One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

This group is ubiquitous in small and medium-sized floating islands where technology and productivity are extremely underdeveloped.

The more backward the region, the more severe the oppression. Those in power are exploiting the lower classes to satisfy their own insatiable material desires, essentially draining the pond to catch all the fish.

These small countries have almost no autonomy, and their armies are not used to defend against external enemies, but only to suppress internal rebellions.

Economically, the limited environment of the Sky Island also hindered their path to self-sufficiency.

Even if Qinghai caravans go through great hardships to reach the White Sea, they will at most travel around a few major countries, exchange some special products from the floating islands, and that's it. They would never go to impoverished, remote, and unprofitable small floating islands to help alleviate poverty.

When food supplies were plentiful, they could rely on large air island nations to exchange their local specialties for some of their surplus food to survive. Now that Qinghai's food supply has been cut off, these small and medium-sized air islands are the first to suffer.

The revolutionary army's operations did not go smoothly at first. It was not because they were weak, but because the Sky Island people and the Qinghai race had huge physical differences. Those without wings on their backs must be outsiders.

They had only been on the sky island for a little over a month, barely managing to settle down by throwing money around. Gaining the trust of the locals was a long way off, let alone instigating them to overthrow the ruling class that oppressed them but also gave them a glimmer of hope.

People who are terribly oppressed but do not resist are often not because they are weak-willed, but because after many rounds of trial and error, they have discovered that this is the most cost-effective solution.

After many small countries rebelled and overthrew their rulers, they were met with strong suppression from the large countries that had colluded with them for many years. Sometimes, they didn't even need to send troops; simply withholding food and refusing to purchase their goods was enough to starve large numbers of civilians to death.

Not resisting means only a miserable life, while resisting means no way to survive. This is the most desperate situation for ordinary Sky Island inhabitants.

The event that allowed the revolutionary army to break through was the forced conscription by a major power.

The first time they joined forces to attack the Kingdom of Gods, it was because of food shortages and they urgently needed to plunder some food.

However, the Shandians' guard was too tenacious. Relying on their tactical experience gained over many years of fighting against Enel's God Guard, they caused the allied forces, which outnumbered them several times over, to suffer a crushing defeat.

Although it was just a probing attack, the fact that it achieved nothing still dealt a significant blow to morale.

At a time when serious internal conflicts had just emerged, these countries could still gain some support from their citizens by choosing to engage in external aggression.

However, war means that a large number of troops need to be deployed to fight, which consumes far more food than before. Moreover, these able-bodied men can no longer engage in work such as fishing. Once they suffer setbacks, the contradictions will be intensified to an even more irreconcilable state.

The second joint offensive was a desperate gamble by the three kingdoms of the White Sea. If they could not conquer the Kingdom of God, they would have to quickly turn their guns around and begin to brutally suppress their own people, using the pretext of suppressing the rebellion to reduce the population and plunder the people's resources.

However, previous probing attacks have proven that sending too few troops is simply not enough to defeat the people of the Kingdom of God, so they have no choice but to send out the vast majority of their domestic army.

The ruling classes of these countries also considered what to do if the war became stalemate, and the only solution was to continue to increase troop numbers and maximize their numerical advantage.

Rather than conscripting their own pampered citizens, they decided to oppress the people of the smaller neighboring countries that depended on them for survival. So they began sending people to the surrounding small and medium-sized floating islands to issue orders, requiring each island to send its able-bodied men to support the front lines.

The revolutionary army had been waiting for this opportunity. Although they were all outsiders without wings, the islanders of these small and medium-sized countries hated the great White Sea country, with whom they shared the same ancestry, even more than the people of Qinghai.

The revolutionary army began spreading rumors about the so-called miracles performed by Robert in the Kingdom of God, claiming that the reason for conscription was to use the islanders of small countries as cannon fodder to deplete the divine power of the god in the Kingdom of God.

These sky islanders were already ignorant, and they were terrified when they heard that they were going to face the gods. When they heard that they were going to be cannon fodder and die, they finally could not bear it any longer.

They didn't resist before in order to survive, but now that they know it's a dead end, who would be willing to go?

When Robert and his group arrived at the White Sea with the defeated army, more than a dozen small sky islands had already overthrown the privileged class under the leadership of the revolutionary army. However, they were unwilling to gather together to attack the large sky islands.

The defeated troops from the three kingdoms returned to their own countries and were not punished as Robert had predicted, because new external conflicts arose and they were ordered to suppress rebellions in neighboring small countries.

At this point, the three kingdoms no longer cared about who they were robbing; they just wanted to get food so that their own countries could survive this difficult period.

Seizing the kingdom of God is seizing, but seizing neighboring small countries is also seizing.

Although the islanders of these small countries often go hungry, it doesn't mean their rulers have no surplus food. By collecting the food before the rioting crowds divide and eat it all, they can at least last for a while. Who knows, the food from Qinghai might arrive in a few days.

Several major powers had just formed an alliance to attack the Kingdom of God, but now they immediately began to fight amongst themselves, filled with suspicion towards each other.

Since everyone is willing to plunder the Kingdom of God and the surrounding small countries, who can guarantee that the other two countries won't join forces to plunder them?

Even if the three major powers do not attack each other, the surrounding small countries are competing for resources. It is very likely that if a country seizes the resources of a small island, it can survive until the grain is transported from Qinghai and weather this double crisis of food shortage and economic hardship!

As things have progressed to this point, Robert is starting to feel a bit guilty. After all, he's not the kind of person who's ruthless and vicious. He can accept the results he's achieved so far, and he'll be able to achieve the desired outcome sooner or later if things continue to develop gradually.

Just as Robert was about to lead his men to overturn the table, a group of troops sent out to suppress small countries suddenly turned against them and launched a counterattack back towards their own country.

Robert was hiding above them. These soldiers were all winged sky islanders, not instigated by the Revolutionary Army. It was unclear why they had suddenly decided to counterattack their own country.

To Robert's even greater surprise, they not only launched a counterattack, but also called out to him loudly the moment they landed:

"Odin, the King of Gods!"

"Please grant me heavenly soldiers!"

Chapter 4 Gravediggers of Feudal Dynasties

Robert knew something must have gone wrong. Although the outcome was as he planned, with the Sky Island soldiers eventually returning to their homeland and shouting their predetermined slogans, the process didn't match up at all.

Shouldn't these people first be betrayed by the ruler who sent them to invade the Kingdom of God, and then, in despair, cry out for salvation from the gods?

But the strange thing is that if these people were acting against their will, it shouldn't have been so easy for Robert to take over their bodies, unless after the great battle at the entrance to the White Sea, these Sky Islanders had completely transformed into Robert's shape.

Robert tentatively used his awakened Devil Fruit powers to assimilate the defecting soldiers and found that they were indeed highly receptive, even more devout than the islanders of the Kingdom of God, second only to the Shandians.

Robert didn't bother to consider the underlying principles. After all, the die was cast, and the enemy had already given the signal. If he couldn't conjure up the promised divine weapon, all the groundwork laid for this wave of faith harvesting would be for nothing.

They moved to the Ice Witch ship, grabbed Sugar, and left.

"Quickly, remove all the toys from this country!"

Sugar rolled her eyes: "Are you kidding me? There are over a thousand people, how am I supposed to remember who's who?"

Robert roared, "Didn't I ask you before? You said you could turn people back at any time!"

Sugar was also a little angry: "It is possible to turn people back, but you can't just wave your hand and I can accurately turn this whole group of people back. Either remove the ability from all of them, or don't remove it from any of them!"

Robert wasn't an unreasonable person. He immediately realized that he had been making things difficult for her. Sugar's ability was inherently difficult to counter, not because she had developed it to be particularly powerful.

Even if Sugar were given a list, she couldn't accurately deactivate the toy state of a person just by looking at their name, let alone Robert simply pulling her into the air and pointing to a certain area.

Just as Robert was weighing whether to turn the toy soldiers of the other two countries back into human form for the sake of the country in front of him, soldiers from another country mutinied at sea.

Robert's mental field could cover more than ten kilometers, and he keenly sensed this situation, immediately focusing his attention on it.

Among the soldiers of this nation, several winged sky islanders shouted, "Brothers, let's fight back and kill those officials who don't treat people like human beings!"

Infected by their emotions, the surrounding soldiers also shouted and steered the boats back to the country they had just left.

"Brothers, didn't God say that as long as we call upon His name, heavenly soldiers and generals will come to our aid? Once we're ashore, shout with me!"

Robert frowned, picked up Sugar, and flew toward the last major White Sea nation. As soon as he brought the nation into his mental perception range, he discovered that the soldiers there were even more radical; they hadn't even left the sea, but had already rebelled on the shore.

Seeing that the soldiers of the three countries had been instigated to turn against them, Robert didn't bother to investigate the reasons and slapped Sugar, saying, "Quick, deactivate all the Devil Fruit abilities!"

Sugar was being carried along by Robert in her elemental form when she felt dizzy and nauseous. Robert couldn't wait for her, so he simply used an electric current to stimulate her central nervous system, knocking Sugar unconscious.

As Sugar lost consciousness, the toys in the three great white sea nations suddenly transformed, turning from cute-looking toys into ferocious pirates.

The Whitebeard Pirates were already familiar with the plan and had voluntarily become toys, infiltrating the inner circles of important figures in various countries, where they had been doing hard labor for several weeks.

Now, their anger finally found an outlet, and they charged at the noble officials who had oppressed them, shouting loudly.

Although soldiers from various countries had begun to believe in the existence of gods after witnessing Robert's miracles, many still held great reverence for gods and ghosts in the relatively primitive social system of Sky Island.

However, they did not expect that the so-called heavenly generals and divine soldiers would not be the Shandians who had been impossible to kill before, but rather so many incredibly powerful warriors who suddenly appeared from the territories of various officials and lords.

Each of the elite pirates in the Whitebeard Pirates is a master who can take on a hundred men on Skypiea. Now, with one or two thousand of them appearing in each country, even if the elite soldiers of each country have already defected, they are still no match for the Whitebeard Pirates.

The battle was swift and decisive; the moment the Whitebeard Pirates regained their human forms, the outcome of the war was already decided.

The three great powers changed hands without even offering any decent resistance. Soon, the disloyal soldiers spontaneously took to the streets to appease the people and tell them about the actions of their rulers.

From making wrong decisions out of greed, gradually leading to the collapse of the national economy, to invading the Kingdom of God in order to shift everyone's hatred, to the gods of the Kingdom of God issuing a divine decree instructing them to return and overthrow the tyranny of the ruler.

These soldiers are the backbone of their respective countries. They also have families and friends, so their words are naturally more convincing than those of outsiders.

The Sky Island is gripped by panic over currency devaluation, and everyone feels extremely insecure due to the uncertainty of their future.

At this point, let alone a deity, even if some mustachioed art student who failed his college entrance exams stood up and raised his arms, claiming he could solve everyone's financial problems, he would gain a large following.

While the revolutionary army was still urging the people of the small and medium-sized sky islands to gather their strength to attack the large sky island nations, they heard the news that the islands had fallen out and overthrown their government.

Based on details from the front lines, and hearing that the toys that officials had previously taken home had been transformed into gravediggers of the feudal dynasty, the entire revolutionary army was filled with a sense of defeat.

Despite everyone's extensive preparations on Skypiea, they ultimately succeeded thanks to the Whitebeard Pirates' plan.

The Whitebeard Pirates quickly took over the administration of various countries. They had previously occupied large areas in the New World and had extensive experience in managing and protecting several large island nations within their territorial waters.

Those island nations were all seized by the Whitebeard Pirates from other pirate crews with real swords and spears. For some countries that were unwilling to pay protection money, these pirates did not mind showing their ferocious side.

Many officials and nobles remain fearless even now, much like the Drum Kingdom where Chopper lives. These rulers firmly believe that even if the peasants can overthrow the rule of the nobles in a short time, they will eventually fall into chaos because they do not know how to govern the country, and then they can make a comeback.

But Robert's first command shattered their illusions.

People from various countries were gathered together, all filled with fear, wondering who the people who had just overthrown their governments were and whether they intended to massacre civilians.

But when they went to the square, they discovered that the people being massacred were others.

Regardless of their official rank or title, all those in power were dragged to a high platform and made to kneel in a row, with two banners that looked like they had been hastily written hanging on the flagpole behind them.

Never forget the suffering of the class system!

Remember the blood and tears of hatred!

Chapter 5 More Friends, More Paths

The trial presided over by outsiders is likely to evoke a sense of shared fate among the local people, even though the previous rulers may not have been popular, they were at least from the same background.

Immediately punishing local gentry and officials after just occupying a territory can easily backfire and be detrimental to future governance.

As it happened, Robert knew how to solve this problem: criminals who persecute the people should be brought to trial by the people.

The form of public denunciation rallies is efficient in any social context. It brings out each official and lets the people judge them. If they are good officials, they can stay and continue to serve the people. If they ride roughshod over the people, the people can sentence them to death.

Of course, there will be some wrongful convictions at times like these, but extraordinary measures are needed in extraordinary times. The conflicts in Skypiea have become so serious that the only thing to do is to act decisively, quickly overturn everything that has happened before, and get Skypiea back on track as soon as possible.

At first, the people didn't dare to speak up. Then, those Sky Islanders who had previously infiltrated the army stepped forward and led the way in listing the crimes of several officials. This time, they were dressed in monks' robes, which made the people more convinced.

Power and corruption are mutually reinforcing; they can only be corrected through systems and continuous self-correction, but can never be completely severed.

These officials are all corrupt. After someone stood up to condemn them, victims were quickly moved by the atmosphere and took the initiative to speak out and recount their crimes.

The pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates were not indecisive cowards. If the crime was serious enough, they would kill the person on the spot in front of everyone and then bring the next person up for trial.

The people's enthusiasm is growing. They never dreamed that the once high and mighty officials would one day have their lives decided by them.

Those in power were now in despair; they had ruled for many years and committed enough atrocities to warrant ten beheadings.

The denunciation meetings lasted for three days, and very few officials survived.

As the fighting progressed, even the civilians became somewhat frightened. After all, the initial excitement had faded, and the constant loss of lives before their eyes was enough to instill fear.