How did Crocodile become a warlord?


Crocodile doesn't even know the basics of Haki and was defeated by Luffy. How
did such a weakling became a warlord?




The exact nature of how Crocodile was selected to be a Warlord is not known.

However, this is what Oda has to say about it

> Similar to Luffy, back when he was young, Crocodile's name spread across the
> seas with incredible momentum, but soon after he was **admitted into the
> Shichibukai in his mid-20's** , he tried to fight Whitebeard and was
> completely and utterly crushed by him.

Source: [SBS Vol. 78, Ch.
779](https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/SBS_Volume_78#Chapter_779,_Page_86),
emphasis added

* * *

Aside from that, the following is my explanation: Crocodile was one of the
strongest Warlords. He had a powerful Logia fruit with great control over its
abilities. He could use its effects over large areas of land. His strength is
compared to Jinbei and Ace in the Impel Down Arc.

Bartholomew Kuma, Gecko Moriah, and Jinbei may or may not have Haki.

Crocodile was one of the most important villains in the _One Piece_ universe.
He beat the protagonist not once but twice. Had an interesting power,
introduced us to the Shichibukai, and created a very vast organization almost
taking over a country single-handedly.

Also, I am not sure if Crocodile doesn't have Haki. He considered himself
strong enough to attack Whitebeard head-on. We simply don't see him having any
need for it to be used anytime he has been onscreen.

Moving out of the universe, Oda had thought of Haki before the series started,
but hadn't used it before the Sky Island Arc (Mantra as Observation Haki). We
have at least one clear example of this. Shanks scaring off the sea king.
Mihawk may have used Observation Haki to beat the shit out of Zoro on Baratie
too.

These may be the reasons that he had left them for later,

  * He was still fleshing out the idea about Haki. The three colors, their interactions, etc.
  * He saved them for the time skip region to show a clear way that our protagonists could have a major power-up. Ussop, Zoro, and Sanji after Haki are a thing to be feared as learnt by Doflamingo.

