Crocodile will return to the New World. Depending on what he’s after, he could become a moderate threat or create a global crisis.
Kodoani.com – The following has additional sections for One Piece Chapter 1056.
One Piece Chapter 1056, “Cross Guild”, introduced the audience to a powerful new force in the pirate world – the Cross Guild. Not only does it give bonuses to the Marines and effectively turn the tables, but its largest members include Buggy, Dracule Mihawk, and Crocodile. Buggy is clearly a weak link in terms of strength, but there’s still a debate about whether Crocodile can say the same thing.
It’s hard to judge how powerful Crocodile is. On the one hand, he is one of the first major antagonists of the series; in most shonen battle series, which means that others have become exponentially stronger than him. On the other hand, Eiichiro Oda clearly has more work to do before the story ends. Perhaps the former Warlord really had a way of making a name for himself among all the mighty forces in the New World. If he did, then he could still be a danger that Monkey D Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates would have to watch out for.
However, that loss along the way back to Alabasta cannot simply be ignored. Despite being heralded as one of the Seven Lords at the time, Luffy was somehow strong enough to defeat him in a fight. Either Luffy is a lot tougher than people think, or the entry points to the Lords aren’t really that high.
Crocodile’s true potential was shown at the Battle of the Best in Marineford. Here, he fought off the likes of Doflamingo, Mihawk, and even Admiral Akainu. He also tries to get Whitebeard’s head, although even if Luffy doesn’t stop him, it probably won’t go as well as he imagined. No matter how powerful his opponents have proven to be in their own right, Crocodile handles them in any capacity that will speak to his strength.
Fans have been scratching their heads for the longest time about what has changed between Alabasta and Marineford. Some people like to attribute Luffy’s victory to plot amor. This meant that Crocodile was always strong, but Luffy defeated him because it was the only way the story progressed.
However, the more likely explanation is that Crocodile is stronger between Alabasta and Marineford. As is tradition with shonen fighting anime, he may have improved his appearance so that he’s strong enough for his big comeback. That being said, however, it’s safe to assume that Crocodile will later be as formidable as the story needs him.
More evidence of Crocodile’s power can be found in One Piece: Stampede. In this film, he is seen assisting the likes of Trafalgar Law, Sabo, Luffy, Boa Hancock, Rob Lucci, and Smoker in the final battle against Douglas Bullet. Even if he was said to be the weakest of the bunch, entering this final battle and having an equal influence with the others would require him to be quite strong; it was a lofty goal that even members of the Worst Generation could not overcome. Alternatively, this fight can be seen as implying that Lucci, Hancock, and Smoker are all stronger than they were in their first appearance.
Also in this movie, Crocodile clashed with Roronoa Zoro. It was very brief, but the fact that Zoro was required to suppress him would show just how powerful the two of them had become over the past two years. If anything in this movie can be translated into manga rules, it means he’s not on Luffy’s level, but he’s still strong enough to take on any of the other Straw Hats.
For the typical story that seems to be going, Crocodile still being a threat to Luffy’s teammates seems like a reasonable assumption. The Cross Guild poster implies that Crocodile and Mihawk are people dependent on Buggy. If the Straw Hats attack this alliance, one of them will probably have to deal with Crocodile while Luffy deals with the boss. As for how Buggy can be a credible threat or how he even came to be the leader in the first place, that’s a discussion for another time.
Naturally, if Crocodile were to fight another Straw Hat again, it would make the most sense to turn it into someone other than Luffy or Zoro. Having Luffy go up against him as the central villain once again would be repetitive and wouldn’t prove anything about his strength that audiences weren’t convinced of. Zoro will probably fight Mihawk since the two of them have to fight back anyway. Having Crocodile go up against one of the crew members who know him from Alabasta would be an ideal way to show how far they’ve come in their own right. Of course, since he seems to be introduced as one of the strongest members of the Cross Guild, he could just go to Sanji.
Of course, there is still a way for Crocodile to become a major threat in its own right – the Ancient Weapon, the Pluton. He is one of the few key characters in One Piece who are actively searching for the “World’s Worst Battleship”. Also, Caribou had recently discovered that Pluton was in Wano and was eager to tell someone “someone;” this could mean anyone, but Crocodile seems the most likely candidate, especially since his Cross Guild poster was revealed later in the same chapter. If Crocodile gains control of the island’s destructive power, he will become a threat not only to the Straw Hats but to the entire world.
When things settle, Crocodile is definitely the one to watch out for. Right now, he’s probably not strong enough to challenge Luffy, and he shouldn’t be either. However, he must have a difficulty level that matches any other member. Acquiring Pluton could also make him a credible threat and a major protagonist in One Piece’s overall story once again. He may just be a commanding officer in the Cross Guild, but he also has a lot of pride and ambition to strive for bigger and better things.