Crocodile had brought up his status because he wanted Randall to quit while he was ahead.
He had already taken a beating and wasn't planning to keep this going. What more did Randall want?
Of course, he only intended to play dumb and muddle through because he knew perfectly well that he couldn't possibly gain anything by continuing the argument.
Otherwise, he would have given Randall a taste of what he could do.
"The World Government? Fleet Admiral Sengoku sent me here. That's point one.
You haven't signed that contract yet, so you're still a pirate, and I have every right to arrest you and send you to Impel Down for a bath first!
If you're willing to sign it then, that's fine too. The contract will still be there, whether you sign it or not.
That's point two."
At those words, Crocodile's expression turned utterly foul.
Yet he couldn't refute what Randall had said.
Because he knew exactly how the World Government operated.
They didn't regard anyone except the Celestial Dragons as human.
All they wanted from this matter was a result.
As long as he signed in the end, they wouldn't care what he had suffered along the way.
Still, Crocodile was giving the World Government too much credit.
More precisely, as long as someone signed in the end, they wouldn't care what happened in between.
Crocodile was powerful and had a decent reputation, but the sea was vast. Finding someone like him was hardly difficult.
He was just one Crocodile. He wasn't nearly as important as he imagined.
"So this is what the Navy wants? Your Navy intends to go against the World Government?"
Crocodile was displeased. He was a prime example of someone who had achieved success at a young age, but he had recently suffered