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

Chapter 324 Preparing to Head to a New World!

Orantok Estate.

Since cooperating with the Orantock family a few days ago, Bane and his group have been staying here.

Maintaining its consistent low profile, and with the Orantok family not revealing any information to the outside world, there have been no changes in Newdale City.

Inside the manor's detached house, Bane was playing with an energy detector in his hand.

Across from him, Dr. Genus had messy, greasy hair, slightly sunken eyes with dark circles, looking like he hadn't rested for days. He was holding a bowl of noodles and quickly swallowing them.

"Don't be in such a hurry. You don't look very well. Why don't you rest for a while?" Bane said, feeling a little sorry for Dr. Genus.

"I can't sleep or rest well. It's been several days now, and I haven't even found a clue. I have no idea how to deal with the interdimensional portal, and it's very frustrating," Dr. Genus said with a somewhat embarrassed and annoyed expression.

No one urged him to do anything. Everyone knew that the interdimensional portal was definitely a high-end thing, and it was impossible to make a name for himself in a short period of time.

But Dr. Genus himself felt a lot of pressure. He had always considered himself a genius scientist and believed that nothing could stump him. However, he was thwarted at the interdimensional portal, which made him feel that he was somewhat "unworthy of his reputation".

He is eager to continue proving his talent and worth, and therefore he is more impatient than anyone else now.

"I've figured out that energy detector. I guess I've taken this opportunity to adjust my mindset a bit," Dr. Genus said, swallowing the noodles in his mouth and looking at the small toy in Bane's hand.

"Oh? How is it? Are we all S-rank?" Bane asked, raising an eyebrow.

Although the "results" on the Empire's side had already been measured, Bane still trusted Dr. Genus more.

"Natural systems should all be S-rank. It's an instrument that measures energy. Your natural system's energy is terrifying, practically inexhaustible. It just requires physical strength to realize it. The detector can't detect your physical strength or anything like that; it only senses your surging natural energy," Dr. Genus said.

"So, in other words, we natural beings might meet the energy level requirements, but in reality, we might not be as strong as the S-rank beings on the Empire's side?" Bane pondered for a moment and said.

"I can only say it's possible, after all, I've never seen an S-class from the Empire and have no knowledge of them. The Orantok family doesn't have such connections or channels either," Dr. Genus said, shaking his head.

Just then, Professor Zephyr, who was sitting on another sofa, took off his non-prescription glasses, rubbed the corners of his eyes on both sides of his nose, and said, "These past few days, I've been studying some books from the Orantok family related to imperial cultivation, ability users, and other things, and I've made some progress."

"What did you gain?" Bane asked curiously.

"Given the Orantok family's background, the knowledge they possess isn't particularly detailed or rigorous; it's mostly basic concepts. However, in several books, one can sense some general descriptions and speculations about the absorption and application of energy. This is quite inspiring for me. I'll ponder it further and perhaps I can come up with some new ideas that break away from our current thinking," Professor Zephyr said somewhat vaguely.

And it seems that Dr. Genos took his words to heart.

Dr. Genus suddenly put down his bowl of noodles and said, "Absorbing and utilizing energy? Speaking of which, I've obtained some results from the environmental samples I've mapped. The environmental energy in the Empire is constantly rising, albeit very slightly, but it is indeed showing an upward trend. Didn't we mention before that some powerful forces continuously inject energy into the interdimensional portals to maintain them? I suspect that the Empire has the technology to collect and develop environmental energy. Furthermore, combined with what you just said, the Empire's powerful individuals may be continuously absorbing this environmental energy to strengthen themselves. This might be the real dividing line between B-level and low-level ability users, or even between A-level and low-level ability users."

At this point, Dr. Genus paused slightly and said, "Although these are my guesses, they are still a system. You can consider this approach, absorbing external energy to strengthen yourselves. Perhaps it can be integrated with your own cultivation methods, complementing each other."

Both Bane and Zephyr's main training systems come from the world of One Piece.

Aside from Devil Fruit abilities, which are like cheat codes, the training there is basically all about developing the human body itself.

Therefore, those with better physical qualities and talent are more likely to become stronger quickly.

Many people have a fixed foundation, and no matter how hard they try, there seems to be a hurdle they can't overcome, so they can never become truly top-tier experts.

Doflamingo is a very obvious example.

He is ambitious, intelligent, and possesses all three types of Haki, making him a rare talent, one in a million. However, no matter how hard he tries, he can't reach the level of monsters like Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, whose physical foundations far surpass those of ordinary people.

"Absorbing external energy?" Bane stroked his chin, a small flower formed from condensed dark element blooming in his hand. He clicked his tongue and said, "We nature elements inherently possess terrifying energy."

"Absorb, and then utilize." Zephyr suddenly looked at Bane and said, "Mastering these techniques might allow you to further unleash the energy of you Logia-type users. In the past, you simply used physical strength as a hub to communicate with endless energy, but what if you could directly command energy? If you truly absorbed energy, your destructive power and expressiveness, given your Logia-type foundation, might also make your bodies stronger?"

Bane nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this, but didn't continue the topic. Instead, he said, "By the way, we've settled down here for a while now. It seems I don't have any special missions coming up, so I can't be of much help. Teacher, you and Mr. Garp are working on the procedures for our main naval force's arrival. It seems Dr. Genus won't be able to make a significant breakthrough anytime soon, so I was thinking of going to travel to another world. Perhaps I can find some unexpected surprises there?"

"You're right. What seems like a very difficult problem to me now may have already been solved in other worlds. Since you don't have anything urgent to do here anyway, I encourage you to travel around more," Dr. Genus said immediately.

Teacher Zephyr put his glasses back on and said with a smile, "Then let's go. I don't think Zoro and the others have anything to do. If they're willing, they can take them with them. We'll leave this place to me, Garp, and Dr. Genus."

"Okay, I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Let's get ready in the next few days," Bane said with a smile.

After instructing Dr. Genus to get some rest, Bane got up and left the room.

In the courtyard of the manor, under the shade of a tree, Zoro sat cross-legged on the grass, seemingly meditating, his chest rising and falling with his breathing.

As if noticing Bane's movement, Zoro opened his eyes before Bane even got close, and then said, "Ready to go?"

"Hmm?" Bane asked, slightly surprised. "How did you know?"

"You've been doing nothing these past few days, but I know you're not the type to sit idle," Zoro said calmly.

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

After a slight pause, he didn't continue the topic, but instead shared, "Speaking of which, I've made some new discoveries. These past few days, when I've been meditating, I've clearly felt something different, like..."

"Is the body breathing?" Bane asked casually.

"It's somewhat similar. It's as if I can vaguely sense that I want to establish some connection with the outside world. However, I haven't figured out how yet," Zoro nodded.

"According to Professor Zephyr and Dr. Genus's conjecture, perhaps you are instinctively absorbing energy from the outside world," Bane chuckled. "This should be a good path. Since you've already made some progress and shown some promise, would you like to come with me to explore other worlds?"

"Go," Zoro said without hesitation. "The reason I've followed you all the way from the East Blue is so that I can be a frog that can jump out of a well, isn't it?"

After saying that, Zoro laughed again and said, "Besides, I'd feel a little uneasy if I didn't go with you."

"Hey, you're talking like you're the elder. I'm the senior brother, not the elder brother," Bane said, glaring at Zoro.

However, he quickly laughed and said, "Then let's prepare in the next couple of days. I'll open the interdimensional portal in two days and randomly choose a world to visit, to see if I can find anything new."

That afternoon, Bane asked his other friends for their opinions.

Unexpectedly, Brother Yixiao did not plan to go to the other world with Bane. He decided to stay here and help Teacher Zephyr and the others with their work.

Bane naturally wouldn't force such a thing.

The rest of the friends are eager to explore new worlds.

Bane instructed everyone to prepare themselves, and that they would leave together for the New World two days later.

As the two who have traveled through the world the most times, Bane and Zoro are both very easygoing and hardly need to bring anything; carrying some gold, a form of hard currency, is enough for them.

They hadn't even considered changing their clothes.

But Fubuki, Nami, and the others had a lot of ideas. They prepared a whole bunch of things, including bento boxes, food, emergency supplies, medical equipment, and various medicines. The pretty girls even filled a whole room with all kinds of clothes, and in the end, they stuffed them all into Bane's dark space.

(End of this chapter)