An Encounter with Smoker

"Luffy, what do you think is the core ability of the Gum-Gum Fruit?"

Aboard the Thousand Sunny, the newly awakened Luffy was pulled into a conversation by Rune. Luffy scratched his head, clearly having never given the question much thought.

"Freedom."

Rune smiled faintly. "Think about it. Rubber can grow larger or smaller, be kneaded back and forth into all kinds of shapes. Isn't that incredibly free?"

Luffy nodded.

"And when it comes to freedom, I wonder if you've heard another word."

"What?"

Luffy looked at Rune, curiosity appearing in his eyes.

"Nika!"

"Nika?"

Luffy scratched his head in confusion, while Kuma beside him wore a shocked expression.

Kuma looked at Rune, then at Luffy, and could not help but smile. After reuniting with Bonney and having his age changed back to a younger state by her, Kuma's expressions had become much more varied.

"That's right, Nika."

Rune smiled faintly. "The truth is, what you ate was not the Gum-Gum Fruit at all, but the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Nika Form. However, you will only be able to transform into Nika Form after awakening your fruit ability.

"For now, you should focus on training your Haki and try Gear Fourth. Just as I told you before, inject Haki into your muscles and turn your entire body into a springy state where fruit power and Haki are combined."

At that point, Rune paused briefly.

"Luffy, don't tell anyone what I've told you. If others find out your fruit is the Nika Fruit, it'll bring you a lot of trouble."

Seeing Rune's serious expression, Luffy nodded as well. He also took Rune's advice to heart.

Back at the Sabaody Archipelago, Luffy had deeply realized how lacking his strength was. With his current abilities, he simply could not protect his crew.

However, Rune did not need to personally worry about training Luffy. With Ace and Pops around, Rune only needed to tell Luffy a few things about the Nika Fruit.

It had to be better than what Rayleigh taught.

The Thousand Sunny followed the Moby Dick across the sea, and nothing particularly unusual happened along the way. The following months were calm and peaceful, while Rune's squad members each trained on their own.

Three months passed.

After his strength improved greatly, Rune asked Whitebeard for permission to leave the Moby Dick. He and Luffy sailed the Thousand Sunny alone. This time, Rune planned to recruit some companions before returning.

Rune had already mastered Conqueror's Haki infusion and defense, as well as the method of dispelling fruit abilities. For that last point, he had Bonney to thank.

Only with Bonney's fruit ability, which produced obvious effects without causing much harm to the body, could Rune master this use of Conqueror's Haki so quickly.

Yet as his strength grew, Rune had no clue who he should recruit as future companions.

Including himself, all three members of his current squad were Devil Fruit users. If the ship sank, there would not even be anyone capable of fishing them out.

Rune thought his next companion would ideally be a strong person who had not eaten a fruit. But he had no interest in ordinary fodder.

Someone powerful...

They had no reason to follow him, either!

The first person Rune thought of was Mihawk. But the thought flashed through his mind for only an instant before he rejected it.

Mihawk had become one of the Seven Warlords precisely because he found trouble bothersome. His strength was far beyond the level of a Seven Warlord.

He was evenly matched with Red-Hair and held the title of the world's greatest swordsman.

Mihawk's strength was at least on the level of an Admiral or one of the Four Emperors. Rune already struggled greatly against Admirals and the Four Emperors, so recruiting Mihawk was simply impossible.

Mihawk was not like Bonney or Kuma, who could let Rune take shortcuts.

Besides Mihawk, there was also Jinbe the Knight of the Sea. But Jinbe should still have been a member of the Big Mom Pirates. If Rune wanted to recruit him, he might end up clashing with Big Mom.

Other than those two, the only strong person who might possibly be recruitable was Shiryu in Impel Down.

But... that guy was a traitor. Rune did not really want someone like that as a companion.

Did he have to cultivate one himself?

Rune had a headache. When he had only been a squad member, he merely needed to focus on improving his own strength. But now that he was a captain, there were far more things to worry about.

Rumble—

Just as Rune was feeling troubled, a deafening crash rang out. The moment Rune stepped out of the captain's cabin, he saw a Marine warship ramming toward them.

Standing atop that warship was a Marine with a cigar in his mouth and smoke swirling all around his body.

Smoker!

Luffy's former formidable enemy, someone who gave Luffy a tremendous headache yet could never be defeated. Rune had not expected to encounter him out at sea.

Rune rather liked Smoker. Unlike those shitty Marines, Smoker possessed a sense of justice that was his own.

It was just that as Luffy's crew grew stronger, Smoker gradually fell behind the times and eventually had little role to play.

"Kuma, don't make a move. The Marines can't know you're alive yet."

Rune planned to let Kuma show himself only after Rune reached the level of the Four Emperors, or at least gained the ability to protect himself against the Four Emperors and Admirals.

For now, the main fighting force aboard this ship still had to be Rune himself.

"Luffy! You won't get away this time!"

Smoker shouted as billowing smoke poured from his body. Besides Smoker, there were also many ordinary Marine soldiers.

And following beside Smoker was his adjutant, Tashigi.

Tashigi...

Hadn't she not eaten a Devil Fruit?

But this girl was a little weak...

After considering it briefly, Rune knew that while weak strength could be improved, it would still be far too difficult to train her to the level of a Four Emperors crew member.

"Smoker can't be persuaded to switch sides either. Forget it, I'll beat him up first."

Rune stood on the deck and instantly unleashed his Conqueror's Haki. Violent waves immediately rose across the sea, and even the enormous Marine warship seemed to begin swaying.

The next instant, everyone aboard the warship—

Other than Smoker and Tashigi, all of them collapsed unconscious.

Over the past few months, Rune had trained his Haki diligently. By now, the intensity of his Conqueror's Haki was no longer something these ordinary Marines could withstand.

"Conqueror's Haki..."

Smoker felt the pressure, but he had no intention of retreating. Though there were almost no subordinates left for him to command, he was still here.

He was confident that, with his strength, that young-looking man could not possibly be his opponent!