【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

The next day

"Oh my! Those two guys Ace and Lucci have done something great again! I heard that the Toma Pirates were completely defeated by them! And they found a lot of treasures!"

"Hehehe! We can have the party again!"

Two white-bearded pirates raised their glasses and talked loudly. Then one of the pirates from Team 2 winked at Ace who was eating frantically in front of him, with a mysterious smile on his face. He whispered to the pirate who had just talked to him, "Hey! I heard that Dad is planning to let Ace lead our Team 2!"

"Huh? Really?" When the other pirates heard this, they immediately came over curiously.

"It should be true. Team Two has always lacked a captain. Previously, Captain Marco has been leading Team One and Team Two." The pirate wearing a tall hat next to him smiled and added, "Ace's strength is obvious to all. If Ace is the captain of Team Two, no one will have any objection!"

……

Ace and Lucci stood in the meeting room belonging to the squad captains, with shocked looks on their faces, staring at Whitebeard in shock.

Ace was the first to react. He stepped forward and said with a hint of doubt in his voice, "Sorry, please say it again. I think we heard it wrong?"

"We have all decided to let you be the captain of the second team, and Lucci will be your deputy and manage the second team together with you," Marco said with a smile.

Ace looked at Marco in shock, then turned to look at Lucci "Lucci, what do you think?"

Lucci had recovered from his shock, and when he heard Ace's voice, he smiled and responded, "I think it's fine, Ace, what do you think?"

Ace lowered his head in silence, then looked up at Whitebeard and Marco, and asked, "Can I give you an answer tomorrow?"

"Of course." Whitebeard showed a tolerant smile on his face.

Ace held a piece of bread in his hand. While chewing the food in his mouth, he said to the person opposite him, "Teach, you have more seniority than me, right?"

"Hahahahaha... It's okay! I don't have such ambition!" Teach responded with a laugh while eating the cherry pizza in his hand, "Ace, Captain, I'll leave it to you!"

Lucci was sitting next to Ace, quietly eating the food on the table. When he heard what Teach said, he couldn't help but look up at him, and then continued eating the food in his hand as if nothing had happened.

Ace continued to eat the food in his hand, immersed in his own thoughts, and did not give a clear response to Tikki's words.

……

At night, someone knocked on Captain Whitebeard's door.

"Come in." Whitebeard responded, and then he looked at Ace curiously. He looked very conflicted. "What's wrong, my son?"

Ace lowered his head and was silent for a moment, then he said softly, "If you want me to be your captain of the second division, I think I should let you know some of my past, and then you can decide whether to continue with this decision."

"My thoughts will never change." Whitebeard grinned. "Come and sit down. We have plenty of time to chat."

After hearing what his father said, Ace lowered his head and walked to the chair beside Whitebeard's bed and sat down. He raised his head and looked at Whitebeard, his eyes flashing with a dark light, and whispered, "I am Roger's son."

"Gulala... I really didn't expect... Your personality is so different from your father's!" White Beard said with a nonchalant smile.

Ace was surprised by Whitebeard's reaction, then protested "He is your enemy, right? Aren't you going to drive me away?"

"Gulala! Is that what you're worried about, little brat!" Whitebeard grinned, "Then I would say it doesn't matter! We are all children of the sea! I don't care whose blood is in your veins, you are yourself! Gulala!"

Ace was stunned. He looked at Whitebeard's reaction. He didn't expect it to be so simple. Did he not care at all? Then, with tears in his eyes and a bright smile on his face, he said to Whitebeard, "Thank you, Dad!"

"Gulala!" Whitebeard grinned, "Ace, remember you are my son now, not Roger's! Nothing can change that!"

"Yeah!" Ace nodded, his voice choked up, and he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Lucci stood at the corner of the corridor, silently watching Ace's back as he walked out of his father's room. He knew that Ace had told his father his biggest secret. Lucci stood at the door of Whitebeard's room, his face full of struggle. He didn't know whether he should say that he was different from Ace. Dragon was still alive, and to the World Government, his identity might be more threatening than Ace's.

"Aren't you coming in?" Whitebeard's voice came from behind the door.

A trace of struggle flashed across Lucci's face, then he pushed the door open and walked in, looking at Whitebeard and whispered, "Ace told you about his past, so I thought maybe I should let you know about mine, too."

Whitebeard looked at Lucci quietly, waiting for him to continue.

"I told you before... I lost some of my memories when I was a child, but I didn't tell you what caused it." Lucci looked up at Whitebeard, then took off the mask on his face and continued, "It may be because I am the son of Dragon. It is also because of this identity that they launched a demon-killing order."

"So you have been wearing a mask all the time?" A trace of heartache appeared on White Beard's face. He had read the report. It was rumored that the Dragon's Son died from the Demon Slayer Order.

"I don't know what they will do when they find out that the Dragon Son is alive." Lucci paused, then continued, "I don't want you to be threatened by the government because of me. If you want me to leave..."

Lucci's next words were interrupted by a sudden hug.

"Brat! Don't underestimate your dad!" Whitebeard gave Lucci a huge hug. "I am Whitebeard! No one can hurt my son, not even the World Government!"

"Dad..." Lucci shouted with emotion.