Chapter 93: My Answer Is, I'll Give It My All!!!
At the edge of this White-White Sea, Bane's group's shark three-masted sailing ship was navigating here. Obviously, they were about to 'fall' from the sky.
And this was part of their route—returning to the Grand Line from here. With Issho around, there was no need to worry about safety issues.
On deck at this moment, Bane, Zoro, Nami, Issho, Wiper, Fubuki, and Dr. Genus (still wearing his oxygen tank) were sitting in a circle.
The atmosphere was somewhat strange and awkward.
Zoro looked left and right, finally deciding he shouldn't speak. He silently opened the wine flask hanging at his waist and took a sip.
"Hmm?" Smelling the wine, Issho suddenly opened his blind eyes: "Good wine! Give me some too."
"No problem." Zoro laughed heartily.
This wine was high-end stuff he'd specifically brought back from the other world—truly delicious. Before leaving, he'd even had Bane store plenty more in his dark space.
After Issho and Zoro first broke this silence, Bane also took a deep breath and said: "Everyone, I have something concerning my absolute secret that I need to confess to you now. Before that, I want to say—once you hear this secret, you can never leave the ship to go solo again. So if anyone feels they can't bear this price, they can go back to the cabin first..."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over Wiper, Issho, and Nami.
After all, besides these three, Zoro, Fubuki, and Dr. Genus were already people who knew this secret—the type who couldn't leave even if they wanted to.
Actually, on the way back to the pirate world, Bane had already been considering this problem. If it were just him and Zoro, according to the original plan of eating a fruit and leaving, this secret could continue to be hidden, and Zoro wouldn't say much either.
But plans couldn't keep up with changes. Being trapped over there, and encountering excellent talents, the moment Bane brought Fubuki and Genus back, his secret could no longer be hidden within their small team.
After all, Fubuki and Dr. Genus were completely from another world. They weren't familiar with this side at all, and that sense of unfamiliarity and disconnection couldn't be hidden, especially among companions living together day and night on the same ship.
Wiper was still okay—he was also an 'outsider' who, aside from Sky Island, didn't know much about the world below. But Nami and Issho weren't stupid people.
Given enough time, they would definitely discover problems. Even after becoming familiar, Fubuki and Dr. Genus might accidentally let something slip to these close companions.
So after thinking for a long time, Bane decided to come clean with everyone upon returning. This was no longer a question of whether he could trust his companions, but rather an issue of being unable to conceal it. Moreover, as this experience developed, Bane would definitely face such situations again in the future. Rather than wait for them to slowly notice something was wrong, he might as well be open and honest, which could also further strengthen everyone's feelings and relationships.
Furthermore, among Wiper, Nami, and Issho, really only Issho presented certain uncertain factors.
Needless to say, Bane trusted Nami. Although Wiper had joined for an extremely short time, the Shandians' character of keeping their word and fulfilling promises was something Bane trusted, especially since he had sworn loyalty to Bane.
Even with Issho, Bane was actually willing to trust him unilaterally, because he did have certain knowledge and understanding of Issho. But the awkward thing was, Bane couldn't be certain whether Issho truly trusted him.
After all, Issho hadn't been with them long. He was an experienced uncle with formidable strength who had seen plenty of human malice. Expecting Issho to completely trust Bane in a short time was impossible.
Sure enough, after Bane's words fell, Issho—the man who had first broken the previous silence with Zoro—quieted down.
He closed his eyes again, holding the wine cup Zoro had just poured for him, falling into deep thought.
Wuper looked around, then was the first to speak: "Since I've already sworn loyalty to you, I won't have any other thoughts. No matter what happens, I will stand firmly before you, Bane!"
Nami seemed to not have reacted yet. After hearing Wiper's words, she suddenly snapped back to reality and quickly said: "Hey, hey, if you put it that way, you're really not taking our companionship seriously at all. So no matter what kind of secret you have, I'm willing to bear it together with you!"
Zoro didn't need to say anything. He just silently drank his wine, while Fubuki and Dr. Genus exchanged glances. Fubuki spoke as their representative: "Actually, everyone might have already sensed that Dr. Genus and I are part of this secret... So we've already made our choice."
Genus thought to himself: I didn't have any choice at all, okay? This guy Bane never asked if I was willing—he just gave me orders directly!
But honestly, he was very interested in being able to travel between worlds. So when he learned Bane wanted to bring him to another world, he immediately went to arrange the House of Evolution's affairs without any intention of objecting.
For a scientist, Bane was simply the most perfect subject he'd ever encountered. He'd already decided to stick with this guy for life—after all, no one else could take him to experience the splendor of different worlds!
After everyone had expressed their positions, all eyes turned to Issho.
If it were someone else, they might feel pressure from this and make choices against their true heart due to that pressure. But Issho—a man who had weathered countless storms and stood among the world's top-tier powerhouses—wouldn't feel any pressure.
He had very complete and unwavering understanding of his own needs and pursuits.
Nothing could make him change this mindset—at least not here with Bane.
Though he clearly felt everyone's gazes, he remained silently contemplative, not rushing to respond.
The others had no intention of pressuring him, though Nami's face couldn't help showing some worry. After spending this time together, she naturally hoped Issho wouldn't leave or make a different choice from everyone else.
About ten minutes later, Issho opened his eyes again. Though unable to see, he directed his gaze toward Bane.
"Bane," Issho said in a low voice.
Bane could completely feel the seriousness in Issho's tone. He straightened up and responded: "I'm here."
"Before this, I still have several questions I must confirm with you. Unlike in Alabasta, I hope you can answer me seriously," Issho said with a strong, clear voice.
In Alabasta, Bane had pulled some tricks to recruit Issho. Issho couldn't exactly say he saw through it, but he could sense something unusual, though he could feel Bane's good intentions and that it wasn't true deception, so he ultimately followed Bane.
After all, in Issho's original thinking, if things changed later, he could always stop continuing this journey. Even after joining the Navy, he didn't necessarily have to follow Bane all the way to the end.
Parting on good terms was common.
But at this moment, Bane had made it clear that if they continued to hear his secret, they would be completely bound together afterward—there would be no such thing as parting on good terms. Issho still treasured this friendship with everyone and didn't want to create such conflicts later, so before making his decision, he had to confirm things with Bane.
"No problem. I'll answer with the greatest sincerity, absolutely no deception!" Bane said solemnly.
"Good. First question: Do you truly have a heart for justice, and are you unwavering in it?" Issho asked this question without hesitation.
Bane's answer was equally unhesitating: "No. To be honest, I might be able to act justly, but at least so far, I don't have the determination to sacrifice everything for it. Actually, I joined the Navy with my own thoughts and calculations—it has nothing to do with justice!"
Seeing Bane answer so decisively, Nami was stunned. She opened her mouth wanting to say something, but was silenced by a look from Zoro, who was drinking nearby.
At this moment, Nami understood that right now, they truly needed to be completely honest!
Hearing this, the tense expression on Issho's face showed a hint of smile: "Although the answer disappoints me somewhat, at least I truly felt your greatest sincerity."
Bane also smiled somewhat helplessly: "So, will you continue asking?"
"Of course," Issho nodded. "I won't part ways with you just because of this. As long as you don't fall into piracy—no, using pirates is too one-sided. As long as you don't fall into the abyss of evil, I won't ask for too much."
"Hahaha, that shouldn't happen. I do have my own moral standards and bottom lines," Bane laughed heartily.
"Second question: Are you willing to raise your voice for the weak?" Issho asked again.
"Of course. Speaking for the weak is a strong person's luxury, but all of this must be according to my own will," Bane once again gave his answer at extremely fast speed, without any delay.
In Z-City, following his own pace, he had resolved quite a few monster disasters. This was already a form of speaking for the weak—nothing to be pretentious about or to disguise himself as some cold persona.
Not to mention doing what he could, when it didn't affect himself, even though his moral bottom line was somewhat flexible, Bane was still happy to perform some righteous acts.
Issho didn't comment on this, but he asked the third question—which was already an answer in itself.
"Third question: If I want to uphold justice, if I want to speak for the weak, but this would bring us great trouble, would you support me?" Issho asked with some anticipation.
The corners of Bane's mouth curved into a smile: "If it's for a companion, forget justice—even the celestial dragons wouldn't stop me. So my answer is: I'll give it my all!!!"
After receiving Bane's sincere response, Issho couldn't help but laugh heartily. Then he said with firm conviction: "In that case, I'm also willing to bear your secret and advance and retreat together with you!"
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