Hearing Crocodile's final cry, Jones fell silent, unable to put his feelings into words.
Suddenly, he remembered a day ten years ago. With the Athos Family's help, he had just taken control of Jade Street and become the ruler of Kuriswia Island.
Back then, Kuriswia Island had not been as peaceful as it later became. At least, not even peaceful on the surface.
Every day, Pirates or others who resented him came to cause trouble. They wanted to overthrow him and claim a slice of Kuriswia for themselves.
It was the Underworld, after all. There were few laws or morals to hold anyone back; whoever seized something got to keep it. And in the One Piece World, strength ruled above all else. Only strength could prove a person's worth.
To demonstrate his power and secure his rule once and for all, Jones had fought the Pirates and Underworld powerhouses with everything he had. The battle raged for three days and three nights, sweeping across more than half of Kuriswia Island. Even a cliff was leveled in the fighting.
In the end, he had stood before the newly arrived Pirates atop countless corpses, much of his snake-scale armor shattered and his body drenched in blood. He roared that he was the master of the island.
To protect his sister, he had to stay on his feet and complete the Athos Family's mission, even while gravely wounded and near death!
Crocodile had been among the Pirates who arrived hoping to take a share.
Now Jones finally remembered what Crocodile had said to him on that Sandy Beach at sunset.
"Forget it. I want to become the Pirate King, not the lord of some island." With that, Crocodile had taken his officers and left Kuriswia.
Seeing that the Shichibukai had chosen not to