East Blue, Marine Branch 153 base.
As the East Blue Commodore, Smoker was currently seated in the base commander's office, intending to select a suitable Marine from a massive pile of personnel files to succeed the commander of Branch 153.
On the sofa not far in front of him, Garp was eating senbei and drinking tea, looking utterly at ease.
After going through the documents for a while, Smoker rubbed his temples wearily and said, "Mr. Garp, are you really planning to mooch off me indefinitely? Didn't you say you came to visit your grandson?"
"I did come to visit my grandson, but I never said which grandson." Garp burst into laughter.
Smoker froze for a moment before realizing. "Fire Fist?"
Though not many people knew, the fact that Ace was Garp's adopted grandson was not exactly a tightly guarded secret. Most Marines who had some connection with Garp knew about it.
Smoker happened to be one of those in the know.
"That's right, that little bastard Ace." Garp's smile faded, and he said gloomily, "Back then, I let my guard down and he ran off to become a pirate. I originally wanted to catch him myself, but by the time I freed up some time, that brat had somehow ended up on that old bastard Whitebeard's ship. Sengoku told me not to act rashly back then, so the matter kept getting delayed."
Smoker had some doubts about Garp's claim. If he remembered correctly, Fire Fist Ace had nearly been recruited as one of the Shichibukai, hadn't he?
Still, Smoker wisely chose not to expose Garp's lie and instead asked, "Then why are you always hanging around here? Can you wait for Fire Fist here?"
"There's a very good chance!" Garp said seriously. "Ace came out of the New World this time specifically to capture that kid called Bane. As everyone knows, Bane collected Thatch's bounty from you, and he disappeared from East Blue only after leaving Loguetown under your command. So if nothing unexpected happens, I'd guess that brat will come to you for information."
Smoker stroked his chin, then nodded in agreement. "That is indeed possible. He is your grandson, after all. As a pirate, it wouldn't be surprising for him to be brazen enough to come ask us Marines for information."
"Why do I feel like you're talking bad about me?" Garp glared at Smoker unhappily.
But rather than argue with Smoker, Garp smiled again. "So I plan to stick with you for a while. Later, release the news that I've already left. Only then will that brat dare show himself. As long as he appears before me, I'll arrest him and bring him to justice!"
"And send him to Impel Down?" Smoker teased.
Garp's face reddened, but he stubbornly said, "If he refuses to repent, I won't bend the law for personal reasons!"
"In other words, if he's willing to admit his mistakes, you'll protect him?" Smoker rolled his eyes at Garp.
"Ahem, we Marines already have a system for recruiting Pirates into our ranks. That can't really be called favoritism, can it? Ace is quite talented. If he's willing to join the Marines, turn over a new leaf, and atone for his sins, that would be a good thing, wouldn't it?" Garp said with a hint of embarrassment.
But the truth was, the Marines really did have such a recruitment system. In the original story, some Pirates had been recruited, such as Jango from the Black Cat Pirates. He later became a Marine under Hina.
Of course, most major Pirates would never accept such recruitment, so the system merely offered minor Pirates a way back. Not many people knew about it, but it did exist.
If Garp went through with this, he really could clear Ace's name. The Marines could even use it to severely dampen the Whitebeard Pirates' arrogance.
Look, even one of your Whitebeard Pirates commanders had turned over a new leaf and become a Marine. What were the rest of you still struggling for?
However, considering Ace's feelings for the Whitebeard Pirates and his reverence for Newgate, he would probably rather die than follow Garp's plan.
Meanwhile, in Shimotsuki Village, Koushiro stood at the harbor pier, seeing off his two disciples.
Those two disciples were naturally Bane and Zoro.
Bane had arrived in Shimotsuki Village in August last year. It was now February of Marine Calendar 1520, and in another three months, Straw Hat should have set sail.
But as things stood, the Straw Hat Pirates were likely going to be severely short-handed. Roronoa Zoro, who should have been Luffy's first companion, had now become Bane's junior brother. The two were preparing to sail the seas together, so there was no way he would join the Straw Hat Pirates.
As for Usopp, Bane had reported him as well. Kuro had been directly dealt with by Smoker. Although Bane had no plans to recruit Usopp, he could not be sure whether Luffy would still form a crew with Usopp.
Among the East Blue members of the Straw Hat Pirates, only Sanji and Nami remained. As for Sanji, Bane only planned to make contact and see whether he could get a way to contact Germa through him. After all, he still had the RC Cell Injector. If conditions allowed, he should find some scientific expert to study it and see how it could be used to maximize its benefits.
Of course, Germa was only one backup option. If he really joined the Marines in the future, wouldn't the Marine Science Unit be safer and more reliable than Germa?
As for Sanji himself, Bane did not particularly care about him. It was not that he looked down on Sanji's future strength. To be fair, the guy had some real talent. It was just that Bane felt their personalities would probably clash. That guy was too lecherous. That wouldn't do.
In a team, only one person needed to be lecherous, and that person was Bane. Everyone else was competition!
There was no need to say much about Nami. In this world, the most important thing when sailing was a navigator. Without a doubt, Nami had the potential to become the finest navigator in the world, and Bane naturally could not let her go!
As for whether Luffy could even leave East Blue without a navigator after Nami was snatched away, Bane did not care. If Luffy liked playing barrel-drifting adventures, then he could keep playing for a few more years.
Ace and Teach would probably find their way to East Blue soon, so Bane's current plan was to leave East Blue after getting Nami on his side. While he was at it, he would visit Alabasta to see if he could take care of Sand Crocodile Crocodile, then bring the intelligent and beautiful Miss Robin along with him.
He felt he needed an intelligent companion with strong learning abilities by his side, someone who could offer advice and solve difficult problems at crucial moments. Clearly, Robin was an excellent choice.
It's just a pity that if I take Robin too, joining the Marines in the future might become troublesome. Still, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, Bane thought to himself.
While he was pondering these matters, Koushiro was tirelessly giving Zoro instructions over and over again.
"I've already taught your senior brother Bane the advanced knowledge of Haki."
"I'm the senior brother, Master!"
"You lack experience in the world, while your senior brother Bane has a great advantage in that regard. Once you're out there, you must listen to him more."
"Master, I'm the senior brother!"
"You've had no sense of direction since you were little. Here in Shimotsuki Village, someone can always lead you home. But once you're out there, stay close to your senior brother Bane. Don't get lost and cause him trouble, understand?"
"I'm the senior brother!!!!"
Zoro was on the verge of breaking down. In the end, he boarded the ship early in a furious huff.
After Zoro boarded, Koushiro smiled at Bane. "Bane, your master has only one thing to tell you."
Bane was deeply moved upon hearing this. Look at that—what was trust? This was trust! His master trusted his abilities!
Thus, with a faint glimmer of tears in his eyes, Bane clasped Koushiro's hand and said in a slightly choked voice, "Please tell me, Master. I'll remember your words forever!"
"Your master knows you're a capable person, and I can see that you want to accomplish great things on the seas," Koushiro said earnestly.
Master, you understand me!
"Therefore, your master asks only one thing of you: if you cause trouble in the future, just don't mention your master." Koushiro seriously patted the back of Bane's hand.
Bane???
Before you continue