Over the years, fans have seen quite a lot of exciting individuals in the world of One Piece being crafted by the author, Oda.

These include characters that are good at heart and, of course, villains as well. In fact, without a good villain cast, a series absolutely cannot succeed. Oda has crafted some of the most incredible villains over the years, and many of them have gone on to become iconic in the eyes of the fans. Characters such as Katakuri fought honorably and booked a place in the hearts of the fans.

Others, such as Doflamingo, were evil incarnate, and it was their sheer charisma and ruthless nature that attracted fans to them. Similarly, the cunning guile of crocodile made fans love him incredibly in the Alabasta Arc, and, the fact that he has continued to stay relevant ever since is proof of the fact that his popularity is high among both fans, and with the author as well. Crocodile is a character that has shown up quite a lot as of late in One Piece. He’s incredibly powerful, given that he was one of the former Warlords of the Sea, and at the same time, he has a very important role to play in the story. Naturally, given that Crocodile is relevant in the Final Saga, he was bound to get a power-up, and it has now been confirmed that he has strengthened greatly, especially in terms of a special power.

Crocodile’s Strength Before The Timeskip

User Of The Suna Suna no Mi

Before the timeskip, Crocodile was hyped up to be a very powerful pirate. This was true especially in the early parts of the series, when Luffy entered the Grand Line. His first true enemy who could challenge him was none other than Crocodile, who fought him on multiple occasions in the Alabasta Arc, where it was clear for the fans to see that he was vastly superior in terms of strength on all three occasions. Without help, Luffy would most definitely have died in the land of Arabasta, which just goes to show how dangerous Crocodile was back then. In fact, this was before he even had things like Devil Fruit Awakening, or Haki. Crocodile was then beaten by Luffy and sent to Impel Down. When Luffy freed Crocodile from him Impel Down, his strength had gone up, clearly.

Long time no see, Straw Hat! – Crocodile

In the Paramount War, Crocodile was in a league of his own, managing to clash with the likes of Mihawk, Akainu, and Doflamingo, among others. His strength had not lost his edge, and the fact that he then wanted to head to the New World only meant that he was ready for bigger challenges. Crocodile’s will appears to be unbreakable, and it is going to be very interesting to see how he will grow further in the series as the plot moves forward. Crocodile’s journey from a leader of the Baroque Works, who wanted to destroy an entire country to attain the ancient weapon Pluton, all the way to an underworld agent to the New World is certainly fascinating. Fans will most definitely get to see more of it later down the line in One Piece, especially now that he’s with the Cross Guild.

How Crocodile Strengthened After The Timeskip

Crocodile Gained A Very High Bounty After The Timeskip

Shortly before the timeskip, fans saw Crocodile reading the news about Luffy and the Paramount War. He then approached Mr One, also known as Daz Bones, and asked him to come with him to the New World. This was a clear indication of the fact that Crocodile was not willing to give up on his dreams, and he then sailed to the sea immediately. While Luffy spent 2 years training on Ruskaina, Crocodile was making a name for himself in the New World. Fighting in the New World requires one to have tremendous strength, especially Haki. It was already a brewing idea among the fans that Crocodile had awakened Haki at some point after the timeskip. Of course, this wasn’t confirmed to the fans until recently.

I’m planning on returning to the good old New World. Wanna join me, Mr. 1? – Crocodile

Much of Crocodile’s strength was kept hidden by Oda. However, when Oda revealed the bounties of the members of the Cross Guild, fans finally got a clear indication of how he had grown in terms of both power and infamy after the timeskip. Crocodile’s new bounty was revealed to be 1.965 billion berries, which was a massive increase from his previous 80 million berry bounty.

This was a shock for many fans, and it clearly implied that he’s one of the strongest pirates in the New World right now. To put that into perspective, one only needs to look at Blackbeard, who, until recently, had a bounty of 2.246 billion berries. With this bounty, he was already an Emperor, and the fact that crocodile isn’t that far off just goes to show that he is a very dangerous pirate.

Crocodile Confirmed To Be A User Of Haki

Crocodile Has Awakened Both Armament And Observation Haki

Now, Crocodile has been confirmed to be a user Observation and Armament Haki. Fans know him to be incredibly powerful with his Devil Fruit usage, and, with Haki, he’s now on an entirely different level. Crocodile only has two types of Haki, but both of them should be enough to see him reach the top. This official confirmation came from the Vivre Card, which was recently released, and it shows how strong Crocodile truly is. Naturally, having confirmation is a good thing, but fans are not too surprised by it. Any pirate having a nearly 2 billion berry bounty should have Haki, as that is the bare minimum in the New World. When this is coupled with the fact that Crocodile has potentially awakened his Devil Fruit, one can then see how strong he truly is.

Crocodile could easily be one of the strongest characters in One Piece, and Oda has been alluding to it all this time. With the Final Saga of One Piece now officially underway, Crocodile, and by extension, the Cross Guild, is going to have a massive role to play. As this incredible saga continues, Crocodile will have plenty of opportunities to showcase his true strength. Fans will get to see him fight once again soon, utilizing his newly acquired Haki types, and, potentially Devil Fruit awakening as well.

All fans need to do is sit back and enjoy the show that Crocodile puts on later down the line in the story. He is arguably One Piece’s most cunning villain, and it is time for him to show everyone why he is as special as he is. Hopefully, the events around Elbaf will see him get involved in some shape or form.