【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

At the foot of the King's Land

"We weren't spotted at all," Luffy said with a laugh, dressed in a red koi fish costume. "It seems like everyone on the street is treating us like toys!"

"The Navy treats us like toys in town too," Kin'emon, dressed in a frog mascot costume, remarked, looking at the Navy personnel who were completely ignoring them.

"You almost gave yourself away! Your choice of animal costume is so weird," Zoro complained, dressed in a samurai cat costume.

"Yeah, and couldn't we have chosen a bigger one?" Lucci peeked out from Luffy's shoulder and exclaimed, "Even though I'm made of cotton now, it still hurts to get squeezed."

"Why are you hiding inside a doll too? Aren't you a toy?" Zoro retorted.

"There's nothing I can do about it. My toy image is probably more recognizable in this town than yours," Lucci complained, recalling the chase he had taken. "Before I found Sabo, I was chased all the way through this town by those Don Quixote guys."

"Why did they capture you?" Zoro asked, puzzled. "Weren't you already turned into a toy by them?"

"I don't know, but nothing good is likely to happen." Lucci shook his head and adjusted his position.

"Lucci, I will protect you!" Luffy said earnestly.

"You're a hundred years too early to want to protect me." Lucci patted Luffy on the head. "I'm your older brother."

Luffy pouted, unconvinced, and retorted, "But you're my crew member now, so it's my job to protect you!"

“Even if you’re my captain now, I’m still your brother, so it’s my duty to protect you!” Lucci said, grabbing Luffy’s cheek.

"No, I'm your captain, I have to protect you!" Luffy protested.

"Why are you arguing about this?!" Zoro muttered, speechless.

"Hey Zoro, where are you going?" Lucci asked, looking at Zoro who was walking away from the group. Zoro's terrible sense of direction was hopeless; it was much worse than Luffy's.

"Hey? Zoro, we need to go this way!" Luffy shouted as he watched Zoro run off in another direction.

"I...of course I know!" Zoro shouted in a panic, turning around and approaching the group.

"Why didn't you listen to me and move to the side?!" Vega finally couldn't help but pop out of Zoro's samurai cat outfit and shout. She had been calling him softly, but he still talked and strayed from the group.

"Vega, is the royal palace just ahead?" Lucci asked, looking at the building in front of him.

“That’s right, we need to hurry, the operation has already begun!” Vega nodded.

"How do we get into the palace?" Lucci asked, looking at the tall white building in front of him.

“There’s an elevator on the high ground,” Vega said. “Doflamingo’s palace, the Toy House, and the trading port where the SMILE factory is located are all connected vertically.”

"So, if we enter the palace, we can go directly to the toy store and the factory, right?" Kin'emon asked.

“That’s right!” Vega nodded. “To get to the factory, we have to go through the Royal Palace or the Toy House first. Our companions should have already entered the trading port through the underground passage. We need to go to the Royal Palace first! Operation SOP has begun!”

"I see, I understand!" Kin'emon nodded.

Led by Vega, they navigated a series of winding staircases and successfully arrived at a magnificent entrance.

“That’s the elevator leading to the entrance to the palace!” Vega pointed to the huge passageway on the white wall in front of him.

"Wow, it can reach that high!" Luffy exclaimed, looking up at the tall white passageway above.

“You have to show your pass to the guard to use the elevator,” Vega explained.

"Do we have them?" Lucci asked the gate guarded by soldiers.

"Just punch them away!" Luffy said excitedly, waving his fist in front of his chest.

"No! That will cause chaos, and the enemy will keep swarming in!" Vega stopped him.

"Isn't that great?" Luffy said with a grin.

"Of course not! You guys are a constant source of trouble!" Vega shouted angrily, feeling a headache coming on at having to guide such a group. "Not only is there a lost idiot, but there's also a brainless idiot!"

"Who are you calling a lost idiot?!" Zoro angrily raised his hand.

"Luffy, it looks like someone's waiting for us up ahead," Lucci warned, pointing to the person riding a wooden horse and wearing a red cloak.

"Who are you?" Luffy looked at the woman in front of him with her face covered by a red hood, puzzled.

"You're Straw Hat Luffy, right?" Violet asked.

“That’s right.” Luffy nodded.

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. I’m here to take you into the palace!” Violet took off her hood.

"You're the one who took the perverted cook away." Zoro recognized the woman; Sanji had left with her earlier.

“He went to rescue your ship,” Violet explained.

"We all know what happened after that," Zoro nodded.

"You're the one who called out Sugar's name on the Den Den Mushi when Sanji warned me to be careful of her?" Lucci finally remembered where he had heard that voice before.

"You're the friend Sugar turned into a toy with." Violet looked at the cotton doll that emerged from the doll suit with some surprise, then said apologetically, "Sorry, Sugar probably recognized me because of my voice, which led to this..."

“There’s no difference,” Lucci interrupted. “I should thank you for wanting to remind me.”

"Could it be that the map of the Toy House that Sanji gave me was also given to me by you?" Kin'emon inquired.

“Yes, I gave it to you.” Violet nodded.

"Why would you do this, Your Excellency?" Kin'emon asked, puzzled.

“I used to be Doflamingo’s subordinate,” Violet replied.

“She’s been pretending to be Doflamingo’s subordinate all along!” Vega crawled out from under the cat fur and explained to Violet.

"Vega!" Violet looked at the little human in Zoro's hand with surprise.

“You still remember me!?” Vega exclaimed in surprise.

“You’ve forgotten my abilities.” Violet pointed to her eyes and said with a smile, “I saw it all: the one-legged toy soldier who took care of Rebecca in place of my sister, and all the efforts you’ve made to defeat Doflamingo. I’ve been keeping an eye on your movements.”

"Lord Viola!" Vega was moved to tears.

Subsequently, because Luffy and his crew's appearances were too suspicious, Violet, the daughter of the previous king, led them to a hidden door that allowed them to directly access the palace without taking the elevator.