Why was Crocodile aka Mr. Zero’s Bounty Cancelled by the Government?

The second season of Netflix’s ‘One Piece‘ sets up a new villain in the form of Mr. Zero, aka Crocodile. While his organisation, Baroque Works, remains a major villainous figure in the second season, Crocodile himself remains in the shadows for most of it. It is in the final scene that the audience finally comes face to face with the intriguing villain, but his introduction leaves more questions than answers. In his introduction, a flier reveals that he had a bounty on his head, which was voided by the World Government. Considering the significant amount of the bounty and the fact that he is still wreaking havoc as Mr. Zero, it is surprising to see that the government would show such leniency towards him. They, however, had a good reason. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Crocodile’s Forgiven Bounty was a Part of a Greater Plan

The world of ‘One Piece’ is strange and chaotic, and keeping it balanced requires one to think out of the box. The World Government, whose task was to make order out of the world’s chaos and keep everything in balance, had quite a task tackling all the pirates whose powers had been going beyond imagination. If ten pirates were captured or killed, twenty more would rise in their place, making it impossible for the authorities to keep the cycle in check. Eventually, they realised that the only people who could stop the pirates were other, stronger pirates. So, they came up with the idea of the Seven Warlords of the Seas.

Under this program, seven highly powerful pirates would be assigned the title, turning them from highly wanted criminals to invaluable government employees. Their job would be to stop more pirates from rearing their heads by capturing or killing them. In return for this, their bounties would be pardoned. They would be allowed to keep their bounties from the pirates they killed, though they’d have to give some fraction of it to the government. Because they still needed to be pirates, it was a given that they’d commit a crime or two of their own, but all would be forgiven in return for their services. With some of the most powerful pirates under the government’s control, half the job would be done. This is why Crocodile’s bounty of 80 million berries is pardoned.

Crocodile Heavily Misuses His Position as a Warlord

When offered the chance to become one of the Seven Warlords, he accepted and enjoyed the perks of his new position. Given the reputation he had made for himself, it makes sense that the government would want him on their side rather than on the opposite one. Of course, in all of this, the government forgot to take into account the fact that the pirates wouldn’t appear to be under any impression to give up their old ways. They might have a government salary, but the free pass for all their crimes means that they’d get bolder, which is what happens with Crocodile.

After becoming one of the Seven Warlords, he uses the power and influence of his position to hatch a plan right under the nose of the government. He establishes Baroque Works and uses them to launch an attack on the kingdom of Alabasta, which he has wanted his hands on for a long time. The kingdom houses a highly potent weapon that he wants, and this quest leads him to put together a team of weird but powerful people. The third season of the show is set to focus on his mounting conquest of Alabasta, which means that eventually, the authorities are going to become wise to his real plans. For now, only the Straw Hat pirates seem to be his biggest foes, and they seem to be enough to take on impossible tasks and make them possible.

Read More: Does Laboon Die in One Piece? Does It Reunite with the Rumbar Pirates?