【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

Chapter 452 Losing control

"Shut up! What are you doing in Sabaody Archipelago?! Are the Whitebeard Pirates around here too?!"

"Hey, you ask a lot of questions." Ace lowered his hand, preparing to deal with the Marine. "I can only say that I'm here on vacation too."

The Navy officer clearly showed no amusement at this blatant imitation. He raised his gun to aim, noticing Ace's movements. "Don't try anything funny. My gun isn't a toy."

"Portgas D. Ace, you are arrested for piracy. Kneel down with your hands above your head. Any resistance will be met with violent suppression!"

"Your vacation wasn't so lucky this time. I'm not going to lose to a navy guy who only knows how to threaten with a gun," Ace grinned.

“You’ll understand.” The navy officer lowered his gaze, his eyes growing sharper. “Underestimating me can cost you your life.”

"Want to shoot?" Ace grinned, pulling his hat down, somewhat moved by the courage. "Go ahead and shoot, I'll show you what I'm made of."

The Navy fired without hesitation at Fire Fist Ace, who was charging toward him.

Ace realized something was wrong the moment the bullet was fired. He paused in his forward charge, turned his body, and dodged the bullet that was aimed at his chest, but it still grazed his left arm, and a stream of warm blood flowed down his arm.

Ace blinked in surprise, raised his right hand to cover the wound, and the warmth seeping from between his fingers made him realize what had happened. He said in a deep voice, "A Seastone bullet?"

“That’s right.” The Navy squinted smugly and pulled the trigger again. “I’ve said it before, underestimating me will cost you your life. This is a warning. If you disobey my orders again, I will take care of you completely.”

"Is that so?" Ace said with his head down, but he didn't seem nervous. He wasn't incapable of dealing with this Marine who was using a Seastone bullet gun.

However, just as he was about to make his move, a red figure, moving so fast that it was only a blur, rushed towards the navy. The heavy impact and the crisp cracking sound echoed on the stairs. The two sounds rang out together, making it impossible to tell whether the crisp sound was a gunshot or the sound of bones breaking.

The navy officer screamed, collapsing onto the stairs, curling up in a ball while clutching his left leg. "Fuck! Damn it!"

Ace snapped back to reality, looked up, and squinted at the red figure above the stairs. The figure stood in front of the groaning Marine. Ace stared at the figure, which exuded a completely unfamiliar aura, and his eyes widened. "Lucci?"

The Navy was still groaning in pain, but Lucci seemed completely unmoved. The next second, the Navy let out a terrified scream, forced to let go of his hands that were holding his knees, and the pistol in his hand slipped from his grasp and rolled down the steps with a clatter.

“Lu…” Ace’s voice froze in his throat as he stared stiffly at the Navy’s arm being twisted in a strange position. The jarring clang of the pistol rolling down the stone steps brought him back to his senses.

The arm, twisted by a strange force, was tightly gripped by the figure in front of him. The Marine screamed in agony, cursing, "Fuck you, let go!!"

The navy officer looked up, glaring furiously at the figure looming above him. "You fucking—" But upon recognizing the person's face, his pupils contracted sharply. "I recognize you, you are—"

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp pain shot through his arm, and the navy officer immediately let out a piercing scream.

"Lucci!" Ace's steps on the stairs were slow and almost frozen. The sound of flesh being torn sent a chill down his spine. He looked up, his expression stiff, as Lucci, like a beast, ripped off the Marine's arm and carelessly discarded it. Blood instantly stained the stone steps.

The navy began to beg for mercy incoherently, his face filled with fear, perhaps because of the black fist that Lucci was slowly raising, gleaming with a cold light.

"Wait!" The navy officer's eyes widened in horror.

The next second, the cracking sound of his skull shattering sent a shiver down Ace's spine. The Marines had stopped screaming and had no chance to scream again.

After the Navy's skull was struck hard, everything fell silent. Ace thought it was over, it should have ended, but Lucci didn't stop. More blood, more sounds of fists hitting flesh, the corpse that had long since stopped convulsing reached out in vain towards the direction where the gun had fallen, the dark fist still swinging down relentlessly.

"Hey, Lucci!" Ace shouted.

Lucci seemed not to hear him, his gaze still fixed on the Marines, and even though he was no longer breathing, his fists, imbued with Armament Haki, did not stop.

At that moment, he felt a powerful wave of pressure burst through his mind, and an impulse to submit surged through his brain. When he realized what it was, Ace opened his mouth in shock. Lucci was unleashing Conqueror's Haki on him.

Ace, bracing himself against the overwhelming pressure, watched as Lucci repeated his actions, striking the corpses of the Marines in the same spot. But there was nothing left for him to hit; he was only hurting himself. Ace's breath caught in his throat.

It was only then that Ace realized he had moved. He circled around to Lucci's side and grabbed his wrist, stopping him from continuing his attack. It was only then that he realized just how much force Lucci had used.

"Lucci." Ace couldn't help but call out softly. This time, Lucci finally turned his face towards him, panting heavily. He thought he would see Lucci's furious expression, but... there was nothing. Lucci's face was devoid of any emotion, only blank eyes. As he turned to him, he saw nothing in Lucci's eyes, no emotion, not even his own shadow. He had never seen Lucci like this before, so... empty.

Suddenly, an even stronger aura of dominance emerged, clashing with the one Lucci unconsciously emanating. Ace abruptly looked up at the old man who had suddenly appeared in front of them. The next second, Lucci swayed and fell towards the stone steps. Ace reacted immediately, quickly catching him and pulling him into his arms, his eyes warily fixed on the white-haired old man approaching them. "Don't come any closer! What do you want!?"

"You're Fire Fist Ace, right? I'm Rayleigh." Rayleigh said as he approached Lucci. "How long has he been in this state?"

Ace glanced at the mangled corpse of the Marine, then focused intently on Lucci. "You're Rayleigh, the one who saved Lucci?"

“It seems he told you about me.” Rayleigh said, checking Lucci’s condition, then breathed a sigh of relief. “It doesn’t seem to have lasted long; his body hasn’t completely collapsed from the fight.”

“Let’s go, to my place.” Rayleigh stood up, ignoring Ace’s reaction behind him. “He needs to rest and recuperate.”

Ace hesitated, glancing at the ground. The man's skull was completely collapsed, and blood, flesh, and bone fragments were splattered all over the stone steps. The man was just on vacation. A dull pain welled up in his heart, mixed with a trace of guilt.

But he knew that Lucci had only protected his brother, nothing more. Lucci was never a bloodthirsty person. More than that, he was worried about Lucci's state after he woke up. If he knew that he had done this... he didn't know what Lucci would think, but he would definitely feel guilty.

Ace carried Lucci's body away from the bloody mess on the ground, then hoisted Rayleigh onto his back and quickly followed ahead. Just then, his Den Den Mushi rang. He knew who it was, but he hesitated, unsure whether he should answer the phone after what had happened. However, he knew that if he didn't answer, Sabo and Luffy would be very worried.

"Saab."

"where are you?"

Ace glanced at Rayleigh, who was leading the way, then looked at Lucci, who was lying unconscious on his shoulder, and hesitated. "I encountered a Marine, but Lucci... Anyway, can you come find us now?"

After saying that, Ace hung up the phone. They had already arrived, and he remembered that Luffy had his Vivre Card, so he wasn't worried that they wouldn't be able to find them.