Bane moved through the Loguetown Marine base as if he had returned home. When he entered, the Marines checking visitors had no intention of giving him trouble. They efficiently registered him, didn't even assign anyone to accompany him, and Bane strolled into the base with ease.
It could only be said that the 200 million Belly he had spent here before had not gone to waste. Everyone treated him like one of their own.
Before long, Bane arrived outside Smoker's office. He knocked on the door, and a response came from inside.
Bane pushed the door open and cheerfully greeted them. "Surprised? Uh?"
Smoker was seated at his desk, wiping down his Seastone Jitte. On the sofa meant for visitors sat someone Bane had not expected to see—the Hero of the Marines, Garp!
Garp held a senbei in his hand and was stuffing it into his mouth without the slightest regard for appearances.
Both he and Smoker wore shocked expressions when they saw Bane!
"What are you doing here?!" Smoker sprang to his feet and cried out.
Seeing how worked up he was, Bane found it a little strange. He had meant for his visit to be a surprise, but there was no need to get this excited, was there?
"I'm leaving the East Blue, so I came by to say goodbye. Also, do you have any spare Log Poses? Give me one to use," Bane explained.
"Oh no!" Garp slammed his senbei onto the desk. "Quick, Smoker! Sound the alarm and urgently evacuate the civilians in Loguetown!"
Their frantic reaction completely baffled Bane. He asked in confusion, "What exactly happened?"
"The Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander, Fire Fist Ace, is in Loguetown. We were planning to surround him tonight, but your appearance will definitely disrupt the deployment," Smoker said, looking utterly troubled.
That was right. The moment Ace and Teach landed in Loguetown, Smoker had discovered them. Loguetown was his territory. His claim that he had never let a single pirate escape over all these years was not empty boasting; he had countless informants throughout the town.
Ace was also the flamboyant sort. With Whitebeard's emblem tattooed on his back, he had naturally been spotted and reported to Smoker as soon as he arrived in Loguetown.
Bane's arrival in Loguetown should have been reported as well, but before he even disembarked, he ran into Tashigi. The others noticed what was happening and assumed Tashigi had already handled it, so they never reported it. As a result, Smoker only found out when Bane showed up right in front of him.
"We originally guessed that Fire Fist Ace would come ask me for information about you. Then he really did appear in Loguetown. Now that you're here too, there's a good chance he has already noticed you. He might even come straight here looking for a fight," Smoker explained.
As he spoke, he picked up a Den Den Mushi, intending to evacuate Loguetown's residents in case an accident harmed the civilians.
But before he could make the call, a furious roar came from outside the window.
"Fire Fist!!!"
There was no doubt—it was Ace's voice. The next second, surging Blaze took the form of a giant flaming fist and blasted straight through the gates of the Loguetown Marine base. Scorching flames surged nearly a hundred meters inward, forming what looked like a corridor of fire.
"That brat is still as reckless as ever!" Garp cursed darkly at the sight.
Honestly, if Ace and Teach had appeared in Loguetown when only Bane and Smoker were present, things would have been difficult. Bane might even have needed to find a way to run.
But now, Garp, one of the Marine higher-ups, was right beside him—and he looked as though he had been waiting here for them all along. That put Bane far more at ease.
This time, they might just be able to take down both Ace and Teach!
Soon, two figures emerged from the flames. The one in front was Ace, while the obscure Teach followed behind him.
"Be careful of the guy behind Ace. His name is Marshall D. Teach, and he's extremely strong. He once fought Red-Haired Shanks to a standstill!" Worried that Garp might underestimate him, Bane immediately gave a warning.
Garp and Smoker had both been focused on Ace, but Bane's words instantly drew their attention to the inconspicuous Teach.
"He fought Red-Haired Shanks to a standstill?" Garp sounded surprised, though his tone held some doubt.
"That's right. The scar over Red-Haired Shanks's eye was left by that guy," Bane confirmed immediately.
This made Garp believe him somewhat. With a deeply furrowed brow, he said, "I thought he was some nobody. Didn't expect him to be such a dangerous character. You two had better watch out for him!"
Ace and Teach had no idea Garp was here. The newspapers had previously said that Garp had separated from Smoker at the Branch 153 base. When Ace saw that news, he assumed his grandfather had gone to find Luffy.
He never expected that old bastard Garp to make a feint in one direction while secretly advancing in another. He had come to the East Blue this time specifically to capture him!
After walking out of the fiery passageway, Ace shouted arrogantly, "Bane, I know you're in there! I saw you go in! You bastard who used despicable means to kill Thatch, get out here!"
Inside the office, Bane looked at Smoker beside him and asked, "Is he always this arrogant? He's a pirate, yet he storms into a Marine base and acts this wildly?"
Smoker shrugged. "How would I know? I'm not familiar with him. Isn't that right, Vice Admiral Garp?"
Garp's old face reddened, and anger flashed in his eyes. "I'll go teach that bastard a proper lesson right now!"
The instant he finished speaking, Garp pushed off with his feet. With a crack, the tiled floor of Smoker's office shattered.
A pained look flashed through Smoker's eyes at the sight, but before he could say anything, Garp's burly body smashed through the window with a bang. He shot out like a cannonball.
"Ace!!!" Garp roared in midair.
That shout gave both Ace and Teach a fright.
Ace stared at Garp in the sky with a terrified expression and shouted, "Grandpa?! Why are you here?!"
Teach was dumbfounded too. Damn it, how had this suddenly turned into a hellish start?
I'm fighting Garp?!
Garp gathered power in midair. Haki burst from his hand, drawing several bolts of lightning across the sky. His eyes glowed red as he bellowed, "Why am I here? Of course, it's to give you, you disobedient little bastard, a proper beating!"
Along with Garp's roar, an immense presence and Haki instantly blanketed all of Loguetown. The terrifying aura pressed down so heavily that even Bane found it hard to breathe.
"This is...?" Bane looked skyward. Garp's Haki seemed to make the heavens collapse, and in an instant, that vast, ocean-like Haki all gathered into his fist.
Smoker's face turned green when he saw this. He hurried to the shattered window and shouted, "Hey, Vice Admiral Garp, this is a Marine—"
Before he could finish, Garp had already swung his domineering fist through the air!
"Fist Bone Impact!"
Bane felt a flash before his eyes, as though the entire sky had become blindingly bright. Then the terrifying Haki condensed into an overwhelmingly powerful shockwave. As if it were about to pierce heaven and earth, it crashed down from Garp toward the Loguetown Marine base.
At first glance, Bane saw the terrified expressions on Ace and Teach's faces as they were both swallowed by the shockwave. At second glance, he saw the buildings within the Marine base being blown apart and destroyed as if struck by a hurricane. At third glance, that overwhelmingly powerful Haki shockwave had already reached him.
The next instant, before Bane could even curse Garp once, he and Smoker were swept up by the shockwave together. With a boom, they were slammed into the wall, and then the entire office building was completely destroyed.
With just one strike, Loguetown seemed to have suffered a massive earthquake. The entire Marine base, along with several surrounding streets, was reduced to ruins.
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