One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

"Grandma He, how could you say that to me? I work very hard, it's just that I'm not good at writing reports. That's why I was looking for a subordinate who could help me with the copywriting work. If you can't even give me this much face, then I won't submit this month's report."

Lieutenant General Tsuru glared at him, annoyed. "It's not just this month's report; you didn't submit last month's either. The month before last was written by Sentomaru, utter nonsense..."

Seeing Vice Admiral Tsuru bringing up old grievances, Kizaru quickly begged for mercy: "I really am very busy. That bastard Sakazuki just left without a word, and Kuzan is now Fleet Admiral. All their tasks have fallen on my shoulders. How can I have time to write reports? I heard this kid is also from the North Blue. He's my fellow townsman. Ask him to help me, at least to get through the year-end summary."

Robert became wary. He was now in the North Sea, and Kizaru was also from the North Sea, but he had never been to the North Sea.

That is a problem. If I have too much contact with Kizaru, I might actually give myself away.

Perhaps sensing that Vice Admiral Tsuru was somewhat interested, Kizaru continued to persuade him: "Besides, he's a newcomer. How can he join the General Staff and get access to the Navy's most confidential intelligence right away? At least let him stay by my side for a while to gain experience and let me test him before transferring him to headquarters. That way, no one will gossip, right?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru narrowed his eyes and weighed the options. Although Kizaru was notoriously lazy throughout the Navy, his intelligence and emotional intelligence were among the highest.

A person who looks very smart may not be truly smart, but a person who pretends to be stupid all day long, seems muddleheaded, yet manages to become a high-ranking official, must be a smart person.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that Kizaru is here today is very suspicious. He has never interacted with Robert, yet he came specifically to ask for people based solely on the rumor that he can write reports. Vice Admiral Tsuru can't help but think about this.

“He certainly can’t join the General Staff directly. He’ll have to be sent to Zefa for basic training. Here’s what we’ll do: during his basic training, he can help you with some low-class report writing. This is my biggest concession.”

A smile spread across Kizaru's wrinkled face: "Thank you so much. Please say hello to Instructor Zephyr, otherwise, given his personality, he probably won't let the recruits take on extra work during training. Robert... what's your rank now?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru smiled and said, "During the recruit training period, all new recruits to the Navy can only be corporals. If we send him to Zephyr with a higher rank, I'm afraid Zephyr might develop some issues with him."

Kizaru nodded: "Then I'll just call you by your name, Robert. You're now under the command of the Marine Headquarters Science Unit. I'll have Captain Sentomaru contact you later."

After saying that, Kizaru transformed into a broadcaster and disappeared from the office without hesitation.

Vice Admiral Tsuru shook his head: "Don't be surprised. The navy is full of guys who are all brawn and no brains. A strong new recruit may not be sought after by his superiors, but a recruit with good writing skills is a rare resource in the navy."

Robert smiled and nodded. He explained that after graduating from university, he first studied for the postgraduate entrance exam and then studied for the civil service exam on his own. He encountered setbacks repeatedly before finally embarking on the path of becoming a chef.

A student who failed his college entrance exams, placed in the world of One Piece where cultural literacy is low, suddenly became a prodigy with exceptional writing skills. He has to thank the environment for the opportunity it provided.

Lieutenant General Crane picked up a transfer order from the table. It was clearly prepared in advance. He made a few changes to it and handed it to Peacock.

“Zefa’s new recruit camp has already received a batch of young naval personnel transferred from the Four Seas Naval Branch since last month. You can only join the class now. Peacock, go and take him there.”

Robert originally chose Zephyr, who was known as the best teacher in the Navy, as his initial purpose in joining the Navy was to systematically learn the Navy's physical techniques and dual-color Haki.

But now that he has Redfield, a master with top-notch skills on the high seas, there is no need to switch from one-on-one small group lessons to Zefa's class.

"Lieutenant General, how long will this recruit camp training last?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru sternly said, "What? You look down on the Navy's recruit camp? Admiral Zephyr's teaching is something many people dream of. Former Navy Admiral Akainu and Kizaru, who just took you away, were both his students. Many of the Navy's well-known and skilled fighters learned from his recruit camp. Go there obediently, that's an order!"

Robert quickly put aside his ulterior motives. Military training it was. With his current strength, he would surely stand out among the new recruits soon. It would be best to accumulate some prestige as well, which would be more helpful in carrying out his plan.

Seeing that Robert's attitude was proper, Lieutenant General He smiled again: "The recruit camp is a closed facility. Should we make a few phone calls to let them know we're safe?"

Robert had intended to say that he was all alone and had nothing to say, but suddenly a thought struck him, and he felt as if he had forgotten something.

"Uh, I really need to make a call. If the recruit camp stays closed for a long time, I'm afraid my friends will get worried if they can't find me."

Seeing that he openly admitted to having someone to contact, Vice Admiral Tsuru felt a little more at ease. He picked up a general-purpose Den Den Mushi from the table and said, "Use this to make the call. This is the only Den Den Mushi in the naval base that can make outgoing calls. Make the call right here."

He could cut off contact with others, but Karina was still hooking up with Uta. He and Luo had been plotting for over a month, completely forgetting to check on Karina's progress. Karina must be furious.

Karina wasn't wanted by the authorities, and she had never had any connection to his identity before, so Robert wasn't worried that talking to her would reveal anything.

"Hey Karina, it's me, Robert De Niro!"

By preemptively revealing his pseudonym, he believed that Karina, with her intelligence, would surely understand his hidden meaning.

"Oh, isn't this the great hero Robert who just joined the Navy? Why do you have time to talk to an insignificant nobody like me? You didn't even glance at the messages people left for you before."

Robert's heart skipped a beat. Had Karina left him a message in the newspaper?

But he hadn't read the newspaper for over a month, and he really didn't expect Karina to get things done so quickly.

The peacock, mimicking Karina's tone, teased, "I..."

Karina quickly picked up on the voice, and the Den Den Mushi's simulated face changed: "Well, Robert, so you've been leaving me and Uta here without a care, turns out you've found someone new!"

Peacock not only offered no explanation, but her eyes also gleamed with excitement at making a scene: "Is it any of your business? I'm his comrade-in-arms, who are you?"

Karina shouted, "I'm her mother!"

Chapter 3 Godfather Robert Arrives at His Faithful New Recruit Camp

When Karina said she was Robert's mother, everyone was stunned for a moment, except for Robert, who had a wry smile on his face.

This kind of talk may seem like a jealous woman saying something in anger, but in reality, it's a way of implying to herself that she has figured out the situation, while also forcing herself to accept the loss and cooperate with her.

"Kalina, don't misunderstand. I'm at Naval Headquarters. Next to me is my superior, Granny Tsuru, and my comrade-in-arms, Peacock, who will be taking me to my new unit."

Robert gave the two of them an awkward smile and explained in a low voice, "She's my girlfriend, she's a little petty."

Karina snorted, "I'm not petty. You just be your naval hero. I'm going to go with Uta to prepare for the concert."

Robert pretended not to know: "What naval hero? And what's with the concert?"

Karina asked in confusion, "Were you locked up? You don't even read the newspapers? You're famous now. I thought you were going to distance yourself from us after becoming a hero. You're a great hero who protected thousands of civilians from evil pirates."

Robert gave Vice Admiral Tsuru an inquiring look, and Vice Admiral Tsuru smiled and said, "The Navy needs to respond to emergencies as soon as possible, so we issued an announcement immediately after you agreed to join the Navy."

Karina continued, "As for me, you don't need to worry about me. Uta is very willing to put on a concert with me, and Teacher and Ah San also happen to have time to accompany us."

Redfield practically kidnapped Catarina Devon right in front of him. With Padon around, it would be a sure thing for Blackbeard to materialize the Dog-Dog Fruit and take her Nine-Tailed Fox form.

So now that Redfield is with Karina, Robert can guess what's going on, but what's with the Indian guy?

Karina was trying her best to convey as much information as possible to him in a jealous tone, and Robert could only pretend to be clueless and ask.

"Is Ah San here too? We haven't seen each other in ages. How has he been lately?"

Karina said sarcastically, "He's definitely not doing as well as you, but he's a big boss now, running a chain of restaurants that's thriving. He's the title sponsor of this concert. You should just stay and be your supporter. We need to work hard too, at least so you don't feel like we're holding you back."

Robert chuckled and said, "I need to undergo several months of intensive training. Once I finish basic training, I'll immediately ask for leave to go see your concert. Uh, the concert can't be starting anytime soon, can it?"

Karina threatened, "We'll prepare for three months and do some pre-concert promotion. The venue is currently set in Dressrosa, the land of love and passion. If you can make it, I can save you a ticket. If you're going to miss my first concert, then you don't need to come at all."

The call was abruptly ended. Lieutenant General He smiled at Robert: "The recruit camp has days off every month. If you save up three months' worth of days off, you should be able to make it to your girlfriend's concert."

Robert nodded vigorously, and Lieutenant General Crane waved his hand with a smile, indicating that Robert could go.

The sudden appearance of a powerful figure with a clean background in the Navy's sights inevitably arouses suspicion. However, he has a girlfriend and a complex and multifaceted network of relationships. This girlfriend is even about to hold a concert, which reduces the suspicion against him by a level.

As they walked out of Lieutenant General Crane's office, Peacock asked gossipily, "Your girlfriend has quite a temper."

Robert said irritably, "Isn't it all your fault for stirring things up? We used to have a great relationship."

Peacock pouted: "Come on, I'm not deaf. It's obvious you haven't spoken to her for a long time. By the way, your girlfriend's name is Karina, is she the famous singer I'm thinking of?"

Robert was surprised that even Peacock had heard of Karina's fame: "If there aren't so many songstresses with the same name, then the one you're thinking of must be her."

Peacock exclaimed excitedly, "I never expected you to have such an amazing girlfriend! How did you two meet?"

Robert deliberately didn't explain, which made Peacock anxious and scratch her head. Seeing that he was deliberately keeping her in suspense, she quickened her pace in a huff.

Karina's few words revealed a lot of information. For example, Uta had been persuaded by her, and even the redhead who had been secretly watching over Uta's safety should at least have tacitly approved of it. That's why she confidently informed her that they were going to hold a concert.

Secondly, Redfield has returned to her side. With Redfield and Padon around, and Karina having most likely already eaten a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, plus Uta's own powerful Devil Fruit ability, she has absolutely no need to worry about their safety.

Finally, there was news about Ah San. Karina knew how much she valued Ah San and always addressed him by his full name, Luo Li. However, on the phone just now, he specifically used the name Ah San, which was unique to him. There must be something he wanted to convey to her, but Karina couldn't think of it at the moment.

However, judging from her description, in the past six months, Ah San's business should be doing very well. If he can really take advantage of this sponsorship of Karina and Uta's concert, the scale may be expanded to another level.

Finally, there's the choice of venue for the concert. Dressrosa is a very sensitive location. If it weren't for my previous conversation with Karina in the Sabaody Archipelago, choosing it as the venue could be attributed simply to its bustling atmosphere.

But Robert had promised Karina a grand scheme, that she would replace Doflamingo as the emperor of the underworld. So, the purpose of choosing this location for the concert must be more complex than that.

Because of her anger towards Robert, Peacock didn't even follow Vice Admiral Tsuru's orders to send Robert to the recruit camp. Instead, she used internal naval communication channels to call a ship that transported recruits and let Robert go there on his own.

Robert hadn't really intended to curry favor with Peacock, so he politely waved to her and left by boat. Seeing him leave so decisively, Peacock's anger intensified, and she wanted to whip something to vent her frustration.

Zefa's recruit training camp was on a huge warship. The troop transport ship sailed for more than a day before catching up with it in some uninhabited sea area.

No one came to greet him. Robert flew up to the deck with the transfer order in hand. The first thing he saw was a tall old man with a round, dumpling-like hairstyle.

"Kid, it's very impolite to use Observation Haki to observe others."

Robert was somewhat surprised. Ever since he awakened his Observation Haki, he had gotten into the habit of using it to scan around first, but this person was the first to clearly detect that he was being observed by Observation Haki.

Robert was quite familiar with this old man; just a few months ago, the two were locked in a life-or-death struggle at Marineford. He was none other than former Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

Robert nodded politely but firmly and then explained, "I believe that being constantly vigilant is a fine quality of a navy officer. Please forgive me if I have offended you. I am here to attend the recruit training camp. May I ask who you are?"

Zhan Guo squinted and stroked his beard, looking inscrutable.

“I’ve heard He mention you before. I happen to be free of official duties and spending my days on an old friend’s ship, so I thought I’d come and see you.”

Robert nodded seriously: You're a really nice person, so high and mighty without any airs of authority.

Chapter 4 I'll Test You

Zhan Guo was quite taken aback by Luo Ba's words, but considering that the kid's background was that of a gangster, he could understand why he wasn't very well-mannered.

"You really don't recognize me?"

Robert smiled and said, "How could that be? You're a former Fleet Admiral, everyone knows you. It's just that I only saw you in the newspapers dressed formally, and now you're in casual clothes, so I didn't realize it."

Sengoku felt that he and the boy in front of him were incompatible from the start, so he waved his hand and turned around to signal him to follow behind him.

With Sengoku's reminder, Robert stopped using Observation Haki to scan other places and instead secretly used electromagnetic induction to learn about the structure and distribution of the ships.

The ship was as big as an aircraft carrier, with a hull covered in thick iron plates and a flat, wide deck. There were now more than forty new recruits standing on it, their heads covered in sweat.

Upon seeing Zhan Guo return, a one-armed, purple-haired old man turned his head and glanced at him: "Is this the transfer student that He sent?"

Robert stepped forward, saluted, and said, "Robert De Niro, a new recruit in the Naval Science Unit, reporting for duty!"

Although he wasn't wearing the iconic Seastone prosthetics, Robert immediately recognized the resolute-looking old man as the Navy's Chief Instructor—Black Arm Zephyr.

Zephyr nodded in satisfaction: "You look quite energetic. The data shows you're also a Devil Fruit user. Go get a pair of Seastone bracelets and put them on."

Robert wasn't surprised; Redfield had used this training method before. He obediently walked to the equipment rack next to him, picked up a bracelet, and put it on his left wrist.

Despite having half his power sealed away, Robert remained unfazed, a look of satisfaction appearing in Zephyr's eyes.

“Grant, you arrived more than a month earlier than him, teach him the rules for newcomers.”

A young man with a red mohawk walked up to Robert with an unrefined air: "During training, you can't take off the Seastone restraints, you even have to wear them while you sleep."

Robert nodded. Devil Fruits are a way to become stronger, but the body is the foundation of strength. Once people have shortcuts, they easily neglect the fundamentals. Therefore, limiting shortcuts while training the fundamentals is a very scientific approach. Robert had already figured this out when Redfield was training him.