【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 304 Captain

"I don't want to see this..." Nami watched the duel on the shore with reluctance.

"Luffy!! Usopp!!" Chopper shouted worriedly. He was worried about the damage the explosion just now would cause to Luffy and Usopp.

Luffy lay on his back on the ground, scenes of his time with Usopp constantly appearing in his mind.

"These are not enough to kill you... I know this, Luffy!" Usopp panted and took out his ammunition again. He looked at Luffy who stood up and punched him with a firm look in his eyes, "Sure kill! Triple Gunpowder Stars!!"

"Eraser, eraser..." Luffy quickly dodged the ammunition fired by Usopp, and the explosives kept exploding beside him "Gun!"

"Ugh!!"

The punch successfully hit Usopp's right cheek, and Usopp's body tilted, but he quickly stood up and placed the shell in his hand on his abdomen to absorb the next attack from Luffy when he rushed over. "This is Shell, I absorbed your impact!"

Usopp said, without hesitation, he pressed the button of the impact shell towards Luffy's forehead, "Impact!!"

"It's the Shock Bey!!" Nami shouted in shock. She didn't expect Usopp to use this on Luffy. Didn't he clearly say that it would hurt when he used it? Didn't he say that his shoulder would be disabled? Why did it come to this!

“Uaaaaaahhh!!” Usopp covered his shoulder in pain and shouted at Luffy, whose nose was bleeding from the shock wave, “Now you know how powerful I am, you bastard!!”

Although Luffy was hit head-on by Strike Bay's powerful blow, except for being knocked back by the shock wave at the beginning, he was not affected any further. He quickly regained his footing and threw a powerful punch at Usopp with memories flashing in his mind. It was over. Usopp said, "Rubber-rubber...bullet!!"

"Usopp!!" Chopper shouted worriedly.

"Usopp..." Nami covered her eyes reluctantly, not daring to look anymore.

"…The winner has been decided!" Zoro said calmly as he looked at Usopp who was lying on the ground and unable to move.

Luffy looked at Usopp lying on the ground, breathing heavily. The heaviness in his heart made him almost unable to breathe. "You fool..."

As if overwhelmed by the heaviness in his heart, Luffy knelt weakly on the ground, hunched over, his voice hoarse, and he gritted his teeth and shouted, "How could you possibly beat me!!!"

A heavy atmosphere lingered in everyone's heart. After a moment, Luffy picked up the straw hat on the ground, put it on his head, and walked towards Merry, saying calmly, "Merry... do whatever you want!"

Holding down his straw hat, Luffy turned his back to Usopp and looked up at Zoro and the others, his eyes becoming more determined. "We will buy a new ship... and continue to sail forward!!"

"Goodbye, Usopp..." Luffy whispered "I'm very happy to be with you!"

Usopp lay on the ground in silence.

"Usopp!!" Chopper shouted worriedly, wanting to jump off the boat to treat Usopp, but Sanji stopped him, "I want to go and treat him! His body..."

"No, Chopper! They're not quarreling, nor are they competing!" Sanji held Chopper down and said sternly, "Think about it carefully... You lose a duel and still get sympathy! There is nothing more humiliating than this for a man!!"

"That kind of careless kindness... will only rub salt into the loser's wounds!! Use your brain, he was mentally prepared to accept the challenge!!"

Zoro watched Luffy quietly, his eyes following his every move, and naturally noticed the pain that flashed across his face.

When Luffy rarely whispered his pain, Zoro replied firmly, "Don't be confused, this is the captain." It was not only a reminder, but also a support. "If you are indecisive, who can we trust!"

Luffy lowered his head, his straw hat completely hiding his expression, but the downward curve of his mouth exposed his sadness. Sanji looked at Luffy like this and took a puff of cigarette silently. For the first time, he wished Lucci was still here. He hated that he couldn't stop this duel that hurt everyone, and he also hated the pain and sadness on Luffy's face at this moment.

Chopper jumped off the boat with tears in his eyes and quickly ran towards Usopp who was lying on the ground. He did not treat him, but put the medicine in the bag next to him. He would not choose to treat him after Sanji explained to him like that.

Chopper had been holding back tears in his eyes, but the moment he saw the tears in Usopp's eyes, he could no longer hold them back, and the tears rolled down again.

"Let's move all our things out... We... won't be returning to this ship again..." Zoro said calmly.

The moment Zoro spoke, Luffy, who had been holding back his tears, pulled down his straw hat to cover the tears that were about to flow.

……

Backstreet Hotel Rooftop

Sanji didn't find anyone in the hotel room, so he slowly walked towards the rooftop. As expected, everyone was there.

Sanji held a cigarette in his mouth and looked at the two people who were either standing or sitting. He walked towards them and complained, "It's so hard to find a hotel to stay in, but there's no one in the room. It seems that no one can sleep..."

"Where's Luffy?" Sanji looked down at Chopper who was standing and asked.

"There!" Chopper pointed to the highest roof in the front left.

Sanji looked over in the direction of Chopper's hand, and saw Luffy sitting there with his legs hugged. He looked like he had been sitting quietly alone all night. Looking at Luffy who was completely different from usual, Sanji sighed lightly, walked to the railing and leaned against it.

"Sanji, where have you been?" Chopper looked up at Sanji who was leaning against the railing and asked.

"I've been looking at the rocky bay all night... I wonder if Robin and Qi will come back... Where did they go?" Sanji said worriedly, holding a cigarette in his mouth. "Neither of them is the kind of person who would leave without saying goodbye. I'm a little worried..."

"I want to go look around the streets today. If anything happens, I'll use this hotel as a base for now."

"Oh, I'll go find them too!" Chopper said proactively.

"Yeah, that's fine!" Sanji nodded and looked into the distance with a worried look on his face, hoping that something might have happened...

"Luffy!!"

The door to the rooftop was suddenly pushed open by Nami. Sanji looked at Nami who looked anxious and asked in confusion, "Ms. Nami, what happened?"

"The whole city is talking about it now... Mr. Aspagu from the shipyard... was shot at home last night!" Nami said breathlessly.

"Uncle As..." Luffy turned to look at Nami with some surprise. He remembered how much people here liked that uncle.

"Yes, I heard that he is still unconscious..." Nami added.

"Ms. Nami, who is that person you are talking about?" Sanji asked in confusion.

"He's the person who took care of us at the shipyard yesterday. He's the general manager of the shipyard and the mayor of Water Seven." Nami explained.

"That's a big shot!" Sanji asked in surprise. How could such a person be shot in the city he governs?

"I'll go take a look!" Luffy said and jumped down.

"Wait for me! Luffy!" Nami hurriedly shouted to Luffy who was jumping down, "I'm going too!"