【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 262: Next Target: Finding a Ship Repairer

"New pots and pans and other tableware..." Sanji continued to count the things he needed to buy "And a large mousetrap!!"

"Finally, I can drink to my heart's content!" Zoro smiled brightly.

Qi couldn't help but cover his face in amusement when he heard Sanji mention the mousetrap.

Thinking of the note he saw on the refrigerator when he just woke up, Lucci asked hesitantly, "So the mousetrap Sanji wanted was to protect him from Luffy?"

"You guessed right." Qi responded with a smile.

Hearing Lucci's words, Sanji put down the abacus in his hand and complained to Lucci, "This is to prevent a certain rubber mouse from stealing food in the middle of the night."

Robin, who was listening to the whole thing, smiled softly, but Luffy, who was excitedly thinking about what kind of bronze statue to buy, did not hear this conversation, so he did not anticipate his miserable life of not being able to steal food in the middle of the night.

"Then, 80% of this is my private money..." Nami smiled brightly and pushed some of the gold aside.

"That's not good!!" Luffy and the others all stretched out their right hands to stop them.

"I'm just kidding..." Nami stuck out her tongue playfully.

"Nonsense, it's all become your private money, how can we accept it!" Luffy and the others complained dissatisfiedly.

"This is used to repair the Merry." Nami pointed to the pile of gold she pushed out, looked at everyone seriously and said, "Don't you think the Merry is in tatters?"

Speaking of repairing Merry, Usopp was silent for a rare time. Lucci found a seat in the corner and sat down, looking at the silent Usopp. He didn't quite understand why Usopp hid the matter of Merry from Luffy and the others.

After a moment of silence, Qi was the first to agree, "Indeed, Merry really needs a major renovation."

"Okay, that's it!" Luffy nodded and decided.

"Because we don't know how much it will cost to repair the ship, let's divide the treasure after the ship is repaired!" Nami said the last sentence to Lucci who was sitting in the corner.

"Agree!" everyone agreed.

Lucci felt Nami's gaze, smiled and said, "I didn't do anything. Luffy did most of the work. It's up to you to decide."

"Lucci will be with us next!" Luffy shouted excitedly, almost knocking over the tea on the table.

Lucci smiled at Luffy's enthusiasm, and there was no denying the warmth that flowed through him at that.

"We'd better find a shipbuilder as soon as possible." Qi looked at Merry who had been patched countless times and added, "Usopp is not a professional shipbuilder after all."

"That's right, relying on Usopp's patchwork repairs... the effect is indeed limited." Zoro complained.

"Let me be clear, I'm just a sniper." Usopp said dissatisfiedly.

"We need to find a formal shipyard and ask a professional shipbuilder to repair it," Sanji added.

"Then let's do this!" Luffy stood up and grinned, "Let's just find a ship repairman to join us!!"

Usopp and the others looked at Luffy in surprise. It was rare to see that when they were discussing finding a partner, Luffy didn't want a musician.

"We still have a long journey ahead of us! We need to find someone who can repair the ship." Luffy said seriously, "Merry is our home! It's our life! Let's find a ship repairman who can protect this ship!!"

Everyone was silent for a second, and Sanji complained, "You kid...sometimes you can speak to the point..."

"Although this guy's usual actions seem stupid, he is quite smart at critical moments!" Qi smiled and rubbed Luffy's hair.

"Hehe!" Luffy grinned and sat down to continue drinking his tea.

"Well, I hope I can find a good ship repairman!"

“And musicians!!”

"No, this proposal is rejected!"

"Why!?"

Qi stood nearby and watched Luffy and the others playing together with a smile. He noticed that Luffy's eyes were unusually gentle when he looked at Luffy, and the smile on his face got even bigger. This was the first time he saw such a warm smile on Luffy's face since they met.

Lucci used to laugh, but his laugh always seemed distant, just like his current state, isolated from everyone.

In fact, he has always known that the main body's condition is not right, but he has never thought of a better solution. However, Qi looked at the smile on Luffy's face and smiled gently. Luffy is already slowly solving this problem, and everything will be fine.

After everything was settled, it was already very late. Everyone said good night quietly and returned to their respective seats.

Since the weather was not very cold, Lucci did not return to the cabin where Luffy and the others slept. Instead, he sat at the stern, quietly enjoying the cool sea breeze and immersed in this hard-earned tranquility.

Sanji put some extra rice balls he made for dinner into the insulated box, and then put all the tableware into the cupboard. His work for the day was completely finished, and he should be the only one still awake now. Sanji took out a cigarette and walked towards the deck while thinking, it was his turn to keep watch tonight.

Sanji lit the cigarette in his hand and walked towards the stern where he often went. An unexpected person was leaning against the railing at the stern and resting with his eyes closed. Sanji stopped and turned to walk towards the boys' dormitory.

Lucci didn't open his eyes, he could feel the chef's presence, although he turned away, maybe because he took his place, he thought dully.

"Hey."

Lucci heard the chef's soft voice and he opened his eyes, watching him approach quietly, he noticed his leather shoes barely making a clicking sound as he walked on the deck, while he had a blanket draped over his left arm.

"Why didn't you go to your room to sleep?" Sanji put out the cigarette in his hand and asked softly, then added, "You know, there is a hammock in the room for you. Qi has been sleeping in Luffy's shadow."

"I know." Lucci replied with a smile, and couldn't help but be surprised by the chef's gentleness. "I just want to feel the peaceful sea breeze."

Sanji smiled softly, then handed the blanket in his hand to Lucci, "I hope you don't feel bad."

"No, of course not," Lucci responded oddly, not understanding why Sanji would say that.

"We are very happy, and Luffy is happy too." Sanji leaned next to Lucci and said with a smile.

"You know, Luffy was really nervous the day you were injured. Luffy's smile always made us feel at ease, until the day you fell into a coma, we realized that the kid was also good at covering up." Sanji took out a new cigarette, lowered his eyes, lit it, and exhaled a puff of smoke, blurring his expression.

"He seemed the same as usual that day, but we could sense the reluctance behind his smile. He was trying to hide his uneasiness, so we are glad that you helped him recover."

Sanji looked at Lucci with his head down, as if bearing an invisible weight on his shoulders. He knew he shouldn't continue this topic. Sanji took another puff of cigarette, exhaled the smoke, and said with a smile, "Go to bed early. Tomorrow may not be a peaceful day."