy like Enel, who could injure him with a casual strike, he felt no fear.
By now, Crocodile had turned a vast stretch of land into sand. The area had become his home ground, and he believed he had the strength to fight.
"That won't do. We already agreed on this. This is my fight, and don't get too full of yourself—you're seriously injured right now, you know!"
Gato stood firm beneath Crocodile's determined gaze and refused repeatedly.
What a joke. If Crocodile joined him in wearing Enel down one after another, Enel would definitely lose.
One thing was certain: while Crocodile, as a sand man and an insulator, could indeed be injured by lightning, just like Luffy, he could threaten Enel without even using Haki. Not to mention that his two types of Haki were growing stronger by the day.
Crocodile's progress during this time had been immense. At first, whenever he sparred with Gato, he would be completely crushed. Though he still lost now, he could at least put up some resistance before going down.
If Enel got careless and let Crocodile attack him freely, he would definitely be hurt—perhaps even seriously injured.
Given Enel's arrogant nature, if he was badly injured before being defeated, he would never acknowledge Gato.
That would make it much harder for Gato to recruit Enel.
"Tch!"
Crocodile was unwilling, but there was nothing he could do. This had been their agreement from the start, and Gato was right—his condition was truly not good.
"Are you looking down on this god?