One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

He simply took off his suit and leather shoes, and in front of everyone, he magically put them into his prop space. Wearing only his underwear, he boldly jumped into the river.

Ace was startled and was about to speak up to stop them, but he was immediately grabbed by the hands and feet and thrown into the river.

The moment he entered the water, Robert realized something was wrong. He had always thought that Devil Fruits were afraid of seawater, but it turned out that they were not even afraid of seawater!

All his strength seemed to be drained away in an instant. Robert felt his limbs were weak and limp, and there was a strange force that seemed to be dragging him frantically into the water!

If he hadn't been killed by Blackbeard, but instead drowned in a small ditch, he would have really lost face. Robert forced himself to remain calm and held his breath.

I quickly checked my attribute panel: Strength 16, Agility 15, Stamina 15, Spirit 10.

Robert's mind raced. These attributes were his normal level 6 attributes after deducting the bonus attributes provided by the Devil Fruit. Although they were half of the maximum, he should not let himself become so powerless.

The negative effects of Devil Fruits must be much more severe than described on the panel. The body, which could float on the water as long as it was relaxed, is now sinking.

He estimated the strength he could muster and realized it was definitely less than 16 points. He couldn't even complete a simple paddling motion; he could only sway weakly a few times.

Robert struggled to retrieve the Wind Shell roller skates from the prop space. With his last bit of strength, he pressed the protruding top of the shell, unleashing a powerful gust of wind. The reaction force even ripped a long gash across Robert's chest, along with the metal plate from the sole.

Robert used all his strength to hold onto the shoe tightly, and it finally lifted him out of the water.

Taking deep breaths, Robert dived back into the water. The current was so strong that Ace was swept away.

He no longer bothered to pretend he didn't know who Ace was, and using the Wind Shell to float on the surface of the water, he opened his mouth and shouted, "Ace! Ace!"

But no one in the river agreed, clearly indicating that Ace, who had also eaten a Devil Fruit, was in no better situation than Ace.

Robert first used the wind-blown shell to climb ashore, regained some strength, and then quickly headed downstream to search.

He wasn't worried about Ace drowning, but at least he encountered a character from the story, and yet he lost him in such a short time.

After struggling in the river for only a minute or two, Robert completely lost track of Ace. He only regretted that he hadn't awakened the Mind Network like Enel.

He tried hard to recall the scene where Ace chased Blackbeard, and how he was rescued from the river by a cow-herding girl named Morda.

Later, after the Kingdom of Lulusia was completely destroyed by Im using ancient weapons, this girl joined the revolutionary army.

Robert decided to stop searching for Ace along the river and instead ask someone for directions to Morda's place.

A scream rang out, and Robert turned around to see a middle-aged woman shouting, "There's a pervert!"

Robert frowned. What kind of pervert could be so twisted as to attack an old woman who was so difficult to even swallow?

Suddenly it dawned on him: "Oh no, I've become a monster!"

He quickly transformed into an element and escaped far away, then took out his clothes from the space and put them on.

Having found out about Moda's dairy farm, Robert didn't dare delay and headed towards it along the river.

The little girl, Morda, was watching the calf drink milk on the grass when Robert quickly stepped forward: "Girl, did you see a man fall into the river?"

Moda looked up with a smile: "Is that your friend? I put him inside. Oh dear! You've injured your chest!"

Robert smiled dismissively and didn't rush inside to visit Ace. Before meeting his true love, Akainu, it would be difficult to kill him.

"It's just a minor injury, it'll heal soon. Thank you for saving my friend, kind girl, please take this money."

Robert pulled out a stack of Berries and handed them to Morda. If the plot were to unfold as it should, Ace would agree to deliver a letter for her to repay the girl for saving his life.

After arriving at the Navy G2 branch with this letter, they will encounter the Navy's secret escort ship catching fire.

Ace was a kind-hearted man. While rescuing people on the ship, he also brought out a piece of classified information, which contained details about the movements of Blackbeard's crew.

Therefore, the root cause of Ace catching up with Blackbeard, fighting him, being defeated and handed over to the Marines, and then triggering the Marineford War, leading to the extremely bad ending of the father saving his son, and the father and son ending up together, lies in the letter from the little girl Moda.

Robert really liked the character Ace and also liked Whitebeard, so he wanted to try to change the established plot in a more clever way.

How did I get here?!

Just as the little girl, Morda, was about to refuse Robert's money, she heard the voice and quickly turned around, exclaiming in surprise, "Oh, you're awake!"

Seeing that Ace woke up so conveniently, Robert wasn't discouraged. If he could just casually say something and ruin a major event like the Marineford War, that would be amazing.

Ace looked at Robert with astonishment: "You're actually alright?"

Robert was genuinely angry this time: "Dude, are you implying I deserve to die?"

Ace waved his hands repeatedly: "I saw you take off your clothes and jump into the river on your own, and I thought you had some way to avoid the fact that you can't go into the water because of your Devil Fruit. Who knew you would sink to the bottom as soon as you entered the water?"

Robert was filled with grief and indignation: "I just ate the Devil Fruit today. I had heard that you can't touch seawater after eating a Devil Fruit, but no one told me that I would feel weak all over if I touched fresh water."

Ace burst into laughter: "So this is your first time eating a Devil Fruit? Hahaha, that's pretty good. I had a much worse experience after I ate a Devil Fruit."

Robert liked Ace's straightforwardness and was about to ask him some questions about Devil Fruit development when he suddenly saw flames erupt from Ace's body and he instantly rushed in front of him!

Robert was somewhat prepared this time, and in a flash he appeared several meters away. Although Ace's speed was fast due to the fire recoil, even a level 1 lightning bolt couldn't match his speed.

Ace knew he wasn't as fast as him, but that chilling aura emanated from him again: "Now that no one's bothering us, can we talk about your relationship with Blackbeard?"

Robert scoffed: You used all your Conqueror's Haki on me. Why didn't you use Conqueror's Haki to suppress Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit ability when you fought him?

"I'm a black-hearted cook, and he has a black beard. We could be considered to be in a 'black-on-black' relationship, I guess."

Chapter 4 Distant Godfather?

Morda was puzzled by Ace's attitude and quickly stepped forward to persuade him: "Your friend cares about you a lot. He doesn't know that I have saved you. He has been looking for you with serious injuries. Look, his front is stained with blood!"

Ace was a little stunned, scratching his head as he adopted an aggressive demeanor.

Robert was caught off guard the first time. He was afraid of Ace who had captured him, so Ace's Conqueror's Haki suppressed his Devil Fruit ability and prevented him from using it.

Now, given his understanding of Ace, Robert's Conqueror's Haki is not only practically useless, but also practically nonexistent, which has given him more to think about regarding Haki.

Clearing his throat, Robert began to recount his complicated relationship with Blackbeard.

When telling Ace a story, you can't truthfully say that you joined the Blackbeard Pirates voluntarily.

So the story begins with him running a tavern in Jaya, where he served Luffy and his crew and introduced them to someone who knew how to fly to the Sky Island. As a result, Blackbeard forced him to lead the way to hunt down Luffy.

So he pretended to be compliant, feigned allegiance, and even burned down his beloved tavern to show his determination.

In the end, he not only helped Luffy reach Skypiea, but also used the power of the Skypiea dictator to severely injure Blackbeard.

Finally, after Blackbeard killed the owner of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit who ruled Skypiea, he stole the Rumble-Rumble Fruit from Blackbeard and tricked him into shooting him down from a height of 7000 meters.

Ace and Morda gasped in surprise as they listened. By the time the story was over, Ace had already considered Robert a friend.

"So you helped my stupid brother get to the Sky Island and even helped him escape Blackbeard's pursuit?"

Whether to play dumb or not, I'll still put on an act: "Little brother?"

Ace explained, "It's the Straw Hat Luffy you mentioned. How about that? That great pirate with a bounty of 100 million Berries is my younger brother. Pretty cool, huh?"

In front of Moda, Robert didn't expose that Ace was also a pirate, and that his net worth was equivalent to five and a half times that of his brother Luffy.

Surprisingly, Moda wasn't averse to pirates at all; instead, she looked on with longing: "Life at sea is much more interesting than raising cattle. With such a powerful younger brother, you must be very powerful too, right?"

Ace scratched his head and laughed, "I'm not that great. I still get thrown into the river, and I have to thank you for saving me."

When a Devil Fruit user falls into the water, they only lose strength, not instantly lose consciousness. Especially since Ace knew he would be in trouble after falling into the water, yet he still let himself be thrown into the river by some ordinary people without any resistance. Robert suspected that he must have something to rely on.

Moda waved her hand generously: "It was nothing, no need to thank me."

Just when Robert thought that Moda would naturally hand the letter to Ace and ask for his help, Ace's stomach suddenly rumbled.

"Oh, I'm so hungry. Um... I still don't know your name."

Since the attribute panel had already identified him as a member of the D clan, Robert simply introduced himself as Robert D. Neru.

"Hey Robert, didn't you say you were a chef? Hurry up and cook something, I'm starving."

Robert's food storage space is now empty, so he can no longer perform the magic trick of conjuring food out of thin air.

"Do I look like I'm carrying ingredients? Even the best chef can't just burn air for you to eat."

Mo Da smiled and said, "I still have some ingredients in my kitchen."

Robert didn't even ask what was in the kitchen, and simply replied, "Not enough."

Ace scratched his head and said, "Hey, didn't you just say you were rich? Why don't you go buy some?"

Robert feigned reluctance: "I haven't even settled the score with you for what happened at the restaurant. I could have just finished my meal and paid normally. I wouldn't have run away if you hadn't threatened me. You let me escape, but then you chased after me, caught me, and threw me into the river with you. Now you expect me to buy groceries and cook for you? Why should I?"

Ace puffed out his chest: "Aren't you being chased by Blackbeard? I can help you get rid of him completely, how about it?"

Robert hadn't intended to make things difficult for Ace; his goal was simply to curry favor with him: "Fine, you said it yourself. How are you going to help me get rid of his pursuit?"

Ace smiled confidently: "He's hunting you down, while I'm hunting him down! As long as I defeat him and bring him back to Dad, you won't have to live in fear of him coming after you anymore, right?"

Robert shook his head and said, "That won't do. Let alone whether you can beat him, even if you do defeat Blackbeard, there's always the possibility of Redbeard and Purplebeard appearing in the future. So, it's better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. I want you to teach me how to become stronger!"

Ace frowned: "What red beard and purple beard? Why don't you mention white beard?"

Robert argued, "Whitebeard? He's the strongest man on the sea. You can't even beat him, so how could you possibly teach me how to defeat him? Besides, I've heard that Whitebeard is a very good person. He has no reason to hunt me down, does he?"

Sometimes, praising someone doesn't necessarily mean praising them as a person; praising someone they care about can be more effective.

Especially since Robert seems completely unaware of the relationship between Ace and Whitebeard, he immediately boosted Ace's comfort level with just a few words.

"You've got some guts, kid. Do you know who I am? I'm the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates! Fire Fist Ace! How about it? Want to join me?"

Robert shook his head subconsciously. He really liked Ace and Whitebeard, and if given the chance, he would try his best to rewrite their fates.

However, it must be said that in the cruel world of pirates, the defeat of the Whitebeard Pirates was almost inevitable.

Whitebeard was 73 years old (by Chinese reckoning), already at a critical age. Even without experiencing the Marineford War, his body wouldn't have lasted more than a few years.

His adopted sons had been protected too well, and Robert saw none of them capable of taking on a major role after Whitebeard's death.

I could have had many better options, such as joining the navy and living a more conservative life.

Even the deserter Koby was able to go from being a complete scumbag to a naval hero in just two years. If you joined the navy, wouldn't you just become an admiral right away?

Even if one were to join a pirate faction, one could simply choose to join Luffy's crew.

Although Sanji already has the position of chef, Brook's initial strength is so average, his fighting system is highly similar to Zoro's, and his perverted character who loves to look at underwear is the same as Sanji's. Yet he still joined the group because of his identity as a musician.

I've already developed some rapport with the Straw Hat crew, and my fighting ability is no longer lacking. With my years of experience in the air force, it's not unreasonable for me to join their crew as a fisherman, right?

Robert wasn't a sophisticated egoist; he simply didn't want to board a ship destined to sink.

With his precognitive understanding of the plot, Robert felt he had a great chance of saving Ace, but it was simply too difficult to let Whitebeard live a few more years.

Judging from Whitebeard's actions during the Marineford War, he was clearly seeking death.