Leaving

Not long after.

Ace glanced at Rune in surprise, thinking that Rune's Observation Haki was truly impressive. Following Margaret, they really did find Luffy covered from head to toe in mushrooms.

"What happened to Luffy?"

"He probably ate some mushroom-growing grass."

Rune said this based on his memories, then pulled Ace and jumped out. Margaret was startled and immediately raised the longbow at her waist, aiming an arrow at Rune and Ace.

"Who are you?"

Though she was wary, Margaret did not attack immediately. Ace blinked and looked at Rune helplessly.

We were hiding perfectly well. Why did you suddenly jump out?

"Don't misunderstand, we mean no harm!"

Rune pointed at Luffy beside them. "He's our friend. He was sent here by the fruit ability of Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Seven Warlords. We came here to find him."

Ace looked astonished. Rune's Observation Haki was far too powerful. He even knew how Luffy had gotten here.

"How do I know whether you're telling the truth?"

Margaret did not lower her guard, while Rune unbuttoned his shirt.

"What are you doing? I warn you, this is Amazon Lily!"

Margaret could sense that both men before her were strong, so she did not attack right away. Rune exposed the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates on his chest and pointed at it.

"You don't have to believe me, but... you should be able to believe in our old man, right?

"Or do you know Jinbe? We're on pretty good terms with him too..."

Rune looked at Margaret and sized her up a few times, realizing that she was quite pretty.

Much better than those bizarre-looking people he had met before.

"Please believe that we mean no harm. If you're still worried, you can put Seastone cuffs on him."

Rune pointed at Ace, leaving Ace utterly stunned.

No, bro?

What do you mean by that?

If you're worried, I should be the one getting cuffed?

Why don't you say you can be cuffed instead?

"Let's not talk about that yet. We should save him first."

Rune pointed at Luffy, who was growing mushrooms on the ground. Margaret hesitated for a moment, then decided to trust Rune and Ace for the time being. After all, the Whitebeard Pirates had quite a formidable reputation.

Moreover, the Whitebeard Pirates differed from ordinary pirate crews. They generally gained wealth by robbing other pirates and protecting ordinary people, rather than plundering civilians.

Across these seas, many places had only been able to live peaceful lives because they were under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Rune and Ace followed behind Margaret as they waited for her to treat Luffy. Before long, all the abnormalities on Luffy's body disappeared.

When Luffy woke up, a lingering look of fear immediately appeared on his face.

"Zoro... Nami..."

Luffy clenched his fists. The moment he stood up, he swayed from weakness and seemed barely able to remain on his feet. Even so, he stubbornly wanted to leave this place.

"You'd better rest honestly for now. Your companions are all safe, so you don't need to worry about them."

Rune's voice suddenly rang out, drawing Luffy's attention. Hearing Rune say that, Luffy rushed over and grabbed his arm.

"You know where my companions are? How are they?"

"Don't get worked up."

Rune gently patted Luffy's shoulder. "They're all safe right now, but if you return to the Sabaody Archipelago and get captured again, their situation will become very difficult."

With that, Rune smiled faintly and pointed behind Luffy.

"Monkey D. Luffy, right? Turn around and see who's come to visit you."

Luffy turned around somewhat stiffly. When he saw that figure, a smile immediately spread across his face.

"Ace!"

Luffy pounced forward and excitedly embraced Ace. Looking at his little brother, Ace smiled in relief as well.

"Not bad. You caused such a huge commotion at the Sabaody Archipelago that even we saw the news while out at sea."

Ace ruffled Luffy's head just as he had when they were children. Yet upon hearing that, Luffy began to cry sadly.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't protect my companions... Vivi... I'm too weak..."

"Being able to realize that is a good thing."

Rune smiled faintly. "How about coming back to the Moby Dick with us? We can use the news to let your companions know you're still safe. Then each of you can train for two years before returning to the Sabaody Archipelago.

"By then, you should have the strength to protect yourselves in the New World."

It would not have been impossible to leave Luffy on Amazon Lily, but Rayleigh was such a terrible teacher that Luffy had not even learned Conqueror's Coating after following him for two years.

Yet after taking a few hits from Kaido's club, he learned it.

Rune planned to have Ace take Luffy back to the Whitebeard Pirates. That way, Luffy might grow faster than he had originally.

Besides...

Luffy possessed the Nika Fruit. Although Rune did not want to become Nika himself, it was still necessary to have Nika as an ally.

The Nika Fruit would be extremely important in the future battle against Imu. From that perspective, Rune and Luffy were walking the same path.

With Ace's connection as well, they should be able to get along quite well.

Rune wanted to return to the Whitebeard Pirates quickly mainly because he wanted to deal with Teach, that unstable factor, as soon as possible. Building a good relationship with Luffy would also be of great use in the future.

Luffy was Dragon's son, while Bartholomew Kuma was an undercover agent of the Revolutionary Army within the Marines.

Through that connection, perhaps Kuma could be asked for a favor.

Back on Thriller Bark, Kuma had used his fruit ability to extract all of Luffy's exhaustion and injuries. If he were willing, could he also extract all of Whitebeard's illnesses and injuries?

If Whitebeard were no longer troubled by illness and injury, then...

Even though he was already old and no longer at his peak, a healthy elderly Whitebeard would absolutely be the strongest among the Four Emperors!

Moreover, if that could be done, Rune could train more aggressively as well. With a healthy Whitebeard teaching him, Rune felt that it would not take long for him to become a powerhouse on the level of the Seven Warlords.

By comparison, staying on Amazon Lily would be far too much of a loss. Although the Pirate Empress was beautiful, Rune cared more about improving his strength and about everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates.

"You're... leaving already?"

Margaret looked at the three of them, wariness still present in her eyes. However, they had not done anything inappropriate from beginning to end, so she relaxed a little.

"Yes. Time is of the essence. We're leaving now."