At the ruins of the Loguetown Marine base, large numbers of Marines were carrying out cleanup work. Surprisingly, Vice Admiral Garp's earth-shattering punch had not caused many casualties among the Marine soldiers. It could only be said that top-tier powerhouses truly had precise control over their strength.
Smoker stood atop a pile of rubble, three cigars clenched between his teeth as smoke billowed from his mouth. Bane leaned against a stone nearby, chatting with him.
"So Thatch wasn't killed by you?" Smoker asked Bane with an incredulous look.
"Whether I took him out or not, what does it matter now?" Bane replied casually. Then, as though he had suddenly thought of something, he looked at Smoker warily. "You're not planning to make me return his bounty, are you? Impossible. Absolutely impossible. It's already generous enough that I'm not asking you for Ace's bounty."
"As for Ace, we've completely sealed off the news, so naturally we can't give you any bounty. Besides, without the Marines stepping in, you might not have been able to capture him." Smoker shot Bane a disdainful look.
Back when he had first met Bane, he had actually thought highly of him. Now, Smoker felt that he must have been blind at the time. Whether this guy was righteous or not was hard to say, but he was definitely cunning.
Bane also knew there was no way he would get Ace's bounty. Before the battle had even ended, the Marines had activated their emergency measures, cutting off all signal transmissions across Loguetown and sealing the harbor immediately.
That meant that without the Marines' permission, nothing that had happened here could possibly reach the outside world.
According to Smoker, Loguetown would enter a three-month lockdown period. During that time, all news regarding Ace would be suppressed until the Marines were ready for their next move.
Smoker had not explained much, but Bane was no fool. The Marines' actions clearly meant that this matter was far from over. Not only was it not over—it had only just begun.
Perhaps the Marines had already decided to make a move against the Whitebeard Pirates. And the Summit War, an event capable of affecting the entire world's balance and future, obviously could not be arranged in haste.
The Marines had won that war not merely because their overall strength was greater, but because they had made thorough preparations beforehand.
While Smoker and Bane were discussing these matters, Tashigi approached from nearby with Zoro and Nami.
Loguetown was currently under martial law. Even though the Marine base had been reduced to ruins, outsiders could not simply enter. Clearly, Tashigi had helped Zoro and Nami get inside.
The moment he arrived, Zoro asked, "Didn't we agree to meet at the Marine base? Where is the Marine base?"
Nami immediately burst out laughing, then covered her mouth in embarrassment.
Bane also looked at Zoro in surprise. "I didn't know you could tell deadpan jokes."
Zoro ignored Bane's teasing and asked curiously, "What happened here? I was on the other side of town, but I could still see the huge explosion over here. The whole island shook several times because of it. Did the armory blow up?"
"That wasn't a huge explosion. Some old man got angry and threw one punch here. That's all." Bane curled his lip.
"Huh?" Zoro froze, then looked around at the ruins of the base. Finally, his gaze settled on the terrifying chasm in the ground in the distance. "You're sure you're not joking with me?"
"Of course." Bane exhaled a stream of smoke.
"Impossible. How could something so absurd exist?" Zoro clearly did not believe him at all.
"You're a frog at the bottom of a well." Bane looked at Zoro seriously. "What I said is the truth. The old man who threw that punch was Vice Admiral Garp, known as the Hero of the Marines. He's also publicly recognized as one of the world's top powerhouses. Now, take a good look around. Feel this gap. Feel this despair. Then work hard to become someone as strong as him, Roronoa Zoro."
Perhaps sensing the expectation in Bane's tone and the seriousness in his eyes, Zoro stopped arguing. He carefully surveyed the surrounding ruins once more before asking, "Could the World's Greatest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, do something like this too?"
"As far as I know, one slash from him should be enough to split the entire island Loguetown is on in two. That's the strength of those at the very top." Bane thought for a moment before answering.
Seeing Zoro sink into thought, Nami finally asked, "What exactly happened here just now? Why was Vice Admiral Garp here?"
Bane explained, "Ace, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, came to Loguetown with his men to hunt me down. Then we clashed and fought here."
"What happened in the end? What about that Ace?" Nami asked curiously.
Nami still hated all Pirates equally and fairly, so she naturally had no good impression of Ace. There was even a trace of anticipation in her voice.
"We caught him." Bane laughed.
At that moment, Smoker spoke from the side. "Don't spread this information afterward. At least, don't say anything until you see this incident reported in the newspapers, so you don't interfere with the Marines' plans."
"Understood. Don't worry." Bane agreed.
"Does the Marine have any further plans?" Nami asked with the eager curiosity of a child.
"That isn't something I can reveal. It concerns Marine confidential information, after all." Smoker shook his head, looking unwilling to say more.
Bane, however, gave him no face at all. "What's so inconvenient about revealing it? At this point, we count as participants too. I could guess with my toes that the Marines' next step will be to use Ace in a targeted plan against the Whitebeard Pirates. In other words, the Marines are going to war with the Whitebeard Pirates, who are known as the strongest."
Nami looked utterly shocked upon hearing that. If you asked Zoro who Whitebeard was, he might say he did not know. After all, he did not pay much attention to such things; his mind was filled with Sword Arts, and at most he knew about Mihawk, the greatest swordsman.
But Nami was different. She paid close attention to the news and the situation at sea. The moment she heard that the Marines were going to war with Whitebeard, she knew this would be earth-shaking news capable of setting the world ablaze.
What excited her even more was that she seemed to have become one of the first people to learn of this news. It could even be said that she had personally taken part in the event.
But after that brief excitement, fear crept in. The Whitebeard Pirates were known as the world's strongest pirate crew. Their captain, Whitebeard, was not only called the strongest man, but was also widely acknowledged as a powerhouse who possessed the power to destroy the world.
They were just small fry who had never even left the East Blue, yet they had suddenly become enemies of such terrifying figures. Just thinking about it was enough to make her worry.
Still, when she saw Bane's relaxed expression, Zoro's complete lack of concern, and even Marine Captain Smoker's calm demeanor, she felt that perhaps she was overthinking things. If the sky fell, the Marine powerhouses would be there to hold it up first. For now, it would not come crashing down on them.
"All right, I was planning to stay here with you for a few days, but it looks like there's no chance of that now." Bane complained as he looked around at the ruins, then said to Smoker, "Do you have a Log Pose for the Grand Line? Give me one and save me some trouble."
A Log Pose was not anything particularly valuable. Bane could find one at the market if he looked, but it would take more time.
Seeing Bane act so completely justified, Smoker could only sigh helplessly. He said to Tashigi, "Go find a Log Pose for him."
After saying that, Smoker continued to Bane, "Perhaps the Marines' plans will require your cooperation later."
Before he could finish, Bane smiled and said, "Contact me anytime you need us. We're friends, after all."
Before you continue