【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 279 Nightmare

Thinking of Lucci's mysterious memory, Luffy understood what he needed to do now. Looking at Lucci, Luffy had an unusually bright smile on his face and said again, "I have promised you that I will not hurt myself to prove my bravery to you, so there is no need to worry. Besides, I have become very strong now, strong enough to help you!"

Lucci scratched his hair, and the worry in his heart gradually dissipated. Although he didn't remember, they did teach Luffy well, didn't they? And he was very happy for this reason. Although it was stupid, it proved that no one hurt Luffy, at least not as he thought, because of the serious injury that left the scar.

"Don't take it for granted that we don't know something!" Sanji complained, but he still breathed a sigh of relief. At least the stupid captain was not hopelessly stupid.

Qi ruffled Luffy's hair with relief, messing up his black hair, and teased, "You still have some sense of self-protection!"

"Hey!" Luffy raised his hands in protest.

"Oh, yes, there is an island!" Qi thought of the reason why he just came down from the observation deck, looked at the island in front of him, and said with a smile, "We are here!"

"It looks like an uninhabited island!"

"Brothers, drop anchor and land on the island!"

"Then please go find some ingredients!"

"Oh!"

"Listen carefully, except for mice and frogs!"

"I really can't stand willful women. They all look the same when eaten..."

"boom!"

"It hurts so much, it's really..." Looking at Nami's back as she left, Zoro touched his swollen head and couldn't help complaining.

"Isn't this foreseeable?" Qi chuckled over Zoro.

"You say that as if it's my fault!" Zoro followed and argued dissatisfiedly.

Qi was about to respond to Zoro when he felt a strange panic deep in his heart. Qi slowly stopped and pressed his chest in confusion. In an instant he realized something and turned his head sharply to look in the direction where Merry was docked. This was not his emotion.

"Luffy!" Qi called out to Luffy who was walking in front.

Luffy, who was about to rush into the depths of the forest with Usopp and Chopper, stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Qi in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Lucci didn't come down." Qi frowned, and suddenly realized that since they saw the island, Lucci's mood seemed to be a little off. He looked at Luffy and reminded him, "He might be in trouble."

Luffy looked at Qi's determined expression and realized that something was going on, every time his brothers had that expression, it proved that it was something important, just like Ace who looked lonely that night.

……

Lucci looked at the familiar island in front of him, his whole body froze, his hands tightly grasping the railing, his vision gradually blurred, the island seemed to be burning in front of him, with thick smoke rising.

The sound of bombings, the crackling of burning trees, and the panicked screams of villagers began to ring in his mind, getting louder and louder. Lu Qi curled up and tried to cover his ears. He wanted those sounds to stop.

Suddenly, the air around him seemed to become extremely hot, and there seemed to be a strong smell of gunpowder in the air. Everything around him seemed to be still, and the voices in his head also stopped. He could not hear any sound, only the sound of his own intermittent breathing.

Lucci opened his eyes blankly. He was standing in an empty ruin. The ground beneath his feet seemed to be burnt, leaving only a charred black area. When he raised his head, he saw that the villagers had surrounded him without him knowing when. However, he could not see their faces clearly. They just approached him silently. Everyone was dark, as if they had just walked out of the flames...

Suddenly, a charred hand grabbed his shoulder tightly and shook him hard. All the villagers stared at him with hatred, accompanied by piercing screams. The sharp voice kept shouting "You killed us, we saved you, but you abandoned us, and now we are all dead!"

"Lucci!!"

Lucci opened his eyes wide in horror, gasping for breath. When he regained consciousness, he looked around, panting heavily. He was still on the deck. There was no smell of gunpowder around him. He was not there. This was the worst time so far, he thought tremblingly.

With one last trembling breath, Lucci stood up against the railing, staring blankly at the wooden deck with his head down, trying to calm himself down.

Suddenly a warmth fell on his shoulder and he stepped back suddenly, but there was a railing behind him and his body leaned back instantly. A hand hurriedly grabbed him to prevent him from falling off the boat.

"Are you okay? Lucci." Luffy asked in surprise. He didn't expect Lucci's reaction to be so violent. He just put his hand on his shoulder.

"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine." Lucci reacted, speaking incoherently, trying to explain, "Just... a little distracted."

"Oh, I see!" Luffy suddenly realized, "No wonder you didn't respond when I called you downstairs just now."

"What's the matter, Luffy?" Lucci asked softly, avoiding Luffy's gaze.

"We found a place on the other side of the forest that is suitable for a sea beast meat barbecue banquet." Luffy said with a bright smile, "Come on!"

"Sorry, Luffy, I'm a little tired." Lucci smiled weakly "I want to rest on the boat."

"Lucci?"

"Hmm?" Lucci asked.

The next second, Luffy hugged him tightly, Lucci blinked in surprise, not understanding what Luffy meant, but hugged him back, suddenly feeling calmer, Lucci buried his face in Luffy's hair, feeling the warmth emanating from him.

"Brother looks tired." Luffy hugged Lucci tightly, buried his face in Lucci's chest, and said in a muffled voice, "I don't like it."

Lucci ruffled Luffy's hair, sighed softly on his head, and hugged Luffy tighter. He didn't expect Luffy to be so sensitive. He comforted him, "I'm just a little sleepy. I'll be fine after a good sleep."

"Hehehe, you look much better now." Luffy let go of Lucci, looked at Lucci's expression and said with a smile.

"Idiot, you shouldn't worry about your brother, right?" Lucci tapped Luffy's head gently and said with a smile.

"I'm strong now!" Luffy rubbed the place where he was hit and pouted, "I can help you too."

"I know." Lucci felt his eyes widen slightly, a warm feeling filling his heart, he smiled and ruffled Luffy's hair "Now, I think Sanji has the grilled meat waiting for you."

"Ah! My meat!" Luffy was completely distracted and quickly put his hat on his head and rushed down the deck, shouting "Sanji, meat!"

Lucci smiled quietly as he watched Luffy's back disappear. He turned around and waved at him as he was about to rush into the forest.

"Lucci, sleep well, I'll ask Sanji to save a portion of meat for you!"

Lucci laughed softly, and then a trace of sadness suddenly struck his heart, catching him off guard. Lucci paused, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable with Merry's silence. Lucci took out the Den Den Mushi in his pocket and dialed the familiar number. He was not surprised when it rang four times before it was connected.

"Who?"

"Hey, Ace." Lucci closed his eyes and heard himself say this.