Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 132 Warring States Period: If you don't share, how can you get everyone to support your dream of becoming a great general?

"I understand, I'll think about it carefully," Bane replied very seriously.

Marshal Zhan Guo nodded in satisfaction, then added, "Under the same conditions, I can also make the decision for that Lord Yixiao. You can help me convey my sincerity."

"No problem," Bane agreed again.

The two walked a few more steps before the Warring States Marshal said, "Speaking of which, I have something else I'd like to ask for your help with."

"Just say the word, we're all brothers!" Bane laughed.

Warring States period?

I'm buddy with you, so how do I deal with Zefa?

Seemingly realizing the problem, Bane quickly chuckled twice and said, "Ahem, what can I do for you?"

Instead of arguing with Bane, Sengoku said, "I don't know if you know this, but it's a secret to the outside world. Impel Down, the Great Prison, actually has a sixth level."

"I've heard a little bit about it. Mr. Garp told me a while ago that his adopted grandson Ace is imprisoned on the sixth level, I think it's called Infinite Hell?" Bane pretended to have only recently found out and chimed in.

"That's right, and there's also Jinbe, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who didn't come to participate this time. He's currently imprisoned on the sixth floor. In short, this place is a place that imprisons the most vicious pirates. Shiki was also imprisoned there back then, and there are still many villains inside." Fleet Admiral Sengoku gave a brief introduction.

"So, Marshal, what's the meaning of this?" Bane asked with some curiosity.

"I didn't pay much attention to these things before, but recently Ace and Jinbe went in one after another, and I started to think about them again. When I saw you taking over the abilities of those pirates on the execution platform, some new ideas suddenly popped into my head. These prisoners of Impel Down are not without value, don't you think?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku said softly.

"You mean," Bane's eyes lit up, "that I can use my abilities to strip these villains of their Devil Fruit powers?"

"That's right." Sengoku nodded without hesitation. "You saw how fierce the battle was today. Although our navy achieved a complete victory and accomplished our strategic objective of annihilating the Whitebeard Pirates, our losses were inevitably heavy. It will take at most three days to tally up the losses from this battle. Those who were killed, seriously wounded, or maimed were all elite forces of our navy. It will be a long time before our navy can lick its wounds. At the same time, there must have been many navy personnel who, like you, made great contributions in this battle. These people also need to be promoted and rewarded. I was thinking, why not extract all the Devil Fruit abilities from Impel Down and use them as medicine to heal our navy's wounds? What do you think?"

What are the Navy's "injuries"?

Many elite combatants were killed or wounded in this battle, and the medicine mentioned by Sengoku was naturally a means to make up for the loss of naval combat power in a short period of time.

The Devil Fruit abilities of the prisoners in Impel Down are undoubtedly a good remedy!

Extracting the abilities of these scoundrels and rewarding them to meritorious naval members would not only fulfill the duty of rewarding those who have contributed to the war effort, but also quickly improve the combat effectiveness that would make up for the losses suffered by the navy. It would be a win-win situation.

It's going to be tough on those prisoners.

But then I thought, those prisoners don't have human rights!

What else is there to say?

"And the reward?" Bane asked with a grin, rubbing his hands together.

"I've already appointed you as a candidate for admiral, and you're still greedy? When you become an admiral in the navy, or even a fleet admiral, won't all of these be yours?" Sengoku glared at Bane, somewhat annoyed.

No? Are they starting to give me empty promises like this?

What do you mean by general and marshal? I don't even have a naval post right now, sir!

"If that's how you put it, then I'll have to calculate my merits this time. Shouldn't I get some reward for my achievements?" Bane quickly said.

"Young man, you haven't officially joined our navy yet. There's no file, no personnel, so how can we calculate your battle merits?" Sengoku immediately changed his tune.

Bane?

"Goodness, when you need me, I'm the future pillar of the Navy, within reach of a Fleet Admiral or General. When you don't need me, I'm just a temporary worker, an unofficial outsider, a despicable outsider, huh?" Bane quipped with amusement.

Upon hearing this, the Warring States Marshal couldn't help but laugh and said, "Hahaha, to be a marshal, one naturally needs to be flexible in all aspects. If you want to be a marshal or a general, you'll end up like me."

After laughing, Sengoku composed himself and said, "In that case, you are free to distribute the Devil Fruit abilities you obtained on the battlefield. Is that a good enough condition?"

Bane has acquired five abilities on the battlefield: Jozu's Glint-Glint Fruit, Marco's Phoenix Fruit, Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, that Pocket Fruit, and the Gluttony-Gluttony Fruit that Teach's corpse exploded on the execution platform.

While it's true that these were all fruits of Bane's own hands, the battles involving Jozu and Whitebeard were all fought with the participation of the Navy, who contributed significantly. It's not surprising that Sengoku mentioned the Navy's share beforehand.

However, Bane seemed to want to say something more, but before he could speak, Sengoku said earnestly, "Since you are Zephyr's adopted son, you are also my nephew. Smoker said before that you are good at interpersonal relationships, but I think you are still a bit naive. Think carefully about how much benefit you would gain if you were willing to help with this matter."

These words suddenly silenced Bane, who was about to ask for a higher price.

"Have you figured it out?" Sengoku smiled, then said, "Wouldn't all the Marines who obtained these abilities owe you a favor? And those Marines who could obtain these Devil Fruits must be our elite, possessing potential and value, members worth nurturing, or perhaps already high-ranking Marine officers. As Zephyr's adopted son, they might not make things difficult for you in the future, but you still need to demonstrate your abilities and take responsibility. Only then can your dream of becoming an Admiral gain more support, right?"

The saying "old people become wiser" is really true!

How can you expect people to support your dreams if you don't share the benefits?

Although Sengoku definitely intended to take advantage of him for free, these words left Bann with no choice but to acknowledge them!

He's going to build a new navy in the future!

Zefa has a lot of influence, so wouldn't it be even better if I could add to his success?

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Moreover, he could sense that the attitude of the naval admiral Sengoku towards him today was different from before.

Last time, although he was also quite friendly, it was just a polite gesture. But today, whether it was because of his relationship with Zephyr, his performance on the battlefield, or Sengoku's impending retirement, Sengoku seemed to be treating him like one of his own.

This is real!

Even if Sengoku were to retire after the Warring States period, maintaining a good personal relationship with a former naval admiral would still be very valuable. Moreover, Sengoku wouldn't be completely out of the picture afterward; he would still be the Grand Inspector!

Who knows when we might need this old marshal again?

Adding to what he had said earlier, Bane pondered for a while, then smiled somewhat helplessly and said, "Everyone says you, Marshal, are a wise general, and today I've truly experienced that. Well, you've certainly convinced me."

"Hehehe, all this talk about a wise general is nonsense. It's only because you're giving me some face that my words aren't entirely unfounded." Sengoku smiled, his gaze towards Bane becoming even more affectionate.

He showed goodwill to Bane, and Bane responded positively to him, which made Sengoku find Bane more and more pleasing to the eye.

Just then, Nami, who had been watching the battle from inside the Fortress of Justice, ran out from the end of the corridor, holding a Den Den Mushi in her hand. She said, "Bane, Bane, there's important intelligence on Sabaody Archipelago! Ah! Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"

Nami was genuinely surprised to find Bane and Fleet Admiral Sengoku whispering to each other here. She quickly stopped running to appear more composed.

Sengoku smiled kindly at Nami and said, "Since it's important information, I won't bother you any longer. I'll arrange things and send someone to inform you later, Bane."

"Yes, Marshal." Bane nodded without saying anything more.

(End of this chapter)