One Piece meme: Starting with eight extraordinary skills

A lottery wheel slowly appeared in my field of vision, displaying three categories of prizes: hero skins, runes, and hero skills.

Hero Skins: Wuling Immortal Lord, Phoenix Seeking Phoenix, Flying Balance...

Inscriptions: Hunting, Eagle Eye, Mutation...

Hero Skills: Dragon's Roar, Thunderous Dragon, Word of Power Barrier...

[Compassion]: Green Inscription, Cooldown Reduction +1%

After glancing at the system notification, Yang Ming looked away.

Beneath the palace lies a clue to the ancient weapon Pluto, the god of the underworld.

There are various rumors about the ancient weapon Pluton. One is that this ancient warship is also buried underground in the Alabasta Kingdom, and the other is that it is buried underground in Wano Country.

The ancient weapon Pluto, the god of the underworld, possesses the power to easily destroy an island, which would be very tempting to anyone, but Yang Ming was only indifferent.

Tom, the fish-man master of Water Seven, possessed the blueprints for Pluto's design and once passed them on to Iceberg.

Now, Iceberg is Yang Ming's partner and has successfully been elected as the mayor of Water Seven. He is quietly managing Water Seven, a pivotal city on the Grand Line, for Yang Ming, and has naturally shared the blueprints of Pluto long ago.

Unfortunately, Yang Ming didn't understand technology, so he naturally couldn't understand Hades' design blueprints.

Even Iceberg and Franky, the two fellow disciples, cannot replicate Pluto with their current level of technology, as they lack a considerable amount of key technology.

If this trip could yield Pluto, the god of the underworld, it would be the icing on the cake, and Yang Ming would be happy to do so.

However, it is clear that this matter concerns the mission of the Nefertari family, and Cobra would not reveal the secrets passed down through generations for this reason.

After a moment of contemplation, Cobra spoke:

"Lord Yang Ming, recently, your Carrera Company, Dinosaur Chamber of Commerce, and New Hope Factory have made large-scale investments in our Alabasta, injecting new vitality into our ancient country. I think that in this matter, Lord Yang Ming and I have a very broad prospect for cooperation."

"How about this, I can decide to give a portion of the copper mine profits to the Dinosaur Merchant Guild, what do you think?"

"In addition, my daughter Weiwei is of marriageable age, and she happens to be around the same age as Lord Yang Ming. You two are a perfect match, both in terms of looks and social standing. You are a match made in heaven. I intend to betroth my daughter to you."

"This will be a model of a powerful alliance. With the Nefertari family working behind the scenes, and with Lord Yang Ming's strength, his future career will be smooth sailing. After Fleet Admiral Sengoku retires, you will be the new Fleet Admiral of the Navy Headquarters!"

This is not the first time Cobra has brought it up.

In fact, as soon as Yang Ming disembarked from the warship, Kobra had been planning to marry him.

Don't think that Cobra is selling his daughter; that's a narrow-minded, family-oriented mentality and should not be accepted.

Cobra is first and foremost the head of the Nefertari family, then the king of the Alabasta Kingdom, and finally Princess Vivi's father.

Since the first patriarch of the Nefertari family renounced his Celestial Dragon status eight hundred years ago, his family has been excluded from the core of power and unable to participate in the World Government's decision-making. They can only attend meetings as observers of member states and at most offer suggestions.

Eight hundred years is enough to erase many things. The Nefertari family has a reputation, but no longer has the strength to match it, and only a handful of people remain under their command.

Cobra was a very ambitious king, as evidenced by his consistent self-proclaimed image of loving his people like his own children.

Creating a persona for oneself is not a bad thing. Yang Ming has been doing this since joining the navy, which helps him overcome many difficulties in realizing his dreams.

Once Yang Ming marries Princess Vivi, the Nefertari family will directly possess top-tier combat power. Even if they cannot return to the Celestial Dragon family, Cobra can use this opportunity to negotiate with the World Government and thus join the ranks of the Five Elders, gaining decision-making power within the World Government!

Don't underestimate the power of decision-making. (Reading by La)

Those in power are all rentiers.

Ordinary people work themselves to the bone their whole lives, while those in power only need to casually approve a document and skim off a little profit from it, and they can earn as much as an ordinary person would in eight lifetimes.

If it weren't for such enormous benefits, why would so many people be so eager for power?

At the same time, as Cobra said, Yang Ming will also reap enormous benefits.

As the saying goes, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Moreover, the Nefertari family is only in decline, not extinct, and there are Celestial Dragon families that are on good terms with them.

To become the Fleet Admiral of the Marine Headquarters, one needs not only the approval of the Five Elders but also the approval of the Celestial Dragons. With the Nefertari family acting as a go-between, everything will go much more smoothly.

The benefits offered by Cobra were undeniably very tempting.

Plans can never keep up with changes.

Yang Ming closed his eyes and reviewed his grand plan in his mind.

If Yang Ming agrees to Cobra's request, he will not only win the heart of the beauty, but also help his father-in-law become one of the Five Elders. If Yang Ming can successfully assassinate Jaigolusia Satan, one of the Five Elders, and allow the Crescent Moon Hunter Katrina Devon to successfully imitate and replace him, then Yang Ming will have successfully secured two of the five positions among the Five Elders!

Besides, Cobra has no sons, so his son-in-law is like half a son. Once he becomes one of the Five Elders, won't the Kingdom of Alabasta need Yang Ming's help to manage it?

Small wins, medium wins, big wins!

This is definitely a winning streak!

The only one who was injured was Crocodile.

Who told him to be the culprit behind the rainless Alabasta Kingdom?

but……

In Yang Ming's mind, images of the girls who had been with him for many years appeared: Tina, Momousagi Gion, Ion, Jewelry Bonney, Kuina, and Kalifa.

He has always been a man of great loyalty and affection, and he understands the feelings these girls have for him, so naturally he can't leave them without giving them a proper status.

Yang Ming opened his eyes again, meeting Cobra's expectant gaze and Princess Vivi's anxious look. He smiled slightly and said:

“I agree to this marriage in principle, but I have many close female friends, and quite a few of them have deep feelings for me. I cannot give the role of wife to a girl I have only known for a short time. I can only ask Princess Weiwei to be my concubine.”

Upon hearing this, Kobra's expression darkened.

The Neferutari family is a renowned family; how could they possibly give their daughter to someone else as a concubine?

Kobra felt that Yang Ming was being ungrateful, even trying to insult him in order to gain more benefits from him. A surge of anger rose in his heart, but he didn't want to break ties with Yang Ming, so he could only leave in a huff.

"I am feeling unwell and I regret that I am unable to continue receiving guests."

"Humph!"

As he was leaving, Cobra let out a heavy snort to express his dissatisfaction.

He had been making grand plans, but they all fell through, so naturally he wasn't in a good mood.

Seeing this, Princess Vivi, unaware of the details, simply assumed her father was in a bad mood and quickly bowed to Yang Ming to apologize, saying:

"I'm sorry, Lord Yang Ming, my father is only concerned about the people, not targeting you."

It must be said that Princess Vivi is truly a kind-hearted girl. She never imagined that Cobra actually didn't care about the lives of the common people and probably knew the truth about the lack of rain in the Kingdom of Alabasta all along, but had been hiding it from her.

A unique fragrance emanating from the young girl wafted over, and seeing the worried look on the blue-haired girl so close to him, Yang Ming felt a pang of pity for her.

In front of Princess Vivi's shy demeanor, Yang Ming interlocked his middle finger and thumb, gently flicking her smooth forehead with a gesture as intimate as that of a couple who had known each other for many years. He then breathed a warm breath into Princess Vivi's earlobe and said:

Has anyone ever told you that you look beautiful right now?

Princess Vivi grew up in the palace and rarely had the opportunity to go out. She could count the number of male friends she knew on one hand. She had never been in such close contact with a boy her age before.

Even Koza, Princess Vivi's childhood playmate, had never been this affectionate.

In that instant, Princess Vivi felt a heart pounding like never before. Her heart raced uncontrollably, and a delicate blush spread across her fair skin, from her neck to her face and earlobes, as if dyed on white silk.

"ah!"

Princess Vivi was ultimately too shy to accept Yang Ming's advances. She let out a coy rebuke, gently pushed Yang Ming away, and ran towards the depths of the palace as if fleeing in panic.

Chapter 281 The more critical the moment, the more casual one should be; the outcome will not change.

Inside a prison in the East China Sea.

Luffy slightly bent his knees, clenched his fists, placed his right hand on the ground, and rested his left hand on his knee. He used his hands and feet as pumps, his heels bulging, and the blood flowed up his calf muscles. As the blood in his veins flowed faster than usual, Luffy's whole body began to heat up, his skin became flushed and red, and steam rose from his skin.

Due to the increased blood circulation and dilation of capillaries in his body, Luffy felt his heart beating more powerfully than usual, and he could even hear a distinct heartbeat.

"Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang..."

Amidst the pounding of his heart, immune cells circulate more easily in the body and expel toxins, increasing the body's immunity and strength. Luffy pulled his hands outwards sharply, and the iron shackles on his wrists snapped in the process.

"From this day forward, this move will be called Second Gear!"

Luffy clenched his fist, his eyes flashing, and thought to himself:

"Yang Ming, you just wait and see!"

Clearly, Yang Ming has left a deep psychological scar on him, and he urgently needs to set a small goal in life: first defeat Yang Ming, and then become the Pirate King.

Yang Ming was naturally unaware of what was happening far away in the East China Sea.

Fortunately, Yang Ming was very familiar with Luffy's personality. Despite Luffy's usual carefree demeanor, his temper was just like Garp's, stubborn as a bull. Once he set his mind on a goal, no matter how many people came to pull him back, they couldn't.

Therefore, Yang Ming believes that Luffy will never change his dream of becoming the Pirate King while he is in prison. On the contrary, he will work hard, explore his potential, and grow even faster than in the original story.

This was exactly what Yang Ming wanted.

Yang Ming himself was in Albana, the capital of the Alabasta Kingdom, where he was gradually deepening his relationship with Princess Vivi. At the same time, he was also secretly setting up a teleportation anchor point there so that he could return directly if needed in the future.

Ailuma.

This is an oasis city located in the lower reaches of the Saint-Do River. Due to the sudden drop in rainfall over the years, the tributary of the Saint-Do River that flows here has dried up year by year, resulting in insufficient drinking water resources. The wealthy families in this city have long since moved to nearby cities, leaving behind a group of poor people who are barely clothed and struggling to survive.

Before the river dried up, Airuma could connect directly to the port of rapeseed flowers, and the water from the river irrigated a garden city, dotted with date palms, meadows and gardens. There were also many hotels and inns here, providing a place for merchants from abroad to stay.

But now, all of that is in the past.

The cash crops that the local residents of Airuma were once proud of, such as mangoes, peanuts, sesame, olives and grapes, could no longer be grown after the river was lost and the land became desertified, and have now been abandoned.

The somewhat dilapidated stone houses stand in the desolate desert, with sandstorms blowing and making the iron signs clang loudly.

A group of poor people, barely clothed and starving, hid in the shade under the eaves to escape the summer heat. But looking at their listless appearance, they were no different from a group of walking corpses. They seemed to be alive, but they were better off dead. They were just barely surviving in this world.

Amidst the endless sandstorms, a man in black robes stepped into this gradually dying oasis city.

His black robe was embroidered with red clouds at the hem, and his hood covered most of his face, making it impossible to see his exact features.

As Yang Ming remotely controlled Captain John, one of the six puppets, into the city of Airuma, perhaps because few outsiders had entered the area in recent years, he could feel the subtle gazes of those around him.

Some of the starving natives, their eyes gleaming like those of hungry wolves, secretly followed Captain John, trying to knock him unconscious and steal his valuables.

Of course, these ridiculous acts of robbery were no challenge for Captain John, who dealt with them in no time; it was merely a trivial incident.

The city of Eluma was not large, and after turning left and right, Captain John finally found the revolutionary army's base there.

This is an unremarkable hotel with peeling paint on the exterior walls, a crooked sign, and lettering that is extremely blurry from sun and rain, making it impossible to tell what kind of shop it is.

When Captain John entered the hotel, the hotel owner was sitting at the front desk, one hand propping up his cheek, his eyes half-closed, seemingly dozing off. Hearing footsteps outside, he opened his eyes alertly, noticing the man's unusual attire, and immediately became more alert, asking:

"Welcome! Are you planning to stay overnight, or would you like a room for a few hours?"