【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 468 This is not goodbye

“Of course we know,” Lu Qi chuckled, his eyes filled with obvious doting affection.

"Hahaha, you're so easy to fool!" Ace grinned and laughed.

"That's too much, Ace!" Luffy pouted in dissatisfaction, but quickly beamed with joy. "So you guys aren't leaving anytime soon?"

“Leaving with Sabo might make you sad,” Lucci chuckled, patting Luffy’s hair. “So we’ve decided to set off in a few days.”

"Then I'll have to ask you to take good care of him for me, at least for the time being." Sabo looked at the three brothers who were playing around and smiled gently.

“We will,” Ace said with a raised eyebrow and a smile. “There’s nothing we can’t handle.”

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of them both!" Lucci grinned.

"I should be the one taking care of both of you," Ace said unhappily, then grinned and pulled Lucci's head into his arms, pinching him hard.

"Stop, Ace!" Lucci grinned and broke free from Ace's arm.

"I can take care of both of you!" Luffy excitedly put his arms around his two older brothers' shoulders and interjected.

"Impossible!" Lucci and Ace retorted to Luffy at the same time.

"In short, you all need to take good care of yourselves!" Sabo said earnestly, his smile never fading.

"Sabo, you must take good care of yourself." Luffy grinned and jumped into Sabo's arms.

"I should be saying that to you, Luffy." Sabo hugged Luffy tightly, a warm feeling welling up inside him.

Ace grinned and hugged his two brothers. Lucci also stepped forward and embraced his brothers. The hug was warm and safe. They held each other tightly and were reluctant to part for a long time.

"I'll miss you all." After a while, Sabo reached out and patted Lucci's arm.

“We’ll miss you too,” Lucci said with a smile, releasing his brothers.

"Don't forget us again!" Ace said with a bright smile. "Otherwise, we'll find you no matter where you are, even if we have to chase you to the ends of the earth!"

“Then use the fist of love to bring back your memories!” Lucci grinned.

Luffy laughed heartily, "That's right!"

"Don't worry!" Sabo grinned broadly. "I won't give you that chance!"

"Sabo, is this the person who came to pick you up?" Lucci squinted at the flock of crows not far away.

“That’s right, that’s Karasu.” Sabo looked up at the sky and said, then grinned and looked at his brothers again, “Lucci, Ace.”

Lucci and Ace turned their attention back to his brother.

Sabo looked at his two brothers with a smug smile. "You two better not get caught again!"

“I won’t!” Lucci said unhappily. “I’m not that stupid.”

"That's right, you're making it sound like we're stupid," Ace pouted, dissatisfied.

"But you guys are just so stupid." Luffy grinned.

"You little brat, what did you say?!" Ace immediately grabbed Luffy and squeezed Luffy's face repeatedly with both hands.

“You’re the biggest idiot!” Lucci retorted.

"See you next time! Take care of yourselves!!" Sabo grinned as he jumped off the cliff, standing on the crow and looking back at his laughing brothers. He liked this kind of farewell in joy, without sorrow or tears, because they all knew it wasn't goodbye.

"Until we meet again, Sabo!" Luffy mumbled through Ace's hand, waving frantically at Sabo, who had already jumped onto the crow.

"Don't cause trouble, Sabo!" Lucci grinned and waved at Sabo.

"See you another day, Sabo!" Ace released Luffy and shouted with a grin.

Sabo grinned as he looked at his brothers waving from the cliff, raising his pipe into the air, his blue coat and blond hair fluttering in the breeze. "Take care of him for me!"

"This is not goodbye." Lucci placed his hand on Luffy's shoulder, a resolute smile on his face. This will never be goodbye; goodbye is eternity. Lucci knew they would meet again. Although they might be separated for a while, their bond would never be broken.

"Yes!" Luffy nodded with a smile. As long as they were on this high seas, they would always be reunited.

"We'll meet again soon!" Ace waved again to Sabo, who had already ridden away on a flock of crows, with a bright smile on his face.

He knew he was going to be separated from his brother, and he should feel sad, but at this moment he only felt happiness, because he knew his brother had not disappeared, they were just separated, and they would meet again soon.

......

After Sabo left, the three brothers happily explored the mysterious forest. Three days was still too short for them, but they understood even more that time together would never be enough and that parting would eventually come. However, they understood more clearly than ever before that this parting would not be a farewell.

"Hey, Luffy, wake up and eat meat!" Ace squatted down next to the sleeping Luffy, constantly poking his cheek. Looking at Luffy who was still asleep, Ace raised an eyebrow. Still not awake? It seems that last night's farewell party made this kid a little too excited.

“If you don’t get up, we’ll eat all your flesh!” Ace said, pinching his nose as he spoke.

"Ace, don't you dare steal my meat!" Luffy suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from the ground.

"Just kidding, you idiot!" Ace laughed, ruffling Luffy's messy hair. "But if you don't get up soon, Lucci will really eat all of your breakfast!"

"Let's go!" Luffy immediately perked up and grabbed Ace as they rushed toward Lucci and the others.

Luffy and Ace quickly arrived at the center of the forest, where Lucci was sitting by the campfire, talking to Rayleigh with obvious happiness on his face. A sumptuous breakfast was laid out in front of them, and what excited Luffy the most was the huge pile of roasted meat next to Lucci.

"Lucci!!" Luffy charged forward like a cannonball and crashed into Lucci's arms.

Ace was startled, not expecting Luffy to grab the tree and launch himself away. Luckily, Lucci reacted in time and caught him, otherwise Luffy would have carried Lucci into the campfire.

Ace angrily grabbed Luffy's ear. "Idiot, what did I tell you! Don't you dare bounce yourself off like that again!"

"I'm sorry," Luffy immediately mumbled an apology.

"Alright, slow down next time, Luffy." Lucci smiled helplessly, pulled Luffy out of his arms, and pushed him in front of the pile of roasted meat. "This is your breakfast."

"Lucci is the best!" Luffy immediately cheered, grabbing meat with both hands and stuffing it into his mouth.

"How can you only eat meat?" Ace sat down next to Lucci, picked up an apple, and looked at Luffy's hand that was moving past the vegetables with displeasure. "You should eat the vegetables and fruits too."