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

Chapter 148 An Invitation from the Five Elders

In the liquor market of the Sabaody Archipelago, Zoro was staring at the stall owner in front of him with great anticipation.

The shopkeeper was holding Zoro's gourd and using a ladle to scoop wine from a small jar and pour it into Zoro's gourd.

"Is one ladleful enough?" the boss asked casually.

"Fill it up, fill it up!" Zoro said without hesitation.

He had only two passions in his life: swordsmanship and fine wine.

"Your wine here is really good. I was walking down the street just now when I suddenly smelled this aroma and couldn't resist it," Zoro said with satisfaction as he took the full gourd of wine.

The shop owner was delighted by the praise and immediately began to boast, "This customer clearly knows his stuff. The wine I bought this time is from the West Sea, but unfortunately, its origin is a bit questionable, so it can't be sold in the shop. I can only sell it cheaply on the street."

Sabaody Archipelago is the last stop in the first half of the Grand Line, and it is a collection of islands. No matter which sea you come from or which route you take, you will eventually meet up with me here.

As a result, the island is home to specialties from all over the world.

Zoro didn't care where the drinks came from. After paying, he prepared to find a stall to enjoy them and have a good time.

Just as he was about to turn around, he saw Nami rushing towards him in the distance.

"You guys finally arrived?" Zoro greeted casually.

He, Bane, and Fubuki flew directly to the island, while Nami took a boat and landed there, which was naturally slower than them.

"Where's Bane?" Nami asked breathlessly, supporting herself on her knees. This movement made her already slender figure even more alluring.

Zoro, however, seemed completely unfazed, stating directly, "I'm having dinner with Trafalgar Law."

But before he could finish speaking, he seemed to realize something, frowned, and said, "You're in trouble?"

"It's not exactly troublesome." Nami was about to say something, but quickly looked around warily.

Seeing this, Zoro immediately understood and led Nami towards a less crowded area, while using his Observation Haki to guard against anyone following them.

By the time Bane had finished eating and drinking and left the restaurant, Trafalgar Law had already left.

He left his heart and said he would continue to try to contact Shiki and would get in touch again when there was progress.

Seeing how eager the kid was, Bane knew he didn't need to urge him to get things done quickly; the kid was even more impatient than him.

"The original plan was to kill Wang Zhi, so how did it inexplicably turn into Shi Qi's?" Bane thought to himself, amused, as he walked down the street.

Looking at it this way, could it be that Wang Zhi also possesses some kind of good fortune, which is why he has been able to turn misfortune into good fortune all these years?

At this point, Bane was full and his thoughts were somewhat scattered. He quickly shifted his focus from Wang Zhi to Doflamingo.

To be honest, Bane also admires Doflamingo's abilities, and if possible, he would certainly like to have Doflamingo work for him.

However, he knew very well that this was unlikely, since he was currently considered to be on the side of "justice," while Doflamingo had done absolutely nothing but evil. Yi Xiao would never tolerate him, nor would Zeff.

Therefore, it was destined that this kid could never be one of us, so the only option was to get rid of him.

"It's all about timing and fate, young master. Cherish your happy times. How long you can live now depends on when that sly one, Shiki, will be hooked by Law," Bane thought to himself.

Then, he looked up and saw Zoro and Nami walking towards him.

Upon seeing Bane, Nami jogged a few steps, muttering, "I need to tell you this seriously, Bane: if you ever leave me behind again, you'd better prepare a Den Den Mushi (snail phone) to contact you beforehand!"

As Bane's secretary, Nami is practically inseparable from him. Even when they are temporarily separated, Nami has a firm grasp of Bane's whereabouts and knows where to find him if anything happens.

For this reason, Bane's Den Den Mushi has always been kept in Nami's valley.

This means that whenever Bane suddenly disappears, Nami is easily caught off guard.

"Sorry, sorry." Bane scratched his head awkwardly before asking, "So, what happened that you were in such a hurry to find me?"

"The Five Elders want to meet with you in secret!!!" Nami whispered furtively in Bane's ear.

Bane?

He reached out and touched Nami's forehead, then said, "You don't have a fever, do you? Why are you talking nonsense?"

Bane and the Five Elders, you can't say they had absolutely no connection, but you can also say they were completely unrelated. So why did they suddenly decide to arrange a secret meeting?

Furthermore, why would Nami be the middleman?

This puzzled Bane greatly.

"You're the one with a fever!" Nami slapped away Bane's hand, which had casually landed on her smooth, slender waist, before saying mysteriously, "As soon as I arrived on the island, I was going to come find you guys, but as soon as I stepped off the dock, I was blocked by a group of people wearing white suits and strange masks."

"CP-0?" Bane frowned immediately upon hearing this description.

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

Honestly, he couldn't quite understand why a group of shady intelligence agents would insist on creating a fixed image for themselves and running around the streets as if they were afraid people wouldn't know what they were doing. Was that reasonable?

Look at Drake, and then look at Vergo!

How dedicated and hardworking are they? One rose from the Navy to become a captain on one of the Four Emperors' ships, and the other rose from a pirate to become a vice admiral and base commander in the Navy. That's what you call a master, right?

With Nami's explanation, Bane quickly learned what had happened.

Perhaps the CP-0 members felt it wasn't appropriate to directly contact them, so they devised a plan to first approach Nami, who had the lowest profile among Bane's group. After all, she was the least noticed, and starting with her wouldn't easily draw attention.

And so, even though they hadn't met yet, Bane's Den Den Mushi had already stored the contact signal of CP-0 member Guernica.

To be honest, Bane doesn't want to have any direct contact with those troublesome Five Elders right now. The reason is simple: he doesn't want to disrupt his plans or get involved in any trouble.

At this moment, he could already sense the trouble. After all, the Five Elders suddenly wanted to meet him in secret. Could it be anything good?

"What do those five old geezers want to do with me?" Bane stroked his chin, pondering.

"You mean they have ill intentions?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, if it were something trivial, or even something that followed procedure, why would they do it so secretly? They must want to use me for something, that's why they're doing this. I can already guess what they're up to: first, they promise me great benefits, and then after they've used me, they'll just throw me aside like a rag," Bane complained.

"Are you still going to see them?" Nami asked with some concern.

"I'll see you!" Bane said without hesitation. "From any perspective, it's not easy for me to refuse these five at this stage. But it's okay, I'm good at eating grapes and spitting out the seeds."

You like to promise me huge benefits, don't you?

What a coincidence, I like it too.

What's more, although I plan to join your company, I don't intend to stay long. On the contrary, I'm planning to ruin you.

So, after thinking about it for a bit, Bane felt that this might actually be profitable, and he agreed to it.

Then drag it out, and when it really comes to it, sorry, what does what Navy Bane promised you have to do with me, the new Navy Bane?

You still agreed? I'm already being lenient by not hitting you.

(End of this chapter)