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

Chapter 171 Going to Impel Down to Harvest Ability Users!

In the courtyard, Bane was sitting under the shade of a tree, chatting with Yixiao.

"It seems that what we did before was really not presentable," Bane said with some shame.

"The breadth of mind of the Warring States Marshal is indeed beyond our comprehension," Yixiao nodded with a sigh.

Bane had previously thought that his support for Sakazuki would make Sengoku unhappy, but after today's meeting, he realized he was overthinking it; Sengoku wasn't that kind of person.

Therefore, his previous performance of "separating the family" with Yixiao was like that of a clown, and there was no need to continue.

At the same time, Bane now has new feelings.

Perhaps, what he gains in this journey through different worlds is not just power.

Learning something from these world elites would surely benefit one for a lifetime.

Just like the Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the more Bane interacted with him, the more he could feel the gap between himself and him. It wasn't just about strength, but also about the breadth of mind, vision, and magnanimity of a leader!

As his team expands in the future, various talents will inevitably join. Will all these talents get along perfectly and without any conflicts?

Not necessarily, it could even be said to be impossible!

So how should a leader balance and handle these issues?

Previously, Bane hadn't thought much about it, or rather, he hadn't considered it. Now, he had learned some lessons from Sengoku.

"Speaking of which, about four days ago, Aramaki, who was parachuted in from the CP organization, came to visit me," Ichisho suddenly brought up this topic.

"Hmm?" Bane asked curiously, "What does he want with you?"

"On behalf of Mary Geoise, they tried to win me over, basically saying that if I'm willing to make the so-called 'correct' choices in certain matters, then perhaps I could have a chance at the position of Admiral," Issho said to Bane, opening his blind eye with a strange smile on his face.

Bane paused for a moment, then cursed, "Damn it, wasn't feeding one fish enough? You dragged out a wild shepherd, and now you're your target?"

But anyway, he never truly trusted the Five Elders. Only a fool would believe what those political creatures said; they were just playing along with each other.

"Nothing to be surprised about." Yixiao said calmly, "Just as they thought the friendship between you and Mr. Garp, the Fleet Admiral Sengoku, wasn't very deep, they must have done some investigation into us during this time. They discovered that we only met in Alabasta, and our friendship might not be that strong. Under these circumstances, it's not unexpected that they would try to divide and win us over."

"That's not wrong," Bane smacked his lips.

From the outside perspective, he and Yixiao had only known each other for less than a year, so it wasn't surprising that Mary Geoise would do something like this.

"Senior Zephyr, how much longer do we need to prepare?" Yixiao suddenly asked.

"It depends on how well prepared we are. If the situation changes, we're already 'prepared' by now. After all, he's already started recruiting members for the pirate guerrilla force. Within about a month, all of his marines will be heading to Melvure. There will be nearly 20,000 of them. Although it's not a large number, they can all be considered elites," Bane said after thinking for a moment.

The "elite" of this pirate guerrilla force refers to the level of elite combat troops recruited by the Navy during the previous Marineford War.

So 20,000 people may not sound like much, but if you use them as a framework and rapidly expand your recruitment, the number of troops you can build up will be enormous.

After a slight pause, Bane continued, "But if it doesn't come to the point where we absolutely have to start an uprising, it's always good to delay as much as possible. This will allow us to expand our influence within the navy and hopefully attract more naval commanders to join our side in the future, won't it?"

This is actually the main reason why Bane wanted to become a Marine Admiral as soon as possible.

He is currently a vice admiral, not qualified to form a so-called faction or group. However, if he becomes an admiral, he can, naturally, openly recruit naval officers to become his subordinates, just like Kuzan and Sakazuki do now.

The most significant change is in its appeal.

As a vice admiral, even though Bane has the title of admiral candidate, it doesn't really affect the other vice admirals in the navy much. They're all vice admirals, so why should I be your subordinate? Are you even qualified?

But a general wouldn't worry about this kind of problem at all.

It's like now, if Bane went to the flying squirrel and said, "Come and join me, the flying squirrel will just think he's mentally unstable."

But if he were a general, and he went to the flying squirrel to say these things, the flying squirrel would have to think about them.

Just as Bane and Ichisho were talking about this, Tina walked into the courtyard as if she were returning home and greeted them, "Bane, Marshal Sengoku has issued your orders."

"Huh?" Bane asked, somewhat surprised. "What mission? How did it end up in your hands?"

"Tina, I was just wandering around over there when I ran into the Marshal, and he dragged me here to run errands," Tina said, waving the documents in her hand.

Bane took the document and looked at the last line. Sure enough, there was the signature and seal of Marshal Sengoku. It was indeed genuine.

Seeing his action, Tina rolled her eyes and said, "You don't actually think Tina would try to fool you with a fake, do you? That's a serious crime!"

"Haha, no, I'm just a little curious," Bane said dismissively, then looked at the contents of the order.

A moment later, he slapped his thigh and said, "I almost forgot about this. I thought the Marshal had forgotten because there was too much going on at headquarters lately. I didn't expect him to remember. It seems I have to make a trip to Impelton."

"Is it about the Devil Fruit abilities of those imprisoned pirates?" Issho asked casually.

"That's right." Bane nodded, then read aloud, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku compiled a list for me, stripping some of the pirates in Impel Down of their abilities. Look, Douglas Barrett, Bondi Waldo, Basque Jot, Caterina Devon... they're all big shots."

The number is not large, and it is estimated that Sengoku did not intend to clear out all the great pirates in Impel Down in one go, but rather to try it out first.

However, judging from the people he selected, they were all quite capable.

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

Douglas Barrett, known as the successor of the Demon, once went toe-to-toe with Crocodile. Why does he suddenly seem to have lost his cool factor?

In short, his ability is a Paramecia-type fusion fruit, and at his peak, he withstood the Navy's Buster Call.

Bondi Waldo, known as the "World Destroyer," possesses the Paramecia-type Momo-Momo Fruit, which allows him to amplify the speed, mass, and volume of any object he touches by multiples, up to a maximum of one hundred times—quite terrifying. If Garp were to eat this, he could truly become One-Punch Man.

A hundred times the iron fist, who the hell could withstand that?

Basque Jolt, nicknamed "Big Barrel," is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user, specifically the Sake-Sake Fruit. Bane was somewhat surprised to see this.

He thought this guy's ability was something he acquired after escaping from prison with Teach, but he didn't expect that he was already an ability user when he was captured?

But then I thought about it again, and it makes sense. This guy's nickname is "Big Barrel," so he's probably already a user of that ability.

Catarina Devon, on the other hand, is a rare Mythical Zoan type, whose ability is Zoan-type Inu Inu no Mi (Dog-Dog Fruit), Mythical Zoan type, Nine-Tailed Fox form.

"His mission partner... Garp?" Bane's expression became somewhat amused as he read this.

I reckon Garp is planning to go to Impel Down to have another chat with his great grandson, Ace.

"The mission requires you to depart immediately. Mr. Garp is already waiting for you at the naval port. Let's go," Tina called out.

Bane nodded at first, but then looked at Tina with a somewhat questioning gaze and said, "Judging from your expression, are you planning to come with me?"

Tina looked slightly embarrassed upon hearing this, but then said frankly, "Looks like you saw right through me. That's right, Tina has never been to Impel Down either, so I'm very curious about this big prison. I happen to have nothing urgent to do these days, so I thought I'd join you for some fun."

"Ain," Bane called out.

Then Ian emerged from behind the large tree behind Bane and softly replied, "I'm here."

"Does this situation comply with the regulations?" Bane asked.

"No problem, it meets the requirements," Ain replied.

"Alright then." Bane looked at Tina and said, "Let's go, let's go to Impelton."

(End of this chapter)