vncnus Chapter 442 Complete Relaxation
Chapter 442 Complete Relaxation
Ace adjusted his body slightly, turned completely towards Lucci, and hugged him tightly with his arms, resting his face lightly on Lucci's temples, silently comforting his brother, and continued to listen quietly to his brother's story. No matter what he was thinking, he would not show it at this time.
This was a rare moment when Lucci was completely open. He was very happy that the two brothers at the door also understood that they should not come in at this moment. Lucci was sometimes really self-contained and timid. He didn't know if if he was disturbed this time, next time they would only be able to learn about his brother's past experiences from others.
Lucci slowly exerted force with his arms and hugged Ace's waist tightly. "When I woke up, I was imprisoned in a cage with metal bars. It was dark and cold inside. That guy would come every day to interrogate me about the news of the dragon."
"I'm very scared. I'm afraid that I will unconsciously reveal information about you. I'm even more afraid that they will find Luffy and you through me. If they get news about you from me, they will definitely destroy Dawn Island, and I will be completely unable to stop it."
Ace listened, and even though his hands were clenched into fists in anger, he allowed himself to relax, placing his palms on Lucci's back to soothe his brother's unconsciously shaking body.
"I don't know how long it took until there was a storm. That guy suddenly stuffed me into a small box in a hurry. Later, the villagers found the box floating on the sea. I was rescued by them, but I lost my memory." Lucci buried his face deeper into Ace's shoulder.
"Not long after, a group of navy sailors arrived on the island. I learned from the villager who rescued me that they were there to capture me. With his help, I took a small boat and left the island."
"But...but they were bombed by the Navy Demon Slayer Order because of me. I could do nothing but watch in despair as the entire island burned under the bombing. They all died, and I could only watch helplessly on the small boat. I couldn't save anyone." Lucci choked up, "They saved me, but I killed them."
"Lucci, this isn't your fault." Ace's face darkened, his left fingernails digging into his palm, his jaw clenched. Even though he had guessed part of the situation from the wanted poster, he still couldn't imagine how desperate his brother was at the time. "It's the fault of the damn World Government and the Navy."
Lucci took a deep breath, suppressed his sobs, and continued, "I realized the navy was hunting me, so I wore a mask to hide my identity. It was the right decision, because not long after, I saw my wanted poster."
"After a while, with the help of the ocean, I successfully arrived at Seven Waters. Life there was just like our life at Waste Terminal. Fortunately, even though I had lost my memory, my fighting ability and survival skills remained, and I managed to survive there for a while."
"Until I met a group of even more powerful pirates, I thought I was going to die. My biggest regret at that time was that I hadn't recovered my lost memories. But Rayleigh saved me. He saved me from those pirates."
"After that, I went to Shampoo Land with Rayleigh and stayed there for a while. Then he took me to an uninhabited island. There, Rayleigh began to teach me everything. I learned swordsmanship and Haki from him."
"I will definitely thank him when I see him tomorrow." Ace breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile. Fortunately, fortunately his brother met Rayleigh, fortunately his brother did not fall into a more dangerous situation. "And then you met me when you went out to sea, right?"
"Yeah, that's right." Lucci grinned. "Even though I have no memories, I accidentally went out to sea at the age of 17. But I didn't expect to meet you on the first island I landed after going out to sea."
"I'm lucky, aren't I?" Ace smiled sincerely. Thinking about it this way, he was really lucky. He was lucky to meet his brother who had lost his memory. Even if they didn't recognize each other, their connection had always existed. It was just that he was too slow.
"Yeah." Lucci chuckled, then closed his eyes again. He had never felt so relaxed, nor so tired. Not only because of the physical fatigue, but also because of everything that had happened in the past ten years. But at this moment he was completely relaxed.
Sleepiness quickly invaded his brain, and just when he was about to fall asleep completely, he heard Ace's voice in his ears. His slow brain made it impossible for him to think too much.
"What are you going to do next?" Ace patted Lucci's back gently. He knew he shouldn't ask his brother this question now, when he seemed so tired and relaxed.
But he knew that Lucci was feeling very good now, and his performance today was really great and well-behaved. Lucci had never been like this before, telling him all his inner feelings so obediently. He had a hunch that he could achieve his goal, and he really hoped that Lucci could always be so open to him.
Ace asked softly, "If you don't want to join Luffy's pirate group, will you continue to stay in the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"I...I don't know." Lucci leaned on Ace's shoulder and whispered softly, "I really don't know. I don't want to watch helplessly as the people I love fall into danger again."
"How could that be? Those times are over." Ace's hand gently stroked up and down Lucci's back. "You've become very strong, haven't you? That won't happen again."
"I've always thought so." Lucci closed his eyes, heavy thoughts sinking in his mind, and he answered Ace's question almost subconsciously. "But I let it happen again in Impel Down. This time it was my beloved little brother, so I couldn't let him take risks alone again. But this idea is wrong. I can't let my protection burden Luffy, and I shouldn't selfishly put my anxiety and troubles on Luffy. This will affect Luffy, and I really don't want to become a problem for Luffy."
"I know clearly what I should do, but I... can't help it." Lucci murmured. He felt more and more sleepy, and his brain became slower and slower. He continued to mutter almost unconsciously.
"I can't control myself... I can't help but worry about Luffy. I know and believe that he will eventually become very strong, stronger than us... and realize his dream. I don't want to burden Luffy, but I... I can't control... the constant anxiety and worry. I know I can't do this, but I'm useless... and too selfish... I can't even control myself. I don't want to be like this... but this is the only way I can control it..."
Ace listened quietly. He didn't want to interrupt his brother's incoherent words, but when he spoke more and more self-blamingly, he had to stop him, wanted to pull him out, tell him that this was normal, that he shouldn't feel guilty for not being able to let go of his worry about his brother. But Lucci had already fallen asleep. He was a little surprised, but not overly surprised. After all, he had shown unusual fatigue very early on.
Ace smiled fondly. Even though he still didn't get the answer he wanted, he really gained a lot today. He put Lucci's head back on his shoulder, gently combed his hair, and murmured to himself, "I'm really glad that you can tell me this and stay awake for so long."
Luffy and Sabo stood silently at the door. They both heard what Lucci said. Both of them possessed Observation Haki, so they should be able to hear it at such a short distance. Ace glanced at his two brothers, then carried Lucci past them and walked towards their room.
He knew that both Sabo and Luffy needed time to digest this story, but he had actually guessed most of it. After all, he and Luffy had lived together for so long, and except for the things before he lost his memory, he actually knew most of the rest.
After all, Lucci hadn't gone out of his way to hide the fact that he was living on an uninhabited island, he just hadn't gone into such detail, and he had never told him about the heavy thoughts he had been carrying in his heart.