One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

He lived for nearly a thousand years. Even if his other abilities didn't improve, the total amount he accumulated in terms of domineering aura, which can be improved simply by playing for a long time, was astronomical.

Robert was only in his early twenties, had been in the pirate world for only three years, and had been training in Haki for less than two years.

Even though his Observation Haki vaguely sensed where Im's fist was going to hit, and he gathered Armament Haki in advance to defend against it, he only felt his internal organs shift under Im's overwhelming power.

But he held onto Im's arm tightly, even when his thumb and forefinger were torn from the struggle, he refused to let go.

Im continued to look down. It wasn't an illusion. There were indeed four hands grabbing his arm. Two of them grew out of Robert's body, while the other two seemed to come from the void.

Those were two slender, long women's arms, with a healthy wheat-colored complexion; in short, they were clearly not Robert's.

But these arms extended directly from Robert's abdomen, pressing down on Im's arms, which were being tightly restrained by Robert. The grip was neither too light nor too heavy, as if touching Im was her primary objective.

Im felt a chill run through his body. He had lived for so long and had once been a frontline warrior. Although he had been hiding in the flower garden all these years, he had never neglected his cultivation.

Of the three types of Haki, Observation Haki was so well-trained that it became as natural as breathing, allowing him to perceive everything around him at all times, including his own situation.

These two arms touched his body without causing any pain or itch, but Im felt as if he had lost something extremely important. It was as if being touched by these hands was more terrifying than being hit by Robert.

Im unleashed his maximum amount of demonic energy, and the woman's hands loosened as if scalded by boiling water, quickly retracting back into Robert's body.

Everything Robert had just done seemed to be just to buy himself a chance to touch Im. After she let go, he immediately pulled away and rubbed the spot where Im had hit him, wincing in pain.

Im disappeared into the darkness again, but Robert no longer wandered around aimlessly like a headless fly. He simply deactivated his elemental form and stopped floating in mid-air.

The moment he released his elemental form, Robert's body suddenly plummeted toward the sky to his right. Robert quickly adjusted his posture, and soon his body began to move erratically in the darkness, like a roller coaster, until Robert's feet once again touched solid ground.

Robert smiled and said, "This smoke bomb is quite interesting. It not only blocks my vision and senses, but also misleads my sense of direction. I thought I was moving upwards, but I couldn't escape your palm. I must have been trapped in a maze."

Im's voice came from all directions: "What did you do to me?"

Robert shrugged: "It's nothing, I just stole a few things from you."

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Aokiji gathered all the Navy forces in the New World at headquarters, and even abandoned the defense of other outposts.

"Marshal, those pirates keep clamoring outside. Are we really not going to go out and fight them?"

Momousagi looked frustrated. She had been promoted to admiral two years ago, and since then she hadn't fought a single battle that went smoothly.

As a senior vice admiral, Momousagi's military skills are beyond question, and her ability to sit in the position of admiral without any controversy as the first in line is indeed worthy of this position.

When she first became a general, Momousagi was determined to prove herself by achieving something.

Most people within the Navy agree that she deserves the position of Admiral, but there are always some dissenting voices who say things like: she got the position because of her relationship with Vice Admiral Tsuru, that her strength is not even worthy of carrying the shoes of the top three Admirals, and that the Navy only brought her up to make up the numbers because they had no one else.

Momousagi herself admitted that the previous three admirals were indeed too amazing in strength, and that she was definitely not as good as them.

She disagrees with the claim that she rose to power through nepotism, and in order to prove herself, she quickly became the most hardworking of the three generals.

With Kizaru habitually slacking off and Fujitora's江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) ways of doing things, Momousagi has become the busiest and most dedicated admiral in the Navy over the past two years.

What frustrated her was that either she was winning battles easily, or any experienced lieutenant general could have won them.

Either she encountered an opponent who was too strong, and even other generals might not have been able to win, but she happened to be the one who lost, such as when she met Robert in the Sabaody Archipelago.

This led to even more rampant rumors that she had risen to her position through connections. Momousagi often wanted to go crazy and shout, "That's Robert! Even Akainu can't beat him. What have I, Momousagi, done to deserve this?"

So she could only work even harder to get revenge on the other pirates.

The situation at sea has been incredibly volatile lately. All the veteran naval experts have gone to Dressrosa to capture Raleigh, Kizaru has led a large force of naval personnel to Onigashima to confront Robert, and Fujitora has been sent out to pursue the newly crowned Yonko, the Straw Hat Pirates, who are now almost at Elbaf.

Momousagi was ordered by Aokiji to stay and guard the Marine Headquarters, but now some audacious pirates have actually come to attack. Aokiji, however, chooses to stay inside and let them hurl their insults.

"Is it still just Bucky the Joker showing up?"

Although Momousagi was annoyed that Aokiji was ignoring her question, she still chose to answer the admiral's question first:

"Yes, he really did look like a clown, blocking the sea in front of the gate and putting on a ridiculous show."

"One moment he was shouting and got choked by the wind, the next he slipped and fell to the ground, rolling around..."

"His soldiers were furious, feeling that he was humiliating them and laughing at them for being cowards..."

Aokiji nodded: "Although the Cross Guild has just been established, we in the Navy know best what kind of strength the Seven Warlords of the Sea are. Putting aside Buggy the Clown, Hawkeye, Crocodile, and Boa Hancock are all top-notch fighters."

"Even Gecko Moria, who was removed from the list due to his lack of strength, was only weak in his mentality, not in his fighting ability."

"With such a group of people, Mihawk is brave, Crocodile is resourceful, and Bucky has a captivating charm, they are truly a formidable foe."

"They dare to block the door of the Navy Headquarters, they must have something to rely on. Right now, most of our forces have been sent out to deal with other pirates. Before we know the enemy's plans, closing the door and defending is the best approach."

"Remember, war isn't about who wins the battles, it's about who wins in the end!"

Chapter 68 Good luck! Good luck! (Continue!)

Bucky lay on the deck in despair, his body aching and completely weak, cursing incessantly.

Among the members of the Cross Society was a veteran pirate who had followed them since the Buggy Delivery days. He proudly introduced the newcomer to the group:

"Don't be fooled by Lord Hawkeye's superb swordsmanship, Lord Crocodile's invincible Devil Fruit ability, Empress Boa Hancock's unparalleled beauty and domineering presence, or Lord Moria's countless immortal legions."

"But the core and the symbol of our Cross Society still has to be Boss Bucky! No one else would dare to block the gates of Navy Headquarters and start cursing, right?"

"And look, the boss has been faking falls and bumps to provoke Aokiji into a fight. That's blatant mockery!"

"If you, Aokiji, won't come out and fight, I'll cripple myself on the deck first, hahaha!"

Bucky was on the verge of tears. He wasn't pretending to be paralyzed on purpose. In just a few hours, he had fallen seventeen times on the deck, been hit by bird droppings seven times, and even had trouble breathing and the wind would get into his eyes!

He really had a terrible time!

Just half a day ago, Robert brought a tall, slender woman who looked unhappy to Bucky:

Bucky! My best brother!

Bucky looked at Robert with suspicion: "You're always so eager to see me, it's never anything good..."

Robert looked indignant and resentful: "How could you say that to me? Every time I come to you, it's with good news!"

"They'll either give you money, land, or help you advance your social status!"

"Tell me, without me, could you have become a Shichibukai so easily? Could you have become one of the Four Emperors so smoothly? Could you have first occupied a base of Dressrosa-level strength, and then taken over Whole Cake Island without shedding a drop of blood?"

Bucky remained silent. It seemed that everything Robert said was true. Bucky asked himself honestly, and although he always felt that he had been tricked by Robert, in the end, he had actually gotten a great deal from him.

The money he used to run Buggy Express was borrowed from others; his achievement of becoming a Shichibukai was a gift from others; and his territory as one of the Four Emperors was essentially obtained by stealing from others' territory.

Upon realizing this, Bucky's tone softened: "Robert, my good brother, don't be angry. I was just making a harmless little joke with you."

"So, tell me, what good news have you brought this time?"

Robert said with a serious face, "You've become one of the Four Emperors now, what do I have left to offer? This time, brother, I have a favor to ask of you."

Bucky's eyes widened instantly. To be honest, if Robert came to him like he had done before, claiming he had something good to give him, he would be on high alert.

After all, Buggy is now one of the Four Emperors. Although he knows his own worth as one of the Four Emperors, he is quite enthusiastic about being a puppet emperor. At least to outsiders, he is a genuine emperor.

So now Robert doesn't really have any leverage to sway Bucky, but asking him for a favor is a different story.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow conducted a systematic study of human needs and summarized a pyramid model with five levels.

Once people's most basic physiological needs are met, they begin to raise their need for safety. After safety is met, they begin to pursue love and belonging. Above these three levels is the need for respect, and the highest level of need is cognition.

Bucky now lives a very comfortable life. As one of the Four Emperors, he has no worries about safety. As for love and belonging, he already feels a strong sense of belonging to such a large organization as the Crusaders. Bucky can get all of the first three levels of his needs met.

Therefore, he is currently at the fourth level of the needs pyramid, which is the extreme desire for respect.

To outsiders, he has achieved great success, but none of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who co-founded the Cross Guild treat him like a human being.

Needless to say, Hawkeye and Crocodile beat him up every time they were in a bad mood to vent their anger, and even after the Empress joined, she still despised him to the extreme.

Even Gecko Moria, that stray dog, dared to bully Buggy when he saw the others disrespecting him.

It's fair to say that if Bucky hadn't been naturally optimistic, anyone else would have had a mental breakdown long ago after enduring such oppression and bullying.

Now that Robert has taken the initiative to come to Bucky for help, this is more precious than any gift he could receive. Bucky doesn't lack any gift, and he might even feel that it's a handout from Robert. What he lacks is respect!

Especially since Robert is now recognized as the strongest of the Four Emperors. Even if Hawkeye, Crocodile, and Boa Hancock were all combined, they wouldn't be as powerful as Raibu.

The strongest of the Four Emperors took the initiative to come to me, without seeing anyone else, specifically asking for my help. What does this mean?

This shows that Bucky is stronger than everyone else!

Bucky didn't even listen to what Robert needed him to do, and simply slapped his thigh and made a decision: "What do you need me to do! Just say it, bro!"

Robert held up two fingers: "First, I need you to take some men and block the gates of the Navy Headquarters. Don't let any Navy personnel provide support elsewhere!"

Bucky's legs went weak and he slumped into a chair: "Brother, I heard that Aokiji doesn't give people a quick death when he kills them. He freezes them in ice and slowly tortures them to death."

"If you want my business, just ask and take it. Why bother using Aokiji to kill me?"

Robert grabbed him and said, "Look at you, when have I ever harmed you? If I knew it was suicide, would I let you go?"

"When I asked you to help me stop the Big Mom Pirates, I said I only needed to stop them for a day or two. It's because you're so strong, brother, that you managed to take down more than a dozen of their big ships."

"We've been through thick and thin together, so I'd be the first to object to anyone trying to harm you. I'm not asking you to come out of retirement to confront Aokiji, but rather to give you a great opportunity to make a name for yourself!"

"Believe me, as long as you surround the Navy Headquarters with the Cross Society, Aokiji will definitely avoid battle within three days, at most sending out a rear admiral-level navy officer to deal with it."

"When the time comes, just tell your men to train with you. If there's any sign of trouble, just turn back."

Bucky looked puzzled: "Hey bro, it's not that I don't trust you, but you're really going a bit too far these days, aren't you?"

"It was one thing to have insider deals with the Four Emperors before, but now they're even having clandestine dealings with the Navy?"

Robert wore a mysterious expression: "Of course, I actually have another identity. I am the disciple of two teachers, Sengoku and Zephyr. I would say I am Aokiji's junior brother."

Bucky's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. He really wanted to yell at Robert for his unbelievable claims about the Green Bull without thinking, but then he remembered that every seemingly incredible thing Robert had said before had come true, so he swallowed his doubts.

Bucky looked at Robert's still-held two fingers and tentatively asked, "If the first thing is this difficult, what's the second thing? You're not going to make me help you conquer Mary Geoise, are you?"

Robert smiled and shook his head, saying, "No need for that. Mary Geoise has already been razed to the ground. News of it will arrive soon."

"Brother, what I'm about to do is extremely dangerous and requires a lot of luck. And you are the luckiest person I've ever met in my life."

"So the second thing I'm asking of you is to borrow your luck!"

Chapter 69 You're in for a world of trouble!

Bucky lay on the deck of the Giant Blast, mentally cursing every organ of Robert from head to toe.

After berating Robert, Bucky started berating himself.