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

Chapter 14: Bane reports the East China Sea Navy, and Smoker is promoted to East China Sea Admiral.

A light drizzle was falling from the sky, enveloping the entire Frostmoon Village.

Under the covered bridge of the Isshin Dojo, Bane leaned against a pillar, a cup of tea beside him, and a newspaper in his hand.

Only two pieces of information caught his attention.

The first is a news item in the World Saga newspaper: Fire Fist Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, attacked Drum Kingdom and killed King Wapol.

Furthermore, the newspapers stated that the cause of this incident might be related to a Devil Fruit.

"Have they already caught up with the Drum Kingdom? It seems we're not far from the East Sea." Bane took a sip of tea and muttered to himself.

In the past six months, news about Fire Fist Ace has appeared in the newspapers quite often. Judging from the things he has done and his trajectory, he should have entered the first half of the Grand Line from Fishman Island and was heading towards the East Blue.

Bane estimated that the Whitebeard Pirates must have already learned that he was hiding in the East Blue.

This is not surprising. It's alright here in Frostmoon Village, but when he appeared in Loguetown, he didn't hide his whereabouts at all.

The only thing that made Bane somewhat emotional was that it was Ace who had stepped up all along, while Teach was completely ignored. That old guy was really quite low-key and patient.

Things have changed in Drum Kingdom. In the original story, it was Teach's Blackbeard Pirates who attacked the kingdom, and Wapol was not killed but escaped.

Now, the newspapers have even published his obituary, which clearly means he's dead. Bane even suspects that the Gluttony Fruit might have already fallen into Blackbeard's hands. It seems that the guy probably knows he ate the Dark-Dark Fruit and is now looking for another way out.

Aside from this news item, the local Donghai newspaper published another news item that Bane was concerned about.

That was the former Loguetown naval base commander, Captain Smoker, who took over the position of East Blue Admiral and forcefully cleaned up the East Blue 153rd Naval Base, dismissing and arresting the base commander, Axe-Hand Morgan. At the same time, Smoker also led his team to Syrup Village and killed the former Black Cat Pirates captain, Hyakuji Kuro, who had brutally murdered many marines.

In a formal statement published in the newspaper, East China Sea Admiral Colonel Smoker declared that he would continue to oversee and rectify the discipline of the East China Sea Navy and welcomed reports from all sectors regarding any irregularities within the navy.

That's right, this time it was Bane's doing again.

Before leaving Loguetown, he bought his own Den Den Mushi and left a signal with Smoker. The two have occasionally communicated over the past six months.

During this time, Bane continued to report, first setting fire to the fat and bloated East Blue Admiral, and then "dug up" the secrets between Morgan and the Black Cat Pirates, compiling them into a detailed document, which he mailed to Smoker.

Smoker originally had no right to interfere with the affairs of the East Blue Admiral and the other branch bases. Bane's actions were merely laying the groundwork in advance, in case it came in handy later, to prevent any real conflict from arising and causing any rift with the Navy.

As it turned out, when he sent the information over, it just so happened that Garp, a bigwig in the Navy Headquarters, was on vacation in the East Blue. Garp and Smoker already had a certain relationship, and the first thing he did after arriving was to visit Smoker, where he learned about all of this.

As the head of the headquarters, Garp could handle things that Smoker couldn't. So, with Garp's support, Smoker began to sweep away his own allies and was promoted and given a raise, eventually becoming the Admiral of the East Blue.

With that, Morgan was gone, and Kuro's dream of becoming a wealthy countryman was shattered. Moreover, it is said that during this sweep, Garp and Smoker also took the opportunity to eliminate many pirates in the East Blue, including the "Iron Rod Pirates".

Bane didn't have much of an impression of this pirate crew until he discovered that the crew's captain was named "Alvida".

They were just really unlucky.

Therefore, as far as Bane knows, among the scum of the East China Sea navy, there is only one Captain Rat left who needs to be dealt with.

He intends to do this personally, for one reason only: to recruit the world's best navigators into his ranks!

Just as Bane was reading the newspaper and drinking tea, he heard footsteps coming from the corridor behind him.

A moment later, Koushirou arrived behind him, and Bann prepared to get up and pay his respects to his master.

Indeed, over the past six months, Bane has gradually come to regard Koushirou as his true master. After all, he was rude first, but Koushirou completely tolerated him and taught him everything he knew without reservation. Moreover, even knowing that he was being hunted by the Whitebeard Pirates, he still chose to protect him. Bane acknowledges this kindness.

"No need to get up." Koushirou reached out and pressed down on Bane's shoulder to stop him from moving. Then, he sat down opposite Bane in a very casual manner, picked up the teapot from the saucer, and poured himself a cup as well.

As the light rain fell outside the covered bridge, Koushirou took a sip of tea and asked softly, "Where's Zoro? It's unusual that he's not with you."

The strong are always lonely, and Zoro is undoubtedly a lonely strongman in this dojo. After Kuina's death, although Zoro still has a good relationship with his fellow disciples, there is an insurmountable gap between them in essence. They cannot walk together and cannot move forward to a higher level together.

This is one of the reasons why Zoro prepared to leave the dojo and go out to sea to gain experience before Bane arrived.

Bane's arrival quickly shattered Zoro's loneliness. Although he was no match for Zoro in swordsmanship, he was much stronger and brought Zoro many new experiences. So much so that although Zoro appeared arrogant, he would actually spend all his free time with Bane.

As for Bane, he greatly admired Zoro and knew that Zoro would definitely become one of the world's top fighters in the future. In addition, he and Zoro were kindred spirits, so he was naturally happy to team up with Zoro.

The two even discussed going to sea together in the future to see the world.

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

Hearing Koushirou's question, Bane looked at the rain outside and replied after a moment, "He went to visit Kuina."

Koushirou paused for a moment upon hearing this, then a gentle look flashed in his eyes as he said, "I almost forgot, he always goes to keep Kuina company whenever it rains."

Bane didn't respond, but silently drank his tea. He knew that Guina might be a pain in his master's heart forever, but his master didn't need anyone to comfort him.

After a long while, Koushirou finally snapped out of his reverie. He glanced at the newspaper in Bane's hand, his gaze lingering briefly on the news about Fire Fist Ace, before asking, "You two, are you planning to leave?"

Bane smiled and said, "That kid Zoro has been wanting to go out and explore for a while. As for me... to be honest, staying here any longer might cause you some trouble, Master."

"Master, I would never send my disciple away just because it's troublesome," Koushirou said gently with a smile.

"But I don't want to put you in a difficult position, Master," Bane replied with a smile.

Seeing this, Koushirou sighed softly, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "As you know, I have some connections with the Revolutionary Army. If you want to find refuge, I can help you get some."

"No need, Master." Bane grinned, revealing a bright smile. "I came to this vast ocean not to hide and seek refuge!"

Looking at the confident smile on Bane's face, Koushirou finally smiled and said, "That's true. Without experiencing hardships, one cannot become stronger."

After a slight pause, Koushirou took out a notebook from his pocket and handed it to Bane, saying, "I was originally planning to give you this as agreed before, after you had mastered your skills, but now it seems that if I don't give it to you now, it will be too late."

(End of this chapter)