Chapter 16 Little bro, don't ask about such matters
Going out to sea for adventure sounds exciting, but sailing is usually dull and not fun.
The vast blue sea can appear amazing at first, but after looking at it for several days, you will quickly lose interest.
Especially in the East Blue Sea, the waters are quite calm. Merchant ships follow well-established routes with very few disruptions. During this time, Smoker was in charge of the East Blue Sea, which improved the navy's discipline and fighting ability. With old man Garp frying fish in these waters, pirates had less chance of survival. Therefore, Bane did not come across anything new on his journey.
On the deck of the merchant ship, Zoro leaned against the mast. He held a wine jug and took sips now and then.
Nearby, Bane's actions seemed a bit risky. He was not on the deck; instead, he had the anchor at sea level and was squatting on it. One hand gripped the chain while the other was submerged in the water. If you looked closely, you would see a dark energy emanating from his palm, as if it was pulling everything in.
Feeling a bit bored, Zoro stood up, walked to the edge of the ship, and glanced down at Bane. He said, "Why are you being so childish? Are you playing in the water again? "
"Playing in the water? " Bane looked up at Zoro with scorn and replied, "You country bumpkin, you don't understand. This is my secret technique. "
Bane has not yet created any powerful attack skills with the dark element from the Dark-Dark Fruit. He feels that this dark power doesn't seem strong enough offensively.
Of course, part of the problem is that he is not skilled at using it, so he can't blame the fruit.
Many of the attack methods he imagined have not been developed yet due to time and other issues.
Bane also thought he might face a surprise attack from Ace and Teach, so he needed to be ready. That's why he focused on developing the dark power of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Since getting this fruit, the ability to create a dark abyss has been simple and useful. He could open a void that swallowed everything and consumed any objects covered in darkness. When necessary, he would release everything at once. This was a basic action.
Before, Bane used this operation to keep his belongings. Now, when he and Zoro go out, they don't need to carry luggage because everything is stored in his dark space.
Two days ago, while he was bored looking at the sea from the boat, a new idea came to him. He thought, "Why don't I put the sea into my dark space? " So, he started playing in the water whenever he had free time.
He opened the large space of the dark space and drew in seawater. When he needed it, he could release the stored seawater at once, creating a wave or something to drown his enemies.
Since Ace has the Flame-Flame Fruit and Teach might also have a fruit, this surprise move could catch both of them off guard.
"I was thinking about how to deal with that sand crocodile in Alabasta, but now I think this trick could work on him too," Bane thought.
Noticing that Bane seemed lost in thought, Zoro quickly reminded him, "Hey, keep your focus and don't fall into the sea. You have abilities. Isn't it said that all users with special abilities are bad at swimming? Don't expect me to rescue you! "
"Don't worry, I'm different from the others," Bane replied, snapping back to reality.
He is indeed different from other users with abilities in this world. It might be because he ate the devil fruit in the empire. He gained the power of the devil fruit but not the ocean's curse found in the pirate world. After all, the ocean's power can't curse him worldwide, right? He tested this idea before, thinking the curse would disappear in the pirate world. However, even after being here for a long time, the sea still hadn't cursed him, as if he had never eaten the devil fruit at all.
So, in Bane's case, he is not afraid of falling into the water. Even in Logue Town, he touched Smoker's Seastone and felt no effect.
This is why he believes his method of absorbing the sea for attack will not harm him. Instead, it will be a big help against other users with devil fruit abilities.
"In this way, I can be seen as a man who made a deal with the sea." Bane chuckled to himself again. Since Bane seemed so sure of himself, Zoro on the deck did not bring up the incident of falling into the sea. Instead, he changed the topic and asked again, "By the way, you still haven't told me what master said to you when you got on the ship that day? "
Whenever this topic came up, Bane felt so angry that his teeth hurt. He regretted showing so many real feelings at that time! So, Bane gritted his teeth and said, "The master said he has someone above him. If we get into trouble later, we can say we are his apprentices and blame him! "
Zoro was also surprised when he heard this and said, "I didn't expect that the master, who seems gentle and nice most of the time, would be so tough when it matters. Now that he said that, I feel better. "
"Well, go ahead and cause trouble under his name," Bane said without hesitation.
After discussing these topics, Zoro asked again, "When are we going to the Grand Line? I also want to meet the world's strongest swordsman. "
"Maybe you are just dreaming and being unrealistic. Are you planning to take a merchant ship to the Grand Line? If you do that, you can only take the Mary Geoise route, which is troublesome and hard," Bane explained patiently.
"Of course not. That's too inconvenient. And stopping all the time will waste too much time. We need to get our own ship and go where we want. " Zoro replied right away.
"Then the question is, can you sail a boat? Do you know the route? Where is the ship? " Bane responded.
Zoro was surprised for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I can't. How about you? Didn't you fight through the New World by yourself? You can do it, right? "
"Well, that was luck, we can't rely on luck all the time. Our main priority now is to get a ship and find a good navigator, so we can sail the sea freely! " Bane said with a hopeful look.
"So what are we doing now? " Zoro asked again.
"As far as I know, there is a famous village on the route of this ship called Cocoyasi Village. The oranges there are very tasty and sell well in the East blue Sea. Also, there is a group of pirates in the village. They are the pirate gang with the highest bounty in the East blue Sea, called the Arlong Pirates. " Bane pulled his hand from the sea and climbed onto the deck using the chain.
Zoro helped pull Bane back to the deck and asked, "So? "
"As the pirates with the highest bounty in the East blue Sea, I think their pirate ship should be very good. It is said that this group of pirates came from the Grand Line, so this ship must have gone through a lot. I plan to take this ship! " Bane said confidently.
As far as I remember, the fishmen are good at building ships. Bane recalled that Arlong's ship was quite big and impressive, so it would work fine!
"Just going to rob pirates? " Zoro said, staring blankly at Bane.
"What you are saying is wrong. I am going to protect people and keep peace in the East Blue Sea. It's a just cause. How is it robbery? " Bane first "corrected" Zoro's statement and then explained: "And I know there is a very skilled navigator in this village. I plan to invite her to join us! "
"How do you know so much? " Zoro asked curiously.
"Little Bro, I have my own sources. Don't ask about such matters" Bane patted Zoro on the shoulder and said mysteriously.