One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

There are too many strange legends about the sea, so the group didn't take the printed book that Robert took out, which looked like a children's fairy tale, seriously.

Robert picked up another nautical notebook and lowered his voice, saying, "This one is a summary of the voyages of the Pirate King Roger, compiled from various materials I've gathered over many years of sailing. I even risked my life to talk to former crew members on his ship and finally confirmed one of the most important pieces of information!"

Just as Burgess was getting into the exciting part, Robert's cryptic questioning caught him off guard, and he couldn't help but ask, "What news? Why are you stammering like that?"

Robert said, word by word, "Roger once came to Jaya specifically, but his purpose was not the gold, but a piece of the Poneglyph that Shandora keeps!"

Blackbeard, who had been nonchalantly chugging his drink, suddenly paused, narrowing his eyes at Robert: "The Poneglyphs aren't anything special. I have no interest in learning about history, unless..."

Robert continued, "Unless this Poneglyph can help you conquer the seas and become a true overlord!"

Blackbeard slammed the bottle down on the table: "Do you know what this historical record says?"

Robert shook his head: "If I knew the contents, would I have risked falling from the sky to my death to go see it? I only heard from Roger's crew that after Roger saw this Poneglyph on the Sky Island, he muttered to himself: 'Pluto shouldn't be discovered; it should be forgotten.'"

Upon hearing the words "Pluto," Blackbeard could no longer remain calm. He abruptly stood up: "You mean there's news of Pluto on Skypiea!"

Robert, with a morbidly excited expression, said, "I have studied ancient scripts and traveled all over the world in order to find ancient weapons. I have not only searched for information about Hades, but also about Poseidon. As long as I can see those historical texts, I can find for you the invincible ship that is said to be able to destroy everything!"

Robert wasn't sure if Blackbeard knew that Aquaman was a person, and not some kind of ship that he could completely control, so he told a little lie and swapped the contents of the Skypiea and Alabasta Poneglyphs. In any case, Blackbeard definitely hadn't seen either of those Poneglyphs.

Blackbeard laughed loudly, "Tsk, hahaha! Good, good, good! What's your name!"

Only now did Robert finally feel completely relieved. Although Blackbeard seemed to have agreed to let him join the crew, he hadn't even asked for his name!

Robert had no doubt that if he didn't bring out a core competency that no one else could replace, they would kill him without hesitation once they had squeezed all the information out of him!

But now, Robert has given Blackbeard a reason to bring himself along! Deciphering the Poneglyphs!

Anyone with the ambition to dominate the seas must possess the ability to decipher the Poneglyphs. Later in the story, Blackbeard even went so far as to offend Big Mom in order to kidnap her three-eyed daughter, Pudding, to decipher the Poneglyphs!

"Robert De Niro! Just call me Robert!"

Blackbeard excitedly reached across the bar and patted Robert on the shoulder: "Robert D. Neru! We really are destined to meet, both of our names have the letter D in them! Remember me, my name is Marshall D. Teach, the man who will rule this sea! Tsk hahahahaha!"

The remaining people also introduced themselves, and only then did they understand Blackbeard's attitude and truly accept Robert.

Robert dared not relax for a moment. Joining the Blackbeard Pirates was only the first step. Although it was already extremely dangerous, it was only an entry-level difficulty compared to the plans to come.

Just as Blackbeard was considering how to continue deceiving this group of dangerous pirates, he suddenly smiled mysteriously:

"Now that you've joined us, why don't you introduce your Devil Fruit ability? You used your Devil Fruit ability when you were choosing the apple, right?"

Chapter 22 Hindsight is always 20/20

Robert didn't show any emotional reaction to Blackbeard's question, but he was quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Robert was surprised to find out that he had cheated when choosing apples. Although it was beyond Robert's expectations, it was not a very important mistake.

What truly troubled Robert was whether or not to continue lying about having eaten a Devil Fruit.

"Captain has a good eye. I am a Food Person who has eaten Food Fruit. I can conjure up the food I need most in the current environment."

Blackbeard frowned, then relaxed: "I don't seem to see this ability in the Devil Fruit. It sounds very similar to the Devil Fruit ability of an old friend."

Robert was not surprised at all. Blackbeard had seen the Devil Fruit encyclopedia, otherwise he would not have known about the existence of the Dark-Dark Fruit and would not have been able to recognize it at a glance when the fourth division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates obtained it.

However, it is speculated that the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia does not record all Devil Fruits, and such a peripheral ability that he made up would most likely be ignored even if seen.

Moreover, since he was making it up based on real Devil Fruits in the story, he wasn't worried about being exposed on the spot.

Blackbeard chuckled and said, "I'm curious, what was your original plan if we hadn't shown up?"

Robert said confidently, "I had my eye on the Straw Hat crew back in Alabasta. They have the ability and the drive to give everything for their ideals, so I've been setting traps for them for a long time."

Blackbeard said, "You have a very high opinion of them."

Robert replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, how could an ordinary guy help me achieve my ambitions? I've already written the script for them. They'll arrive in Jaya soon, and then they'll hear the story of the Golden Land that I deliberately conveyed to them. After that, they'll be led to the side of the descendant of the great liar Roland. That person has a deep understanding of upwelling currents and has people around him who can modify ships. He'll help the Straw Hat crew successfully land on the Sky Island!"

Van Augur said with a smile, "Another cunning fellow. If Lafayette were here, he would definitely like you."

Robert couldn't show that he knew everything about Blackbeard's crew, so he simply avoided the topic.

"So, Captain, everyone should stay put for the next few days and wait for my plan to take effect. As long as we follow them, even if the plan to storm the Sky Island fails, we can still wipe out the Straw Hat crew on the spot. No matter how you look at it, we won't lose out, right?"

Blackbeard stood up and said noncommittally, "Pack me 50 cherry pies."

Robert was slightly taken aback, but he didn't say anything more. He simply turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Back when Robert came out to negotiate with the group, he had already instructed the Indians to start making cherry pies with all their might. At this point, all the ovens were working at full capacity, and many had already been set aside.

Robert glanced at the Indian man, hesitated, and ultimately said nothing more, simply picking up all the cherry pies and walking out.

Blackbeard picked up the cherry pie and said with a smile, "What you've said is making me a little itchy. Would you mind if I went to test the Straw Hat crew's magnanimity?"

Robert thought to himself: It seems that the famous scene of the meeting of the two kings is bound to happen eventually. I wonder if it is the world itself correcting its inertia.

"Of course I don't mind. If you find that they are not as useful as I said, just kill them."

Blackbeard beckoned a few men to head out of the tavern: "Go find your own fun, but be careful not to disrupt Robert's plans."

Only after all four figures had disappeared outside the door did Robert realize that he was drenched in cold sweat.

I hadn't felt the intense tension just now, but now that I've suddenly relaxed, I feel completely exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Ah San came out of the kitchen: "Sir, shall we continue making cherry pie?"

Robert waved his hand: "That's it. Go out and find someone to keep an eye on the docks. If Bellamy and his gang of hyenas dock, come back and tell me immediately."

Bellamy's ship had already arrived in Jaya long before the Straw Hat crew did, as shown in the story. When Luffy and his crew wanted to stay at an inn, the inn had already been booked by the Bellamy Pirates.

Therefore, by keeping an eye on Bellamy, one can roughly estimate the landing time of Luffy and his crew. If it weren't for today's consultation with the Blackbeard Pirates, Robert really wouldn't have planned to interfere with the main characters' storyline in the slightest.

But now he has directly influenced Blackbeard's perception of the Straw Hat crew, letting them know their worth in advance. Robert is really afraid that his little butterfly effect will prevent Luffy from going to Skypiea.

In this way, Robert had no choice but to closely monitor the main characters' every move and bring all the content that deviated from the plot back on track.

The Sky Current has an absolutely precise timing; in the story, from the time Luffy and his crew landed on Jaya to the time they sailed out to sea and reached the Sky Island, it only took half a day and one night.

The Indian man's words interrupted Robert's thoughts: "Sir, are you talking about Bellamy the hyena with the 5000 million bounty? They landed this morning, didn't they?"

Robert was taken aback. Recalling how Blackbeard and the others turned and left to go about their own business, he felt a jolt in his heart. Could Luffy and his crew be arriving soon?

He had no time to think about anything else; he just wanted to get to the dock as soon as possible to keep watch himself.

I had just stepped out of the tavern when I bumped into someone.

Robert had 15 points of stamina and 16 points of strength at this moment, but when he collided with this person, he did not gain any advantage at all, and his body involuntarily fell backward.

Just as he was about to fall to the ground, several arms suddenly reached out from behind and caught him.

Robert's heart pounded. When he looked at the person he had bumped into, he was shocked to see a tall woman with black hair and eyes, wearing a cowboy hat.

"Excuse me, I saw posters of your shop all over town, so I came to ask you something, but it seems you're not open today."

If she has black hair and black eyes, is seven or eight centimeters taller than a 1.8-meter-tall man like myself, and has the ability to freely control the growth of arms from the ground, then if Robert can't guess that the woman in front of him is Nico Robin, he might as well give up.

"Haha, we were doing a thorough cleaning of the store before, and now that it's almost lunchtime, we naturally need to get ready to reopen. Please come in, miss."

Robin smiled and nodded, then followed Robert into the store. The Indian man saw his boss rush out the door just moments before, only to return with a beautiful black-haired woman. He assumed the boss had gone out specifically to pick someone up.

Without Robert giving him a signal, he had already consciously gone back into the kitchen.

"What would you like to eat?"

Nicole Robin smiled and shook her head: "I just happened to be passing by while shopping for clothes. I heard that this pub is the biggest in town, so I thought I'd come and ask around. I hope that's not too presumptuous of me."

Robert smiled and shook his head: "It's alright, everyone who walks through our door is a guest. What information would you like to inquire about?"

Robin cut to the chase: "Boss, do you know about Skypiea?"

Chapter 23 Smuggling is not so easy

Robert looked on with longing: "Sky Island, I've always wanted to go see it, but I'm sorry, miss, I haven't heard anything about Sky Island from any of the customers in the shop."

Robin looked slightly disappointed: "Is that so? Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you."

She got up to leave, but Robert suddenly stopped her: "Wait a moment."

Robin turned around in confusion and saw Robert take out a map and hand it to him.

"Although I don't know anything about Sky Island, there's a strange man living on the other side of Jaya Island named Montblanc Kreikate. He's a man who talks about his dreams all the time and has been searching for the golden land his ancestors spoke of for many years. The people in town don't really like him. Don't waste your time in Magic Valley Town. The town is full of nasty guys who have lost their dreams. Go and try your luck with that strange old man. If there's still anyone on Jaya Island who believes in the existence of Sky Island, I think it's only him."

Robin's eyes lit up. She took the map and gave Robert a sweet smile: "Thanks, boss. You're such a kind person."

Robert didn't mind being given a "friend zone" card for no reason; all he wanted to do now was push the plot forward like crazy.

Ah San poked his head out from the kitchen: "Boss, the pretty girl from earlier left? Why didn't you invite her to stay for dinner...?"

Robert completely ignored the question: "Didn't you say Bellamy and his group arrived a while ago? I have a task for you..."

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Robert didn't go anywhere for the rest of the time. Instead, he spent the whole day in the kitchen cooking, adjusting his mindset in the way he knew best.

A loud voice burst through the kitchen door: "Hey! Robert! How can you still be cooking here! Didn't you say that the Straw Hat crew would follow your orders?! They never came back after they went to sea, you know that!"

Robert glanced at Bagges, who was barely peeking out of the small kitchen door even though he was hunched over, and smiled as he wiped the grease off his hands.

"Don't worry, I've already arranged everything."

Stepping out of the kitchen, there were still several tables of pirates drinking on the first floor. The entire Blackbeard Pirates had arrived, and Robert led them upstairs.

As soon as he entered the study, Burgess couldn't help but exclaim, "You weren't just bragging all this time, were you? The Straw Hat crew went out to sea this afternoon and haven't come back yet. Let's hurry up and chase after them; we should still be able to catch up with them!"

Robert remained calm, turned to Blackbeard, and asked with a smile, "Captain, have you assessed their magnanimity?"

Blackbeard burst into laughter: "Tsk, hahaha! They really are a very interesting bunch, just as you said. I haven't been this happy in a long time. I really hope to hunt them down soon!"

Robert nodded: "Don't worry, Captain, everything is going according to plan. They didn't go out to sea and never come back. I lured them to a place where I can help them modify their ships and reach the sky island. The sky has been overcast since dusk. According to my observation, the clouds connecting the sky and the sea are starting to condense near Jaya. The time to make our move is tomorrow morning!"

Bages said hurriedly, "Then let's set off quickly! What if they don't come back and go straight to the sky? Let's go follow them now!"

Robert waved his hand to signal him not to rush: "Don't worry, I sent someone to cause them some trouble. The Straw Hat crew will personally inform us what time we set off tomorrow morning."

Bagges hated Robert, that kind of ambiguous, effeminate man, and was so frustrated he wanted to punch him.

Robert completely ignored Burgess and turned to Blackbeard, saying seriously, "I called you all here so late to discuss how we can sneak onto the Skypiea with the Straw Hat crew tomorrow!"

If it were just Robert alone, he would have considered whether he could take advantage of the gap when the Straw Hat Pirates went to capture the Compass Bird and Bellamy's crew defeated the Creeper crew who were modifying the ship, and hide in the lower deck of the Going Merry to safely board the ship.