【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

"Probably because you broke into Marineford and Impel Down," Ace said with a laugh, then teased, "But you're still not as tall as us!"

"I'll catch up with you guys soon!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, then clenched his left fist and shouted with fighting spirit, "But since someone wants to provoke me, I'll play along to the end."

"Megalo! I have to go save my father!" Shirahoshi, riding a shark, wanted to rush to the plaza immediately.

"Wait, Princess Shirahoshi!" Jinbe immediately called out, "And Luffy and his brother, please calm down for a moment."

"Since you're going to participate, then make a proper plan." Lucci grabbed Luffy by the collar as he was about to rush out, then turned to Jinbe. "Jinbe, what are your thoughts? Don't tell me you don't need our help."

“Yes, Jinbe, you’re our friend, so it’s only natural that we’d help you.” Ace nodded in agreement. “Besides, Luffy’s crew is also involved.”

Jinbe fell silent. He genuinely didn't want them to intervene. The Fish-Men were already deeply resentful of humans after the incident involving Queen Otohime, and he worried that if Luffy and his crew harmed the Fish-Men in front of everyone again, it would only intensify their hatred of humans.

"You're worried that if we defeat the fishmen as humans, it will make them even more afraid of humans, right?" Lucci asked directly, noticing the hesitation on Jinbe's face.

“That is indeed my thought, Brother Lucci,” Jinbe said solemnly.

"The Luffy brothers have already defeated Arlong. If you fight Hody now, what will everyone think? Even if you save Fishman Island from this crisis, your act of defeating Hody will only remind the people of Fishman Island of their unchanging history and the fact that Queen Otohime was shot and killed by humans."

“But if we just ignore it, Fishman Island will fall into Hody’s hands, which will bring even greater disaster to Fishman Island.” Lucci looked at Jinbe seriously and said, “Besides, Luffy will not give up, and he has many fishman friends on this island.”

"You just need to think about what kind of reason we can properly help you. If you handle it well, perhaps this crisis can change the fish-men of Fishman Island's impression of humans. Some stereotypes can only be dispelled when they see them with their own eyes."

Lucci said, tugging at Luffy's cheek, "Trust me, this guy will surprise you."

"What are you doing, Lucci!" Luffy glared at Lucci in displeasure. "Why are you and Ace stopping me?"

“I already said we need to make a plan, and show some respect for the owner of this place.” Lucci ruffled Luffy’s hair, then handed him a piece of grilled meat. “I’ll let you do what you want to do. Now wait for me a moment.”

"Okay, I'm only waiting for you because you're my brother," Luffy said, pouting. Then, without hesitation, he stuffed the meat into his mouth and chewed happily with his eyes half-closed.

Jinbe was silent for a moment, then looked at Luffy, who was being comforted by Lucci's flesh. What did Lucci just make me believe? But Lucci did say one thing that was true.

"Then please be the heroes of this island!" Jinbe said with a smile, looking at Lucci and Luffy.

"What, a hero!?" Luffy quickly swallowed the meat, and upon hearing Jinbe's words, immediately protested loudly, "I don't want to! I don't want to be a hero!! We're pirates! Although I like heroes, I don't want to become one!"

Ace nodded in agreement. They were pirates, not heroes, but he understood what Jinbe meant by those words.

"Do you even know what a hero is?! I'll use meat as an example. Pirates are people who feast on meat, while heroes are people who share meat with others!" Luffy said angrily. "I want to eat the meat myself!"

Lucci chuckled and patted Luffy on the head. "Your analogy is quite apt."

“Do as I say, and you’ll have as much meat as you want!” Jinbe said immediately.

“Okay, I understand!” Luffy said seriously.

"Too easy to fool, Luffy," Ace muttered to Lucci beside him. Lucci gave Ace an elbow strike, signaling him to leave.

"The problem is solved!?" Chopper looked at this scene in surprise.

"Anyway, I'll ask you for help later. When I ask for help, you come and help. I'll deliberately let Hody capture Megalo and me to sneak into the plaza. During this time, you two will sneak out of Megalo's stomach and steal the Celestial Dragon's letter and the key to the King's Chain from the enemy!" Jinbe looked at Lucci. "Can anyone do this?"

Lucci's lips twitched. When did he give Jinbe the impression that he was good at stealing? Although Jinbe certainly was.

“If you’re going to steal something, leave it to me. With me and…” Nami was about to say that there wouldn’t be any problem with her around, but then she realized that the plaza would definitely be dangerous, so she immediately changed her mind and said, “With Robin around, there won’t be any problems.”

"Hmm." Robin nodded. She had returned from the forest while Lucci and Jinbe were talking. Although she was a little puzzled as to why Lucci wasn't there, she figured he had probably gone back since Lucci was here.

"Alright, after we rescue the king, I'll ask Luffy and his brother for help. Then Luffy and his brother will make a grand entrance from Megalo's belly, and everyone will know that we're on the same side!" Jinbe concluded.

"The princess will wait in a safe spot in the square for an opportunity to act. Once the king is rescued, they will escape together. The others will immediately head to the Dragon Palace to rescue their companions!"

"Once everyone is assembled, head to the plaza immediately. As for how to rescue your companions from Dragon Palace, that's up to you!"

"Hey, are you kidding me? This is the battle plan you came up with for us?!" Sanji instantly bared his shark teeth and shouted angrily at Jinbe.

"Ace and Lucci." Jinbe ignored Sanji's roar and looked at Lucci and Ace standing beside him. "I hope you two won't make a move this time."

"Why?" Chopper asked curiously.

"I want the people of Fishman Island to know that there are many other friendly humans besides Whitebeard, who saved us. I want them to understand that there are also many humans like Whitebeard and Luffy," Jinbe said earnestly.

“I understand, but Lucci isn’t the Whitebeard Pirate anymore,” Ace said with a grin. “He’s joined Luffy’s crew.”

“That’s right.” Luffy grabbed Lucci’s arm and looked at Jinbe seriously, saying, “Lucci is the Straw Hat Pirate now!”

Jinbe looked at Lucci in shock. He didn't know that Whitebeard would agree to this.

"Ah, that's right." Lucci scratched his head and said with a smile, "I want to help Luffy become the Pirate King, not my dad."

"I understand." Jinbe nodded and accepted the new information. After several shocking training sessions, he was able to remain calm in the face of such unexpected news.

"Then I'll leave it to you all!!"

"Hi."