【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

"Hey! What was that explosion? What happened to Travis?!" Usopp's shocked voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

"Can you hear me? Luffy! What's happening on your end?!" Sanji's urgent voice came through the Den Den Mushi, but no one was paying attention.

Seeing Luo lying on the ground in agony, almost unconscious, Lucci frowned in confusion. Things were really too unexpected. If this guy couldn't win, running away should have been the easiest thing for him. But no matter what his thoughts or plans were, judging from his current state, it was clear that he had failed completely.

"This is Trafalgar Law, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. He was the one who caused the false alarm this morning. He was plotting to bring me down, but I've taken care of him now," Doflamingo hypocritically explained to the panicked crowd around him.

Upon hearing their king's explanation, the surrounding crowd cheered instantly, and the fear they had felt from witnessing the king's cruelty vanished in an instant.

Ace frowned; it was clear that these people had been living under Doflamingo's deception all along.

"Doflamingo!!" Luffy shouted angrily at Doflamingo, "How dare you beat Trafalgar Law like this!!"

"Straw Hat Kid, you have no right to blame me! Law was originally my subordinate, whether I kill him or not is my family matter!"

"Kin'emon! Carry Traoré away!!" Zoro shouted to Kin'emon as he charged toward Doflamingo.

"clear!!"

Zoro swung his sword at Doflamingo, but before the blade could touch him, it was intercepted by a straight sword.

Zoro squinted at the Marine Admiral blocking his way, feeling the increasing force from the admiral's blade. He gritted his teeth and resisted, but the immense pressure slammed him into the ground beneath his feet.

"Zoro! Kin'emon!" Luffy shouted angrily as he looked at Zoro, who had fallen into the huge crater, and Kin'emon, who had been hit by Doflamingo. He wanted to tear open the railing in front of him to go out and help, but the next second a familiar sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him. "This is also... made of sea stone."

Ace scooped up Luffy, who had collapsed to the ground from grabbing onto the sea stone railing. In their current situation, they really... could probably break through the wall. Ace thought to himself, looking at the wall to his left. Just as he was about to make a move, Sabo stopped him.

Seeing Ace's puzzled look, Sabo shook his head, gesturing for Ace to look outside. The battle outside was over. Doflamingo had said something to Admiral Fujitora, and somehow managed to get the admiral to leave with him.

Ace frowned as he looked at Law being taken away by Doflamingo and Zoro and Kin'emon being chased by the Marines. Finally, he turned his gaze to Luffy and asked, "Luffy, what are you planning to do now?"

"Eaaah!!"

"What's wrong!?" Luffy asked urgently, hearing Brook's terrified scream through the Den Den Mushi. "Brook! What happened to the Sunny?"

"It's...it's Big Mom's pirate ship!!"

"Why!?"

"What's going on? Is Big Mom on the ship too!?" Lucci asked anxiously. If Sanji and the others encountered Big Mom at this moment, they would be really doomed.

"Hey, Brook! Are you sure you're not seeing things?" Zoro and Kin'emon had run a lap around the arena, successfully shaking off the Marines, but they hadn't expected to hear this incredibly shocking news as soon as they returned. They hurriedly confirmed, "Is it really Big Mom's ship?"

"It's Big Mom's ship, but we can't confirm if Big Mom is on board! However, their target seems to be Caesar!" Sanji's anxious voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

"Hey, Sanji, are you guys alright?" Franky hurriedly shouted, "It's best not to bring that Yonko to this country. If they do, it will definitely cause panic throughout the country, and that will disrupt the Tontatta's plans!"

"Sanji! If you can't keep up, take Caesar to Zou Island first!" Lucci shouted into the Den Den Mushi while perched on Luffy's shoulder. In order to keep the call going, they were running alongside Zoro and the other man who were escaping outside.

"Now that the deal with Doflamingo has completely fallen through, and we've also lost the initiative, we absolutely cannot let Caesar be taken away by Doflamingo as well. That's why Law handed Caesar over to you, isn't it!"

“That’s right, I also agree that it’s better not to go back to Dressrosa yet!” Nami replied. “The SMILE factory hasn’t been destroyed yet. Trafalgar Law went to great lengths to hand Caesar over to us before going to fight Doflamingo, just to prevent Caesar from falling into his hands.”

"Another part of it is to buy us time to destroy the factory. Traman risked his life and put in so much effort. If we carelessly send Caesar away, wouldn't all his hard work be in vain?"

"I understand!" Luffy nodded, his eyes resolute. "We will definitely take Trafalgar back! Sanji! Nami! Chopper! Brook! Momo! You guys go to Zou first!"

"Understood, Captain!"

"In that case, Captain, there's something I'd like to ask for your approval for!" Sanji's serious voice came through the Den Den Mushi. "Approve my plan to retaliate against Big Mom's ship!"

"No problem!" Luffy grinned and said.

"Hey, Sanji," Lucci reminded him, "make sure Big Mom isn't on the ship. If she is, use Wind Blast to escape after you're done fighting her."

"Lucci, you're really good at putting people down!" Luffy shouted in dissatisfaction when he heard Lucci say he was going to run away.

“Yeah, how can we run away at such an exciting time?” Ace nodded in agreement.

"Stop playing the no-retreat trick on me!" Lucci frowned and looked at Ace running beside him, his expression very serious.

Ace touched the tip of his nose, somewhat puzzled by Lucci's sudden seriousness, but he didn't want to argue. His intuition told him that it was best not to continue this topic now, or he would be reprimanded.

“Luffy, Lucci didn’t stop Sanji from fighting.” Sabo followed behind Luffy and answered for Lucci. “He wanted Sanji and the others to fight while ensuring their own safety.”

"I understand! Everyone must stay safe and sound!!" Luffy shouted into the Den Den Mushi.

“We’re not on the ship, so your most important thing right now is to protect yourselves and get to Zou safely,” Lucci said earnestly to the Den Den Mushi. “I don’t want us to arrive in Zou with fewer people, not even one.”

"I understand, Lucci!" Sanji grinned. "Everyone, we'll be waiting for you in Zou!"

"Alright! Leave the destruction of the factory to us!" Franky shouted.

"Let's head to the palace and knock Doflamingo out of there!!" Luffy announced.

"Luffy, you guys hurry up and find the exit! Kin'emon and I will run around the arena waiting for you to come out!" Zoro shouted hurriedly, and then left first, pursued by the Marines.