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

Chapter 238 Five Elders: Haven't you ever thought about becoming a Celestial Dragon?

The Holy Land, Mary Geoise.

Bane arrived a little early because the royal families of the New World were in such a hurry.

He arrived in Mary Geoise almost a month ahead of schedule, and then stayed there for the next month. Only gradually did the royal families escorted by navies from all over the world arrive.

This made the already bustling Mary Geoise even more crowded.

In a banquet hall in Mary Geoise, a large group of naval officers are currently gathering.

Because the generals usually stay in their respective territories, they rarely meet unless a major event occurs at headquarters, which summons them, such as the Marineford War more than two years ago.

Therefore, this quadrennial world conference has provided an opportunity for many generals to gather together and have a good exchange.

This banquet, where naval officers gather, has been going on for seven or eight days, with new officers joining each day.

The new guy who arrived today is Smoker.

He is the commander of the G-5 naval base, located in the New World, but he is in charge of escort missions in the North Sea. That's why he only arrived in Mary Geoise today, which is quite late. The World Conference will officially begin in three days.

With three cigars dangling from his lips, as if afraid others wouldn't know he was a Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, Smoker, draped in a Vice Admiral's Justice Cloak, quickly led Tina and Tashigi into the banquet hall.

From afar, he saw a huge round table laden with a variety of sumptuous foods, around which a large group of naval officers were eating, drinking, and making a great commotion.

The atmosphere here was lively, but also somewhat chaotic. Even the usually serious Lieutenant General Storobelli was wielding two swords in the main hall, giving everyone a very cool performance of his newly learned dance.

Meanwhile, a group of naval officers were clapping and cheering for Storobelli, and the strong smell of alcohol could be smelled from a distance.

"Is everyone this relaxed during the World Conference?" Tina asked, somewhat surprised by the scene.

Although she had been a member of the Navy for a long time, she had only recently become a senior officer and received the rank of Rear Admiral. She had never participated in the World Conference before.

Hearing her question, Smoker shook his head and said, "I don't know, I've never been here before."

He had always been a salted fisherman in the East China Sea; how could he have participated in any world conferences?

"Tina, you're here? Come on in~" Lieutenant General Dol raised his hand to greet and invite Tina and Smoker after seeing them.

Smoker looked over and saw that, apart from Dol, Ain, Zoro, Fubuki, Waver, Nami, as well as Vice Admiral Maynard and Major General Penn were all around. Clearly, this place belonged to Admiral Penn's inner circle. And Garp, that old rascal, was sitting among Zoro and the others, laughing and talking.

Without hesitation, Smoker quickly sat down with Tina and Tashigi.

"What would you like to drink? The wine here is unlimited, and it's all specially supplied to Mary Geoise. It's not easy to find normally." Zoro asked with a smile, waving the wine bottle in his hand after seeing Smoker.

"Just like you is fine," Smoker said, sitting down next to Zoro.

Without delaying anything, Zoro immediately poured Smoker a glass of wine, and instead of discussing anything important, they chatted casually about some trivial matters.

Meanwhile, Tina and Tashigi quickly struck up a conversation with several female marines, including Vice Admiral Dol, Ain, Nami, and Fubuki.

Before long, several giant vice admirals, as if drunk, began to compete to see who could eat the most, wildly showing off the food on the table. Because of their rude eating manners, food scraps flew everywhere, and they were quickly stopped by another group of naval officers who scolded and stopped their absurd behavior.

"This is quite a lively scene," Smoker said, shaking his head with a smile as he watched the spectacle.

Garp, a veteran participant, clearly wasn't new to the World Government meeting. He laughed heartily, "Normally, whether at headquarters or in our respective territories, everyone's on edge, unable to relax even for a moment. It's quite rare to gather here in Mary Geoise, and more importantly, there's no need to worry about any problems. Just arriving means the escort mission is complete. As for the defense here, that's a matter for the CP Agency and the Knights of God to consider, so naturally, we don't need to worry about it. Shouldn't we take this opportunity to relax?"

"That makes sense." Smoker stroked his chin. "If I had known it would be like this, I should have sped up on the way here and come a few days earlier."

After exchanging a few words, Smoker asked, "Where's Bane? I haven't seen him."

"We were supposed to come together at noon, but he was summoned by the Five Elders halfway there. He's probably meeting with them now, right?" Zoro said, sipping his drink.

"Being a general is really not easy," Smoker said, clicking his tongue and downing his drink in one gulp.

Meanwhile, power struggles rage within Pongel Castle.

Bane was sitting on the sofa here, having a conversation with the Five Elders and others.

Compared to the 'fear' he felt during their last meeting, Bane seemed much more relaxed today. After all, he was just a nobody last time, and only one of the Five Elders showed up. But today, he is a Marine Admiral, and his status is completely different.

If he continued to act that way today, the Five Elders would all think he was too hypocritical.

"We originally thought you would need our help to secure your position as a general, but we didn't expect you to be so capable on your own. You've really impressed us, Bane," Satan said in a very gentle tone.

Of the five elders last time, he was the only one who showed up, so he can be considered an acquaintance of Bane.

Hearing this, Bane quickly replied, "If it weren't for the care of the five adults, I wouldn't have been able to sit in this position so easily."

After exchanging pleasantries, the other four Elders each chatted with Bane for a few minutes, getting to know each other a bit.

Given their status and position, the Five Elders didn't get too close to Bane, and the conversation quickly shifted to more serious matters.

"Speaking of which, you did a very good job with the Red-Haired Pirates' affairs," Satan Saint, representing the Five Elders, said to Bane.

Bane didn't take credit, waving his hand modestly and saying, "It was all just a coincidence. We just happened to run into each other, and Mr. Karp and the others happened to be there. But in the end, all the credit was given to me."

After a slight pause, Bane tentatively asked, "I only heard a little about Shanks from Mr. Garp later; it seems his identity is rather special?"

Satan smiled and said, "It is indeed somewhat special, but it's just a suspicion. Many years ago, due to some accident, the Figarand family lost a child, who might be Shanks. However, we have never been able to truly verify it. Of course, we don't need to worry about these things now; it's all in the past."

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

To reiterate, if Shanks were still the arrogant and domineering Yonko on the high seas, he would have value, and a very high value at that. In that case, both the Five Elders and the Figarand clan would consider using this "questionable" possibility to win over Shanks.

However, now that the Red-Haired Pirates have been destroyed and Shanks is working on a sewing machine in Impel Down, he no longer has any value.

Neither the Five Elders nor the Figarand family would care about this bloodline whose identity might be questionable.

Meaningless.

"That's good. I thought I might have meant well but did something wrong," Bane said, feigning relief.

This seemingly casual remark was very pleasing to the Five Elders, because it indirectly indicated that Bane was on the side of Mary Geoise and the Celestial Dragons.

This made Satan and the others even more satisfied with Bane. Although this kid had become a general, his heart was still with them.

"You've accomplished something like wiping out a Yonko-level pirate crew, but since you're already an admiral, Sakazuki and the Marine Headquarters can't really reward you much, right?" Satan asked.

"I'm already in this position, so I shouldn't ask for too much more. Mr. Sakazuki awarded me the Navy's Gold Medal," Bane replied with a smile.

"Indeed, once you're in the position of general, there's not much room for promotion in the short term." Saint Satan nodded first, then glanced at the other four Elders before looking at Bane and saying, "But don't let this discourage you from being ambitious. Besides your position, there are many other things you can pursue, aren't there?"

Bane looked at the five men hesitantly before asking softly, "What do you mean?"

"Identity, status, power—you can continue to look forward to those," Satan said, raising an eyebrow.

Bane swallowed slightly and said, "As a naval admiral, my status, position, and power have already transcended a certain level of worldly authority. Even the royal families of the member states may not be able to compare with me."

Theoretically speaking, the royal family of a member state should be of a higher rank than a naval admiral, since they are nobles. However, in reality, they are not comparable at all. Bane tormented those nobles all the way, but when they arrived in Mary Geoise, they didn't dare to utter a single word.

Moreover, as a naval admiral, one of the most unreasonable powers Bane possesses is the ability to issue a Buster Call at any time, defining a country as evil without going through any procedures or reporting anything, and forcibly annihilating that country.

It was precisely because the admirals possessed such unreasonable power that the royal families of the constituent countries dared not provoke Bane in the slightest.

Otherwise, if the general is in a bad mood, he might find an opportunity to issue a Buster Call against you. Who could stand that?

"Those ordinary nobles are indeed incomparable to you." Seeing that Bane seemed to have grasped some of the implication, Satan Saint stopped pretending and said softly, "But haven't you ever thought about becoming one of us? Becoming a world noble?"

Bane paused, then asked in surprise, "You mean the Celestial Dragons? But I am not of the blood of any of the twenty kings, so how could I dare to hope for such a thing?"

"Hehehe," Saint Satan chuckled and said, "You are still young, and perhaps you don't know many of the secrets of Mary Geoise. In fact, for hundreds of years, we Celestial Dragons have been constantly recruiting sea elites like you."

(End of this chapter)