【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 383 My Father Only Has White Beard

"Have they tried to interrogate him again since then?" Garp asked through gritted teeth. He knew very well how eager those old guys were to get news about dragons. Perhaps they thought that Lucci's survival under the Demon Slayer Order was related to dragons, so they were so anxious. But he knew clearly that Lucci had never seen a dragon.

"No." The nurse quickly shook her head. "Unless the doctor confirms that he has recovered well enough, he will stay here."

Garp breathed a sigh of relief, but soon frowned. He understood the implication in her words. Lucci would not leave the infirmary unless they were sure that he would not die during the interrogation, but this meant that once they felt his injuries were healed enough, they would hurt him again.

"Considering his status, it would be best for him to continue sleeping rather than waking up." The nurse glanced at the guard standing at the door, took a step back, and said with a touch of sadness, "This would be a more merciful and peaceful way to leave."

Hearing the guards' footsteps in the corridor demanding attention, he realized that the time for his visit was up. Garp reached out and touched the young man's face one last time. "I know this is hard, but don't forget that Luffy and Ace are still waiting for you. You've returned to them. I believe you can do it again."

……

Ignoring the approaching footsteps, Ace lowered his head and stared at the floor through his hair that fell in front of his eyes. The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the entire floor until the footsteps approached the cell where he and Jinbei were. His eyes opened slightly and he glanced at Jinbei. He was not surprised to see that he was looking out the cell door warily. When the footsteps stopped, Ace also looked up at the door. When he saw his grandfather's face, he held his breath.

"Oh, are you still alive, Ace."

Ace didn't reply, he refused to break the deadlock. He didn't want to talk, nor did he want this man to save him. Although they were family, they had different positions. He never even had any hope that Garp could rescue Lucci, nor did he have any negative feelings about it.

The two were silent for a long time.

Garp was the first to lose his temper. His majestic aura vanished in an instant, and he turned from a naval hero into a helpless grandfather.

Garp sat down cross-legged and looked at Ace with a heavy expression. He had indeed imagined that they might meet in this way, but he didn't expect that this day would come so soon.

"What are you doing down here?" Ace asked, lowering his head and not looking at Garp. He didn't say what he didn't mean later. He didn't need him to come here to pity him, nor did he need him to come here to lecture him, and he didn't need others to remind him again how reckless he was.

"I stopped by to see Lucci on my way downstairs."

Ace's original determination to completely ignore anything the old man said disappeared in an instant. He raised his head suddenly, ignoring the sound of his neck from the sudden movement. He pushed forward, and the chain on his wrist made a harsh clanging sound because of his movement.

"Is he okay?" Ace's voice was hoarse, and he couldn't calm down for a long time. "They won't tell me anything."

Karp wasn't surprised. "Of course they wouldn't. There's nothing to say."

"Old man, where is Lucci?" Ace asked anxiously. They were forced to separate when they were taken into Impel Down, and he hadn't seen Lucci since then.

"He's in the infirmary," Cap said.

"Infirmary." Ace breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed back to the ground. At least Lucci had received treatment.

"He is still unconscious and has a serious head injury and needs treatment," Karp added.

"That was Lafayette's doing." Ace frowned. "But the damage from that blow shouldn't have been that great. We continued fighting Blackbeard afterwards, and Lucci didn't show any abnormalities."

"He hasn't woken up yet? It's been several days!" Ace began to feel worried. Not only in Impel Down, but also on the warship that escorted them, Lucci had been unconscious all the time, and even when he was awake, it was only a few times.

"The nurse told me that when they tried to interrogate him, his condition worsened, so they moved him to the infirmary," Karp explained.

"They tried to interrogate him in that state!?" Ace looked at Garp angrily, he still remembered how weak Lucci was when they first came in, and they still tried to interrogate him in that state.

"Someone is taking care of him now," was all Cap could say.

Ace sneered. Not all the wounds on his body were from the battle with Blackbeard.

"Ace." Garp sighed heavily and wiped his face roughly with his hands. "I never wanted to see you become notorious criminals. I always wanted you to join the navy because then I could..."

"That's impossible, old man." Ace interrupted Garp harshly. They all knew that Garp was powerless in this matter. Letting them become marines was just a delusion of his helplessness. No matter what he thought, after what happened, he should have known for sure that "none of us will ever become marines."

"Grandpa." Ace looked up at Garp, his eyes tinged with sternness. "Ever since that incident, neither Luffy nor I have ever thought of asking anyone to protect us. We've always been like this. We've only had each other."

From four people to two, he and Luffy had only each other to rely on during the seven years before they went to sea. In fact, he was a little angry with Garp. Although he knew that what Garp did to the World Government could not be stopped, he could not understand why Garp was so proud of his system after knowing what the World Government had done to Luffy ten years ago. He did not blame him for not doing anything at the time, he just could not understand it.

Garp opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end said nothing. His shoulders hunched, as if the weight of the world was pressing on him.

Ace wasn't talking, nor did he want to talk again, and they stayed silent for hours.

"I told Luffy about his father, and he was shocked when he found out!" Garp spoke first. "I thought you told him a few years ago."

"It doesn't matter whether you know that or not. Although we all inherited the blood of the world's greatest criminals, they have no memories or favors towards us. We don't owe them anything." Ace said calmly and seriously, "So my father is only Whitebeard!"

Garp looked at Ace in silence, and after a while he finally stood up from the cold ground and prepared to leave.

"How much longer?" Ace whispered as he turned to leave.

Cap paused, then finally said, "Seven days."

……

"boom!"

"Huh? I'm still alive..." Luffy climbed up from the pit he fell into and looked at the claw mark on the ground behind him in confusion. "It seems that I didn't survive just because I'm a rubber man. What is this bear paw-like thing? But since I survived, everyone must be fine too!"

Luffy breathed a sigh of relief. Things were not what he thought. At least everyone was still alive. As long as they were alive, they could defeat those guys and they would meet again soon.

"Everyone has my life card in their hands, Qi and the others will definitely find me soon!" Luffy grinned and said, "Ah, I'm hungry."

Luffy touched his belly, turned to look at the huge wild boar behind him, and grinned.

"I'm full!" Luffy sighed, lying on the huge tree roots with his hands behind his head. "This is just like the jungle island we used to have when we were kids."

"Ah! Isn't this the Laughing Mushroom?" Luffy picked the mushroom beside him with some surprise. "This is what I need to eat the most at this time!"

"Wahahaha, I'm happy now! Ahahaha!" After eating the mushroom, Luffy clapped his hands happily, laughing and whispering, "Even though I'm alone!"

"Ah, there are so many strange mushrooms here!"