One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

Robert chuckled softly, "I want you to protect Karina for a while."

Chapter 20 To Become an Immortal, Riding a Crane to Fly to the Heavens

Karina was momentarily confused as to whether Robert was deceiving Uta or herself.

Before coming here, Robert told himself that the goal of this trip was to recruit Uta, but when he got here, he didn't mention it at all. Instead, he immediately asked Uta to protect him.

She has been swindling people for years and considers herself an absolute master at distinguishing truth from falsehood.

When it came to Robert, Karina had absolutely no confidence in seeing through him. First of all, he came from a family with a long history of swindling, and he had even brought out a swindling manual that had inspired her.

Secondly, since meeting Robert, he has deceived countless people. In his most recent scam, he even used his own life as bait to fool the entire navy.

She really couldn't figure out what Robert was plotting this time, and could only rack her brains trying to keep up with Robert's train of thought.

Uta thought Robert would make some outrageous request, such as asking her to use her Devil Fruit powers to help him fight some enemy, or asking her to sing to help him make money. To her surprise, Robert's first request was to protect Karina.

"Why do we need to protect Karina? Is she in danger?"

Robert gave a wry smile: "Didn't Gob tell you I'm a very dangerous man? Karina is with me, so she's bound to get dragged into danger by me, and she's just a powerless singer..."

When Uta heard Robert openly admit that he was a dangerous person, she simply thought he was very honest, and the last bit of doubt in her heart vanished.

"Sister Karina is my good friend. You don't need to ask me; I will definitely protect her, but..."

Uta seemed to realize something, tilting her head as she asked, "You're so strong, you could easily defeat Gob, so why didn't you protect Sister Karina yourself? Couldn't you handle those dangers?"

Robert waved his hand and said, "No, it's just that I have some important things to do, so I can't always have Karina with me."

Karina's eyes widened: "What do you mean? You're going to leave me here and go?"

Uta was very sensitive to being abandoned, and when she heard Karina ask this question, she looked at Robert with a serious expression.

Robert smiled helplessly: "What do you mean by leaving you here? I've already told you that I'm going to join the Navy, so you'll stay here in Uta for a while until Master comes back."

Karina's breathing quickened: "I don't have any criminal record. Can't I join the Navy with you? Our teacher left, and now you're leaving too?"

Robert gave Uta an apologetic smile: "Um, could we talk alone for a bit?"

Uta nodded and walked a short distance away. Robert put his arm around Karina's shoulder and whispered in her ear:

“The plan has changed. The person Shanks sent to protect Uta just spoke ill of me. If I continue to approach Uta and invite her to join us, it will definitely backfire. So, the task of getting her on board can only be left to you.”

Karina looked at her suspiciously: "So your plan is to leave me here and go join the Navy?"

Robert clicked his tongue: "I can only appear to have a clear conscience by leaving immediately. Your task during this time is to make good contact with Uta and then find a way to persuade her to go to sea with us."

"As for me, I need to infiltrate the navy before you set sail so that I can mobilize official resources to ensure your safety at sea. You and Uta are both world-famous songstresses, and countless thugs are eyeing you. I can't just focus on getting Uta to join without considering her safety, can I?"

Karina remained suspicious, but couldn't immediately find a flaw in the logic, so she could only mutter angrily in a low voice:

"How long do I have to wait here? I can't really wait until the teacher comes back to find me, can I? Are you lying to me? You just want to get rid of me, right?"

Robert looked heartbroken: "How could that be? I wish I could be with beautiful women every day, but the Navy is probably going to have a major recruitment drive in a month at most. This is my best chance to get into the Navy."

He patted his chest and said, "Give me three to five months. With my abilities, I can definitely become a high-ranking officer in the navy in six months at most. When that time comes, I'll bring warships back to pick you up."

"Uta has a big secret. Putting everything else aside, just getting past Shanks to lure her out to sea will be difficult. Don't think I'll still be struggling to win Uta over even after I've become a Marine Admiral."

Karina was skeptical, but upon reflection, she realized that Robert had gone to great lengths to recruit her and had tried every means to help her improve her strength; he certainly had no reason to abandon her.

"Alright, if I convince Uta, how can I contact you? After you join the Navy, will it be inconvenient for you to answer Den Den Mushi?"

Robert quietly instructed, "We'll contact you by publishing information in the newspaper. As long as you publish a message about your clean energy company startup in the investment section of page three, I'll contact you as soon as possible. The larger the amount you're offering, the more urgent it is."

Karina thought this novel way of communicating was actually quite feasible: "Alright then, I don't know why you insisted on joining the Navy. Actually, isn't our situation pretty good as it is..."

Robert gave a wry smile: "We're relatively safe for the time being, but in less than two years, things will get chaotic at sea, so everything I'm doing now is to prepare for our future self-defense."

“Now we have to rely on others for everything we do. Even if we let the Indians do some small business, they can’t do it without a powerful backer. So next, I want to really get a piece of land that belongs to us.”

Karina completely agreed with this point. Even powerful figures like Kaido and Big Mom would manage their own territory; otherwise, they would only be relatively strong pirates, not emperors.

Robert continued, "But finding territory is easy; the key is how to protect it. Without matching military strength, the better the territory develops, the greater the hidden danger it becomes. And the protective force I plan to acquire can only be obtained from the navy."

Karina smiled and said, "Alright, you go and take care of the territory and security. I'll do my best to handle the rest, like Uta. I'll make sure she joins us willingly."

Robert's tone became serious: "Uta is very important in my plan. I value her abilities, not just to use her power to pull people into illusions to protect our business. Bringing her on board is the most important part of my next series of plans."

Karina asked suspiciously, "What exactly do you want to use her for? You're not really going to do anything illegal or disorderly, are you?"

Robert squinted: "Creating a god!"

Chapter 21 Why don't you contact me first, my friend?

A yellow-painted submarine slowly surfaced, its hatch opened, revealing Luo's helpless face.

"Can't you just give up for a while? It's only been three months. Are you looking for me to do something big again?"

Robert smiled and pointed to his face: "How could that be? I just missed you, okay? Can't you see I've turned over a new leaf and have a completely new look? Robert D. Nelo is dead. The man standing in front of you now is Robert De Niro, a righteous man who aspired to join the Navy since childhood."

Luo was practically exasperated: "Then I'd like to ask Mr. Robert, a man of justice, what do you want with a filthy pirate like me?"

Robert looked aggrieved: "Aren't we friends? Won't you invite me to sit in your cabin?"

Luo curled his lip: "We've never been friends, we were just business partners before."

Robert casually put his arm around Luo's shoulder: "Isn't the cooperation still going? I haven't finished what I promised to help you with, so the cooperation hasn't been terminated yet. We're still partners!"

As Robert spoke, he casually put his arm around Luo's shoulder and led him into the submarine cabin, seemingly determined to stay on the ship no matter what.

Luo gritted his teeth and said, "Remember who you are. You can only be Robert De Niro now. Bepo is still living in fear because he was implicated in your faked death last time."

Robert smiled mysteriously: "I would have done it anyway, even if you hadn't told me. After all, the reason I came to you this time was to market my identity."

The two entered the cabin, and amidst the puzzled gazes of the Heart Pirates members, Law gave a brief introduction:

"This guy's name is Robert De Niro, he's a... friend of mine... Everyone, get back to what you were doing."

Robert was overjoyed to hear the word "friend," but Robert glared at him and followed him into the captain's cabin.

"What is it that you can't say on the Den Den Mushi, you bastard? Wait, you said you wanted to join the Navy! You're not trying to use us as bargaining chips, are you?!"

Robert sat on the sofa with an air of authority: "Don't joke around. What kind of grudge do I have with the Navy? If capturing you and handing you over to the Navy could settle things, I'd probably be an admiral by now."

Although Luo was very angry, he also knew that his net worth was not even enough to be used as a bargaining chip.

“We have important business to attend to. It’s already a great favor that we’ve gone out of our way to see you. If you really just wanted to see us, now that you’ve met us, you should hurry up and leave.”

Robert asked excitedly, "What are you guys busy with? Are you going to start dealing with that person? You asked me for help before you even started, why didn't you come to me first?"

Luo coldly uttered two words: "Secret."

Robert grinned like a fox: "Let me guess, you're not planning some big event as a stepping stone to becoming a Shichibukai, are you?"

Luo Mingxian's pupils contracted, and his wariness of Luo Ba deepened considerably.

Robert had the shortest career among the Supernovas of his generation, yet he was the most valuable. Ironically, everyone in the Sabaody Archipelago had fought him, and none of them were his match.

More importantly, although he seems carefree and irresponsible, all the things he plans to do are earth-shattering events, and so far, nothing he has ever failed to accomplish has fallen through.

A person's reputation precedes them; as long as Robert doesn't make a mistake, his cunning will always be something everyone fears.

Seeing his alarmed expression, Robert smiled and comforted him, "Hey, we're friends. You just want to be a Shichibukai, right? What's there to hide? Of course I'll help you."

Law lowered his voice and said, "How did you know? Even in our pirate crew, only a few core members know about my plan."

Robert said mysteriously, "Don't worry about how I know. Just know that I can help you achieve your goal."

Luo took a deep breath: "No need, I can do it myself. You're the kind of person who won't do anything without a reason. I don't trust you to come to my door for help for no reason."

Robert said aggrievedly, "How can you say that about your friend? What good will it do me to scheme against you? Tell me your plan, and I'll give you some advice."

Luo snorted: "It's nothing more than finding a powerful pirate, defeating him, and handing him over to the Navy. That's exactly what Blackbeard did."

Robert shook his head: "It's too crude. What kind of person did Blackbeard hand over to the Navy? He was the son of the Pirate King Roger. The Navy only agreed to Blackbeard's request because they thought Ace could attract the old man and were confident that they could keep this Yonko."

"Who is your target? Kaido or Big Mom? Oh my god, could it be Shanks?!"

Luo sensed Robert's sarcasm: "Even if I'm incredibly overconfident, I wouldn't challenge a Yonko so soon. So what do you suggest I do?"

Robert counted on his fingers: "The only people who can make you a Shichibukai after defeating them are either strong enough or have a sensitive identity."

"Although there are countless powerful individuals on this sea, even if you defeat any expert, the Navy may not pay you any attention. So, the main thing is the identity of the person you're using as leverage."

"Going to the Lower Shichibukai Gecko Moria, who was just removed from the World Government's list, could count as defeating him, but I don't think you'll be able to find him."

"Blackbeard, who just slapped the Navy in the face and voluntarily withdrew from the Seven Warlords of the Sea, can be considered one of them, but it's not that I look down on you, you really can't beat him."

"The Whitebeard Pirates... Fine, even if it's for my sake, you can't lay a hand on them, right?"

"Then the only ones left are Crocodile, who escaped from Impel Down, and Jinbe, who voluntarily withdrew from the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Which one do you think you can easily defeat?"

"Oh, by the way, Bucky the Clown has made quite a splash in Marineford. Capturing him might impress the Marines, but I don't actually recommend taking action against him, because he's the only one among these people I can't see through."

Luo was driven crazy by this analysis: "Alright, stop analyzing. You're making it sound like I can't beat anyone. Did you come here just to mock me?"

Robert chuckled and said, "How could that be? I already said I was here to help you. Apart from Blackbeard Teach, we can easily take down any of the rest of them if we join forces. The biggest problem is that we can't find them."

Luo was indeed somewhat tempted. He absolutely acknowledged Luo's strength, and if they could truly join forces, they could actually take action against a target they hadn't dared to consider before.

"However, I have an even simpler suggestion."

Luo sneered, wanting to see what Luo Ba was really up to.

"If focusing on quality is so troublesome, why don't we try focusing on volume?"

Chapter 22 I'm sorry, Dad.

Luo looked puzzled: "What do you mean by 'volume'? You don't mean you want me to go out and catch tens of thousands of worthless, rotten fish and shrimp, do you?"

Robert dared to assert that Robert now definitely had a clear goal, but he was just keeping it from him and pretending to be stupid.

"What if there were hundreds of powerful New World pirates? Each of them would be worth over 100 million, like the Supernovas of previous generations. A single one might not impress the Navy, but as long as there are a lot of them, it would be enough to prove your strength."

Law curled his lip in disdain: "My own bounty is only 200 million Berries. You want me to capture hundreds of pirates with bounties over 100 million Berries? Do you want me to die even faster?"

Robert smiled and said, "So we need to plan a big melee so you can fish in troubled waters."

Luo gave him a knowing look: "I knew you were going to cause trouble again. I'm sorry, I can't play along."

Robert pressed his hands down: "Let me finish speaking first. I'll do all the preliminary work. You just need to wait to reap the rewards. Is that alright?"