【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

“We encountered Admiral Green Bull.” Lucci explained, tossing aside the remains of his Seastone handcuffs. “I let Nami and the others leave first, then Lucci was turned into a toy, and then I came back.”

“That’s it.” Lucci nodded, then looked at the shocked Law and Zoro. “What’s wrong with you two?”

"Another Marine Admiral?" Zoro asked, frowning. "Is he here to arrest us?"

“Even Doflamingo wouldn’t warrant the Marine Headquarters sending two Admirals to capture him,” Law asked, equally puzzled, as he stood up. He then frowned at Lucci. “He wouldn’t be here to…”

"I am Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King." As soon as the Den Den Mushi in his pocket rang, Luffy answered it immediately.

"Hey Luffy! It's Nami!"

"Nami!" Luffy asked excitedly, "How did it go? Did you teach that bastard Yonko a lesson?"

"We've taken care of them." Sanji's voice came through the phone. "Big Mom isn't on the ship. We're calling to let you know we're all safe and sound."

"And Lucci, have you turned back? We all remember you now!" Nami asked.

"Don't worry, I'm back to normal, you don't need to worry," Lucci replied when Nami asked.

"Lucci, is he alright?" Nami asked worriedly. "He went to distract the Marine Admiral to protect us."

"I'm fine, Nami," Qi said with a smile. "Luffy is going to become the Pirate King, he's just an admiral."

"That's right! They're just admirals. We're going to defeat all four emperors!" Luffy said with a determined smile.

"Hehe, that's true."

"Alright, next is..." Luffy suddenly stretched out his arm, first wrapping around Lucci, and then quickly entangled Zoro and Law. Before the three of them could even shout, Luffy's body had already rushed to the edge of the cliff and jumped off. By the time the three of them reacted, they were already tumbling and falling in the rapid airflow.

"Luffy, what are you doing?!" Lucci shouted angrily, never expecting Luffy to do this so suddenly.

"Idiot rubber!!" Zoro cursed.

"What...what the hell is going on?!" Luo's voice was hoarse and distorted.

……

Meanwhile, the palace has reached its new location in the sunflower field, where all the Don Quixote family officials have gathered on the top of the palace, which has been cut down to its current state.

Doflamingo was rejecting Trebol's offer to guard the SMILE factory. He was extremely confident in the factory, which was built of Seastone, and that not even a fly could get in without the key.

"Is this alright, Doflamingo?" Torrebol stared in shock at the factory key that the young master had destroyed, which meant that even they couldn't get in.

“Don’t leave the enemy any hope…” Lao G retorted angrily. “However, Torebolo, you really are useless. You can’t even protect a young girl.”

"Shut up, old man G! By actual age, she's no girl at all!" Trebol retorted, then hurriedly explained to Doflamingo.

"Yes, yes, Dover, I'm really sorry about what happened to Sugar. I really never expected that the man who was completely unable to move and even lost consciousness would suddenly scare Sugar into fainting. It's unimaginable under normal circumstances!"

"The Empty Fruit too! I never expected the Revolutionary Army's second-in-command to disguise himself as Straw Hat Luffy to participate in the finals!" Diamante explained in a similar panic. "And Fire Fist Ace is actually his brother. I didn't even have a chance to make a move in the finals."

"That's all in the past. Blaming you won't turn back time." Doflamingo sat lazily on the broken wall, unconcerned about his subordinates' mistakes.

"Hmm, hmm, as expected of our boss! Hehehe, you failed to tattle, didn't you, Lao G!" Torrebol boasted to Lao G triumphantly.

“Since you put it that way, then I’ll reluctantly forgive you!” Diamanti said exaggeratedly, then asked, “But Dover, at this point, won’t the Navy come to our aid?”

"Don't worry about the Navy, but after we've used Fujitora, we need to make him disappear. There's no benefit in letting someone like him live. However, it'll probably be difficult to deal with him using normal methods," Doflamingo said, frowning. "And Green Bull won't be easy to deal with either..."

"Navy or pirates, as long as you let me do as I please..."

A shrill voice suddenly entered everyone's ears, but even more striking than the shrill voice were the abrupt bursts of laughter. Almost the instant the laughter began, all the cadres' cold gazes fell on the source of the laughter.

The new Don Quixote member not only couldn't control his laughter, but even when his companions frantically pulled at him, he couldn't realize how dangerous his situation was. In the end, his screams once again reminded all the ordinary members present that they should never laugh at Lord Pica's voice.

“I lost my mother when I was eight, and killed my father when I was ten. The members above the rank of officer are all family members who have shared my joys and sorrows for a long time.” Doflamingo’s gloomy gaze fell on the group of ordinary members, and his voice was filled with a deadly chill. “Anyone who dares to mock my family, I will never let him get away with it! Do you understand?”

"Yes!!"

Doflamingo stopped looking at the group of worthless people and continued explaining the question he had just asked.

"This game is actually an election where the people decide who will be king. Is the Riku clan or the Donquixote clan more suitable to be king? This is their right!" Doflamingo's face broke into a maniacal smile.

“Young Master, that Monkey D. Lucci…” Jorah’s throat bobbed as he lay on the bed, breathing weakly.

Doflamingo's expression twisted for a moment, his confident demeanor contorting into a grotesque grimace. This was the unknown he feared most, and the brief exchange just now had only amplified his worries. He had hoped that Sugar could completely turn him into a toy, but now that plan had utterly failed, and there would be no second chance.

Jorah's words made him realize a fact he didn't want to face but couldn't help thinking about. Doflamingo twisted his suspended fingers, his tightly furrowed brows perfectly concealing his inner fear, but he knew that all he could do now was to face the storm brought by the Dragon Child.

"Jora, how did you become like this?" Lao G asked, looking at Jora who seemed to have been drained dry. "Did anyone in the Straw Hat crew manage to turn you into this?"

“It’s not the Straw Hat crew, it’s Admiral Green Bull, and he seems to be…” Jorah explained weakly, “to capture Monkey D. Lucci.”

Upon hearing this, Doflamingo burst into laughter. He was determined to control the storm. "In that case, we don't need to worry about that guy anymore. If the opponents are just Law and Straw Hat Luffy, then there's nothing to worry about! We can just relax and watch the others fight amongst themselves!"