One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

A full-force kick imbued with Armament Haki knocked Mahabais unconscious, and his massive body fell straight into the water.

Rao G didn't care about anything else and quickly jumped into the water to grab his teammate. All his attention was focused on ensuring that his teammate, who had eaten a Devil Fruit, wouldn't drown, while also dealing with the bloodthirsty fighting fish.

Even the official gatekeepers were easily defeated by Robert, and the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt. Many contestants even chose to forfeit before falling into the water after seeing Douyu's fighting power.

Robert leisurely leaped above a fighting fish carrying a treasure chest on its back, casually opened the chest, and took out the Devil Fruit inside.

Diamanti showed no sign of frustration and continued his passionate commentary: "Dear viewers, the champion of the finals has been decided!"

"Let us congratulate the mysterious and powerful gatekeeper—the Celestial Venerable!"

Staff members began entering the arena with specially made tools to disperse the fighting fish and rescue the athletes who had fallen into the water.

Normally, the gladiatorial games are more interesting because of the deaths, but the situation is different now. The whole world's attention has been drawn to the concert, so the Don Quixote family has toned down their behavior to some extent.

Robert used Moonwalk to return to the door of the lounge, landed and went inside. His Observation Haki seemed to have detected something, but after Robert carefully examined the room, he found nothing for a moment.

Before long, Diamanti, the arena manager, handed over the outside affairs to his subordinates and came to the lounge where Robert was.

"Mr. Robert truly deserves to be called a hero of the Navy; his strength is indeed formidable."

Robert smiled and toyed with the Devil Fruit in his hand: "You flatter me, but can this fruit really be taken away as a trophy?"

Diamanti showed no sign of heartache: "Of course, our Kingdom of Dressrosa has always kept its word. Although Devil Fruits are very precious, the publicity brought by this month-long arena competition far exceeds the value of a single Devil Fruit. Not to mention that you are Miss Karina's friend. Even if this fruit is not a trophy, we would not hesitate to give it to you as a gift."

Robert flipped his hand and, as if by magic, put the Gluttony Fruit into his inventory. Seeing this, Diamanti's expression became slightly unnatural, but he quickly covered it up with a smile.

"Mr. Robert, the competition has just ended, and there is still a lot of work to be done, especially since the concert starts tomorrow and the ground is still damaged. I have to go out and make some arrangements. Please forgive me."

Robert politely rose to see him off, but Diamanti stopped him, saying, "Mr. Robert, please don't be so polite. Please rest here for a moment. Miss Violet will be here to pick you up soon."

Everything seemed normal, but Robert's vigilance was growing. Doflamingo had said he wanted to be turned into a toy in the arena, so his killer move should be coming soon.

However, Robert was completely fearless and wanted to turn himself into a toy, which could be done in one of two ways.

First, he assumed he didn't know Sugar's Devil Fruit ability and had her pretend to be a child to approach him.

The second is to use force to control oneself, allowing Sugar to forcibly transform one's inability to resist.

Regardless of Doflamingo's premise, given his own strength and familiarity with the plot, his plan is unlikely to succeed. Instead, he should take advantage of the information asymmetry between the two sides to get the other side to deliver Sugar, who has been under strict protection, to him on their own initiative!

The door to the lounge was pushed open, and Violet led a beautifully dressed and adorable little girl into the room.

“Mr. Robert, this is Princess Sugar from our Kingdom of Dressrosa. The little girl admires heroes the most, and she has been clamoring to meet you ever since she saw your heroic figure.”

Robert could barely contain his smile; the other party was indeed planning to eliminate him in the least costly way.

But he is omniscient and omnipotent. He knows almost everything about the characters who have appeared. He decided who the hunter and who the prey were from the very beginning of this hunt.

Sugar ran toward Robert with her arms outstretched, as if she wanted to give him a big hug.

Robert also stretched out his hands, but arcs of electricity were already surging at his fingertips.

Suddenly, Robert sensed an immense danger looming over him, which he attributed to his Observation Haki perceiving the Hobby-Hobby Fruit's power.

But the next second, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness washed over him. Robert was all too familiar with this feeling; it was the effect of the Seastone!

Robert reacted extremely quickly. Although his Devil Fruit powers were limited, his own strength was still formidable. He had to get away from Sugar first when he used his feet to exert force.

Unexpectedly, a flash of red light appeared before his eyes, and it seemed that his reaction had been completely seen through. Before he could even see the enemy's appearance clearly, Robert had already been thrown to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.

Sugar pressed her palm against Robert's chest: "Well done, Little Red. I thought you'd run away and never come back~"

Robert felt as if a flood of memories had been crammed into his brain. The names of his comrades that he had forgotten in an instant were all restored. Then, an even greater terror enveloped Robert's entire body, because he realized that he had forgotten more than just those three unlucky guys!

Robert's body was grabbed by something and he was quickly thrown out of the open door, leaving Sugar and Violet inside the room without even a chance to react.

Violet had completely forgotten about Robert's existence, and couldn't even recall the plans against him.

Sugar shrugged indifferently: "Take me back. Anyway, Miss Karina has nothing to hold her back now, so let them run away."

Robert, who was being held and flown, looked helpless. If someone had tricked him and caused him to fail, he would have been furious. But the person who ambushed him was someone he couldn't do anything about.

"Master, what exactly are you up to?"

Holding the red bat toy that Robert was flying, Redfield said in his voice, "Hey, don't interfere in Karina's affairs. She has her own path to walk."

"As for the fact that you were turned into a toy, that was also something I did intentionally."

"Your second phase of intensive training has begun."

The theme of this issue is—

"Conqueror's Haki!"

Chapter 15 Accidentally Entering a Wild Village

The Conqueror's Haki was so captivating that Robert was caught off guard and took a big bite of the pancake.

Redfield flew out of the arena and landed Robert on the top of a building.

"You've made some progress lately, noticing I've been following you several times."

Robert had a lot to say but didn't know where to begin. After thinking for a while, he finally managed to blurt out, "Master, how did you get caught in this too?"

Redfield's current bat form is chubby and adorable, with a wind-up ring on his back that he has to pull hard before flying.

Redfield showed no shame at all: "At first, I was caught off guard and that little girl used her ability to turn me into this state, but breaking her Devil Fruit ability is also simple. It can be easily solved with Conqueror's Haki."

In the later stages of the game, Conqueror's Haki is basically the key to the final rounds. It's essential for both attack and defense. No matter what Devil Fruit ability you have, as long as your Conqueror's Haki is strong enough, it can restrain you.

That's why Robert was so surprised that Redfield was also affected. Now, judging from what he's saying, it seems like he can undo Sugar's power at any time, which makes this matter quite intriguing.

"Then why do you still maintain this appearance?"

Redfield said in a flat tone, "What's wrong with this state? Nobody remembers your existence. Isn't that much more convenient than constantly using Observation Haki to hide yourself?"

Robert said with some anxiety, "Master, Karina is in great danger now. Doflamingo wants to deal with her, so he turned us all into toys so that Karina would have no one to rely on."

Redfield, however, remained unperturbed: "Didn't you guys actively try to scheme against Doflamingo?"

Robert was speechless. Redfield continued, "So what's wrong with this? Karina gets training and achieves your plan without relying on outside forces, and you also get the opportunity to train!"

Robert smiled wryly, “Master, I’ve set up everything. Everyone was just waiting for me to knock out Sugar so we could rise up and take down Doflamingo. Now you’ve turned me into a toy. My allies are going to be anxious.”

Redfield sneered, "What's the rush? They don't even remember you!"

Robert was speechless at the words, but upon reflection, he realized it was indeed true.

Now, neither Carina, who conspired with him to plot against Doflamingo, nor the high-ranking naval officers who sent him here, nor Law, whom he had summoned at the last minute, remember that he even exists.

Then all the plans and schemes you discussed with yourself will inevitably be forgotten.

Redfield said, "You asked me before if I had Conqueror's Haki. I can tell you definitively that you don't, and you haven't seen any potential for awakening it yet. Do you know why?"

Robert shook his head straightforwardly. If he didn't know, he didn't know. Rather than having his teacher reject his incorrect answers, he would rather admit that he didn't know.

"You are too calculating, too thoughtful, and always want to leave yourself an escape route in everything you do. You lack the spirit of forging ahead."

Robert gave a wry smile: "No way, Master. I finally made up my mind to rely on brute force this time, but you stopped me with an over-the-shoulder throw."

Redfield sneered, "No? Isn't that Luo your backup plan? You've never really believed you could win; I'm afraid you've prepared more than one backup plan."

Robert was lucky he was in toy mode, otherwise he would have been blushing furiously.

Redfield was absolutely right. He had long been prepared for failure, just as his watch was set to four o'clock. He had also made a promise with Law that even if he were turned into a toy by Sugar, he would have a way to remind Law of their plan.

"So put away those little thoughts. I'll go and keep an eye on Karina. You don't need to worry about her safety. Your only task now is to awaken Conqueror's Haki and break free from the shackles of this Devil Fruit."

Robert quickly reached out to stop Redfield: "Wait a minute, Master! Is this something that can be awakened just like that?"

It's impossible for Robert not to want to awaken Conqueror's Haki. If there's even a one in ten thousand chance, he'd be willing to put aside all his plans and focus solely on awakening Conqueror's Haki.

After all, everything he's planning now relies on external forces, while Conqueror's Haki is the foundation for victory.

But the situation now is different from when Redfield hired someone to beat him up. Back then, he received a mission and knew exactly what he needed to do to awaken Armament Haki.

But now there are no hints at all, and I have no clue how to awaken Conqueror's Haki. What if I don't find the way to awaken Conqueror's Haki in eight or ten years? Am I just going to stay in my toy state forever?

Of course, it won't actually take that long. At most, it will be another year before Luffy and his crew find them. At that time, we can just wait for Sugar to be scared unconscious by Usopp and recover. But that would be too embarrassing, wouldn't it?

Redfield looked at Robert and said, "I've told you more than once that you don't lack the strength to become a regional overlord, but what you lack is a certain indomitable spirit. I've seen the replay of your battle at Marineford. Think about that kid Luffy. What's his first reaction when he sees any powerful enemy?"

Robert's mind instantly conjured up an image of Luffy: "Ruthless?"

Redfield said, "While reckless fools who overestimate their abilities are not worthy of praise, it must be said that it is an essential quality for awakening the Conqueror's Haki. Rationally calculating and comparing everything, and choosing a safe and roundabout way, is what a strategist should do. What a king or hegemon needs is to forge ahead without hesitation!"

Countless images flashed through Robert's mind. Luffy, needless to say, was the protagonist of the story, a born brute.

As his right and left hands, Zoro and Sanji were initially indistinguishable in terms of strength.

However, Zoro's first choice when faced with trouble is also recklessness. Even when facing the world's number one swordsman, Mihawk, and being completely outmatched by him, he still chooses to face death head-on. Therefore, Zoro possesses Conqueror's Haki.

In many chapters, Sanji is the one who quietly flanks behind and delivers the decisive blow. It's no exaggeration to say that he's the most intelligent member of the Straw Hat crew. He can be fearless, but he has never acted recklessly for himself. Most of the time, he is passively sacrificed for his friends, which is why he hasn't awakened Conqueror's Haki yet.

In Roger's pirate crew, Rayleigh, Jabba, Kozuki Oden, and Bullet were all five of them, all brutes with Conqueror's Haki. Even Rayleigh, when he was young, often acted as if he didn't have a brain.

The Rocks Pirates are full of battle maniacs with Conqueror's Haki, but anyone with a bit of cunning is just a novice.

Even among the supernovas of the same generation, Luo Mingming was the one he liked the most and thought had the most potential, but it was Kid, that brainless guy, who was the first to be confirmed to have Conqueror's Haki.

Robert even started to doubt himself for a moment:

"I've always listened to my teachers and thought things through before I acted. Is that wrong?"

Chapter 16 A Do-or-Die Strategy!

Seeing that Robert still looked confused, Redfield could only continue:

"Conqueror's Haki is different from Observation Haki or Armament Haki. You can't learn from other people's experiences because everyone has their own spiritual core. The more you listen to others, the more detrimental it is to your awakening."

"Dominance is the most fundamental power of everyone. It is often easier to feel it when you are weaker. Such an opportunity to control all external forces is rare, so seize the opportunity."

Robert was pondering how to guide Redfield to trigger the keywords, or at least get the mission posted to him, when he heard him continue:

"But this opportunity is a double-edged sword. If you fail to seize it, you may be trapped in self-doubt for the rest of your life, and you will most likely never have another chance to awaken Conqueror's Haki."

Robert thought to himself, "So it's still a one-off deal. You should at least discuss it with me first. Are I ready before you put me on the field?"

Redfield flapped his wing: "Don't waste a single second. If you can't extricate yourself from this toy state, it means you can't keep up with us. I'll continue forward with Karina and Padon. Remember, no one will wait for you here."

Robert felt truly helpless at that moment. He seemed to have said these words to the Indians and the others before, and hearing them said to him now felt cold and harsh.

Most importantly, he didn't even know how to get down from the roof.