If You've Got the Guts, Come Find Me!

"Were you the one who reported Luffy's identity to the Marines?"

Tashigi shook her head.

Rune looked at Tashigi and remembered that by the time she had come aboard, no one had been talking about Luffy's identity anymore. Tashigi probably did not even know that Luffy was Dragon's son and Garp's grandson.

"Forget it."

Rune shook his head. "This isn't your fault, nor is it the Marines' fault. It's this world. This world itself is flawed."

He did not continue. Rune thought of the one standing at the very peak of the world.

Imu...

Rune clenched his fists. With his current strength, he was still not enough.

He had to keep getting stronger!

Rune returned to his room and forced himself to relax. Now that he had stopped, he could feel the deep exhaustion settling over him.

After all...

He had just fought Akainu.

Though he had only taken one move before the Whitebeard Pirates had taken over the rest of the battle, an admiral's attack was not so easy to withstand.

Rune closed his eyes, preparing to get some proper rest.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

After Akainu brought all the Marines under his command back, he went straight to find Sengoku. As it happened, Garp was there as well.

After hearing Akainu's report, Sengoku frowned. God Valley was a place he did not wish to mention.

When Garp heard the words God Valley, his expression turned unpleasant too.

Though it was ancient history from many years ago, that incident had been what allowed him to see the true nature of the Marines.

After Akainu left, Garp raised his head and glanced at Sengoku.

"That brat wanted Sakazuki to tell us that the man called Teach is Rocks' son, didn't he?"

As Garp spoke, there was a little more confusion in his eyes.

He remembered Rocks. That man had been the king of that era, an existence Garp and Roger had only barely managed to defeat by joining forces.

Perhaps it could not even be said that he and Roger had defeated Rocks.

After all, by the end, both Garp and Roger had been exhausted and unconscious. At that point, Rocks might have still had some strength left.

And besides...

Rocks had been controlled. He himself had been seeking death. If Rocks had been in perfect condition and truly fought... even Garp and Roger of that time might not have been a match for him.

A man like that...

Could he really have a son like Teach?

Garp found it rather absurd.

"If he really is Rocks' son, and he knows everything about God Valley, then what was his purpose in reporting Luffy's identity?"

Sengoku spoke, then looked at Garp. "Come to think of it, you were there when that man reported him before, weren't you?"

"He's gone off to become a pirate. What does that have to do with this old man?"

Garp picked his nose. Though he said that, he felt somewhat pleased inside. Judging from how Sakazuki had suffered this time, Luffy seemed quite safe with Whitebeard.

As a Marine, Garp could not care about Luffy, a pirate.

But as Luffy's grandfather, how could Garp possibly not care about him?

Sengoku said nothing more, but the matter of capturing Luffy could be put aside for now. Even Sakazuki had failed to bring him back personally and had nearly been beaten to death.

They could not possibly send all three admirals to capture Luffy, could they?

The Revolutionary Army would laugh themselves to death.

"Garp, how do you think we should deal with Teach?"

"You're the Fleet Admiral, and you're asking me?"

Garp was still eating rice crackers, looking utterly unconcerned. That frivolous attitude made Sengoku even angrier.

"I plan to tell that brat under Whitebeard where Teach is. Whether he believes it or not will be up to him."

Sengoku looked at Garp. "Garp, even if you don't want to deal with Marine affairs, you can at least go see your grandson, can't you?"

Garp rolled his eyes. This old bastard was trying to use him again.

But Sengoku had hit the mark. After so long, Garp really did miss that little brat Luffy.

As for Teach...

No one cared whether he lived or died. He had stabbed Whitebeard in the back, then run to the Marines to report Luffy.

If he had reported Ace instead, saying Ace was the Pirate King's son, it might have had some use.

But Luffy...

Who did not know Garp was fiercely protective of his own? Luffy had not done anything heinous, so they might as well let him be.

After his battle with Akainu, though it could be said that they had exchanged only one move from beginning to end, Rune still felt that his Haki had improved considerably.

The growth of Conqueror's Haki seemed to be related to one's own "spirit." The spirit to not retreat even before an admiral had made Rune's Conqueror's Haki stronger and stronger.

These two encounters, one with Kizaru and one with Akainu, allowed Rune to clearly feel his growth in Haki.

However, there was still quite a gap between him and the top users of Conqueror's Haki.

"That's not right!"

Rune suddenly sat up in his room. His startled cry made Tashigi outside frown, while the joy on Rune's face was nearly impossible to conceal.

Seeing him suddenly sit up and reveal such an expression was rather worrying.

"What's wrong?"

Tashigi looked at Rune in confusion, while Rune burst out laughing.

He had only remembered that Jinbe would break with BIGMOM to join the Straw Hat Pirates two years later, so he had assumed Jinbe was simply a member of the Big Mom Pirates. He had forgotten why Jinbe had joined the Big Mom Pirates in the first place.

That had happened after the Whitebeard Pirates fell. Fish-Man Island had lost its protection, and Jinbe had joined the Big Mom Pirates so Fish-Man Island could gain protection.

In other words, Sea Knight Jinbe was still only a "Seven Warlord" right now.

Without the Summit War, Jinbe would not have gone to Marine Headquarters to cause trouble for no reason, and naturally would not have been imprisoned in Impel Down.

If that was the case...

He could try recruiting Jinbe!

Rune's ship was lacking a Haki expert who had not eaten a Devil Fruit, and Jinbe was also a fish-man. In every respect, he perfectly met Rune's requirements.

If Jinbe could be brought aboard, it would definitely be an enormous improvement for Rune's team!

In Rune's view, Jinbe's strength on land was that of a standard Seven Warlord. But in the sea, underwater, Jinbe's strength was probably among the strongest in the world.

"Turn around! Head back to the Moby Dick! I'm going to find Sea Knight Jinbe!"

A powerful fish-man was an indispensable member of a pirate crew. After all, they were out on the sea!

Just as Rune was planning to find Jinbe, a Transponder Snail suddenly rang.

Rune frowned slightly, remembering the previous trap. However, these Transponder Snails represented islands protected by the Whitebeard Pirates, and if something truly happened, he could not simply stand by.

Besides, with Kuma around, there would be no danger no matter what.

Rune answered the Transponder Snail.

"Brat from Whitebeard's ship, your name is Rune, right?"

A rough voice came from the Transponder Snail. "I'm holding Teach on this island right now. There's only me here, no other Marines. If you want to do something, come now.

"If I don't see you within seven days, then I'll have no choice but to let this guy go."

Rune did not speak. A moment later, the sound of someone smacking their forehead came from the Transponder Snail.

"Forgot to tell you.

"I'm Garp. If you've got the guts, come find me!"