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

Chapter 228 Wild Shepherd's Resentment and Pandora's Box.

Half a month later, after escorting the Red-Haired Pirates to Impel Down, Bane, Garp, and Issho quickly returned to the new Marine Headquarters.

As for Zephyr and Kuzan, there's also Sengoku.

The three of them did not help with the escort; instead, they returned directly from Areggia to Melvure.

They took Nami and Robin with them, leaving only Ain, their assistant, by Bane's side.

As soon as he stepped off the warship and stood on the port, Bane felt the warmth emanating from headquarters.

Whether they were ordinary naval soldiers on the dock or officers, everyone's eyes lit up when they saw him, and their reverence for him seemed to overflow.

Walking beside Bane with a smile, even though he couldn't see him, he could feel the atmosphere and couldn't help but say with a smile, "As a fellow admiral, I'm a little jealous of you."

"Hahaha, you saying that makes me feel kind of embarrassed," Bane replied with a loud laugh.

"I still need to organize some reports on the previous ambush operation later. After that, when you return to Melville, remember to let me know. I haven't been there yet," Yixiao added with a smile.

"No problem, when we get to Melville, I guarantee you'll be in for a surprise," Bane said mysteriously.

"Then I'll be looking forward to it," Yixiao said happily.

Meanwhile, in the headquarters building of the Navy Headquarters, in the office of a vice admiral.

Huang Mu was standing by the window, watching Bane and his group walk towards the building in the square.

At this moment, Huang Mu's expression was somewhat irritated, and his eyes held an unyielding disgust for Bane's figure.

From the very beginning, he disliked Bane. The reason was simple: the reason he was parachuted into the Marine Headquarters by Mary Geoise was that the Five Elders used him to check Bane. They planned to use Aramaki to put pressure on Bane, so that Mary Geoise could better exert influence and control over Bane.

Unfortunately, before Aramaki could even begin to exert his strength, Bane suddenly seemed to go berserk, engaging Kaido in a fierce battle and genuinely advancing to the rank of Marine Admiral based on his power.

To be honest, this was completely unexpected by Mary Geoise, and it left Aramaki dumbfounded.

Before we came, wasn't it said that Bane was just a guy with some strength? How come he's suddenly on par with Kaido, who's supposedly the strongest?

As a result, it was difficult for Aramaki to do anything in a short period of time that could rival Bane or put pressure on him. So he wisely kept quiet and remained a quiet vice admiral, looking for opportunities to fawn over Sakazuki.

The hope is that with the care of the new admiral Sakazuki, he can enhance his influence in the navy, gradually catch up with Ben, and then fulfill Mary Geoise's expectations of him, further suppress Ben, and even seize Ben's current power and status.

You know what, maybe because he already admired Sakazuki, and because he didn't become an admiral like in the original story, but only a vice admiral, Aramaki managed to keep Sakazuki in check.

Sakazuki also felt that this person was capable and his strength was indeed up to par. Even disregarding personal likes and dislikes, just looking at Aramaki's abilities, he was a promising talent worth cultivating.

Therefore, from the perspective of a marshal, Sakazuki also gave Aramaki many opportunities, especially in the recent campaign against Beehive Island. Sakazuki overruled objections and appointed Aramaki as the commander-in-chief, in charge of this campaign.

This made Huang Mu overjoyed, exclaiming that he hadn't been flattering Sakazuki for nothing, and that the Marshal was someone who understood him!

In Aramaki's view, this was his first performance on the official stage of the Navy. Although Wang Zhi was not a Yonko-level pirate, he was a strong candidate to compete with Shiki the Golden Lion for the title of the new Yonko. He was a big shot.

How did Benn get his start in the Navy?

Isn't it just by stepping on the golden lion that he suddenly raised his own status?

If he can do it, why can't I?

If he can successfully defeat Wang Zhi this time, Huang Mu will be considered a top figure in the Navy!

And so, Huang Mu assembled a large fleet and went to attack Beehive Island with great care. In order to avoid any accidents, he adopted a very safe and cautious approach, avoiding any mistakes. He was steady and cautious, gradually trapping Wang Zhi in Beehive Island. And everything went very smoothly.

That morning, he confidently issued the order to launch a general offensive against Beehive Island that afternoon. He even began to fantasize about how he would be respected when he returned to Marine Headquarters after a great victory.

Before the final offensive even began that day, the bad news arrived first.

His arch-rival, Bane, whom he had always looked up to, went to a concert in Eregia and inexplicably wiped out the Red-Haired Pirates!

If this was the result of Bane's meticulous plan, then perhaps Aramaki could tolerate it.

But judging from the information he received, Bane and his men had simply stumbled upon the perfect opportunity by sheer luck!

He felt that if he switched identities with Bane, he could also achieve the same result. With Navy bigwigs like Kuzan, Zephyr, Garp, and Sengoku by his side, defeating the Red-Haired Pirates would be a piece of cake.

In fact, judging from the course of the battle, Aramaki's idea might not be wrong. As long as he can withstand Shanks's attack head-on and create a confrontation with Shanks, he can create an excellent opportunity for Sengoku in the shadows, and the result should not be bad.

Of course, this was Aramaki's own idea. If Bane knew what he was thinking, he would definitely laugh.

Shanks unleashed his Conqueror's Haki from the far edge of the ocean, and you were almost scared to your knees. You think you can fight Shanks head-on? Dream on.

In short, Aramaki felt that Bane was just incredibly lucky, and that he could have done the same, so he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred towards Bane!

He thought that after dealing with Wang Zhi, he would receive a warm welcome and be treated like a hero upon returning to headquarters.

When he returned, he found that no one was discussing him at all; they were all talking about General Bane.

This completely shattered Huang Mu's mentality!

He used to regard Bane as a potential rival, but now he has secretly come to hate Bane!

"One day, I'll trample you under my feet, you bastard." Huang Mu gradually withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at the popular Bane, and casually drew the curtains closed.

Bane was unaware that Huang Mu harbored a secret grudge against him. Of course, even if he did know, he wouldn't be surprised, much less care.

It's normal for someone like Aramaki, who holds the belief that "humans can only live peacefully by discriminating against others and trampling on them," to have this kind of twisted mentality.

Sitting back down at his desk, Aramaki wanted to handle some work-related matters, but he couldn't calm down. It was as if a flame was burning fiercely in his heart, making him extremely restless.

On a whim, he opened a drawer with a combination lock and took out a top-secret document.

What's even more surprising is that the markings on this document don't come from the Navy Headquarters, but from the CP agency!

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

"Kapp." Aramaki murmured softly, stroking the rough texture of the file folder.

This was a top-secret mission given to him by the CP organization when he left Mary Geoise. The mission was to secretly take away Monkey D. Luffy, the grandson of Vice Admiral Garp, who was being held captive in the courtyard of his family's manor at Marine Headquarters, and send him to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

The timeframe is quite broad, because this matter is indeed challenging. Back when Admiral Zephyr's family had an incident, although the naval high command couldn't find anything, how could they not have some idea of ​​what was going on?

Since then, the Navy Headquarters has raised the level of security on the living spaces of senior officers several notches. Even though Aramaki is ostensibly one of the Navy's own men, a vice admiral, he couldn't easily capture Garp's grandson here.

Otherwise, the naval officers would be in an uproar.

Moreover, this matter must be carried out in secret. In other words, it must be done at least to the extent that when General Zephyr's family had an incident, that is, even if you have any suspicions, you must not leave any evidence!

How long has Aramaki been in the Navy? How could a parachuted-in Vice Admiral possibly complete this mission in such a short time?

Therefore, he has plenty of time for this secret mission; he can choose a suitable time within three years.

Don't be impatient, just take it easy!

After all, while the five on Mary Geoise were eager to complete the mission from Lord Im as soon as possible, they did not want the navy to riot as a result, especially the high-ranking officers.

The rift left by what happened to Zephyr back then probably still exists to this day. If it happened again, who could bear it? If the families of admirals and heroes could be kidnapped and murdered at Marine Headquarters, what about the families of the other admirals?

Once is tolerable, but twice is a serious provocation.

If someone is dishonest and leaves traces, and the situation cannot be minimized, Mary Geoise might be thrown into chaos by the Navy.

Huang Mu was indeed in no hurry to do this. In fact, he hadn't even planned to complete this task before. He wasn't stupid; how could he not see the trick to it? Although he didn't object to giving Mary Joe Adam a dog, he didn't want to put too much weight on the leash around his neck.

He can secretly kidnap Garp's grandson today and send him to Mary Geoise, and tomorrow he can put a gilded dog leash on him in Mary Geoise.

This will be a huge weakness from now on. Even if he becomes a marshal, let alone a general, he will never be able to disobey any will from Mary Geoise again.

After all, once Mary Geoise reveals this, no matter what position he holds in the Navy, he will become the target of everyone's criticism and be branded a traitor. At that point, where will he find refuge? He will have no choice but to obediently serve as Mary Geoise's dog.

In reality, the Five Elders wanted to use Bane's ability to extract the Nika Fruit from Luffy with the same plan in mind. Once Bane did it, he would have to stick to his path and give the dog to Mary Geoise. Otherwise, once the news broke, no matter if he was a Marine Admiral or Fleet Admiral, he would never be able to gain any respect or trust from the Marines again.

In the past, Huang Mu was not in a hurry, or even wanted to do it, but today, this narrow-minded person felt the pressure from Bane. While feeling envious and jealous, he also seemed to want to resort to any means necessary.

However, after a moment, Huang Mu calmed himself down and, after several hesitations, locked the document back into the deepest part of the cabinet drawer.

However, although he resisted the temptation at this moment, that drawer, once opened, was like opening Pandora's box, always able to attract his attention and gaze.

(End of this chapter)