An Encounter in Loguetown, Ace and Teach.

After lingering in Cocoyasi Village for a few days, Bane, Rorona Zoro, and Nami boarded the Shark Super that had belonged to Arlong.

Of course, it was Bane's Shark Super now. He had no intention of renaming the ship; there was no need, as he didn't even know how long he would be using it.

After leaving Cocoyasi Village, Bane and his group headed to the Baratie, where they met that guy Sanji.

However, after some conversation, Bane confirmed that Sanji had no way to contact Germa. So, after enjoying a grand meal at the Baratie, they left in a hurry.

Bane wasn't actually surprised that Sanji lacked a way to contact Germa; he would just have to think of another way later.

With that, Bane had nothing left to do in the East Blue, so he prepared to head to Loguetown to resupply, recruit some sailors, and incidentally meet Smoker, who should have returned to Loguetown by now, to see if he could get a Log Pose or something similar from him.

Once those matters were settled, they could set off for the Grand Line.

Momoo pulled the ship quite quickly, and Nami's navigation skills were beyond reproach. Plus, the Baratie happened to be in waters not too far from Loguetown, so it took less than three days for Bane and the others to arrive.

As soon as they docked at the harbor, local Marines swarmed them.

"Pirates!?"

"Drop your weapons!"

The Shark Super's exterior was simply too ferocious, and Bane hadn't had time to deal with its sails and flags, so the ship was still flying a pirate flag.

"Pirates on the ship, give up your resistance and behave yourselves!" Tashigi stood on the pier, holding Shigure, watching the ship with vigilance.

"Hey, hey, it's a misunderstanding, Tashigi." Bane poked his head out from the deck, then smiled and waved at her. "It's me. I captured this ship from the Arlong Pirates; I mentioned this to Smoker before."

Tashigi adjusted her glasses and took a closer look, then said in surprise, "Mr. Bane!?"

It wasn't just her; the surrounding Marines greeted Bane enthusiastically. "Lord Bane! Have you returned?"

"As expected of Lord Bane, to think you could capture such a massive pirate ship!"

"The Arlong Pirates had the highest bounty in the East Blue, and now they've been taken down by Lord Bane."

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Nami and Rorona Zoro finished lowering the gangplank. Rorona Zoro walked over to Bane with his arms crossed and said, "I didn't expect you to be so popular among the Marines."

As he said this, his eyes swept across the crowd of Marines, and his expression changed drastically; he nearly tripped and fell off the ship!

"Kuina!?" Rorona Zoro exclaimed, pointing at Tashigi. "Hey, isn't that Kuina? You know her, right? You've seen the photos at the dojo, haven't you?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Her name is Tashigi, a Master Chief Petty Officer from Marine Headquarters." Bane rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment before smirking. "But she does look exactly like Kuina. Perhaps Master was a bit of a playboy in his younger days."

"Huh?" Rorona Zoro looked at Tashigi with uncertainty, a hint of realization dawning in his eyes.

I never thought you were that kind of master!

Soon, Bane, Rorona Zoro, and Nami walked off the ship. Tashigi greeted them warmly, "Mr. Smoker only returned a couple of days ago. He'll be very happy to know you're here; after all, it's thanks to you, Mr. Bane, that he was able to be promoted to Commodore of the East Blue."

Before Tashigi could finish, her gaze fell upon the sword hanging at Rorona Zoro's waist.

As a sword fanatic, she recognized the Wado Ichimonji instantly. Her eyes lit up, and she excitedly moved closer to Rorona Zoro. "Wado Ichimonji! This is one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, the Wado Ichimonji, isn't it!? A famous blade worth over ten million Belly!"

Tashigi's sudden movement startled Rorona Zoro. Not only him, but Nami also exclaimed, "A famous blade worth over ten million Belly?"

Could this kid Rorona Zoro be a hidden multi-millionaire?

"Ten million is just a modest estimate. In reality, such famous blades are priceless. The last time one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, the Nagasone Kotetsu, appeared at an auction, it sold for a staggering 640 million Belly!" Tashigi introduced it excitedly before adding, "And the Wado Ichimonji is ranked even higher than the Nagasone Kotetsu. If it went to auction, this sword would be worth at least 800 million Belly!"

"800 million!?" Nami's eyes began to sparkle. She had thought Bane was the wealthy one, but she never expected the sword Rorona Zoro carried to be worth 800 million!

"800 million or a billion, even if it were 10 billion Belly, I wouldn't sell it." Rorona Zoro gripped the Wado Ichimonji, his brow furrowing with slight displeasure.

"Of course!" Tashigi agreed wholeheartedly. "How could such a famous blade be measured by money!"

She also had a dream: to collect all the famous blades scattered in the hands of villains!

"What is your name?" After calming her excitement, Tashigi looked at Rorona Zoro and asked.

"Zoro, Rorona Zoro." Rorona Zoro introduced himself.

"I am Marine Headquarters Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi!" Tashigi introduced herself as well, then said, "I'm just passing through here. I was planning to head to the local sword shop; I heard they just got a new batch of blades. Are you interested in coming with me to take a look?"

Rorona Zoro was slightly tempted. He touched the two swords at his waist—to be honest, they were just ordinary blades. As his strength had increased over this period, Rorona Zoro felt these two swords were struggling to keep up and weren't as smooth to use.

However, his pockets were empty. Despite carrying a famous blade, he was dirt poor.

Just then, Bane flicked his hand, creating a black ripple in the air as if he had sliced through space. He reached in, pulled out a paper bag, and tossed it to Rorona Zoro. "Go take a look. There's nothing to do right now anyway. I'm going to find Smoker for some tea; you can come find me with Tashigi afterward."

The paper bag contained about five or six million Belly. Rorona Zoro didn't refuse, taking it and saying, "If there's a good sword, I'll pick one out for you too."

"Hahaha, then I'll leave it to you." Bane laughed heartily.

At that moment, Nami also actively stepped forward, hugging Bane's arm and nearly burying it in her cleavage. She fawned over him, "Lord Bane, I also want to buy some new pretty clothes, and there are some navigation tools I need to restock. What do you think?"

After enjoying Nami's flattery, Bane gave her a paper bag of Belly as well. "Go on, go on. We'll meet up at the Marine base later."

Just like that, the three parted ways at the harbor. Nami went off happily to shop, Tashigi took Rorona Zoro to buy swords, and Bane walked toward the Marine base with familiar ease.

Meanwhile, at the Tower Restaurant in Loguetown, Ace and Teach were gorging themselves. Teach was stuffing his face with cherry pie, while Ace was devouring roasted meat.

But just as Ace was about to shove a large chicken leg into his mouth, his peripheral vision caught the street outside, and he froze in place.

"What's wrong?" Teach asked, munching on his pie.

"It's Bane!" Ace slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "That guy who killed Thatch! Look, Teach, is that him!?"

Upon hearing this, Teach jolted. He quickly stood up, pressed against the window to look outside, and saw the figure he had been dreaming of, walking swaggeringly into the Marine base!

"It's him! It's that bastard, no doubt about it. I'd recognize him even if he were turned to ash!" Teach's eyes burned with malice and hatred as he gnashed his teeth.