Whitebeard Pirates Seventeenth Division Commander

Rune woke the tavern owner, then ordered a whole lot of meat for Luffy. The moment he saw the meat, stars practically appeared in Luffy's eyes.

This guy really loved eating.

Bonney was still hesitating nearby. At that moment, she was thinking whether this might be the only chance she would ever get...

Could she trust this man?

He knew everything, and he had even mentioned the "future."

Bonney looked at Rune's tall back and gradually made up her mind.

A day later.

Rune was idly training his Haki aboard the Moby Dick when he spotted Bonney's tall, beautiful figure from afar. Before Bonney even approached the Moby Dick, the Whitebeard Pirates crew had already noticed her.

"Let her through. She's here to see me."

Rune stood up. Once the Whitebeard Pirates crew heard him speak, they cleared a path. Bonney quickly walked over to him, growing more shocked with every step.

Along the way, she had already sensed the auras of several powerful people.

These Whitebeard Pirates...

They had so many strong fighters!

"Have you made up your mind?"

"I have."

Bonney nodded. "You... won't lie to me, will you?"

Bonney found seeing the future hard to believe. But she did not dare gamble on Rune lying to her. If she truly saw Kuma transformed into a mount for the Celestial Dragons in the future, she would never forgive herself for not trusting Rune now.

"Who do you think I am? My captain is the strongest man on these seas. Do I need to lie to you?"

Bonney thought about it and realized he was right. If Rune truly had evil intentions toward her, he would not need to deceive her onto a ship in such a roundabout way. With Rune's strength, he could easily capture her.

She was no match for Rune anyway.

"Come on. Meet Pops with me."

Rune turned around and had Bonney follow behind him. Once they reached the captain's quarters, Rune looked up at Whitebeard, who was seated there, and smiled faintly.

"Pops, there are two things I want to discuss with you."

"Go ahead."

Whitebeard glanced at Rune and smiled slightly. For an elder, there was nothing more delightful than seeing his son bring a girl to meet him.

"First, I want to form my own division and become the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Seventeenth Division. Second, I want her to join the Whitebeard Pirates and become a member of my division."

Rune looked at Whitebeard with an extremely serious expression. Whitebeard looked at Rune, then at Bonney.

"She knows the rules aboard this ship, right?"

"She won't hurt her crewmates."

Rune smiled. Bonney was a child at heart, not the sort of vicious pirate who committed every kind of evil.

"If that's what you want to do, then do it. But you don't have a ship of your own yet, do you?"

Whitebeard had no objections to Rune forming his own crew. His child had grown up and wanted more independence. That was not a bad thing.

He wondered if he should get Rune a ship.

"I have a way to solve the ship problem."

Rune planned to take Luffy and bring back the Thousand Sunny. Since they were going to find Kuma anyway, they might as well sail it back along the way. If he could convince Kuma to join his crew, that would be even better.

"Since you have your own plans, go ahead and do it."

Whitebeard looked worse than before. Not long ago, he had still been able to use Haki to train Rune. But lately, Whitebeard had not mentioned training Rune again.

Perhaps he had noticed that his body could no longer withstand frequent use of Haki.

Among the Whitebeard Pirates, no one could take his place yet. Ace had enough talent, but his current strength was still far too lacking.

Marco, Jozu, Vista, and the others were all strong, but none of them could uphold the title of one of the Four Emperors.

Rune...

He was too young. He still had a long way to go before he could take Whitebeard's place.

Whitebeard looked at the children aboard the ship. He knew he could not fall. Once he fell, this pirate crew might fall apart as well.

At the very least, he had to hold on until Ace and Rune grew strong enough.

"The Whitebeard Pirates have only one rule: never harm your crewmates. Since you've accepted my invitation, you must follow the rules aboard this ship."

Rune looked at Bonney and patiently introduced the various people aboard the ship, along with a few things she needed to keep in mind.

After he finished, Rune took Bonney to find Marco.

"Captain, I plan to form my own squad and become the commander of the Seventeenth Division. I've already discussed this with Pops."

Marco showed no dissatisfaction when he heard Rune's words. He had long believed that Rune was strong enough to serve as a division commander.

"I'm already looking forward to seeing what you'll be like once you've grown stronger. Go ahead and do what you want. No matter what you decide, your brothers will support you."

Marco patted Rune on the shoulder, then looked at Bonney beside him.

"And this is?"

"This is the member I recruited on the island, Big Eater Bonney. She's one of the Supernovas of the Worst Generation."

Rune briefly introduced Bonney, then looked at her. "This is Marco, Marco the Phoenix. He's the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division and the ship's doctor. Don't let Marco's gentle manner fool you. He's a great pirate with a bounty close to 1.4 billion."

After introducing them to each other, Rune left with Bonney. Bonney was somewhat stunned as well. She had heard Marco's name before, but this was her first time seeing him in person.

Just how strong was a great pirate with a bounty close to 1.4 billion?

Bonney had no idea, since she had never fought an opponent like that.

After speaking with Marco, Rune took Bonney to find Ace and Luffy. Ace was the commander of the Second Division, so there was no way he could join Rune's squad.

But Luffy could.

And they would need Luffy to solve the ship problem as well.

"Luffy, I want to borrow your Thousand Sunny."

Rune got straight to the point. "If the Thousand Sunny stays at the Sabaody Archipelago, who knows how many people will covet it? I want to sail it back and use it as the Seventeenth Division's ship for now.

"Once your companions return in two years, I'll leave with my squad. That way, I won't have to worry about a ship for the time being, and I can protect the Thousand Sunny for you as well."

After hearing Rune lay out the pros and cons, Luffy felt that he made a lot of sense. But when he thought of the Seven Warlord guarding the ship, he could not help feeling troubled.

"That works, but Kuma is guarding it. It won't be easy for us to sail the ship away..."

"Leave Kuma to me."

Rune smiled faintly. "If all goes well, Kuma will become our companion. You understand now, right? Kuma sent all of you flying to different parts of the world because he was actually helping you, wasn't he?"

Luffy scratched his head, seeming to understand a little.

"Then let's make another trip to the Sabaody Archipelago!"