【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Ace looked at Sabo and said, "Sabo, didn't you come in from outside? You should know how to get out."

"Sabo! Do you know how to get out?" Luffy immediately looked at Sabo and asked anxiously.

“Lucci knows that too, so let Lucci take you there, Luffy,” Sabo reminded him, then thought of something, “Luffy, you’ve made it to the finals, right? Lend me your identity for a moment.”

"Sabo, what do you want to do?" Lucci asked, puzzled. He had thought Sabo had only come to the arena to get him in.

“Now that we’re all here, perhaps the champion’s Devil Fruit can contribute to the revolution,” Sabo grinned.

"Sabo, are you going to eat it?" Ace asked Sabo.

"Do you want to eat a Devil Fruit, Sabo?" Luffy asked curiously.

“Sabo, if you want to eat it, you’d better find out what the fruit does first,” Lucci reminded him.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan to eat it.” Sabo shook his head, not understanding why his brother thought he wanted to eat a Devil Fruit. “I don’t want to have an obvious weakness. I prefer to use Haki.”

"In that case, you're the only one of the four of us who can swim," Lucci said with amusement.

"Then you've missed out on a terrible meal," Ace teased.

"Is it hard to eat?" Luffy asked, puzzled.

"It tasted awful," Lucci complained, still remembering the strange taste.

“To be honest, I don’t mind missing this.” Sabo shrugged, noticing the match was almost over. “Luffy, give me your cloak, helmet, and beard.”

"Ace, do you want to come out with me?" Lucci asked Ace.

Ace thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I'm not a Straw Hat Pirate. I won't participate in your operation this time."

"Sabo, you have to save that delicious piece of meat for me!" Luffy said after handing the item to Sabo.

"I'll save this for you." Sabo chuckled as he took the clothes Luffy handed him, surprised that Luffy was still thinking about meat at this moment.

"No way," Ace teased. "I'll be the champion, and I'll eat the whole piece of meat!"

"Ace!!" Luffy shouted angrily, "You can't eat him all!"

“I can!” Ace grinned.

"Luffy, we should go," Lucci interrupted, amused.

"Go Sabo! You must defeat Ace!" Luffy shouted before leaving.

"What are you talking about, kid?" Ace shouted angrily in the direction Luffy had left.

"Ace, just wait until I defeat you," Sabo teased.

"Impossible, I'll be the champion." Ace made a face at Sabo.

……

Therese's Grand Gardens - King Rick's Underground Uprising Headquarters

"The actual situation in this country is just as I said before. And this battle that will completely shatter the tragedy buried deep in the darkness of this country, I will name it Operation Dressrosa SOP."

"What does SOP mean?" Franky asked.

“There is a huge, unknown underground world in this country, with ports for illegal trade and a very mysterious factory where Tontatta’s friends and the people turned into toys are forced to work day and night,” the toy soldier said.

"So what does SOP mean?" Franky asked again.

“We’ll use that underground tunnel that took a year to dig to infiltrate and rescue them all,” the toy soldier said.

"In that case, the name SOP must have a deeper meaning," Franky continued to ask.

"Frankie, shut up." Robin turned to Frankie and said with a smile.

"Then destroy the equipment, defeat Don Quixote, and return the country to King Riku! That's the goal of this operation!" the toy soldier concluded.

"The plan is idealistic, because no one can predict what Dressrosa will become in the future. The only task we must complete first is to make Sugar, the user of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, lose consciousness."

"At that time, all the toys in Dressrosa will turn into humans, and the entire nation will regain all their lost memories! We cannot predict what will happen then."

"We don't know how many people will be willing to fight alongside us, what the people will think, how they will act, what countermeasures Doflamingo will take, or how the navy will act. The only thing we know is that this country will definitely fall into chaos!"

"Where is the user of that Toy-Toy Fruit now?" Usopp asked.

"According to the Tontatta reconnaissance team, Sugar is currently in the trading port, and Don Quixote's subordinate Torebour is protecting her closely."

"So, if we just make the child lose consciousness, all the toys will be restored?" Robin asked to confirm.

"That's right, we're going to scare her half to death, and then make her faint." The toy soldier explained with utmost seriousness, "This is Operation Sugar Heart-Pounding Panic! The first letters stand for Operation SOP!"

"What a great battle name!" Franky shouted, raising his hand.

"If the enemy is a girl, leave it to me!" Usopp shouted excitedly.

"We'll now proceed to the trading port via the underground passage!" the toy soldier shouted. "Although our target is just a young girl, we must not let our guard down!"

"Oh! Scare Sugar into fainting, and turn all the toys in the country back into normal people!!" the little people shouted in unison, and they all rushed towards the entrance of the underground passage.

"It's so narrow!" Usopp hadn't expected the underground passage the toy soldier had mentioned to be so narrow. Looking at the passage, which resembled a water pipe, he couldn't help but complain, "It's already the limit for Robin and me to get through. Flalando, do you have a way to detach your shoulders and arms?"

"Hey, how are we supposed to unload this?!" Franky exclaimed in dissatisfaction. "How is Benland supposed to get through this narrow path?!"

"Then we can only go down from the Toy House on the high ground below the palace. There is an entrance to the Toy House on all four sides, but each entrance is strictly guarded."

"Toy House?" Robin asked, puzzled.

The soldier explained, "The so-called 'toy house' is where the toys that are active during the day must return to at night. Although it's called a house, there are no beds; it's just a passageway to the underground. The toys have to work there all night long."

"Then let me cause a ruckus! It'll make things easier for you guys, won't it?" Franky grinned. "While I'm distracting you, you can quickly take care of Sugar!"

"Let's get started!" The toy soldier shifted his gaze from the direction Franky had left, looking at the little people, his voice firm, "I'm counting on you guys for the rest!"

"Roger that, Captain!"