After staying in Cocoyashi Village for a few days, Bane, Zoro, and Nami finally set sail aboard the Shark Superb, the ship they had seized from the Arlong Pirates.
Of course, it was Bane's Shark Superb now. He hadn't bothered renaming it—who knew how long they'd be using it, anyway?
After leaving the village, the crew headed to the Baratie, the floating restaurant at sea, where they met Sanji.
However, after a brief conversation, Bane confirmed that Sanji had no means of contacting Germa 66, and so after enjoying a luxurious meal, the group promptly departed.
Bane wasn't surprised—he hadn't expected Sanji to have access to Germa's network. He'd just have to think of another way to make contact in the future.
With no more business left in the East Blue, Bane set course for Loguetown—to resupply, recruit some crew members, and ideally, to meet up with Smoker, who had likely returned to base by now. Bane was hoping to get his hands on a Log Pose for navigating the Grand Line.
Once that was all taken care of, they could finally head out into the Grand Line.
Thanks to Moo Moo hauling the ship, Nami's precise navigation, and their proximity to Loguetown after Baratie, the journey took less than three days.
As soon as they docked, a group of Marines swarmed the port.
"Pirates!?"
"Drop your weapons!"
It was no wonder—they were arriving aboard the infamous Shark Superb, and Bane hadn't yet replaced the pirate flag or repainted the ship's exterior. It still flew the Arlong Pirates' jolly roger.
"The pirates on that ship—surrender immediately and—" Tashigi stood firm at the dock, sword in hand, eyeing the vessel with suspicion.
"Hey! Whoa, easy there—it's a misunderstanding!" Bane leaned over the railing with a grin and waved at her. "Tashigi, it's me. I seized this ship from the Arlong Pirates. I even told Smoker about it, remember?"
Tashigi adjusted her glasses and squinted at him. Her eyes widened. "Mr. Bane!?"
The surrounding Marines quickly relaxed as they recognized him.
"Mr. Bane! You're back?"
"As expected of Mr. Bane—he actually captured an entire pirate ship!"
"He took down the Arlong Pirates—East Blue's most wanted crew!"
As the misunderstanding cleared up, Zoro and Nami lowered the gangplank. Zoro crossed his arms and walked over to Bane. "Didn't think the Marines would be this friendly with you."
As he scanned the crowd, his eyes landed on Tashigi. His expression changed in an instant—he nearly fell off the deck.
"Kuina!?" Zoro shouted, pointing directly at her. "Hey! Isn't that Kuina?! You've seen the pictures at the dojo, right?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Her name's Tashigi. She's a sergeant from Marine HQ," Bane said, stroking his chin with a sly grin. "Still… she really does look exactly like Kuina. Who knows, maybe our sensei had a secret past?"
"Wait, what!?" Zoro stared at Tashigi in disbelief, a mixture of shock and understanding dawning in his eyes.
So that's the kind of man Sensei is…
Soon after, the trio disembarked. Tashigi greeted them warmly.
"Commander Smoker just returned a couple of days ago. He'll be thrilled to know you're here," she said to Bane. "He owes his promotion to East Blue Commander entirely to you!"
As she spoke, her eyes drifted to Zoro's hip—and immediately widened in shock.
"That's… Wado Ichimonji! It's one of the twenty-one Great Grade swords, right?! Worth well over ten million Berries!" Tashigi dashed to Zoro's side, eyes sparkling.
The sudden movement startled Zoro—and Nami too.
"Over ten million!?" Nami gasped. "Wait, is Zoro secretly loaded or something?"
"Ten million's a conservative estimate," Tashigi gushed. "These swords are practically priceless. Just recently, another Great Grade sword—Shusui—fetched 640 million Berries at auction!"
She paused, then added, "And Wado Ichimonji ranks even higher than Shusui. If it ever went to auction, it'd fetch at least 800 million Berries!"
"Eight hundred million!?" Nami's eyes practically turned into Berry symbols. She'd thought Bane was rich, but it turned out Zoro was walking around with a treasure at his waist.
"Whether it's eight hundred million or a hundred billion—I'm never selling it." Zoro gripped Wado Ichimonji tightly, frowning.
"Of course not!" Tashigi agreed, nodding fiercely. "A blade like that isn't something you can put a price on!"
She had her own dream—to recover every legendary sword from the hands of villains.
"What's your name?" she asked after regaining her composure.
"Zoro. Roronoa Zoro."
"I'm Sergeant Tashigi, Marine HQ." She extended a hand. "I was actually heading to a local sword shop—they just got a new batch in. Care to come with me?"
Zoro hesitated. He glanced at the two other swords at his waist—just ordinary blades. Ever since his strength had increased, he'd begun to feel they weren't keeping up. They didn't slice quite right anymore.
But he was broke. Even if he had a legendary sword, his pockets were empty.
That's when Bane casually reached out, swirling a dark shimmer of darkness through the air, as if slicing open space. He pulled out a money pouch and handed it to Zoro.
"Go ahead," he said. "We've got time. I'm going to catch up with Smoker over some tea. Just meet me at the base later."
The pouch held five to six million Berries at least. Zoro accepted it without hesitation.
"If I find a good sword, I'll pick one up for you too."
"Hahaha! I'll hold you to that," Bane laughed.
Just then, Nami practically pounced on Bane, wrapping her arms around him—nearly suffocating his arm in Nami Valley—and cooed, "Lord Bane~ I was thinking… I could really use a few new outfits. And some updated navigation gear. Whaddaya say?"
Enjoying the attention, Bane handed her a pouch of Berries as well. "Fine, fine. Let's meet up at the Marine base afterward."
And with that, the three went their separate ways.
Nami happily skipped off on a shopping spree. Tashigi led Zoro toward the sword shop. And Bane strolled casually toward the Marine base.
Meanwhile, at a high-end restaurant in Loguetown, Ace and Teach were feasting like gluttons.
Teach was inhaling cherry pie like a madman. Ace, on the other hand, was wolfing down roasted meat by the plateful.
Just as Ace was about to bite into a massive chicken leg, he glanced outside—and froze.
"What's wrong?" Teach asked, his mouth full.
"It's Bane," Ace said coldly. He slammed his hand onto the table. "The guy who killed Thatch—look, Teach! Isn't that him?!"
Teach's eyes widened. He leapt to the window and peered out.
Sure enough, there he was—that man he'd been obsessing over. Bane was walking straight into the Marine base like he owned the place.
"It's him! That bastard—I'd recognize him even if he were ashes!" Teach growled, eyes brimming with hatred.