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

Chapter 69: We were fine when we arrived, but we can't go back?

Although he learned that his senior brother was from another world, Zoro accepted the fact with great composure after a brief moment of surprise, since this really was another world!

And no matter where Bane came from, he was extremely kind to Zoro, even sharing secrets about traveling through worlds with him, which warmed Zoro's heart.

Bane didn't mention anything about keeping secrets to him, but Zoro naturally understood the value and danger of this secret, and secretly decided that even if he died, he would not tell.

He even considered that many Devil Fruits are illogical, and he felt uneasy about what would happen if the secret were exposed in the future.

After much thought, there was only one answer: to become stronger. He had to become stronger as soon as possible, so strong that no one could uncover this secret!

"Is it dangerous here?" Zoro asked curiously after suppressing his thoughts.

"It's not about whether it's dangerous or not, it's more like..." After pausing briefly to organize his thoughts, Bane continued, "This world is too complicated. Let alone you, even I can't handle it. Putting everything else aside, this world is like a garbage dump, with interdimensional portals frequently appearing that connect to other worlds. But even so, the power in this world is still in the hands of the Empire. Speaking of the Empire, let me give you a brief introduction, although I don't know much about it either."

Soon, Bane and Zoro sat on the split wooden stump and started talking about the world. Zoro was very interested and listened with great interest, asking questions from time to time. Bane explained the situation to him, and they finally ended their conversation after more than two hours.

"This should be a forest. Shall we go down the mountain and take a look?" Bane asked.

The portal within him has a flaw: it opens randomly. Right now, he doesn't know where he is, and he might not even be in the western part of the Empire anymore. If he were to return to the pirate world, he doesn't know if he could still return to the origin. After all, he has never tested it. The first time the portal opened, he didn't dare to go in because of Teach's murder scene. He took advantage of the moment the time freeze was lifted, grabbed the Dark-Dark Fruit, and ran away.

If we can't go back to the origin, we'll have to contact Issho and Nami and find a place to meet up.

Zoro was somewhat tempted, but after a moment, he shook his head and said, "Since this place is too dangerous, let's wait until we're strong enough before exploring it, so as not to cause you any trouble. Let's go back first."

"Okay," Bane nodded.

He had no intention of lingering in the Empire. Returning to the world of pirates, he could improve his strength in many ways and learn about various developments and opportunities. In the Empire, he was truly in the dark. He decided to go back and accumulate strength first, and then come back to the Empire to develop when he had enough confidence.

As he spoke, Bane had an idea and prepared to open the portal. He connected his mind with the mysterious power within his heart, and then a dazzling halo flashed in his mind. Following his previous experience, Bane confirmed his intention and prepared to open the portal.

Just a moment later, his expression froze, and his lips twitched a few times.

Zoro was already very curious about Bane's mysterious ability, so he stared at Bane without blinking. But when he saw Bane's embarrassed expression, he was taken aback for a moment, then quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"The door won't open," Bane said somewhat awkwardly.

"Huh?" Zoro was dumbfounded.

I never expected that I would be able to get back when I arrived, but now I can't?

"Don't joke around at a time like this!" Zoro said anxiously.

He still needs to go back and strive to become the world's greatest swordsman; he also has an unfulfilled promise to his old friend!

"Of course I'm not joking!" Bane replied first, then closed his eyes and once again felt the portal within his body.

The blue aura connecting the One Piece world has indeed dimmed and gone out. Perhaps this is the energy that opened the gate to the One Piece world. In other words, Bane opened the gate three times before and used up this energy.

"Damn it, how am I supposed to charge this? Am I supposed to go to the Naruto world and learn space-time ninjutsu to charge it with chakra?" Bane thought anxiously.

However, he has a remarkable mentality. Whether it was when he inexplicably traveled to the Empire alone or when he opened the portal to the One Piece world for the first time, he was able to quickly adjust his state. Now, he knew that there was no use in rushing things, so he suppressed his impatience and began to try to charge the blue halo.

Physical strength? Bane didn't know how to inject physical strength into it, nor did he know how to inject any kind of Haki. Just as Bane was trying to use the dark power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, that blue aura was triggered.

It seemed to have brightened up a little, which pleased Bane!

"I've got a plan, I'll be able to right away," Bane said to Zoro, opening his eyes with a slightly excited expression.

However, before he could finish speaking, the dark power within his body was suddenly devoured by the blue halo, surging forth like a flood bursting its banks!

As a Logia-type power, the Dark-Dark Fruit has seemingly inexhaustible energy, but the problem is that using this energy consumes the user's stamina!

Almost in the blink of an eye, Bane felt his body go completely drained, his legs gave way, and he was about to fall.

Fortunately, Zoro reacted quickly and caught Bane, asking with concern, "What's wrong?"

"I," Bane quickly severed the connection between the dark element and the halo, finally easing the tension slightly. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he said, "Damn it, to reopen that door, I need to recharge the mysterious power within me. I just tried using the Dark-Dark Fruit; it worked, but it almost drained me dry."

Hearing this, Zoro felt much relieved and helped Bane sit back down on the wooden stump, saying, "At least there's still hope, which is a good thing. Don't worry, we can replenish it slowly. It's okay if it's a few days late."

After a slight pause, Zoro asked again, "How long do you think it will take to reopen that door?"

Bane closed his eyes to sense the situation for a moment, then opened them and said, "At that rate, if I supply you once a day, it should take about three months."

Three months is not enough to fill the blue halo completely, but to reach a point where the door can be opened once, which is about one-third of the way.

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

"Three months?" Zoro stroked his chin. "It's alright, not unacceptable. After all, you told Nami before we came that it might take a long time."

That's right. Before Bane came, because he wasn't sure about the situation, he gave Nami a lot of instructions. He said that if things went quickly, they would be back in half a day, but if things went slowly, it might take an uncertain amount of time. Nami and the others could wait three months.

The only thing that made Bane a little regretful was that when they got back, they might not be able to catch up with the Navy's battle against Whitebeard. After all, the journey would take quite some time.

However, this is not something that is unacceptable. More importantly, Bane is now unable to determine whether time has returned to normal in the pirate world after he left.

After all, when he brought Zoro through here, time there didn't freeze briefly like it did when he met Teach last time, but remained frozen until he closed the door.

Bane suspected that it was likely because the blue aura had run out of energy!

In other words, it's possible that time will return to normal over there once they go back. If that's the case, it would be a great thing!

This means that he and Zoro have three extra months to become stronger!

If he figures out this mechanism in the future, he might even be able to exploit this bug to become stronger!

Hey, I can't beat you, no problem, I'll go train for three months or even longer, and then I'll come back and fight you again!

For Bane's opponents, it could be a matter of a single moment.

Breakthroughs during battle—that's understandable for a genius!

(End of this chapter)