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

Chapter 43 Target: Alabasta, Onward!

The meat of the island monster contained far more energy than the dinosaurs on the island, and it was also more nutritious than the sea monsters that Bane had eaten before, which made Bane very satisfied.

Unfortunately, this thing was just too big. Even with only half of its body left, hundreds of people, two giants, and Bane, the glutton, still couldn't finish it. And there was no refrigerator here, or even if there were, it wouldn't fit. The rest could only be pickled and placed on the ship, while the rest were thrown away.

"I might as well switch to Monster Hunter from now on. There are quite a lot of sea monsters around here," Bane thought to himself.

What the Kraken, the giant lanternfish, and all sorts of other creatures, especially the deep-sea island of Fishman, where there are even more sea monsters and sea kings. Bane thinks he'll have to go there and have a good meal sometime.

Originally, Bane planned to eat all the dinosaurs on the island to extinction before leaving, but considering the time, things were getting a bit tight. Crocodile was planning to usurp the throne this year, and if he took over the entire Alabasta, it would be even more inconvenient for Bane to deal with him.

Furthermore, he needed to go to Marine Headquarters to observe the Battle of Marineford and meet the bigwig Zephyr to lay the groundwork for future plans. Besides, he also needed to leave food for Dorry and Brogy on the island. So, after much deliberation, Bane decided to leave.

Fortunately, he has grown enough in the nearly two months he spent in the small garden. In terms of strength alone, he can now surpass the two hero-level giants, Dorry and Brogy.

What's even more remarkable is that his physical attributes have been enhanced in every way. He's become incredibly tough, and Zoro would hardly be able to cut him down without using Haki.

"Alabasta also has some rare species, and the sky islands have some special sky behemoths. These shouldn't be much worse than the dinosaurs in Little Garden, right? Maybe if I go and sweep them all away, I can become as strong as Charlotte Linlin?" Bane set himself another small goal.

Evolve your physical abilities to the level of Charlotte Linlin!

But thinking about it carefully, he should still be far inferior to Charlotte Linlin in terms of strength. That girl was able to run rampant in Elbaf at the age of five. Sure enough, there are monsters everywhere on this sea.

"Boss, our ship is back, and we've brought you a new newspaper, the kind you requested with the East China Sea edition." Just as Bane was leaning against a tree, pondering these matters, a henchman ran up from a distance and said.

After taking the newspaper, Bane instructed, "Alright, unload all the wine from the ship and deliver it to those two."

Then, he opened the newspaper and looked at the latest news.

There were no major events, but some astute observers in the newspapers had noticed a change: naval bases around the world seemed to be drawing on their elite forces, though no one knew the specifics.

The Navy took action, and although its purpose was unknown, the bigwigs of the New World also reacted immediately.

For example, after noticing the Navy's unusual movements, the Beast Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates, who had recently clashed in the New World, tacitly stopped fighting and each side withdrew their forces to prevent any unforeseen events.

The Whitebeard Pirates issued a call to arms, gathering their independent captains scattered across various regions.

Looking at this message, Bane felt that perhaps Newgate had already realized that the Navy's move was very likely aimed at him.

Especially since Ace and Teach have been captured for some time now, and the two of them suddenly went missing in the East Blue, Whitebeard couldn't possibly pretend nothing happened, right? He'll definitely investigate.

Even if the Navy does a good job, Newgate will definitely notice something is amiss.

"A storm is brewing," Bane murmured softly.

The Battle of Marineford brought together 100,000 elite naval officers from around the world. Those without insignia on their shoulders were not considered worthy of the battlefield. Such a large-scale mobilization could not have been accomplished in a short period of time. Therefore, although the story depicts it as a sudden outbreak, in reality, there must have been a prelude.

The Whitebeard Pirates are the same; they have dozens of independent pirate crews under their command, and Newgate would inevitably need some time to notify them in advance so that they can gather together during the war.

Now it seems that both sides are already taking action.

After flipping through the news reports about the world situation, Bane looked at the East China Sea newspaper. The East China Sea newspaper was even more bland and tasteless, almost entirely praising the merits of the world's governments and the peace and stability of the East China Sea.

Smoker, the admiral of the East China Sea, appeared in the newspapers many times, with reports saying that his anti-corruption work in the East China Sea had made significant progress.

Then, one news item caught Bane's keen attention.

Admiral Krieg, a pirate captain from the East Blue, failed in his attempt to sail the Grand Line. After returning to the East Blue, he was defeated by a newcomer named Monkey D. Luffy.

He calls himself a pirate and has a bounty of 12 million Berries for defeating Krieg and causing chaos at a naval base.

"Hahahaha." Bane couldn't help but burst into laughter when he saw the news.

He'd seen it in the newspapers; he couldn't believe Garp didn't know his grandson had gone to sea to become a pirate. He was really looking forward to seeing the news of Garp capturing him.

"What's got you so happy?" Donley and Brogy had appeared at the camp at some point.

Bane casually put the newspaper down, stood up, and said, "Nothing much, just saw some interesting news."

After a slight pause, he said with a hint of reluctance, "We're getting ready to leave."

"So fast?" Brogy asked, somewhat surprised. "Didn't you say you were going to eat all the dinosaurs on the island?"

"Let's leave you two some food, so you don't end up eating grass, hahaha," Bane laughed heartily.

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

Donley and Brogy laughed when they heard this. Although they were a little reluctant, they did not try to keep them.

"I had someone bring you a lot of alcohol this time, enough for you to drink for a while. There will be regular deliveries afterwards. Also, here are two new Den Den Mushi. Your old ones must be broken by now, right? Take these and use them. I've left my signal inside. You can contact me if anything comes up." Bane handed the two Den Den Mushi to them.

Taking the Den Den Mushi, which was no bigger than their fingernails, Donley said with emotion, "Thank you so much, Bane. We'll remember your friendship. If you ever need our help in the future, please feel free to contact us!"

After another enjoyable banquet, the next morning, Bane and his party packed their things, boarded the ship, and officially left the small garden where they had stayed for more than two months.

Watching Brogy and Dorry waving goodbye reluctantly on the shore, Nami, leaning against the mast, suddenly remarked, "It seems that not all pirates are so despicable."

Nami didn't know those two guys were pirates at first, but after getting to know them better, she naturally found out that a hundred years ago, they were also influential figures who dominated this sea.

"In the righteous navy, there are bastards, and in the evil pirates, there are naturally some who aren't so bad. That's normal," Zoro said, standing on the deck and swinging his sword.

"Judging a person's character solely by their social status would be far too unreasonable." Bane took a swig of his drink, then laughed and said, "Take Nico Robin, for example. The World Government defines her as the child of a demon who intends to destroy the world, but in reality, she's not some evil villain."

Without discussing these matters at length, the group chatted for a few more minutes before Bane watched the small garden gradually disappear from sight.

Then, he finally turned his gaze to the front of the flight path, grinned, and said, "Next, it's time to deal with my beloved family and friends, my brother Crocodile."

Upon hearing this, Nami excitedly exclaimed, "If we take him down, we can become the world's top billionaires!"

Zoro raised his Wado Ichimonji and shouted, "Target: Alabasta, advance!"

(End of this chapter)