Michael's gaze toward Crocodile suddenly turned strange.
This... actually worked?
After all, there had always been rampant speculation about the "Okama King" Ivankov having dirt on Crocodile.
The most widely accepted theory was that Crocodile used to be a woman and had their gender changed by Ivankov—hence giving Ivankov leverage over them.
Some even went as far as claiming the reason Crocodile hated Whitebeard so much was because he was actually Whitebeard's biological daughter, and he resented the father who was never there for him or his mother. Thus began his road of revenge...
Michael was merely trying out that classic theory to fish for information—he hadn't expected to land something big!
Seeing Crocodile's reaction, Michael immediately realized: it was probably true.
In the original manga, there was a huge visual difference between pre- and post-transition appearances.
And Crocodile's transformation likely wasn't out of a desire to become male, but to conceal a deeper secret about his identity.
Oda himself had dropped numerous hints regarding Crocodile's gender. For instance, when he drew the Warlords as children, he made Crocodile look androgynous on purpose.
Or in Chapter 938, titled "A Woman's Secret," Crocodile appeared on the cover.
Even in the character song illustration, Crocodile is seen riding on the back of the camel "Eyelashes," who only allows women to ride him.
The more you think about it, the scarier it gets!
"Crocodile, you don't have to worry. I'm not that interested in spreading other people's gossip," Michael said with a kind smile. "After all, I'm an angel, not some demon—I won't cause your social death."
With every word Michael spoke, Crocodile inexplicably felt more pressure.
It sounded like reassurance, but every syllable was a veiled threat.
Crocodile suddenly felt like crying but had no tears.
Why the hell did he get targeted by someone like this?
"Alright, drop the act, Crocodile. The pain and humiliation in your eyes is too obvious." Michael smirked. "I truly don't care about your past. What I am interested in, though, are the wounds on your body."
"My wounds?" Crocodile dropped the forced, flattering smile and sighed, now calm again.
"It's not a big deal. I just happened to stumble upon the elusive headquarters of the Cross Guild at sea, and on a whim, I challenged the legendary Rayleigh. So..."
Crocodile stopped there and simply pointed at his wounds.
Michael almost burst out laughing.
Challenging Rayleigh now? That's an even worse idea than challenging Whitebeard.
At least if you lost to Whitebeard, he probably wouldn't kill you—and if you were strong enough, he might even ask you to become his son.
But Rayleigh now... he's the boss of the Cross Guild.
Even if he didn't want to kill you, he wouldn't go easy on a challenger like Crocodile. He had to maintain his authority and demonstrate overwhelming strength to intimidate all enemies.
And poor overconfident Crocodile just served himself up on a silver platter, becoming the perfect example to "kill the Vice Admiral to scare the Admiral."
"Those three wounds definitely look like Rayleigh's handiwork." Michael stroked his chin. "Alright, stop sulking. All things considered, Rayleigh was holding back, okay?"
If peak-form Rayleigh truly went all out against this not-yet-fully-grown Crocodile, then by now Crocodile's grave would be covered in lush green grass.
Still... those three slashes weren't all bad.
Even though the wounds were severe, they weren't fatal. With proper rest, he could recover completely.
And with those three cuts serving as a sobering lesson, Crocodile likely wouldn't get cocky again.
Unfortunately, even though he's not cocky anymore, his luck is just that bad—
He ran into Michael.
Because of Michael's [Judgment], Crocodile—already severely wounded—ended up even worse off.
That's why he ended up lying dead next to Hawk Eyes.
"My story's all told. What are you planning to do with me? I do have a sizable bounty on my head..."
"I couldn't care less about that bounty of yours." Michael tilted his head. "Believe me, I had already planned a path for you..."
"But now, I've changed my mind."
"You, sinner that you are, starting today—you'll become a member of the SWORD Secret Special Force!"
Originally, Michael had only planned to make Crocodile one of his Warlords.
After all, Crocodile wasn't fully trustworthy and came from a pirate background. Making him a Warlord was the best option.
But now, he had leverage on him—the biggest one possible—so there was no need to worry about obedience anymore.
And like he mentioned before, gender transition drastically changes one's appearance.
Michael only needed Ivankov to lend a hand, and Crocodile would vanish completely from the world.
Most importantly...
Young Crocodile had a head full of "challenge the strong" thoughts. Though he called himself a pirate, he had never harmed civilians and had actually wiped out several pirate crews.
Compared to the ruthless, unscrupulous sand crocodile from the canon timeline, this version of Crocodile was a much purer, more naive one.
Not beyond redemption.
"What the hell? What kind of unit?!" Crocodile suddenly felt like he was hallucinating. "Are you kidding me?! I'm a pirate! I'm a man who's gonna be the Pirate King!"
That's right. Crocodile's dream...
Was to become the Pirate King.
Even the Crocodile in the original manga emphasized this multiple times.
"First of all, you're not becoming Pirate King. Dead pirate or live Marine—take your pick."
"Second, you're not even a man."
Michael's two sentences were a double KO for Crocodile.
So now, was he really going to go from a carefree male pirate...
To a restricted female Marine!?
"I... don't have another choice?"
"Choice?" Michael raised an eyebrow, casually tossing a handful of Holy Light onto Crocodile. "Only the strong have the right to choose."
Bell-mère, standing off to the side, twitched at the corner of her mouth.
What the hell?
What did she just hear?
How did this 80-million-Belly bounty pirate suddenly get dragged into the Navy by this guy Michael?
Has this world gone completely nuts?
"Crocodile, I believe you're a smart person. Aren't you?"
"...Even if it sounds the same, why does my name sound so twisted when it comes out of your mouth, you damn demon Marine!"
"I already told you—I'm not a demon. I'm an angel."
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