【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 506 Lucci is missing

“Why stop it? That island looks interesting, and it’s not on the compass, which means it’s dangerous. And the more dangerous the island, the more interesting it is, isn’t it?” Looking at the despairing Nami, Ace grinned. “I’m curious to know what’s on that island.”

"I'm crazy! How could I have any hope for Luffy's brother?" Nami covered her face and sobbed softly. She should have known that Luffy's willful personality was entirely due to his brothers spoiling him. She was so stupid to think that Luffy's brother could stop him!

Sanji looked at the sea monster meat he had painstakingly cut off and helplessly hoisted the saw onto his shoulder. Then he looked at Luffy, who was excitedly watching him, and said, "Hey, Luffy, I have some bad news for you. The deep-sea fish we finally caught, except for the parts we cut off, was all burnt in the sea!"

"Whoa, my fish!" Luffy exclaimed as he looked at the burning deep-sea fish.

"At this rate, it's only a matter of time before the ship is burned!" Usopp exclaimed in horror as he looked at the burning fish.

“No, the Sunny is absolutely invincible!” Franky immediately retorted.

"Poooooo!!"

"What's going on?" Luffy looked in the direction from which the scream came from, puzzled.

"Why is this Den Den Mushi crying?" Luffy rushed into the cabin and saw the Den Den Mushi crying loudly. He asked in confusion, "Hey, is your stomach hurting?"

“It’s an emergency signal from a Den Den Mushi,” Sanji explained.

"Then you can just pick it up and connect, right?"

"Wait, Luffy, this could very well be a trap the Navy uses!" Robin hurriedly stopped Luffy as he prepared to answer the Den Den Mushi. "If we get eavesdropped on after the connection is established, they'll know we've entered their signal range!"

"Hey, hey, this is Luffy! The man who will become the Pirate King!!" Luffy didn't even listen and just picked up the Den Den Mushi and shouted loudly.

"Luffy, is this how you introduce yourself?!" Usopp exclaimed incredulously.

"Samurai?" Zoro repeated in confusion as he listened to the shout coming from the Den Den Mushi.

“That’s what Wano Country calls swordsmen,” Brook recalled. “Legend has it that Wano Country is a country that doesn’t accept any outsiders and isn’t affiliated with the World Government. Because the swordsmen, who are called samurai, are so powerful, it’s said that even the Navy can’t get close.”

"He's from Wano Country." Zoro murmured, looking at the Shusui sword in his hand. He remembered that Ryuma, who had given him the sword, was from that country.

"What is that Punk Hazard?" Franky asked, looking at the Den Den Mushi that had been disconnected. "The person who called for help seems to be there."

"Frankie, don't say it!" Usopp whispered.

"Alright, let's go save that guy now!!" Luffy immediately shouted with a smile.

Usopp immediately screamed, "No! That sounds dangerous!!"

"Luffy!!"

Luffy looked at Ace, who looked panicked, with a puzzled expression. "Ace, what's wrong?"

"When...when was the last time you saw Lucci?" Ace asked urgently, gripping the doorframe. "I can't find him anywhere."

"Lucci is gone!?" Usopp exclaimed in shock.

Luffy's smile faltered slightly, his domineering aura spreading like ripples among the crew as he searched every spot on the ship, every shadowy corner, trying to find that familiar presence, but... why wasn't it there? How could it not be there?

Luffy froze, then suddenly looked at Ace and let out two dry laughs, the laughter too loud and too deliberate. "Ace, is Lucci playing hide-and-seek with us using his Devil Fruit powers again? That's why I can't find him."

"He wouldn't do that!" Ace shouted nervously, turning to Robin and the others. "Do you remember when you last saw Lucci?"

"Before we entered the White Dragon Current," Robin said, her expression tense, "I heard him call Luffy."

Zoro's expression also turned serious; he hadn't sensed Lucci's presence at all on the ship.

"Thinking back carefully, Lucci hasn't said a word since then, nor has Qi." Sanji scanned the Sunny with his Observation Haki, but found nothing. "They should be together."

"They couldn't have been thrown into the sea, could they?!" Usopp shouted in terror.

"This is impossible!" Ace glared angrily at Usopp, but panic churned in his chest.

Sanji's hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly. A strong sense of worry swirled in his chest. If he were to fall into this vortex, especially in the deep sea, the feeling of frustration would spread through him. He hadn't even noticed that someone was missing!

Robin's face turned deathly pale. In that instant, she realized with absolute certainty that Lucci was a Devil Fruit user, which meant...

Brooke and Frankie were clearly aware of the seriousness of the situation, their faces showing worry, but neither of them spoke, and a heavy atmosphere enveloped the restaurant.

Luffy clutched his violently pounding chest. The overlapping sounds squeezed his eardrums, rapid and chaotic, until he felt his chest tighten under that heavy pressure. Luffy suddenly opened his eyes, hurriedly took off his straw hat, and quickly searched inside until he saw the burning white paper. He breathed a sigh of relief, but the tension in his shoulders had not yet dissipated.

Luffy grabbed it and rushed onto the deck, his eyes fixed on the direction it moved in his hand.

"That's Lucci's Vivre Paper." Ace stared intently at the Vivre Paper in Luffy's hand, then breathed a sigh of relief, suppressing his panic. Although it was burning, it proved that Lucci was alright. Watching the direction it drifted, Ace looked up at the island that was erupting volcano. "Is Lucci on that island?"

Luffy stared at the burning island ahead, his voice tight and hoarse, "Let's go to that island!"

……

"Look, there's something glowing over there!"

"Golden, is it gold!?"

"Excellent! Let us offer this to our master!"

"Hey, it's a person!"

"The injury is very serious!"

"He's about to die."

"It looks like it's about to freeze to death."

"His master will treat him."

"Give him to me."

"Mr. Luo!?"

……

Luo examined his patient, noticing his slow breathing, seemingly very low oxygen levels, bloodstains on his white shirt, and frostbite all over his body. However, the frostbite had effectively stopped some blood loss, saving him the trouble of finding blood bags.

He picked up the scalpel and cut off the man's blood-soaked white shirt. When he saw the most serious part of the wound, he frowned. Now he understood why his patient was having difficulty breathing. It was obvious that a broken rib might have entered the lung.

He leaned the sword against the wall; the tool was temporarily useless. Then he tightened his gloves and stretched out his arm.

With a "ROOM!" signal, the surgery began.