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

Chapter 21 An unexpected encounter in Loguetown, Ace and Teach.

After staying in Cocoyasi Village for a few days, Bane, Zoro, and Nami boarded Arlong's Shark Spab.

Of course, it should be called Bane's Shark Spab now. Bane has no intention of renaming the ship; there's no need, and it's unknown how long it will be in use.

After leaving Cocoyasi Village, Bane and his group went to the Baratie, a sea restaurant, where they met Sanji.

However, after some conversation, Bane confirmed that Sanji did not have a way to contact Germa, so after having a big meal at Baratie Restaurant, he quickly left.

Bane wasn't actually surprised that Sanji didn't have Germa's contact information; they'd think of another way later.

With that, Bane had nothing left to do in the East Blue, so he prepared to head to Loguetown to resupply, recruit some sailors, and also to see Smoker, who should have recently returned to Loguetown, to see if he could ask him for a Log Pose or something.

Once all that's taken care of, we can set off for the Grand Line.

Moo Moo pulled the boat very quickly, and Nami's navigation skills were excellent. In addition, Baratie happened to be sailing in waters not too far from Loguetown, so it only took less than three days for Bane and the others to arrive in Loguetown.

As soon as the ship docked in the harbor, the local navy surrounded it.

"Pirates!?"

"Put down your weapons!"

The Shark Spab's appearance was simply too ferocious, and Bane hadn't had time to deal with its sails and flags, so the ship still flies the pirate flag to this day.

"Pirates on board, give up and behave yourselves now." Tashigi stood on the port, holding Shigure, watching the ship warily.

"Hey, hey, it's a misunderstanding, Tashigi." Bane poked his head out from the deck, then waved and smiled at Tashigi, saying, "It's me. I captured this ship from the Arlong Pirates. I mentioned it to Smoker."

Tashigi adjusted her glasses, looked her over carefully, and exclaimed in surprise, "Mr. Bane!?"

Not only her, but the surrounding marines also greeted Bane warmly, saying, "Lord Bane! You're back again?"

"As expected of Lord Bane, he actually managed to capture such a large pirate ship!"

"The Arlong Pirates had the highest bounty in the East Blue, and now they've been wiped out by Lord Bane."

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Nami and Zoro finished setting up the ship's ladder. Zoro, arms crossed, walked over to Bane and said, "I didn't expect you to be so popular with the Marines?"

As he said this, his eyes swept across the group of naval personnel, and his expression changed drastically, almost causing him to fall headfirst off the ship!

"Kuina!?" Zoro exclaimed, pointing at Tashigi, "Hey, isn't that Kuina? You know her, right? You've seen the picture with Master, haven't you?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Her name is Tashigi, and she's a sergeant from the Marine Headquarters." Bane stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then grinned mischievously. "But she really does look exactly like Kuina. Who knows, maybe Master was quite the ladies' man when he was young."

"Huh?" Zoro looked at Tashigi with surprise and uncertainty, then a hint of understanding appeared in his eyes.

I never imagined you were this kind of master!

Soon, Bane, Zoro, and Nami disembarked from the ship. Tashigi greeted them warmly, saying, "Mr. Smoker just returned a couple of days ago. He'll be so happy to know you're here. After all, it's all thanks to you, Mr. Bane, that he was able to get promoted to Admiral of the East Blue."

Before Tashigi could finish speaking, her gaze had already fallen upon the sword hanging at Zoro's waist.

As a sword fanatic, she instantly recognized the Wado Ichimonji. Her eyes lit up, and she excitedly moved closer to Zoro, exclaiming, "Wado Ichimonji! This is the Wado Ichimonji, one of the Twenty-One Great Swords, right?! A famous sword worth over ten million Berries!"

Tashigi's sudden action startled Zoro, and not only Zoro, but Nami exclaimed in surprise, "A sword worth tens of millions of Berries?"

Is Zoro also a hidden billionaire?

"Tens of millions is just an understatement. In reality, these kinds of famous swords are priceless and unavailable. At the most recent auction, Nagasone Kotetsu, also ranked among the 21 Great Crafts, fetched a staggering 640 million Berries!" Tashigi excitedly explained, then added, "And the Wado Ichimonji is ranked even higher than Nagasone Kotetsu. If it were to go to auction, this sword would be worth at least 800 million Berries!"

"Eight hundred million!?" Nami's eyes lit up. She thought Bane was a very rich person, but she didn't expect that Zoro's sword was worth eight hundred million!

"Eight hundred million, one billion, or even ten billion Berries, I won't sell it." Zoro said with a slight frown, clutching the Wado Ichimonji, somewhat dissatisfied.

"Of course!" Tashigi agreed wholeheartedly. "How can such a renowned sword be measured in money!"

She also had a dream: to collect all the famous swords that were scattered in the hands of the evil party!

"What's your name?" Tashigi asked Zoro after calming herself down a bit.

"Zoro, Roronoa Zoro," Zoro introduced himself.

"I'm Sergeant Major Tashigi from Marine Headquarters!" Tashigi introduced herself, then said, "I'm just passing by. I was originally planning to visit a local knife shop, but I heard they just got a new batch of knives. Would you like to come with me to take a look?"

Zoro was slightly tempted by these words. He touched the two swords hanging at his waist. To be honest, they were just ordinary knives. In recent times, as his strength has continued to improve, Zoro has felt that these two swords are not keeping up with him and are not as easy to use for cutting people.

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

However, he was penniless; although he carried a famous sword, he was still dirt poor.

Just then, Bane drew a black streak of light from his hand, slicing through the air as if tearing open space itself. He then reached in, pulled out a paper bag, and casually handed it to Zoro, saying, "It's good to go take a look. There's nothing much going on right now anyway. I'm going to have some tea with Smoker. You can come back to me with Tashigi afterwards."

This paper bag of Berries must be worth about five or six million, and Zoro, seeing this, didn't refuse at all, reaching out to take it and saying, "If you have a good sword, I'll pick one out for you too."

"Hahaha, then I'll leave it to you." Bane laughed loudly.

Just then, Nami eagerly joined in, grabbing Bane's arm so tightly she almost buried it in her "Nami Valley" (a slang term for a secluded spot in Nami's valley). Then, Nami said to Bane in a fawning tone, "Master Bane, I'd like to buy a few new, beautiful outfits, and some new sailing equipment. What do you think?"

After enjoying Nami's attentiveness, Bane gave Nami a paper bag of Berries and said, "Go on, we'll meet at the Marine base eventually."

And so, the three parted ways at the port. Nami happily went shopping, Tashigi took Zoro to buy a sword, and Bane, familiar with the route, headed towards the Marine base.

Meanwhile, at the Tower Restaurant in Loguetown, Ace and Teach were feasting. Teach was stuffing himself with cherry pies, while Ace was showing off his grilled meat.

But just as Ace was about to stuff the big chicken leg into his mouth, a glance from the side of his eye caught him in the street outside, and he froze on the spot.

"What's wrong?" Teach asked, eating a cherry pie.

"It's Bane!" Ace slammed his fist on the table and roared, "The guy who killed Sachi! Look, Teach, isn't that him?!"

Upon hearing this, Teach was startled and quickly stood up, peering out the window. He then saw the figure he had been longing for, swaggering into the naval base!

"It's him! It's that bastard, I'd recognize him even if he were ashes!" Teach said through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with malice and hatred.

(End of this chapter)