【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 421 Comfort

Luffy looked at Whitebeard with dissatisfaction, the old man just looked amused, which was not what Luffy wanted at all, and when the entire crew burst into laughter around them, Luffy pouted and looked around with dissatisfaction, he noticed some guys in prisoner uniforms staring at him with horror, it seemed that 3 and Buggy were among them, but why did they look so scared.

Ace finally sighed and put an arm around Luffy's shoulders, grinning and saying "Dad, this is my idiot brother, Luffy."

"I'm not an idiot!" Luffy glared at his brother in dissatisfaction. He would be able to defeat the old man no matter what. Well, maybe not now, Luffy thought as he looked at Whitebeard who started to laugh. After all, he looked strong, but he would be able to soon!

"Luffy, you broke into the most impenetrable prison in the world without your crew, and you just challenged the most powerful man in the world. I'm sure you're a pretty big idiot." Someone from Whitebeard laughed and teased.

Before Luffy could reply, someone in the crowd shouted again, "He also beat up a Celestial Dragon!"

"You beat up a Celestial Dragon!?" someone from Whitebeard exclaimed.

"Sabo, your job is to fight the Celestial Dragons, right?" Ace turned to look at Sabo and asked with a grin, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Yes, but we've never fought the Celestial Dragons." Sabo nodded, not realizing the trap in Ace's words.

"That means Luffy did better than you, right?" Lucci instantly understood what Ace meant and couldn't help but interrupt and tease with a smile.

"What!? No, he didn't...we were just...waiting!" Sabo reacted and retorted fiercely.

"Wait, this means I'm better than Sabo!" Luffy became excited instantly, raised his hands and shouted loudly.

"I think so, Luffy!" Ace grinned at Sabo's rare scowl.

"Luffy definitely won this time." Lucci said with a smile, "But next time Sabo will fight the Celestial Dragons to prove it."

"Hey, you two, don't let him get any more proud!" Sabo grabbed the two brothers who were laughing at him and threw them to the deck.

Luffy gleefully threw himself on top of his brothers, grinning widely, but their entertainment was interrupted when Pineapple Head grabbed them.

"You'd better not get hurt again, yoi!" Marco separated the four people who were fighting, and it was already his limit to lead Luffy out.

"I wouldn't be so stupid as to fight the Celestial Dragons right next to the Marine Headquarters." Sabo stood up from the ground, straightened his scarf, and lectured him, "Honestly, Luffy, although I'm proud of you, you should at least have a plan to escape."

"You don't even know how to fight a Celestial Dragon." Ace muttered quietly beside him, successfully getting an elbow from Sabo.

"But Luffy is definitely better than us in this regard. No one is better at causing trouble than him." Lucci said with a smile.

"That's true." Ace and Sabo nodded in agreement.

Luffy frowned at Sabo's words, feeling a bit sad at the thought of the crew he had been forced to separate from, but he became excited again when he remembered that Sabo said Chi had returned to him and he would be able to see them soon.

Lucci noticed the flash of sadness on Luffy's face and realized that something had happened. Then he noticed that no one else had appeared in front of Luffy until now except Luffy. He felt a surge of anger. What were they doing? Disappointing Luffy was the worst thing he could do. How could they do this and leave Luffy alone in danger?

Lucci suppressed his emotions, took a deep breath and calmed down. They probably wouldn't do that. If they really did that, he wouldn't give them the chance to make that mistake a second time. He wouldn't hand his brother over to a team that couldn't protect him.

Lucci nudged Ace with his elbow and leaned close to his ear to ask, staring at Luffy, "Did you see Luffy's crew later in Impel Down?"

Hearing Luffy's question, Ace instantly realized the problem. Luffy broke into Impel alone to save him, and he almost died, all alone... Luffy was all alone, where were his crew members?

Ace's eyes were filled with fear, and Lucci instantly understood that Luffy's crew wasn't here. This meant they had really done what they had done. They had actually let Luffy down! As expected, they couldn't protect him. Lucci instantly decided that he would only allow them to make this mistake once. Luffy would be protected by him alone.

Lucci leaned closer to Luffy, looked him in the eyes, and asked, his tone gentler than before, "Luffy, what did your crew do? If they dared..."

Seeing the familiar concern on Lucci's face, Luffy's lips trembled slightly, and he interrupted Lucci with a choked voice, "When we were in Shampoo Land, a bear attacked us... He knocked my crew away, and I don't know where they are..."

Fear spread in Luffy's chest. Seeing Luffy like this, Luffy felt a little distressed. He could feel the anger and despair in his brother's tense body. He temporarily let go of the idea that Luffy's crew had let him down.

Even though he knew the truth might not be what he thought, he still wasn't sure if he could still trust Luffy's friends to take good care of him, but now another matter was more important.

Lucci pulled Luffy's body closer to him as he spoke, hugging him tightly so he could bury his cheek in his chest. Slowly and patiently he gently stroked his back, whispering soothingly, "You know, Chi is back. I'm sure everyone else is okay."

Ace cursed under his breath and placed his hand on Luffy's hair, stroking it repeatedly and gently soothing him, "Luffy, they'll be fine. We'll help you find everyone."

"Yes, Luffy, Qi and I have already met Rayleigh. He said that Kuma is helping you." Sabo put his arm on Luffy's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "In fact, this is true. He is my friend. I am sure he is someone we can trust. He must have saved you."

"I know, but... I failed." Luffy choked out a sob, pressing his face closer to Lucci's chest, trying hard to stop the tears from streaming down his cheeks. "I'm their captain, but... I couldn't even save one of my companions. If... I can't even do this, what kind of captain am I?"

Luffy broke down and cried into Lucci's chest, barely hearing his brothers trying to comfort him.

"Hey, Lu, look at me." Luffy pulled Luffy's face, who was breaking down and crying, out of his chest, cupped his cheek, carefully wiped away his tears, and waited quietly for a while for him to calm down. "You didn't fail, you successfully saved...your brother, remember?"

Luffy choked and nodded softly.

"I promise, we will find them. We can go to Shampooland. It will only take a few days and you will see them again soon."

He believed in his brother, but... Luffy pouted and buried his face in his brother's chest again, sobbing softly and saying what he had been thinking deep in his heart, "They will be angry with me..."