One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

A chill permeated the cave, the nearly collapsed mountain was stabilized by solid ice, and General Aokiji was conjured by Robert.

Redfield gave Robert a wink, then transformed into a swarm of bats, sweeping up Karina and Padon and heading out of the cave.

Robert directed Aokiji to follow, reinforcing the cave with ice along the way, but he himself didn't rush out. Instead, he grabbed Robin, who had been conjured up earlier and hadn't disappeared yet.

"Summarize and tell me the details of the fruit inheritance recorded in this ruin..."

Just before the cave completely collapsed, Robert appeared out of nowhere.

The island, which was originally covered in dense forest, is now engulfed in flames, with shells constantly raining down from the sky, causing violent explosions.

With the mountain no longer obstructing his domain, Robert's domain instantly spread out to sea.

"It's the Navy, it's... the Buster Call!"

Redfield smiled and said, "Protect Karina and Padon. I'm looking forward to trying out my new power."

With his cloak unfurling and transforming into bat wings, Redfield flew toward the warship on the sea.

Padon conjured a hot air balloon-like vehicle, and the group floated into the sky. The shells aimed at them were intercepted by Robert in advance.

Hovering at a height beyond the reach of artillery fire, the group simultaneously turned their gaze toward the naval warship.

There, a crimson shadow was moving back and forth.

Robert then realized how much Redfield had held back during their fight. Even disregarding his newly acquired Devil Fruit ability, Redfield's physical skills alone made him a formidable opponent capable of taking on the Four Emperors single-handedly.

Each strike was imbued with domineering power, tearing out streaks of red and black lightning that ripped through space. Amidst the crisscrossing sword energy, the warships were as fragile as paper toys.

Robert narrowed his eyes. He had always felt that no matter how strong any Devil Fruit user was, they would be unable to cause him any real harm.

After all, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit is so fast that as long as he keeps moving and attacks from outside the melee range, he can remain invincible. Furthermore, Armament Haki cannot be applied to his flying slashes.

But now he realized that Armament Haki does require a physical body, but Conqueror's Haki does not.

A true powerhouse uses Observation Haki to lock onto their landing point in advance. An attack imbued with Conqueror's Haki strikes, and even elemental transformation cannot prevent the damage.

Unless you keep increasing the distance yourself and keep hiding hundreds of meters away while giving someone a gua sha treatment.

Karina and Padon, each holding a monocular telescope, were utterly astonished.

"Teacher is amazing! Is this the power of that Devil Fruit? I'm starting to regret it."

Robert looked on with longing: "It's not that this Devil Fruit is strong, it's that Master himself is strong enough. The fruit just helped him regain his youthful state."

"One cannot possess youth and the understanding of youth at the same time, but now Master has both the body of his peak years and the combat skills honed over the years, which is why he is twice as strong."

Robert wanted to record the scene of him single-handedly defeating the Buster Call fleet so that he could show it to Robin repeatedly in the future and help her completely desensitize herself to her childhood nightmare.

Redfield sank all the warships, seemingly still not satisfied, but he did not finish off the fallen navy, and flew back to the island on his own.

Robert and his group lowered the hot air balloon, and Redfield, chin held high, asked, "Did you understand?"

At this point, answering whether you understand or not is wrong, so Robert asked instead, "Master, several people have said that I don't have the aptitude for Conqueror's Haki. Does that mean I'll never be as powerful as you?"

Redfield narrowed his eyes: "The aptitude for Conqueror's Haki? Anyone who can say something like that must have never experienced hardship since childhood. Ignore him."

Robert's eyes lit up: "Isn't Conqueror's Haki said to be something that only appears once in tens of thousands of people?"

Redfield strolled along the beach with the group as if taking a leisurely walk, casually answering, "If Conqueror's Haki is a talent, doesn't that mean some people are born with it? Have you ever heard of a baby exuding Haki that makes the adults around them tremble?"

Robert shook his head thoughtfully, and Redfield continued, "Conqueror's Haki is a way of imposing one's own spirit on others. It is no different from the principle of Observation Haki, except that it is more domineering."

"Therefore, as long as you establish your own ideals and beliefs and remain steadfast in them, one day you will definitely be able to use them as weapons to compete with others. The reason why it is said that tens of thousands of people cannot find one person with Conqueror's Haki is simply because most people in this world cannot firmly uphold their own beliefs."

Robert's eyes grew brighter as he listened. No one was more steadfast in their ideals and beliefs than himself, a proletarian fighter who had joined the Party in college.

Conqueror's Haki is the ultimate weapon in the world of One Piece. Without it, you can't even get into the final rounds, let alone become a Yonko's right-hand man.

So what I need to do next is to strengthen my ideals and beliefs. As for how to implement them, the central government documents have explained it very clearly.

Redfield called Padon over: "I have to leave for a while, and Padon will come with me."

Robert was taken aback: "Master, why don't you believe us?"

Redfield sneered, "I just don't believe you, kid."

Karina chuckled to herself as she hid to the side. Redfield turned to look at her, his gaze softening. "This Devil Fruit is indeed very important to me, but Robert's consideration is also correct. Karina, you lack the means to protect yourself, so I will take Padon to find you the most suitable Devil Fruit."

Robert perked up immediately. This old man was knowledgeable and experienced, and he definitely had more ways to find Devil Fruits than Robert himself. Moreover, he was so strong that few people in the world could hurt him. He was the perfect person to help Karina find Devil Fruits.

Seeing Robert's delighted expression, Redfield's face darkened again: "Your training isn't over yet. When I return, I require you to have at least mastered the binding of Armament Haki or an advanced development of Observation Haki. Otherwise, don't say you were taught by me."

Robert was full of confidence. He had countless ideas for developing Haki in his mind, and he just needed to spend some time trying them out.

Karina wanted to come along, but Redfield said that he wouldn't even bring Padon along unless he needed to use Padon's abilities.

Watching the two ride away on the large bird, Karina felt a deep emptiness in her heart.

"Now it's just the two of us again. What should we do next?"

Robert noticed her disappointment and smiled, saying, "Do you remember what excuse you used to lie to those Indians the first time?"

Karina: "Help them advertise?"

Robert gazed intently at the sea, realizing he had found a cheat code as powerful as Padong, but it had been temporarily requisitioned by his master.

The next step, of course, is to continue collecting cheat codes, since who would complain about having too many trump cards in their hand?

"It was Uta, you said you could hold a Uta concert."

"Next, we need to find a way to get close to Uta and trick her into joining our team!"

Karina's expression was strange: "Why did you lie? I really do know Uta!"

Chapter 16 Strategic Planning

Robert decided to refrain from using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power to travel for the time being.

Firstly, Karina was firmly opposed to it; ever since she had experienced being elementalized and teleported at high speed, she had vowed never to go through it again.

Secondly, Robert himself also wanted to relax for a while. Since entering the world of One Piece, he had been busy like a beast of burden every day. Now he finally had nothing to worry about, so he could slow down and take a break.

The Ark Proverb is a good ship; it doesn't need to worry about the complex environment on the sea, and it can easily pass through areas like the Calm Belt that ordinary pirates fear.

But when it came time to actually set sail, Robert and Karina chose a single-masted sailboat and, just like on their first voyage, installed an electric propeller.

It's simply because the Ark Maxims are so conspicuous.

A giant spaceship made entirely of gold. Robert doesn't need to do anything else when traveling on it; he can just stay on the ship. If it stops at any port, it will instantly attract countless bandits.

Karina was enthusiastic about normal boating, and her previous experience rekindled her original dream.

No one is born wanting to be a liar. People go down the wrong path either because they are unwilling to work hard or because they have no other choice.

"So you mean you not only know Uta, but you're also her mentor?"

While marking the nautical chart, Karina proudly said, "Yes, before, in order to gain Raleigh's trust, I spoke with Uta on the phone right in front of him. You don't think I hired a shill, do you?"

Robert rammed the boat's main mast with his back like an old man doing his morning exercise. Karina was afraid he would break the mast, so she specially asked someone to reinforce it with sheet metal.

"Isn't Uta supposed to live in seclusion, only revealing her voice? How did you come to know her?"

Karina said proudly, "Because I'm a very famous songstress. I sing under my real name. You haven't heard of me, have you? Even the Golden King Tesoro invited me to sing at his entertainment center!"

Robert had always assumed that Karina had come to Tezzolo on her own to steal his money, but he never expected that she had actually been invited aboard by Tezzolo.

"Oh dear, I'm from a small town, I've never heard of big stars like you. Since you know Uta, that makes things easier. Let's head out and invite her now!"

After getting to know Robert, Karina understood his character. Although he was powerful, he was easygoing and had principles in his conduct, so she no longer spoke indirectly like she had when they first met.

"Boss, Uta has only just come of age and is very naive. You wouldn't be trying to trick her into doing anything illegal, would you?"

Robert looked at Karina with a strange expression: "You're a fraudster, what gives you the right to worry about others breaking the law?"

Karina flew into a rage: "Who's the conman? I'm a Robin Hood! I only swindle the ill-gotten gains of bad people, I never lay a hand on good people."

Robert curled his lip: "Robbing the rich to help the poor is what makes a chivalrous thief. You swindled money from bad guys but didn't share it with the poor. You're just a conman with some principles, okay?"

Karina gritted her teeth and glared at Robert: "Go find Uta yourself, or I, this liar, will sell you out."

Robert laughed loudly: "No way, I'm a pirate and you're a liar. We're in cahoots. If you don't help me, who will? Don't worry, I'm not looking for Uta to harm her. On the contrary, I'm looking for her to protect her."

Karina looked incredulous: "She's doing just fine now, while you're the one in all this trouble. Are you looking for her to protect her or to drag her down with you?"

Robert's tone turned serious: "Uta's Devil Fruit ability is very special. Before, she was not famous and did not attract much attention. Now, as she becomes more and more famous, quite a few people have noticed her. Rather than waiting for her to be discovered and used by others, it would be better for us to take her away and protect her first."

Karina frowned: "Is Uta also a Devil Fruit user? How do you seem to know everything? I'm getting more and more curious about your identity."

Robert looked inscrutable: "Never mind how I know, just tell me if any of my previous predictions have come true."

Karina frowned: "It's true... Never mind, you're right. Even if Uta doesn't have a Devil Fruit ability, with her current commercial value, someone will come looking for her soon. Those bastards don't care about morality. I'll feel more at ease if I keep her by my side."

Robert smiled broadly: "That's right! We need to build a strong team. I'll be the captain, you'll be the navigator, and when Master brings back the fruit, he'll be the strongest fighter. We'll also have Padong as our mascot. All we're missing is a musician!"

Karina scoffed, "That's too blunt. Even if you were to suggest finding a helmsman or a shipwright, I think that would be more important than finding a musician."

Robert pursed his lips and remained silent. In truth, it was less about finding Uta to protect her and more about finding a bodyguard for Karina.

The current time is the calmest time on the sea. Once Luffy and his crew set sail again, the whole world will be plunged into a huge vortex of chaos.

I may seem carefree now, but I actually have many plans that I must complete in the next two years, so that when the world is in chaos, I can establish a base for myself and my friends that will remain unaffected.

There are many things I'll have to do myself from now on. If my master hasn't found a suitable Devil Fruit for Karina after a year or two, I won't be able to keep her by my side indefinitely. So I need to find her a bodyguard to put my mind at ease.

As for Uta, who has the fighting power to destroy the world single-handedly, I'll have to win him over sooner or later anyway, so I might as well make a move now and give Karina a bodyguard.

Ah San has now been sent to the White Group for protection. Before he sets off alone again, he needs to enroll Karina in a childcare program.

The island where Uta lives is called Aregia, which was once a world-renowned music kingdom, but it was destroyed more than a decade ago and has yet to recover.

Karina designed the route, while Robert was only responsible for cooking, training, and repelling pirates.

The two traveled as if on a leisurely journey, without deliberately pursuing speed. When they encountered islands with unique scenery, they would even stop and rest for a few days. It took them more than a month to cross the Red Earth again and return to the Paradise stage.

Just as Karina was figuring out how to get to the East Sea, Robert sighed, fearing that his leisurely days were coming to an end.

He put down the newspaper he had just bought. Nearly three months had passed since the Marineford War, and the changes in the naval leadership that he had been following closely had finally come to an end.

First, there's Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Even though he killed Whitebeard and more than a third of his pirate crew in one battle, the Marine Headquarters was completely destroyed, the Marines suffered heavy casualties, the main culprit Ace escaped, he was humiliated by Blackbeard in front of the whole world and was forced to resign from the Seven Warlords, and was ultimately threatened by Shanks to stop the war. So many messy things happened that someone had to take the blame for.

As Fleet Admiral, Sengoku's resignation was inevitable, but this time Garp did not resign because of Ace's death.

After that, the position of marshal remained vacant. Robert kept a close eye on the newspapers and finally received definite news today.

The newspaper prominently featured the headline "New Fleet Admiral – Aokiji" on its front page.