【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

"What are you doing, Sabo?" Lucci shouted in annoyance, having been sitting there peacefully.

“There are Don Quixote Family henchmen.” Sabo chuckled, pressing the blond doll’s head against his collar and ruffling his soft hair. “They’re coming. They’ll chase after us when they see your face.”

"You can handle them yourself," Lucci said, grabbing Sabo's shirt at the chest, but he didn't struggle and buried his face in Sabo's neck.

"I need to conceal my identity while on my mission, so I can't make a move on a crowded street like this," Sabo explained with a smile. As the doll in his arms buried its face even deeper, Sabo's smile grew even brighter. It was truly adorable.

Sabo quietly reached into his pocket with his other hand, took out the Den Den Mushi he had prepared long ago, and quickly snapped several pictures of the blonde doll burying its face in his arms. The scene was too cute. Even if he didn't have the memory, he knew that when Lucci turned back, he would never be this cute, and he would never do this cute thing.

"Sabo, what are you doing?" Hearing a series of soft clicking sounds, Lucci asked in confusion, looking up to see what it was.

“They haven’t left yet.” Sabo quickly pressed the doll’s face back against his neck, secretly relieved. If the camera Den Den Mushi were exposed now, Lucci would immediately realize something was wrong, and then he wouldn’t be able to do what he was supposed to do.

"How much longer, Sabo?" Lucci asked impatiently. He couldn't keep hiding like this forever.

"It'll be soon." Sabo smiled gently, stroking the baby's hair in his arms as he comforted her.

"Hey kid, stop ruffling my hair all the time!" Lucci protested. When did Sabo develop this habit? He'd never ruffled either of their hair before. The last time he tried to ruffle Ace's hair, that bastard slapped him.

Sabo ignored Lucci's protests; he couldn't help it, his brother's doll form was just too adorable, especially with its bright blond hair and large, glassy eyes.

Moreover, because of this holding position, that beautiful blond hair was always dangling in front of him, and he couldn't help but want to stroke it. The same was true for those big, glass-bead-like eyes, which could always clearly reveal the owner's various cute little emotions. He could see that even if its owner wanted to hide it, it couldn't.

Sabo looked at the clothing store ahead with an expectant smile, hoping that he could find what he wanted inside.

……

Opposing the Doflamingo System - Riku's Army Uprising Headquarters

"Zoro, what are you doing sitting here?" Franky looked at Zoro, who was shouting into a video Den Den Mushi, which showed Luffy fighting an old man with a bushy beard.

"Damn it! Why didn't that kid invite me to this kind of competition?!" Zoro glared at Luffy's intense fight on the Den Den Mushi, "It's making my sword itch!"

"What are you doing here, just standing around doing nothing!" Franky retorted.

"Oh, Franky," Zoro greeted casually, then looked at the tontatta who were reporting to a tin soldier toy, and was speechless at their talk about Usopp and Lando.

"Captain, the enemy's movements and Sugar's movements have been confirmed. And please don't be surprised after hearing this, before the decisive battle begins today... the legendary heroes of the Tontatta tribe have arrived, and they seem to have companions, whose names are..."

"Luffy Rando, Zoro Rando, Nami Rando, Sanji Rando, Chopper Rando, Flaran Rando, Bones Rando, and Ace Rando."

"What happened to him? He actually told such a big lie..." Zoro couldn't help but complain after hearing these strange names, but still greeted the little people, "I'm probably Zoro Rando."

"I'm Flalando, nice to meet you," Franky greeted.

"Wow, what a surprise! You are actually them!!" the little people exclaimed.

"Zoro." Franky looked at Zoro beside him. "We have something we need to tell Luffy."

"What?" Zoro looked at Franky in confusion.

……

Greenbit

"Who exactly did you call, Luo?"

"Stop struggling, Luo! Give Caesar's heart back!"

"Your ally, Straw Hat, has taken my bait and is now munching on the fencing I prepared for him. He's currently locked in a fierce sword fight in the arena! There's no way that guy will ever leave the arena again!"

"It's no use stalling for time here. Just accept your fate, Law! Your alliance is finished!" Doflamingo maintained a grin throughout.

Law, knife in hand, gritted his teeth and glared at the smug Doflamingo. They had truly been tricked by this guy. "While I'm not interested in your past, only the Celestial Dragons could manipulate the World Government just to deceive us!"

Doflamingo's smile faded for a moment, then he wriggled his fingers and flashed a maniacal grin at Law again, "So what?"

Luo jumped back to dodge the string that was being flung at him. The huge vine that had been in place was instantly split into countless pieces. Then it kept moving, barely avoiding the vines that were being flung at him rapidly by the string.

Before Luo could retaliate, the vine fragments he had just dodged, along with invisible threads, pulled his body directly towards the giant vine behind him. The next second, his body was instantly bound to the vine behind him by countless threads.

Law took a hard breath. He wasn't too surprised by the result. He had used too many Devil Fruit abilities in the process of dodging Doflamingo and Fujitora's attacks. He needed to buy some time to recover his strength before Nami arrived.

"What exactly is this long story you're referring to?"

"Don't try to stall any longer, Law." Doflamingo slowly walked towards the bound Law, each step deliberately heavy. "If you want to talk to me, hand over Caesar's heart."

"Caesar...no, is SMILE really that important?" Law's lips curled into a smile, his right hand making a familiar gesture. "That's right, without SMILE, you'd be killed by Kaido and lose everything! ROOM!"

Doflamingo's face instantly darkened, and with a flick of his fingers, sharp threads shot out and flung towards Law.

"Slaughterhouse!" Law swapped positions with a broken piece of wood the instant Doflamingo's string lashed out, but before he could run away, a strand of thread quickly wrapped around his foot. He barely had time to turn around when a heavy weight suddenly slammed into him, forcing him to fall heavily to the ground. Law gritted his teeth and glared at Doflamingo, who was sitting on top of him.