I'll take the blame, so I should get Thatch's bounty too, right!?

Bane sat at a tavern table, reading a newspaper with great interest.

He had initially feared he would be illiterate here, but to his surprise, he could read the local script as if his brain were equipped with an automatic translator.

After making some inquiries at the tavern, he had finally figured out his current location.

He was in the Four-Leaf Island waters, under the jurisdiction of the Oykot Kingdom in the East Blue. It was not far from the Marine Branch 153 base, so the surrounding sea was relatively stable.

In fact, as the benchmark set by the World Government, the East Blue had always been known as the "Sea of Peace." Its security was significantly better than other seas, even in the current Great Pirate Era.

After all, there was a certain Marine bigwig in this sea who loved to come back and "fish with dynamite" whenever he felt like it, and the gateway out of the East Blue was guarded by a Marine Colonel with a Logia-type Devil Fruit. Which of these rookie pirates fresh out of port could handle that?

The newspaper in his hand also noted the current date and the events that had transpired recently.

It was July, 1519 in the Marine Calendar, which did not surprise Bane.

After all, when he first observed this world, he had happened to see that guy Teach kill Thatch and seize the Dark-Dark Fruit, preparing to embark on his path to becoming one of the Four Emperors.

According to the original timeline, Teach fled the Whitebeard Pirates that very night. He then traveled across the world; for instance, during his early days of fugitive entrepreneurship, he went to the West Blue to recruit Laffitte, who was a sheriff there at the time. Later, he visited a fighting tournament in the Grand Line to recruit the fighter Burgess, and subsequently brought Doc Q and Van Augur into the fold, officially establishing the Blackbeard Pirates.

After forming the Blackbeard Pirates, he went on to cause trouble on Drum Island.

All of this would take at least a year, right? Based on this, Bane had estimated that the current time was about a year before the Straw Hat boy set sail.

Looking at it now, that was indeed the case, as Luffy was set to officially set sail in May 1520. (This book uses 1520 as the anchor point.)

Besides that, the newspaper also reported on recent events, such as the leak of Dance Powder in the capital of the Alabasta Kingdom, and the pirate Cavendish entering the New World as a highly anticipated rookie.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was that on the back page of the newspaper, Bane saw a portrait of himself, accompanied by some information.

"The murderer who killed the Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Name and age unknown. The Whitebeard Pirates offer a bounty of 500 million Berries, dead or alive."

"Wait, is it reasonable for pirates to blatantly post bounties in the newspaper? What is the World Government doing?" Bane complained with great dissatisfaction as he looked at the notice.

And for heaven's sake, when did he ever kill Thatch?

Without even needing to think, Bane knew it must be that dog Teach who had pinned the crime of killing Thatch onto him!

Regarding this matter, Bane currently had no room for rebuttal. The reason was simple: the weak have no voice. He was not qualified to explain anything to Whitebeard and his crew, and they wouldn't listen anyway.

"It's a good thing the gate opened in the East Blue; the Whitebeard Pirates won't be able to catch up for a while. And the weaklings in the East Blue... well, they shouldn't be a threat to me, right?" Bane pondered, feeling that he was actually quite lucky.

If he were still in the New World—that hellhole where experts were everywhere and everyone used Armament Haki—he reckoned that the moment he showed his face, he would be captured and handed over to Whitebeard.

He swept these chaotic thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time to dwell on them; in Bane's view, the top priority was to find a way to improve his strength.

In the world of pirates, besides Devil Fruits, there were many other things worth trying and learning.

For example, swordsmanship, the Six Powers, and Haki.

Although the East Blue was relatively safe, it was also difficult to acquire new power.

Take Haki, for instance; he doubted he could find a place to learn it even if he scoured the entire East Blue. The same likely applied to the Six Powers.

Swordsmanship was a possibility. In Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue, Koushiro had opened a dojo and was recruiting disciples widely. Basically, as long as you paid, you could learn. Of course, how much you actually learned depended on your own talent.

"Wait? No!" Bane paused at this thought, musing, "Given Koushiro's family background, he might actually possess knowledge of Haki, right? Perhaps he just never displayed it in the East Blue?"

This was not impossible. Koushiro was not a local of the East Blue; his family had migrated from Wano Country. Wano was a nation in the New World that produced many samurai, and these samurai were generally very proficient in Haki.

Moreover, Koushiro was a good friend of the current rebel leader and Revolutionary Army commander, Dragon. The fact that these two were friends suggested that Koushiro was not merely a simple dojo master.

Thinking of this, Bane felt it was necessary to go to Shimotsuki Village to meet this Mr. Koushiro.

This was not a difficult task. On his way to the tavern, Bane had already inquired around. Because the East Blue had been peaceful for so long, shipping and other industries were quite well-developed. The local ports had merchant ships traveling to all parts of the East Blue every day; as long as he bought a ticket, he could reach Shimotsuki Village.

So, the problem now was how to get money!

The ticket was one thing, but to meet Koushiro, he had to prepare some gifts, right? Besides that, there was tuition! Koushiro was a stranger to him; did he really think he could learn techniques without paying?

And how would he cover his living expenses during this time?

He had made some preparations before coming, bringing two gold bracelets he had hidden at home. After all, currencies were not interchangeable, but gold was a hard currency. According to intelligence from the Empire, gold seemed to be a universal hard currency in many different worlds, so he should prepare more when he had the chance.

However, these two bracelets were not a long-term solution. Originally, Bane had planned to find some local thugs and borrow some money—or beat them until they "borrowed" it to him—but now, he felt he had a new option.

He stood up, walked to a nearby table, and enthusiastically draped his arm over the shoulder of a man who was bragging. "Brother, let me ask you something. Do you know what the bounty is for Thatch, the Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?"

The guy had been bragging to his friends about a big fish he'd caught recently and was naturally unhappy about being interrupted. He looked at Bane with an impatient tone, "Where are you from? Why are you asking this? And stop hanging all over me."

Perhaps it was because Bane's question involved Thatch, or perhaps because the news about the murder of the Whitebeard Pirates' commander had been trending for the past few days, but the man suddenly froze when he saw Bane's face.

"I'm asking because I want to claim the bounty, of course," Bane said with a friendly smile.

Just kidding. Teach had framed him for such a massive crime, and the Whitebeard Pirates were hunting him across the world with a 500 million Berry bounty, causing him to suffer such a great grievance for nothing.

Surely it was only reasonable for him, Bane, to go and collect the bounty on Thatch?

"Y-you're the person in the portrait!?" the man said in terror.

"Keep it down, I'm a low-key person," Bane said, pressing down firmly on the man's shoulder.

Soon, Bane had clarified the situation. Thatch's bounty was 360 million Berries, and this island was under the jurisdiction of the Marine Branch 153 base. If he wanted to exchange for the bounty, he could go there.

However, this place was not too far from Loguetown. The 153 Marine Branch might not be able to pay out 360 million Berries in one go, but the Marine base in Loguetown was guarded by a Headquarters Colonel and should be able to afford it.

Furthermore, if Bane remembered correctly, this "Marine Branch 153" was the territory of that "Great Axe" Morgan. The guy was pathologically greedy. Bane wasn't afraid of him, but there was no need to stir up trouble. He had already offended the Whitebeard Pirates; there was no need to offend the Marines as well.

By comparison, Colonel Smoker of Loguetown seemed more trustworthy. After some consideration, Bane decided he would go to Loguetown to exchange for the money.

What? How would he prove he killed Thatch without Thatch's head in hand?

Don't be ridiculous. The fact that his face was plastered all over the world by the Whitebeard Pirates was the best evidence there was!