Bane: Zoro, you should mind your own business!

Setting sail for adventure sounds like an intriguing prospect, but in reality, voyages across the sea are generally dull and monotonous.

The endless expanse of blue ocean might feel breathtaking and novel at first, but if you stare at it for days on end, you will quickly grow weary of the sight.

This is especially true in the East Blue, where the maritime conditions are relatively stable. Merchant vessels follow well-established routes and rarely encounter any turbulence. Furthermore, with Smoker overseeing the East Blue during this period—tightening naval discipline and combat effectiveness—and that old geezer Garp constantly "fishing" in these waters, the survival difficulty for pirates has increased significantly. Consequently, Bane hasn't encountered anything fresh along this journey.

At this moment, on the deck of the merchant ship, Zoro is leaning against the mast, holding a flask and taking a swig every now and then.

Not far away, Bane is engaged in what looks like a rather risky maneuver. Instead of staying on the deck, he has lowered the anchor to the waterline, squatting on it with one hand gripping the chain and the other submerged in the seawater. If one were to look closely, they would notice that the palm submerged in the water is radiating dark elements, as if trying to suck everything into an abyss.

Feeling bored, Zoro stands up, walks to the railing, and looks down at Bane, saying, "Why are you being so childish? Playing with water again?"

"Playing with water?" Bane glances at Zoro above with disdain. "You bumpkin, you don't know a damn thing. This is a trump card I'm preparing."

As for the dark elemental power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, Bane hasn't yet developed any particularly formidable, game-changing ultimate moves. He always feels that this darkness lacks sufficient offensive aggression.

Of course, a larger part of the reason is that he is just unskilled; he can't blame the Devil Fruit for that.

Many of his envisioned attack methods remain undeveloped due to time constraints and other factors.

Moreover, Bane feels that he is highly likely to face a surprise attack from Ace and Teach along the way. He can't afford to be unprepared, so he has focused more of his energy on developing the predatory nature of the Dark-Dark Fruit.

Ever since he obtained this fruit, this characteristic has been simple and easy to master: opening a dark abyss capable of devouring all things, absorbing everything tainted by darkness, and then releasing it all at once when needed. This is a basic operation.

Previously, Bane used this for storage. Just like now, he and Zoro are traveling without any luggage, as everything is kept inside his dark space.

A couple of days ago, while he was bored and watching the sea from the bow, a novel idea suddenly popped into his head: Why don't I store the ocean inside my dark space?

He acted on the thought immediately, and for the past few days, whenever he had free time, he has been "playing with water" right here.

By utilizing the massive suction power of his open dark space, he draws a continuous stream of seawater into it. When the need arises, he can release all the stored seawater at once, creating a massive tsunami or something similar to drown his opponents!

Considering that Ace is a Flame-Flame Fruit user, and Teach is likely a Devil Fruit user by now as well, this sudden, unexpected move might actually catch them both off guard and deal them a heavy blow.

I was originally wondering how to deal with that Sand Crocodile if I went to Alabasta, but now that I think about it, this move would work just as well on that guy, Bane thought to himself.

Seeing that Bane seems distracted, Zoro quickly warns, "Hey, hey, you need to focus. Don't fall into the sea. After all, you're a Devil Fruit user, right? Aren't you guys supposed to be 'hammer's anchors' who can't swim? Don't expect me to save you!"

"Don't worry, I'm different from the others," Bane says, quickly snapping back to reality.

He is indeed different from the Devil Fruit users in this world. Perhaps it is because he consumed the Devil Fruit back in the Empire; he received the fruit's abilities, but he did not receive the curse of the Grand Line's ocean. After all, no matter how powerful this sea is, it couldn't possibly cross worlds to curse Bane, right?

He had tested this back home. He had originally speculated that the curse might take effect once he arrived in the world of the Grand Line, but facts have proven that he has been here for quite a while, and the sea still hasn't cursed him—it's as if he never ate a Devil Fruit at all.

Therefore, in his current state, Bane isn't afraid of falling into the water. Back in Loguetown, he even took the opportunity to touch Smoker's Seastone jitte, and there was no reaction.

Because of this, he believes that his method of absorbing the sea as a trump card won't backfire on him, and it might even become an excellent asset for dealing with other Devil Fruit users!

"In this way, I can consider myself a man who has signed a summoning contract with the sea," Bane chuckles to himself.

Seeing Bane so confident, Zoro drops the subject of falling into the sea and changes the topic, asking, "Speaking of which, you still haven't told me what Master said to you when we boarded the ship that day."

At the mention of this, Bane feels a toothache from frustration. He had poured out so much genuine emotion at the time!

Bane grinds his teeth and says, "Master said he has connections in high places. If we ever cause trouble we can't handle, just say we're his disciples and push all the blame onto him!"

Zoro is stunned, asking in surprise, "I didn't expect Master, who usually looks so gentle, to be such a tough guy when it counts? Since he said that, I can rest easy!"

"Yeah, feel free to go cause trouble under his banner," Bane says without hesitation.

After chatting about these topics, Zoro asks again, "When are we going to the Grand Line? I still want to challenge the world's greatest swordsman."

"That's why you're so whimsical and impractical. Do you intend to take a merchant ship to the Grand Line? If you do that, you'll have to take the route through Mary Geoise, which is troublesome and full of complications," Bane explains patiently.

"Of course that won't work. It's too inconvenient, and all the stopping and starting would waste too much time. We definitely need to get a ship of our own and travel according to our own plans!" Zoro replies immediately.

"Then the question arises: can you sail a ship? Do you know the navigation routes? Where is the ship?" Bane counters.

Zoro looks blank for a moment, then shakes his head. "I can't. What about you? Didn't you fight your way out of the New World alone? You can do it, right?"

"Cough... that was luck. We can't rely on luck every time. So, our top priority now is to get a ship and find an excellent navigator. Only then can we sail the seas as we please!" Bane says with a look of longing.

"So, what now?" Zoro asks again.

"As far as I know, there is a well-known village on this ship's route called Cocoyasi Village. The oranges from this village are delicious and sell well throughout the East Blue. Furthermore, a group of pirates is entrenched in the village. They are currently the pirate crew with the highest bounty in the East Blue, known as the Arlong Pirates," Bane says, pulling his hand out of the sea and climbing onto the deck along the chain.

Zoro lends a hand to pull Bane back onto the deck and asks, "And?"

"As the pirates with the highest bounty in the East Blue, I believe their pirate ship should be of quite high quality. It is said that this crew came from the Grand Line, so this ship should have already withstood the trials of the Grand Line. I plan to requisition it!" Bane says as if it were a matter of course.

In his memory, the Fish-Man race has always had excellent shipbuilding technology, and Bane remembers that Arlong's ship was indeed quite large and cool. It would be perfect to use!

"So, we're just going to rob some pirates?" Zoro rolls his eyes at Bane.

"That's a harsh way to put it. I'm going to eliminate harm for the people and maintain the peace and stability of the East Blue. It's a righteous cause; how can you call it robbery?" Bane first 'corrects' Zoro's phrasing, then explains, "Besides, as far as I know, there is a very talented navigator in that village. I plan to recruit her!"

"How do you know so much?" Zoro asks, curious.

"Your senior brother has his own channels. You should ask less about worldly affairs," Bane says, patting Zoro on the shoulder with a mysterious air.