Bane Reports East Sea Navy, Smoker Promoted to East Sea Admiral.

A light, drizzling rain fell from the sky, shrouding the entire Shimotsuki Village.

Under the veranda of the Isshin Dojo, Bane leaned against a pillar, a cup of tea by his side and a newspaper in his hands.

Only two pieces of information caught his attention.

The first was a report in the world news section: the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander, Fire Fist, had attacked the Drum Kingdom and finished off its king, Wapol.

The paper also suggested that the cause of this incident might be related to a Devil Fruit.

Already tracked him to the Drum Kingdom? It seems he isn't far from the East Blue now. Bane took a sip of tea and muttered to himself.

Over the past six months, news of Fire Fist had appeared frequently in the papers. Based on the trail of chaos he left behind, he had likely entered the first half of the Grand Line from Fish-Man Island and was heading straight for the East Blue.

Bane estimated that the Whitebeard Pirates must have already obtained intelligence regarding his own whereabouts in the East Blue.

This was not surprising. Shimotsuki Village was one thing, but he hadn't exactly hidden his tracks when he appeared in Loguetown.

The only thing that made Bane reflect was that Fire Fist was the one always taking the spotlight, while Teach was never mentioned. That old fox was truly good at keeping a low profile.

The situation in the Drum Kingdom had also changed. In the original story, it was the Blackbeard Pirates led by Teach who attacked, and Wapol had escaped rather than being killed.

Now, the newspaper had essentially published an obituary for him; he was clearly dead. Bane even suspected that the Munch-Munch Fruit might have already fallen into the hands of the Blackbeard Pirates. Perhaps that guy had realized Bane had eaten the Dark-Dark Fruit and was now looking for another way out?

Aside from that news, the local East Blue section of the paper contained another item that interested Bane.

The former Loguetown Marine base commander, Smoker, had been promoted to the rank of East Blue Admiral. He had conducted a forceful purge of the Marine Branch 153, dismissing and arresting its commander, Axe-Hand Morgan. Simultaneously, Smoker had led a team to Syrup Village and taken down the former Black Cat Pirates captain, Klahadore, who had cruelly murdered many Marines.

In the paper, the East Blue Admiral, Smoker, solemnly declared that he would continue to oversee and rectify the discipline of the East Blue Marines and welcomed reports from all walks of life regarding corruption within the ranks.

That's right—this, too, was Bane's doing.

Before leaving Loguetown, he had purchased his own Den Den Mushi and established a signal frequency with Smoker. Over the past six months, the two had occasionally exchanged information.

During this period, Bane had continued to file reports. First, he exposed the gluttonous former East Blue Admiral, then he "dug up" the secrets between Morgan and the Black Cat Pirates, compiling them into a detailed dossier that he mailed to Smoker.

Smoker originally had no authority to interfere with the East Blue Admiral or other branch bases. Bane's actions were merely meant to plant a seed for the future, ensuring that if any conflict arose later, he wouldn't be at odds with the Marines.

As it turned out, when he sent the files, the Marine Headquarters bigwig Garp happened to be on a "vacation" in the East Blue. Garp and Smoker already had a certain rapport; his first stop upon arriving was to visit Smoker, and that was how he learned of these matters.

As a high-ranking official from Headquarters, Garp could handle things that Smoker could not. With Garp's support, Smoker began sweeping through his own "allies," successfully earning a promotion and a raise to become the East Blue Admiral.

With that, Morgan was gone, and the country-bumpkin tycoon dreams of Kuro were shattered. It was said that during this sweep, Garp and Smoker had also taken the opportunity to clear out quite a few pirates in the East Blue, including the Alvida Pirates.

Bane hadn't had much of an impression of that crew until he discovered the captain was named Alvida.

One could only say they were truly unlucky.

Because of this, as far as Bane knew, among the scum of the East Blue Marines, only Colonel Nezumi remained to be dealt with.

He intended to handle that personally, for one reason only: to recruit the world's greatest navigator into his ranks!

Just as Bane was reading the paper and sipping tea, footsteps echoed from the corridor behind him.

Before long, Koushiro arrived behind him, and Bane prepared to stand up to pay his respects to his master.

That's right—over the past six months, Bane had gradually come to regard Koushiro as his true master. After all, he had been disrespectful at first, yet Koushiro had been completely forgiving, teaching him everything he knew without reservation. Even knowing he was being hunted by the Whitebeard Pirates, Koushiro had chosen to shelter him. Bane acknowledged this debt of gratitude.

"No need to stand." Koushiro pressed a hand on Bane's shoulder to stop him, then sat down casually opposite him, picked up the teapot from the tray, and poured himself a cup.

Watching the light rain outside the veranda, Koushiro took a sip of tea and asked softly, "Where is Zoro? It's rare to see him not by your side."

The strong are always lonely. In the Isshin Dojo, Zoro was undoubtedly a lonely powerhouse. After Kuina passed away, although Zoro remained on good terms with his fellow disciples, there was an insurmountable gap between them—they could not walk the same path or advance toward higher peaks together.

This was one of the reasons why Zoro had planned to leave the dojo and go to sea for training before Bane arrived.

Bane's arrival had shattered Zoro's solitude. While he wasn't Zoro's match in Sword Arts, his overall strength was far superior, and he brought many novel perspectives to the boy. As a result, despite Zoro's prickly exterior, he would stick to Bane whenever he was free.

As for Bane, he had always admired Zoro and knew that he would eventually walk the path of the world's top powerhouses. Since they were like-minded, he was naturally happy to keep company with him.

The two had even discussed going to sea together in the future to see the world.

Hearing Koushiro's question, Bane looked out at the curtain of rain and replied after a moment, "He went to visit Kuina."

Koushiro paused at the mention, a flicker of tenderness crossing his eyes. "I almost forgot. Whenever it rains, he always goes to keep Kuina company."

Bane didn't respond, merely drinking his tea in silence. He knew that Kuina was perhaps the eternal pain in his master's heart, but his master did not need anyone's pity.

After a long while, Koushiro pulled himself out of his thoughts. He glanced at the newspaper in Bane's hand, his gaze lingering briefly on the news about Fire Fist, before he spoke. "Are you two planning to leave?"

Bane smiled. "That kid Zoro has been itching to go out and see the world for a long time. As for me... honestly, staying here any longer might bring you some trouble, Master."

"I wouldn't drive my disciple away just because of some trouble," Koushiro said with a gentle, chuckling tone.

"But I don't wish to make things difficult for you, Master," Bane replied with a smile.

Koushiro sighed softly. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "As you know, I have some connections with the Revolutionary Army. If you are looking for sanctuary, I can introduce you..."

"That won't be necessary, Master." Bane grinned, revealing a brilliant smile. "I didn't come to this sea to hide and seek shelter!"

Looking at the confident smile on Bane's face, Koushiro finally smiled back. "That's true. One cannot grow stronger without weathering the storm."

After a brief pause, Koushiro took a notebook from his robes and handed it to Bane. "I had intended to give you this once your skills were refined, as we agreed, but it seems that if I don't give it to you now, it might be too late."