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

Chapter 216: Fishing Leads to the Red-Haired Pirates?

In the following days, as Zoro and his crew went on a mission, the entire Melvure became much quieter.

At least that was true for Ben.

He had some free time after a long time, with nothing important to do.

For work-related matters, Ain helped him handle them. As for other matters, Professor Zephyr was full of energy, and with the help of former Navy Admiral Kuzan, everything was in good order.

Therefore, when he had free time, Bane spent his days training his skills and searching for suitable monsters to eat.

Today, Melvue has a jungle-covered, desolate island that serves as a breeding ground for monsters, and this is where Bane's food source comes from.

At this moment, in the central lake of the island, Bane was sitting in a sun lounger, fishing rod in hand, wearing a fisherman's hat, leisurely enjoying the pleasure—no, the pain—of fishing.

The reason for this was that after the newbie protection period ended, he basically didn't catch any fish anymore.

Looking at the calm, undisturbed lake, Bane was getting a little annoyed. Through his Observation Haki, he could sense that there were many different kinds of fish in the lake, but not a single one was willing to come close to him and eat the high-grade bait he had bought at great expense.

"Could it be because my aura is too strong?" Bane instinctively began to doubt himself.

Thinking about this, he even hesitated for a moment, glancing at the helmet placed at his feet, wondering whether he should believe in some superstition.

Just as Bane was debating whether or not to wear a helmet, some noise came from the dense forest behind him, and a moment later, Ain emerged from the forest.

She first glanced curiously at the huge boar carcass not far behind Bane. Although the boar was dead, its bristles were still radiating intense heat, and occasionally sparks could be seen falling from the bristles. Clearly, this monster must have possessed the ability to control fire when it was alive.

"Are these the ingredients that Young Master chose today?" Ain walked up to Bane and asked casually.

"Oh," Bane replied without turning his head, "That's right. Lately, I feel like ordinary flames can no longer cause me pain. I guess my resistance to fire elements has increased quite a bit. Speaking of which, next time Impelton gets supplies, could you ask Magellan for some of his toxins? I want to test my poison resistance."

"No matter what, it's impossible to be immune to Director Magellan's deadly poison, right?" Ain couldn't help but complain.

"Hahahaha," Bane laughed, "I just wanted to see how much I could endure. I didn't expect to actually be able to resist his abilities."

As the quality of the various ingredients used in "nutritional supplements" became increasingly outstanding, Bane's physical condition gradually became outrageous. Now he has extremely strong resistance to toxins of ordinary levels, and eating raw pufferfish is no problem at all.

Besides, although his skin didn't look much different, its resilience had become quite remarkable. When a naval soldier swung his sword with all his might, without Bane taking any precautions, he could only leave a slight white mark.

He was vaguely approaching Charlotte Linlin's steel-like body. Bane felt that at his current level, once he used the Iron Body technique, he might already be able to match Charlotte Linlin's defensive power.

Moreover, this is not the limit. If it continues to develop like this, sooner or later, he will truly become as strong as steel.

Ignoring Bane's nonsense about needing to consume Magellan's poison, Ain glanced at the empty bucket beside Bane and couldn't help but smile, saying, "Looks like another fruitless day."

"How can you call it a complete failure?" Bane retorted stubbornly. "Do you think I'm fishing?"

Ain paused for a moment, carefully observed Bane's condition, and then said, "Isn't that right?"

"Wrong. Fishing is just a process. In reality, I am cultivating my mind and body at a higher level. Do you see?" Bane said mysteriously.

"What did you see?" Ain was still a little confused.

"My once somewhat impatient personality has become much more composed. Even if I don't gain anything all day, I can still sit here quietly. What does that mean?" Bane asked himself earnestly, answering his own question: "It means that my patience has grown, and my strategic focus has significantly improved. Compared to these gains, a few fish are not that important."

Ian was speechless at Bane's theory, then she suddenly said, "He's taken the bait!"

Bane, who had been pretending to be deep in thought, suddenly stood up excitedly upon hearing this, jerked his fishing rod, and exclaimed, "Hahaha, I knew it couldn't last forever!"

However, before he could finish his excited words, the fishing rod that had been pulled up was empty; there wasn't a single fish biting the hook.

This caused Bane to freeze in place, and he turned back to look at Ain with a resentful expression.

Ain covered her mouth and chuckled, "It seems that the young master's composure is not as you described."

"You've really gone astray, Ain," Bane muttered with a dark expression, casting the fishing line back into the lake and sitting down in his chair again.

"As the saying goes, one is influenced by one's company, and I have been following you around all day, so I have inevitably been influenced by you," Ain retorted with a sharp tongue.

"Hiss," Bane clicked his tongue and said, "How come I never realized you were so eloquent?"

"Perhaps it's because you've only recently started to get to know me?" Ain reached out and touched her delicate chin, pretending to be thoughtful.

"You haven't mentioned anything serious for so long, which means you didn't come to see me for anything important, right?" Bane changed the subject.

Ain is usually quite calm and composed, so her carefree attitude today clearly indicates that she is in a relaxed mood and that she doesn't have anything important to do.

Sure enough, Ian nodded and said, "There's nothing urgent, but didn't you say this is a rare period of leisure? So you asked me to inquire about anything interesting that happens at sea. This morning, New Century Records sent an invitation; I think you might be interested in going out for a stroll."

"What is New Age Records?" Bane asked Ian with some curiosity.

"A music company that has been thriving for the past ten years or so is preparing to hold a concert for the most popular idol singer right now, Uta, for fans all over the sea. The venue is the famous music country of the New World, Eregia." As Ian spoke, he took out an invitation from his pocket and handed it to Bane.

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

When Bane heard the name "Uta," something suddenly came to mind. After receiving the invitation and reading it carefully, an expectant smile appeared on his lips.

Seemingly noticing Bane's smile, Ain chuckled and teased, "Oh my, it seems you're quite interested in music, young master? Or perhaps you're more interested in this songstress?"

"You're right, I am indeed very interested in this Uta songstress." Bane glanced at the concert date, which was about two months away, probably to give fans around the world plenty of time to travel.

However, it was indeed much earlier than he remembered the concert. Shouldn't this have happened at least next year?

It seems that perhaps it is because of its existence that it has affected some changes in the timeline of this world.

Hearing Bane admit to it without hesitation, Ain, who had only been joking, said somewhat helplessly, "While I shouldn't interfere too much in your private life, General, I personally hope you can control yourself a little and not always be so easily swayed by pretty girls, okay?"

Bane then realized what was happening, rolled his eyes at Ain, and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I have absolutely no interest in this little girl named Uta. What I meant earlier was that I'm very interested in what she might cause."

"What caused this?" Ain frowned slightly. "You mean, she has some kind of special circumstance that no one knows about?"

"That's right!" Bane's eyes lit up with excitement. "If you hadn't sent this invitation, I wouldn't have paid any attention to these things. Headquarters has always wanted to take action against Yonko-level pirates. Although I prefer Charlotte Linlin, Sakazuki and the others have reservations. They hope to deal with the less influential and more isolated Red-Haired Pirates first. However, due to the Red-Haired Pirates' unpredictable movements, they haven't been able to formulate a relevant tactical plan. This time, we have an opportunity!"

"Is Uta connected to the Red-Haired Pirates?" Ain asked in surprise. "There's never been any information mentioning this!"

"It's quite a secret; not many people know about it. This little girl named Uta is Shanks' adopted daughter." Bane flicked the invitation and then said, "She's no pushover either. The concert, heh, that's interesting. Get ready."

"What are you preparing?" Ain asked quickly.

"While our headquarters is attacking Beehive Island to draw the attention of the other forces on the high seas, our G-6 Navy will launch an operation to annihilate the Red-Haired Pirates!" Bane said in a deep voice.

The Red-Haired Pirates are extremely powerful. Normally, a single naval base would not pose a threat to them; they would need strong support and coordination from headquarters.

But Bane's G-6 is no ordinary naval base!

Besides himself, there are two other former admirals here!

Zeff, at the peak of his career, and Kuzan, who has overcome his confusion and rekindled his fighting spirit!

Add Bane to the mix, and this is a lineup of three admirals, more than enough to fight the Red-Haired Pirates!

Thinking of this, Bane lost interest in fishing. As he packed up his gear, a look of anticipation played on his lips as he said, "I want to see just how powerful this supposedly invincible pirate crew really is."

(End of this chapter)