【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 463 Sabo vs. Lucci

"The weather is really nice today, perfect for sleeping."

Lucci lay down on the observation deck, looking at the blue sky and white clouds, and stretched. He wasn't worried at all that Ace would find him; the last time he checked, they were still in their training area.

Although it's a bit of a pity that he didn't get to spar with Sabo, since Sabo's combat skills seem a bit strange, he can do it tomorrow anyway, so he can relax and get some sleep now without anyone bothering him.

Lucky stretched out his arms in a relaxed manner, crossed them behind his head, and enjoyed the breeze.

Before drifting off to sleep, Lucci used his Observation Haki one last time to make sure his three brothers were in their proper places. Ace and Sabo's auras were still in their training positions, but Luffy... why did Luffy's aura become so weak?

Lu Qi opened his eyes instantly. What happened? He was perfectly fine when he left.

Lucci released his Observation Haki again to sense it carefully. It wasn't an illusion; Luffy's aura had indeed become weaker. If he was a burning flame before, then now that flame had shrunk into a small flame.

Lucci frowned in confusion. Why was this happening? It didn't seem like he was trying to lower his presence... It was more like he was trying to change his aura to make himself seem weak and harmless, but Luffy clearly didn't have that kind of skill.

Lucci bit his lip. Could something have happened during their battle that caused Luffy to get injured? Ace and Sabo shouldn't have let that happen. Lucci went down from the observation deck and ran towards the training area. He needed to check on things no matter what.

……

"Ace, is this alright?" Sabo asked doubtfully. Ace had suddenly asked him to teach Luffy how to change his aura. It's worth mentioning that Luffy's talent was indeed very high. After trying a few times, he was able to control it very well. This might be related to his natural ability to hide his aura.

“No problem.” Ace grinned. “We just need to wait for Lucci to come over himself.”

"But Luffy, you're really amazing." Ace looked at Luffy lying on the ground with admiration. "You learned it so quickly."

Luffy gave a bright smile. "This is the same as what I do when I'm hunting, but it's a bit more troublesome because I can't fully enter hunting mode."

“He’s here.” Sabo grinned, he could sense Lucci running towards them.

"Luffy, what happened to you?" Lucci saw Luffy lying on the ground and rushed over to check on him. "Are you injured?"

Ace and Sabo exchanged a glance, both of them chuckling to themselves.

"Ace, I caught him!!" Luffy jumped up excitedly and hugged Lucci's arm tightly.

Lucci looked at Luffy's smile with confusion. "You...you're not injured?"

"No!" Luffy flashed a bright smile. "Ace told me to lie down, saying that way you'd come and keep playing with us!"

"What's wrong with your breathing?" Lucci asked, frowning. "It's very weak."

"Sabo taught me," Luffy grinned. "I'm pretty amazing, aren't I? Ace and Sabo said I learned it in no time! See, I'll surpass you soon!"

"Ace, Sabo, what are you doing?!" Lucci glared angrily at the two bastard brothers. "You...you actually taught Luffy to lie to me!!"

"There's no other way, otherwise why would you show up on your own?" Ace smiled smugly, pressing his hand, covered in Armament Haki, heavily on Lucci's shoulder. "How long do you intend to keep running?"

“We haven’t even fought that battle yet,” Sabo said with a smile, placing his hand on Lucci’s shoulder. “I will prove that I am Luffy’s strongest brother.”

"So this is all you did?" Lucci said expressionlessly. "You guys are really boring."

"So you were actually scared?" Ace provocatively asked. "That's why you ran away?"

"Since you two want to play, I'll play with you." Lu Qi smiled, but it was a little cold. "Which of you two wants to go first?"

Ace and Sabo exchanged a glance and saw the surprise in each other's eyes. Could it be that Lu Qi was really angry?

“Then I’ll do it. We’ve never fought before.” Sabo grinned. Lucci’s anger was the most amusing thing.

Sabo took a deep breath, a feeling of excitement washing over him. He knew that this battle would allow him to fully showcase himself, and he would cherish this opportunity to see just how much Lucci had grown.

Looking at Lucci standing still, he knew that Lucci had adopted the same tactic as Ace, waiting for him to make the first move.

Sabo didn't entirely expect Lucci to recklessly launch the first attack. He knew very well that Lucci was much more patient than Ace, and he also knew what the wisest choice was when fighting someone whose strength was unknown.

However, Lucci's decision to remain still was not the wisest choice, as it only made him a more obvious target, just like Ace.

But he knew that Lucci wasn't doing this because he was as confident as Ace. He was just pretending to expose his weaknesses to the enemy to lure them into attacking, which could be seen from his taut muscles and his constant observation of his movements.

Sabo lowered his head slightly, the brim of his tall hat obscuring his eyes, and Lucci's face disappeared from his sight.

The eyes are a very easy display of thoughts, something he learned over the years through painful training with bears and dragons.

He can use any other part of his body to feint, pretending to go left when he really wants to go right, twisting in the air to punch instead of kick.

But in order to hit, he must see it; his eyes can easily give away where he wants to aim, and all anyone has to do is follow his line of sight to know his movements.

Sabo learned from many attempts and failures that he should not focus on any type of opponent, but that does not mean he was unaware of where his enemies were.

His domineering aura was strong, and most of the time, no one could catch him off guard, just like what he had done to Ace before. Sabo felt a little smug, after all, this skill was indeed very effective against Ace.

The closer you get to him, the more you can feel the confusion emanating from Lucci. Just like Ace before him, it not only makes it impossible to guess what his target is, but it also has another purpose: to lower his aura and make people feel that he is compliant and harmless, thereby catching them off guard.

Now they were only ten steps apart. Sabo suspected that the only reason Lucci hadn't attacked him was because he was curious about what Lucci was up to. Curiosity is good, but caution is better.

Sabo touched the tube at the bottom of his back, briefly considering whether to use it now, but ultimately gave up the idea. Lucci would probably be looking forward to him taking his most obvious weapon, but not all of his weapons were so obvious.