【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

"Stop talking, Luffy!" Usopp kept pulling at Luffy, trying to pull him away from the Den Den Mushi.

"Monkey D. Luffy? Woohoo! I really didn't expect that. It seems your brother has protected you very well..."

"Eight hours from now! On the southeastern beach of Greenbit, an isolated island north of Dressrosa!"

Before Doflamingo could finish speaking, Law pulled his hand away from Luffy's and quickly set the meeting place and time through the Den Den Mushi: "We'll drop Caesar there at 3 PM sharp. You can send someone to retrieve him yourself! Other than that, I won't have any other contact with you!"

Lu Qi watched as Luo Yi hung up the phone immediately after speaking, and raised an eyebrow. "You seem to be quite wary of him."

“At times like this, the more you say, the more mistakes you make,” Law explained calmly. “Doflamingo is not a simple person, and the Straw Hat leader is too prone to leaking information.”

"You didn't specify the number of them!" Sanji noticed a crucial unknown in the deal they had just agreed upon. "What if they all come out in force?"

"Don't worry, trading Caesar is just bait in this plan. The fact that the other side has come out in full force is actually to our advantage," Luo said calmly.

"So, our goal is to use this time to destroy SMILE's factory?" Usopp asked.

“Yes, that’s right, but the exact location of the factory is still unclear,” Luo said, frowning.

"So we need to find the factory's location as soon as possible during this gap and destroy it," Qi concluded, then looked at Law and asked, "Are you familiar with Doflamingo's subordinates?"

“…No.” Luo shook his head.

"Looks like you're in for a tough fight." Ace stretched and grinned.

“After all, our goal is to destroy the enemy’s important factory, how could they possibly let us go?” Lucci also stood up from the deck.

"All I have is the factory's location... I really can't find any relevant information," Luo said, frowning.

"This factory must be a huge thing. Once we get there, finding it will be a piece of cake!" Franky laughed confidently. "With my laser, one shot will be all it takes!"

“It won’t be that simple.” Qi smiled and shook his head. “After all, it’s the enemy’s most important factory, so it will definitely be hidden very well. The difficulty of this plan is finding the factory’s location.”

"Let's talk about it when we get there! Hehehe, adventure, adventure!" Luffy raised his hand and shouted excitedly, "I can't wait to go to Dressrosa! I really want to get to Wano Country soon!"

"Don't talk nonsense! To sneak into the enemy's base without a proper plan..." Law shouted incredulously at the Straw Hat crew's casual attitude. The next second, seeing that the Straw Hat crew completely ignored his words and were discussing what to have for breakfast, he was even more incredulous. How could these people be so unplanned?

"Sanji, what's for breakfast? I'm starving!" Luffy happily jumped up the stairs leading to the second deck.

“A sandwich,” Sanji replied, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Wow! I want a marshmallow sandwich!" Chopper shouted excitedly.

"I want a bowl of noodles!" Ace shouted, raising his hand. "Extra spicy!"

"Just a cup of black tea will do for me," Robin said with a smile.

"I hate bread!" Luo shouted instinctively, then was shocked by his own action.

As Lucci passed by the petrified Law, he kindly patted him on the shoulder and said, "Just one more thing, try to eat early." After saying that, he quickly walked up to Luffy, who was about to rush straight to the restaurant, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him to the washroom. "Don't even think about escaping."

"Lucci, you're so mean!" Luffy muttered in protest. "I'm starving! Eat first, then we can brush!"

"No."

……

Sunny Restaurant

"The reason why I was being pursued is a secret, but I originally intended to go to a place called Zou, which is why I set sail," Kin'emon said, looking at the Straw Hat crew on the table who were about to take them to Dressrosa.

"Zou?" Luo glanced at the samurai while biting into his rice ball. What a coincidence.

Have you heard of it?

“If I can successfully destroy the factory that manufactures SMILE after handing it over to Caesar, I do intend to make Zou my next destination,” Luo explained. “My partner is there.”

"What you say is true! Then... would it be possible for me to accompany you on your journey?"

"Sure, let's go to Wano Country together!" Luffy laughed as he stuffed a sandwich into his mouth.

"Hey... how come you..." Law exclaimed in disbelief, not expecting Luffy to agree so casually.

"So you like this kind of sandwich." Qi teased, looking at the sandwich with red noodles in Lu Qi's hand.

Lucci, who was listening intently to Kin'emon talk about how one of his companions had been captured by Doflamingo, looked at the sandwich in his hand with a puzzled expression upon hearing Lucci's words. Seeing the bright red noodles mixed in with the sandwich, his eyes twitched. This sandwich was just handed to him by Ace. He immediately turned around and shouted angrily at Ace, "I knew you bastard, why would you be so kind!"

"Don't you know that extra spicy noodles are the best?" Ace looked at the angry Lucci with an innocent expression. "I was just sharing it with you out of kindness."

"Get lost! Only you would..." Lucci hadn't finished speaking when the sandwich in his hand disappeared. He immediately turned to look in Luffy's direction, and sure enough, the next second Luffy breathed fire from his mouth and shouted, "It's so spicy!!"

"You're really quick!" Lucci said speechlessly, handing Luffy the orange juice beside him.

"Luffy, this isn't my fault, you stole it yourself." Ace smiled and handed the juice to Luffy.

"You guys are just ganging up on me!" Luffy took the drink and downed it in one gulp, glaring at his two older brothers with displeasure.

“You really ate this willingly,” Lucci said with amusement, taking another sandwich.

“Since we’re almost at Dressrosa, let’s make a plan for splitting up.” Qi said to everyone, “Kin’emon will go ashore to find his comrade Kanjuro, who was captured by Doflamingo. We’ll split into three teams: the Caesar trade team, the factory search team, and the ship guard team.”

"Leave the factory finding to me!" Franky made his signature gesture. "I'll find it super fast."

"I'm going to go on an adventure to the island!" Luffy shouted excitedly.

“I’m going to the island too,” Zoro said, swallowing his food and taking a big gulp of wine.

"I have to make sure the green algae head doesn't get lost," Sanji said, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"I've never gotten lost!" Zoro retorted, dissatisfied.

“I’m taking Caesar to Greenbit.” Luo chewed on his rice ball and glanced at Lucci, who was holding a sandwich. “I need someone to cover for me.”

"Leave the cover to me, I'm a sniper!" Usopp shouted confidently as soon as he heard about the cover.

“That sounds interesting, I’ll go too.” Robin smiled and glanced at Law.

Ace rested his chin on his hand, listening quietly to the Straw Hat crew's assignments, pondering whether he should join Luffy and the others. Dressrosa seemed to be just a transit point for Luffy and the others, and it seemed that he didn't need to do anything. Lucci's voice pulled him back to reality. Ace looked at Lucci with some doubt. Had he really decided to guard the ship?