【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Old King's Highlands

"Let's march toward the King's Heights!"

"Go and capture King Riku and God Usopp!"

"Oh no! Everyone's coming this way!" Usopp exclaimed in panic as he heard the shouts of the crowd below. "Robin, let's run!"

“There’s nowhere safe now,” Robin said with a smile.

“Don’t worry, the people know the truth now, and they won’t make things difficult for Father,” Violet explained.

"What about us? We're pirates!" Usopp exclaimed in panic.

"Violet, has the Tontatta tribe just sent a message?"

Violet remembered what the Tontatta tribe had just said on the Den Den Mushi and hurriedly replied, "Father, the Tontatta tribe at the factory said they can't find Princess Mansherry anywhere."

“Violet, they’re hiding Mansherry somewhere else but the palace.” King Riku turned to look in the direction of the palace. “Use your abilities to search carefully.”

"Yes!" Violet immediately stepped forward and looked in the direction of the palace, using her abilities to search carefully.

“Doflamingo won’t take Princess Mansherry’s life,” King Riku pondered. “He will want to use her power; for Doflamingo, that power is probably his most important strength in dealing with us.”

"Wow, amazing! They can actually see the palace from here?" Usopp exclaimed, watching Violet's retreating figure. Then, noticing the commotion coming from the cliff edge, he looked at the strange bird and the strange person and cried out in shock, "What are those things?!"

“Haku, this is Kin'emon, one of our companions who came with us,” Robin reminded him, recognizing the person Haku had grabbed.

"This is the very person I've been searching for, Kanjuro!" Kin'emon introduced to the crowd.

"That's a strange person," Usopp remarked, looking at the man with his face painted entirely white. Then, noticing the strange sparrow that had flown up with Kanjuro, he couldn't help but ask, "What kind of creature is that?"

Robin looked at the sparrow lying on the ground and couldn't help but think to himself, "So cute."

"I am a samurai from Wano Country, named Kanjuro Souyu!" Kanjuro introduced the sparrow on the ground, "This is a sparrow from a painting."

"We were quite surprised when we returned to the ground. We didn't know why people were rushing towards this high ground in droves," Kin'emon said.

“That’s exactly what’s giving me a headache. People from all over the country are heading this way, but it won’t be easy for them to climb up.” Usopp breathed a sigh of relief.

"Please rest assured, Lord Tengu, seeing that everyone is struggling to climb, I have already set up the net within the painting. It won't be long before everyone is able to reach this place!" Kanjuro explained.

"Mind your own business, you bastard!" Usopp shouted angrily, then panicked at the approaching sounds below. "Robin, what do we do!?"

Robin completely ignored Usopp's words, smiling as she looked at the exhausted sparrow lying on the ground in the painting. How adorable!

"Did I do something wrong with good intentions?" Kanjuro exclaimed in shock.

"Those guys came to take my head!" Usopp shouted angrily.

"What an utter lapse in decorum! I have acted so rudely; please allow me to commit seppuku to atone for my sins!"

"No, Kanjuro!" Kin'emon hurriedly stopped him.

"Then I won't cut it!" Kanjuro immediately stood up and sheathed his sword.

"This is so annoying, just cut it already!" Usopp couldn't help but punch Kanjuro after seeing him like this. "So many people have climbed up, what are we supposed to do?!"

"Found her. Is she there, Princess Mansherry?" Violet murmured, looking at the small room in the palace. She then contacted Leo's Den Den Mushi. "Leo, I found her. Princess Mansherry is in that small room in the palace, the one deep inside the chapel. Do you remember?"

"Is that the solitary confinement cell?"

"Yes, that's it!"

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Violet continued to stare inside the palace. When she saw that familiar figure, she exclaimed, "Oh no! Sugar's awake!!"

"What!?" Usopp exclaimed in horror, "You mean Sugar, who was so scared of me that she was foaming at the mouth and wouldn't wake up for two or three days, has woken up!?"

"Do the Straw Hat Pirates know about her abilities?" Violet asked with a serious expression.

“Luffy should know about Sugar,” Robin interjected, her expression turning somewhat grave. “However, Luffy has never met her, so…”

"Luffy's been tricked! That kid has absolutely no sense of caution!!" Usopp panicked. The thought of possibly forgetting Luffy completely without his knowledge, of losing Luffy forever, filled him with dread. "No, I absolutely can't let that happen!!"

"Are Lucci and Luffy together?" Robin asked calmly.

Violet frowned and said, "They're already heading to the fourth floor. Straw Hat Boys are in danger!"

"Lord Usopp, is the situation really that serious?" Kin'emon couldn't help but ask, looking at Usopp's grave expression.

“Even with Lucci around, I can’t just do nothing! I can’t let them become toys!” Usopp’s voice was still somewhat panicked, but his hands were already firmly and precisely modifying his slingshot.

"Just thinking about how Robin was turned into a toy makes me break out in a cold sweat. It happened right before my eyes, and I didn't even realize something was wrong. If Sugar had touched her, Luffy and Lucci would have been completely forgotten like that! I absolutely don't want that!!"

Usopp's voice was hoarse but filled with determination: "No matter what, I will never let this happen again. I will absolutely, positively stop her!"

“But Lord Usopp, sniping from this distance is simply a pipe dream!” Kin’emon said incredulously, placing his hand above his eyes. “From here, we can only vaguely see them with the naked eye, and the enemy is inside the palace, so there’s no way we could possibly see them!”

"No matter the conditions, I must do it! I'm a sniper, and supporting my comrades is my duty!" Usopp resolutely adjusted his goggles. "What I need to do is kill the enemy without anyone noticing, and I must hit the bullseye every time!"

“We’ll help you too!” Violet said.

"Please use your clairvoyance to tell me the exact location of Sugar," Usopp said, then looked at Kin'emon and the others, grinning as he gazed at the bird in the painting on the ground.

……

Sunflower fields in front of the palace

"We've arrived! The fourth floor where Doflamingo is!" Luffy grinned, a wild, beast-like smile spreading across his face as he looked at the white palace ahead. "I'm here to beat you to a pulp, Doflamingo!!"

"Law! Straw Hat!" Diamante exclaimed in shock, "And the Dragon Prince!? Didn't the Marine Admirals come looking for you!?"

"Admiral?" Lucci frowned, looking at Diamante. "Where?"

"Never mind him, we're going to Doflamingo's!" Law interrupted.