Earning Funds

"If you wanted to build a ship comparable to the Thousand Sunny, it would probably cost several hundred million Beli. As far as I knew, we didn't have that much money right now."

Tashigi followed beside Rune. Because she was a "naval undercover agent," Tashigi handled the bounty exchanges every time. As a result, she knew the ship's finances very well.

Rune also intended to let her manage the money, giving her a role to play within the team.

After all, Tashigi's strength was still far too lacking for this squad.

"That's easy. We just need to catch a few pirates causing trouble."

Rune smiled faintly. His crew was short on money mainly because he did not collect protection fees, usually taking only food and fresh water. After all, Rune could not be bothered to squeeze money from poor people.

As for the bounties exchanged through the Navy, even with Tashigi helping, a considerable amount was deducted. On top of that, the crew members needed money for their daily lives, and the team had no additional income, so they could barely save anything.

Hearing Rune's words, Tashigi felt rather helpless. If Rune became a Marine, he would definitely be a model Marine. Before long, he would probably become an admiral candidate.

But...

Tashigi recalled what Rune had said about God Valley. His attitude toward the Navy was obvious.

He respected most of the rank-and-file Marines who joined to pursue their dreams and justice, protecting civilians.

But toward the Navy's upper ranks, the part that cared more about protecting the Celestial Dragons...

Rune deeply despised them.

"Kuma, come with me to Onigashima."

After speaking to Kuma, Rune looked at Yamato. "Yamato, while I'm gone, protect Shirahoshi and Bonney."

"Alright."

Yamato smiled faintly, while Tashigi beside her darkened. Clearly, she was the weakest one, yet Rune had not mentioned protecting her at all.

But she could understand that. After all, Rune had always treated her as someone to use. At present, she and Rune could only be said to be mutually benefiting from one another. They were not really companions.

If they encountered a danger they could not resist and had to abandon one person...

Tashigi knew very well that she would be the one abandoned.

Paws enveloped Rune and Kuma, and the two instantly teleported onto Onigashima. Rune's plan was simple: come to Wano Country, capture someone, hand them over to the Navy, and scrape together enough money to build his ship.

Of course, he could not just capture anyone. After all, Yamato was still aboard his ship, and Rune's relationship with the Beast Pirates was rather delicate.

Although, because of Yamato, he would most likely have to defeat Kaido and free Wano Country in the future, it was not a good time to go too far.

Therefore, Rune's target was clear.

He had two objectives in coming to Wano Country this time.

First, he would capture the "fallen Marine rear admiral" Drake and trade him to the Navy for money. Since Drake was an undercover agent, capturing him would not pose any real danger. At the same time, Rune planned to capture Eustass Kid and Killer as well.

That bastard liked slaughtering civilians, and Rune had no favorable impression of him or his crew. Since Kid was going to die in the future anyway, he might as well benefit Rune and help cover the shipbuilding costs.

As for Kid's Devil Fruit, Rune planned to take it while he was at it. The Magnet-Magnet Fruit was quite powerful. Rune intended to keep it for now; whether he sold it later or gave it to a future crew member, either would be a good choice.

And after those people were taken away, Drake would not be in any danger since he was actually a Marine. Once Kaido discovered that Kid and Killer had been locked up while only Drake had escaped...

He might even uncover Drake's identity as a Navy undercover agent.

When that happened, Kaido might even thank him.

The second objective was for Rune to get himself a weapon in Wano Country. During the volcanic incident last time, Rune had realized that although his fists alone already possessed enough destructive power, holding a weapon would not greatly increase his strength.

But if he had a good blade, it would be much more convenient when he encountered a situation like that again. Moreover, with a weapon, he could cause precise destruction.

The current Rune had learned a little of Garp's "Fist Bone" and a little of Whitebeard's fighting style. His destructive power was sufficient, but if Rune needed to strike something precisely, it was not very practical.

So, a blade was still necessary.

Rune had no intention of becoming a swordsman. He only needed a blade as a tool.

"Let's find a blade first..."

As Rune said this to Kuma, he saw a Beast Pirates member throw a samurai into the sea. In his hand was a large tachi.

"These samurai really overestimate themselves..."

The Beast Pirates pirate said this as the samurai's body remained covered in wounds. Rune narrowed his eyes slightly, using the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit to conceal himself as he approached with Kuma.

"Kuma, can you teleport that samurai over here?"

"I can."

After the pirate left, Kuma used the Paw-Paw Fruit's power to teleport the severely injured samurai from the sea to the two of them. Shielded by the darkness, no one noticed the change here.

Looking at the samurai, Rune frowned slightly. He did not remember this man at all. There was no impression of him in his memories.

Presumably, this man was one of Wano Country's countless samurai who had sought to restore their country, only to die for it.

"He's badly injured. His heart has already been pierced."

With only one glance, Kuma saw that the man's injuries were too severe to save. Not only had his heart been pierced, but every bone in his body had been broken as well.

Rune had no ability to save people, but injuries this severe still caught him by surprise.

"Please... kill me. Th... thank you..."

The samurai looked at Rune, his eyes full of despair. At this moment, he barely had a breath left. Even if they did nothing, he would die shortly.

"Was it that pirate just now who did this to you? Was the blade in his hand your sword?"

The samurai nodded with difficulty, intense hatred surfacing in his eyes. Rune sighed softly. The people of Wano Country truly lived in misery.

But with Rune's current strength, he still could not save this country.

"I can avenge you, but I hope you can give me your sword."

As Rune spoke, the heavily wounded samurai revealed a somewhat tragic smile.

"If you can... kill those pirates... everything I have can be yours..."

After saying that, the samurai's head tilted to one side, and he breathed his last.

Rune sighed and used darkness to swallow the corpse. In a secluded place, he dug a hole and buried the body.

"Rest in peace. I don't even know your name, but I'll avenge you."