【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 523 Whose Heart

“I can tell, but whose is it?” Ace asked, frowning.

“Lucci,” Qi explained simply, his gaze fixed on the heart in his hand, something seemed off.

Based on what Qi had just said to Caesar, Ace's eyes instantly turned gloomy, his knuckles cracked, and flames suddenly erupted from his body, exploding outwards. The surrounding snow was instantly vaporized into white mist, and the scorching fiery fist struck Caesar's face directly. The next second, a violent explosion erupted around Caesar.

When Ace's flames reached him, Qi hurriedly protected his heart and dodged. The spot where he had just been was completely engulfed by flames, fire, and thick smoke from the explosion. Qi sighed. Ace was too impulsive. He hoped that Ace could have spared Caesar's life.

Usopp, Nami, and Chopper had just rushed out when they saw the huge explosion. "What happened?"

Qi looked at the suddenly stopped explosion with some confusion. Given the state of the explosion just now, the power of the explosion should have been even greater. He wasn't worried about Ace, who was at the center of the explosion. This kind of explosion wouldn't harm Ace, who was made of fire. But... why was Ace standing there motionless? However, they really should think about how to trap Caesar. They didn't have any Seastone.

Chopper looked at the thick smoke from the explosion ahead with a puzzled expression. "What happened?"

Upon hearing Chopper's question, Qi turned around with a smirk and said, "We captured Caesar, but unfortunately we didn't have any Seastone."

Usopp looked at Caesar, who was solidifying in mid-air, and remembered what he had sensed earlier. He instantly realized what was happening and shouted, "Ace, watch out! That master can make it impossible for people to breathe!"

Qi reacted instantly, flashing forward and kicking Caesar in the stomach, sending him flying. Almost the instant Caesar flew away, Ace regained his breathing, gasping for breath, "This guy's skill is disgusting."

"You just wait!!" The moment Caesar was kicked away by Qi, he awkwardly transformed into his elemental form again, floating his body in the air and quickly moving away from the group of straw hats on the ground. Once he felt he had a safe distance, he immediately laughed triumphantly.

"Hehehe! You didn't expect this, did you? Lucci's heart wasn't in my hands at all. What you have is a fake!! I'll make you pay for offending me!"

Upon hearing Caesar's words, Ace instantly erupted in raging flames, the surging waves of fire enveloping his entire body like armor. Ace abruptly pulled back his arm and unleashed a "Fire Fist" at Caesar in mid-air!

A blazing fist of fire, large and bright enough to melt an entire mountain, roared toward Caesar, scorching the air.

Caesar, seeing the flaming fist carrying terrifying heat hurtling towards him, cried out in panic, "Void World!" The suddenly drawn-out air helped him swallow the initial flames, but a large number of flames still managed to escape and hit him.

Caesar's body, made of gas, was instantly detonated. Before he could vaporize, his body was blown away by the shockwave. Fortunately, he managed to escape the flames by vaporizing in the instant he was thrown away, but his body was still severely burned. He dared not linger any longer. Caesar didn't even dare to look and fled in a panic in his vaporized state.

Just as Ace was about to chase after him and finish off that bastard, his arm was grabbed. He immediately turned to Qi with displeasure and shouted angrily, "I'm going to take care of him!"

"Don't be impulsive." Qi sighed helplessly, looking at the furious Ace. "Let Luffy handle Caesar. Besides, we need him alive. If you interfere, he'll be completely obliterated. What's more important for us now is to find Lucci and confirm the location of this heart..."

“No need to confirm.” Qi frowned as he looked at the arm that had suddenly become transparent, then looked up in the direction of the research institute and whispered, “Let’s go to the research institute.”

.......

Caesar's Research Lab

"He's more energetic than I expected."

Smoker and Tashigi immediately looked up upon hearing the voice, staring in shock at the tall figure outside the iron fence.

"Why are you, the leader of G5, here?!" Smoker stared incredulously at the familiar figure. "Vergo!"

Virgo completely ignored the smoker in the cage and walked straight to the sofa.

"Huh?" Luffy woke up with sleepy eyes after hearing Smoker's shout, looking at the barbed wire fence in front of him in confusion. "What's this?"

"It seems like everyone's been captured." Robin smiled and explained to Luffy, who had just woken up, showing no panic at all about being trapped.

"Is this a cage?" Luffy exclaimed in surprise. "When?"

"Tsk, you guys shut up!" Tashigi (Smoker) looked at Straw Hat Boy with some dissatisfaction, wondering if the kid had any sense of the situation at all. "I really didn't expect that you guys still hadn't figured things out."

"Smoker's here too!" Luffy immediately greeted Smoker with a smile, not caring about Smoker's tone.

"It seems you're all awake."

"Who is that?" Luffy looked at the woman with bird wings and claws outside the iron fence with a puzzled expression.

"What does Caesar want to do next?" Vergo picked up his coffee and took a sip, completely ignoring the noisy pirates in the iron cage.

“Since he activated the pet slime, it means he’s about to start a big experiment, and the preparations are proceeding smoothly,” Monet said with a smile. “Those marines are really pitiful.”

"I'd like to see that experiment. All those guys outside will die, won't they?" Vergo said calmly.

"Maybe. It's only safe inside this research institute," Monet chuckled.

"Hey! Vergo! Those people outside are all G5 Marines! They're your subordinates!" Smoker shouted angrily at Vergo, who seemed completely unconcerned about what was happening outside. "Are you planning to just stand by and watch them die!?"

“Oh, right.” Vergo finally turned his gaze to Smoker in the iron cage, his tone flat. “But there are two people missing from this cage.”

“Hmm, one guy is too perceptive.” Monet covered his mouth and said with a laugh, “But you have all their weaknesses, so dealing with them should be a piece of cake.”

Vergo took out the two hearts from his arms and held them in his hands. "I never thought I'd become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

“That’s a heart!” Smoker frowned, looking at the heart in Vergo’s hand. “Vergo! Is that my heart?”

“You?” Vergo held up the heart in his hand, showing it to the person in the cage. “You’re not worth me using this.”

“You should recognize one of the Straw Hat Boys.” Monet smiled gently. “Wasn’t your purpose in coming to this island for him?”