Akainu's Trap

Hearing Rune mention Kaido, Yamato's expression darkened slightly. She did not like Kaido; she could even be said to hate her father. But as a child, she had no right to choose her own father.

"What kind of person you become depends on your own heart. Whether you are a pirate or a Marine, that is merely an identity. What truly matters is what you do."

Rune patted Yamato on the shoulder. "Come on, it is time to return to the ship."

The Thousand Sunny set sail once more, but this time, Yamato did not bring up dueling Rune again.

She already believed she had lost her contest with Rune. Perhaps in terms of absolute strength, Rune was not stronger than her.

But in many other ways...

Yamato felt that she still had much to learn from Rune.

"You really are a strange pirate."

Inside the captain's quarters, Tashigi watched Rune fiddle with the row of Transponder Snails and frowned slightly. Every Transponder Snail here represented an island under Rune's protection.

They were islands that had never been protected by the Marines and had long suffered threats from pirates of every kind. Yet now, all of those islands belonged under the banner of the Whitebeard Pirates.

It was Rune who had planted the Whitebeard Pirates' flags upon those small islands.

"Strange? This is how we have always done things."

Rune smiled faintly as he looked at Tashigi. "Thinking that all pirates are evil and lawless is just your Marines' rigid prejudice."

Tashigi rolled her eyes, not in the mood to argue with Rune. Although she truly disliked pirates, when it came to someone like Rune—a pirate who had always protected civilians—

she ultimately acknowledged him in her heart. She simply could not admit it because of their respective identities.

"Brrring—"

Just as Rune was about to say something else to Tashigi, one of the Transponder Snails suddenly rang. Rune glanced at it. It was the Transponder Snail from the first island he had protected.

The very island that had encountered the Tea Beard Pirates.

"Hello? This is the Whitebeard Pirates."

"C-can you come protect us? Pirates have attacked us again. They broke the flag you gave us last time..."

The Transponder Snail's voice trembled, as though it was terrified. Rune frowned slightly. Who would dare break the Whitebeard Pirates' flag?

Some clueless rookie who had just set sail and did not recognize an emperor of the sea?

"Cooperate with their demands for now and keep yourselves safe. We will be there soon."

Rune rose to his feet, a savage glint entering his eyes. Breaking the Whitebeard Pirates' flag meant that they wanted war with the Whitebeard Pirates.

On this sea...

It had been a long time since anyone had been this brave!

"Kuma! Do you remember the island where we met Tea Beard? Send us there!"

Without Kuma, even if Rune received news like this, it would be difficult for him to arrive immediately. By the time Rune got there, everyone on that small island would probably have been slaughtered.

But now, Kuma was here.

A journey that normally took many days of sailing could be completed in an instant.

"Don't come! Don't come!"

The Transponder Snail had not yet been hung up when a panicked voice suddenly rang out. Rune froze for a moment. He remembered that voice.

It was the old man from that island.

"This is a trap! It is the Marines, don't come... Aaargh!"

With a scream, the Transponder Snail's head drooped. Rune paused, and endless fury immediately welled up in his eyes.

He looked at Tashigi and gave a cold snort.

"This is your Marines' justice?"

Rune walked out of the captain's quarters and looked toward Kuma, who was already prepared.

"Kuma, prepare to depart."

"The Marines..."

"No need to concern ourselves with them."

Rune stood with his hands behind his back, gazing in the direction of that island.

"Even if we encounter Kizaru again now, we will not be so helpless."

His words fell with an unshakable firmness. Kuma looked at Rune, then smiled faintly after a long while.

Kuma activated the Paw-Paw Fruit's power, directly enveloping the entire Thousand Sunny. In the next instant, the Thousand Sunny appeared in the waters near that island.

"Yamato, we are going ashore. Luffy, Bonney, Kuma, guard the Thousand Sunny. Do not let anyone approach."

"I am going ashore too!"

Tashigi walked to Rune's side, disbelief in her eyes. She could not believe that the old man just now had actually been killed by the Marines.

"There must be some misunderstanding..."

"Whether there is a misunderstanding or not, I have eyes to see for myself."

Rune shot Tashigi a glance, then leaped alongside Yamato and landed steadily on the island. Neither he nor Yamato had any intention of waiting for Tashigi.

The moment they landed, Rune saw a group of Marines.

"The target is here! Fire! Fire!"

The Marines raised their guns and opened fire, but Rune merely tilted his head slightly and dodged every bullet. With his current level of Observation Haki, there was no chance that attacks from ordinary Marines could hit him.

As for Yamato, she directly activated Mirror Mountain, treating the attacks of the many Marines as though they did not exist.

Rune closed his eyes and used Observation Haki to sense the presences on the island. Sure enough, he could no longer find that familiar old man.

Combined with the scream that had come through the Transponder Snail, what had happened to him was obvious.

Thinking of this, Rune suppressed the rage in his heart. The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit surfaced around his hand as he smashed his fist into the ground.

Black mist immediately rose beneath the feet of the Marines who had been surrounding Rune. Cracks spread across the ground, dragging every one of them down into the fissures.

While training his Haki these past few days, Rune had not stopped developing the Dark-Dark Fruit either.

After restraining all those Marines, Rune abruptly opened his eyes. Conqueror's Haki swept across the entire island.

The Marines who had already been swallowed by the cracks collapsed one after another. On the entire island, aside from Rune and Yamato, only one person remained standing.

"Someone who would attack civilians and dare set a trap despite knowing the Whitebeard Pirates' name—I should have realized it was you."

From afar, Rune stared at the grim-faced figure. The word "Justice" on his coat seemed especially ironic upon him.

And the crimson outfit made his identity unmistakable.

"Marine Admiral Akainu."

Rune and Akainu faced each other from afar. Beside him, Yamato drew A-Ken and transformed into the form of the Okuchi-no-Makami. Facing a Marine Admiral, both of them were utterly serious.

Yet Akainu's expression remained calm as he looked at Rune and Yamato.

"My target is not you."

Magma ignited across Akainu's body as his gaze fell upon the distant Thousand Sunny. He had come this time to verify whether a piece of information was true, but now these two were standing in his way.