【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

"Mr. Luffy, you used to call me a coward..." Shirahoshi asked in confusion.

"Hmm?" Luffy broke free from Lucci's grasp, looked up at Shirahoshi and said seriously, "Although I don't know the specifics, you're not as cowardly as I thought."

"That's right, Princess. It must have been so hard for you." Jinbe said, a mixture of relief and heartache. "All these years..."

"I'm so sorry, it's all because I hid the truth." Bai Xing lowered her head guiltily.

“No need to apologize, you’ve done a great job. Preventing hatred from continuing is the wish of great people!” Jinbe said with utmost seriousness. “When the day comes that everyone shares the same thoughts as you, the conflict will disappear, and the barrier between fish-men and mermaids will also disappear.”

"We are not denying your forbearance over the years, but rather, Princess, it is we who will protect that bud that you have been protecting all by yourself this time!"

"Um! Thank you all, woof~"

"You're not a coward anymore, but you're still a crybaby!" Luffy grinned as he looked at Shirahoshi's tears.

Lucci looked around. There were indeed 100,000 people in the square, but there were hardly any powerful figures. Even the fishman named Hody didn't pose any threat to him. This battle was just a game for Luffy.

Thinking this, Lucci crossed his arms and looked at the fishman with a crazy smile, his expression unusually bored. There was absolutely no need to make a move.

"Jinbe, what I hate most is someone like you who lives peacefully with humans, yet you collude with the humans who destroyed your brother! Your cowardice is no less than that of Neptune!"

Hody was filled with madness, anger, and derangement. He seemed to see himself sitting on the highest throne, shouting arrogantly.

"When I become the king of this island, everything will change. At this year's World Conference, I will completely unleash the terrifying underwater kingdom. I will slaughter all the kings in the world and turn all of humanity into slaves. From then on, no one will dare to oppose the fish-men!"

"The world of pirates is the same! Look at those pathetic pirates!" Hody pointed at the pirate slaves he had chained up, laughing maniacally. "Only I am worthy to be the true Pirate King!!"

"The Pirate King?" Luffy murmured, his face shrouded in shadow. His eyes, which had been hidden under his straw hat, were revealed, staring sharply at Hody. At the same time, a powerful Conqueror's Haki emanated from him.

Luffy slowly approached Hody, and the surrounding fishmen fell one after another. The remaining fishmen looked at Luffy in terror as he approached, completely overwhelmed by his aura. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, as if they had seen a terrifying creature waiting to take their lives if they made a mistake. The fishmen were so frightened that they stood still and dared not move.

Hody felt a surge of panic. Even though his power was inexhaustible, he still felt a sense of fear when he looked at the boy.

When his gaze fell on the Straw Hat Boy, he could clearly see the Straw Hat Boy's fierce, beast-like eyes. Under this aura, he was completely unable to move, as if he were being stared at by a ferocious predator, and a chill uncontrollably ran down his spine.

"Your name is Hody, right? I'll definitely beat you to a pulp! Where you are or what kind of king you are has nothing to do with me!" Luffy stood there, pointing his finger straight at Hody and declaring loudly, his eyes piercing the Great White Shark Man like sharp swords. "But there's only one king among the pirates!!"

"Oh, that's really impressive, Luffy." Ace grinned as he looked down at Luffy, who was radiating a powerful aura, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

"What kind of move is that? He killed 50,000 people without doing anything!" The fish-man pirates finally came to their senses, suppressed their fear, and shouted in terror.

"He's reached this level in just two years?" Jinbe was somewhat surprised by Luffy's growth.

"Conqueror's Haki, that kid's got some talent!" Sanji grinned.

"If you can't even do this much, then you should replace the captain!" Zoro grinned and reached for the hilt of his sword.

"Lucci." Luffy stared at Hody in front of him with a wild smile and said directly, "I just want to beat him up!"

Hearing Luffy's words, Lucci stepped out of the group, looked up at the fishmen who had surrounded them again, and said calmly, "Then let's clear them out!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a black and red aura of dominance erupted from Lucci, causing the ground to tremble. The fishmen who had just been shouting for an attack collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth. Only a few new fishman pirate officers remained standing in the square, but they all stared at Lucci with fear in their eyes, as if they had seen a monster.

Lucci blinked, withdrawing his domineering aura, and said calmly, "I've left some for you. Those guys are slightly stronger than the other fishmen, so maybe it'll be enough for you to have your fill."

Zoro snapped back to his senses and said while tying the bandana on his arm to his head, "You guys went too far in cleaning up. But there were only a few guys who were somewhat worth our attention, and these guys were far from enough to give us a good time."

Sanji took another drag of his cigarette, suppressing his shock. There was nothing surprising about it; the monster's brother would only become more monstrous. However, Lucci was much stronger than he had been two years ago, and his aura was even stronger than what they had seen two years ago.

When Franky rode his Black Rhino IV motorcycle out of the Sunny's dock, all he could see were a large number of unconscious fishmen lying on the ground. Looking at the almost completely emptied plaza, he said with some regret, "With you all like this, my new weapon has no use! Well then, let me show you!"

"What are you doing, Franky! You kicked us out!" Nami shouted angrily. They had only been inside that tank for a short time, and she thought she could stay inside until the battle was over. After all, fighting was something that those monsters should handle.

"Because this guy can only be one person!" Franky shouted. "Let me show you what I've accomplished in the last two years, Steel Pirate! Combine!!"

"Merge!?" Usopp and Chopper, who were still angry that Franky had kicked them out, immediately shouted excitedly upon hearing the word "merge".

Robin and Nami watched silently, completely baffled by the guys' excitement. Luffy, however, had already rushed back from the center of the plaza, excitedly shouting at Franky, "Franky, combine! Combine!!"

"General Franky!! He's here!!"

As the words fell, Franky's Black Rhino No. 4 and Usopp's Brachiosaurus Tank No. 5 transformed simultaneously. The Black Rhino, now with its upper body, and the Brachiosaurus Tank, now with its lower body, moved up and down at the same time, instantly forming a 13-meter-tall red and white steel giant, its entire body gleaming with a dangerous cold light.