One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

If Robert were to directly tell Uta Shanks that he was playing a grand game, and that everyone was a pawn to be sacrificed in comparison to his grand vision of liberating the world, Uta would surely break down. Therefore, Robert could only present his story with reservations.

"And I also know why Shanks is targeting me now. It's because he discovered what we were doing in Elbaf, and he won't allow an invincible warship to fall into the hands of others."

"So he launched a surprise attack on Elbaf, and my master was captured. It was York who managed to steer the ship out of the encirclement before he died."

Karina gasped and covered her mouth: "The teacher was arrested? And York too!"

No one expected Shanks to go this far, but everyone knew that with York dead, there was no possibility of reconciliation between Robert and Shanks.

Paddy, who was being held in her arms, burst into tears. Redfield treated it like her own grandson, and when she heard that the old man had been taken away, she couldn't stop crying.

Even Sugar, who seemed indifferent at first, frowned. Although she was practically kidnapped by Redfield, Sugar had the heart of an adult hidden beneath her childlike appearance. How could she not know who was right and who was wrong, and who was truly good to her?

Although Uta had never met York, she had a deep affection for Redfield, who had taken care of her and Karina for most of the time since they went to sea.

Even Uta stood firmly on Robert's side, determined to rescue Redfield from Shanks.

Compared to Robert's crew, who instantly became united in their hatred of the enemy, the atmosphere among the Whitebeard Pirates' officers was tense.

Ace suddenly asked, "If you defeat Shanks, will you kill him?"

Robert answered sincerely, "No, our paths are different. He wants to have everything under control before he feels at ease, while I believe that only by uniting all forces that can be united can we achieve ultimate liberation."

The White Group cadres had no more reservations: "Then what are we hesitating for? Let's do it!"

"It's not like we haven't dealt with them before!"

"They've been living a miserable life these past two years. I think they've forgotten how their father disciplined them when he was alive!"

All the Whitebeard's officers were eager to fight, but Robert hadn't expected it to escalate into a massive melee between two Yonko crews:

"Although I have decided to declare war on Shanks, I do not want to escalate the war. My men will not be going this time."

Karina stood beside Robert without saying a word, but even without her saying anything, Robert knew that she would definitely be involved in this hostage exchange with Shanks.

Robert's decision to tell everyone about the matter instead of handling it quietly showed that he was already prepared to involve all the key personnel.

When he realized that he was beginning to be assimilated by the rules, had less and less trust in the people around him, and always subconsciously chose to go it alone, he began to consciously change his style of doing things.

Over the past two years, I've gone through thick and thin, gathering so many people around me not for a card collecting game, but to build an invincible team to deal with unknown risks. There's no reason for me to face every problem alone.

As orders were relayed out, the once peaceful Sky Island, which had been occupied by the Whitebeard Pirates, suddenly became bustling with activity. Even the winged Sky Islanders realized that something big was about to happen.

The Indian left the Sky Island not to stage a thrilling "Return of the Dragon King" drama in Dressrosa, but to go find Ronaldinho, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

This time, he didn't leave alone; he took all the combat members of the Whitebeard Pirates with him. Nearly ten thousand elite pirates searched for their original pirate ships around Fish-Man Island, and almost all of them set sail again, except for the Moby Dick.

Robert gave India only one order: continue to monopolize the food supply, but this time it was no longer aimed at Sky Island, but at the entire Qinghai region!

"Shanks, times have changed."

"Warfare isn't just about swords and spears!"

Share swap completes backdoor listing

Chapter 1 New Bounty

Since the fall of Impel Down, nothing noteworthy has happened at sea for several months.

Kaido's invasion of the Whitebeard Pirates' territory was utterly swift and decisive, with virtually no resistance whatsoever.

There was no further news about Kaido; he didn't even need to take action. Jack the Drought alone led his crew to rout the Whitebeard Pirates.

The only thing worth mentioning in the entire annexation battle was the outstanding performance of the Don Quixote family.

Doflamingo, who once dominated Dressrosa like a king of the underworld, joined the Beasts Pirates after escaping Impel Down and became Kaido's first vanguard.

After completely taking over the Whitebeard Pirates, his small team, though not promoted to the fourth All-Star, was entrusted with an important task by Kaido: to guard the front line bordering Whole Cake Island.

No one mentioned Robert's ascension to the throne of the Four Emperors anymore, just as no one mentioned Blackbeard, who was defeated by Robert back then. In everyone's eyes, Robert, who was defeated by Kaido and hid away to lick his wounds, also lost his qualification to compete for the title of Four Emperors.

The sea has been silent for a long time and is eagerly awaiting a grand spectacle to stimulate people's senses.

The news of the Straw Hat Pirates setting sail again is undoubtedly the biggest news recently.

Two years ago, among the supernovas, Robert, the most dazzling new star, had already experienced a comet-like rise and fall. After becoming a Shichibukai, Law was glorious for a while, but soon disappeared without a trace, and no one even knew where he went.

Among the other supernovas of that generation, none of them made any outstanding performances. Most of them either did nothing of note or were defeated and subdued while challenging the established champions.

Luffy became the last star of that generation of Supernovas. Not only did he have a crew with two superstars, but as the captain, he also spearheaded the Impel Down escape and then participated in the Marineford War in a high-profile manner.

After the Marineford War, Luffy clearly stated in an interview that he would set sail again two years later. All eyes have been on the Sabaody Archipelago in recent days, wanting to see how the Navy will react.

Surprisingly, the Navy's response was extremely negative.

They even sent a large number of people to maintain order at Brook's concert, but did not arrest the Straw Hat crew who were recruiting in the Sabaody Archipelago.

The Straw Hat crew assembled and invited heroes from all over the Sabaody Archipelago, accepting any pirate with a bounty of over 70 million Berries, instantly forming a powerful team of over 100 people.

The Sabaody Archipelago was in chaos, almost becoming a pirate's carnival. Perhaps finally unable to stand it any longer, the local navy stationed in the Sabaody Archipelago began to engage in small-scale firefights with the pirates.

In stark contrast to the chaos across the island, there was a heartwarming reunion in Shakky's extortion bar.

Sanji held up a wanted poster and exclaimed in amazement, "Unbelievable! I thought our return to sea was the biggest news lately, but it turns out that Robert's bounty has already reached 20 billion!"

Zoro sat to the side with his eyes closed, clutching his sword and remaining silent, seemingly provoked by the latest bounty poster.

Shakky smiled and said, "You've been out of the public eye for the past two years, but that young man Robert hasn't been idle at all. As far as I know, this 2 billion bounty is the result of the Navy's pressure. According to the World Government, they originally wanted to set his bounty at over 3 billion."

Zoro's fighting spirit intensified, while Sanji stared in disbelief: "How much? 30 billion? Hey! How about we tie him up and send him to the Navy for the bounty!"

A mocking laugh came from outside the door: "Have some decency! I've been stirring up trouble on the high seas for the past two years, just so you can see me and contact me, right?"

"Not only have you all hidden yourselves and refused to show your faces, but now you actually want to use me to exchange for the bounty!"

Zoro suddenly opened one eye. He had been training hard under Hawkeye for the past two years and believed that his strength had greatly increased, but it wasn't until Robert's voice rang out at the door that he belatedly realized that someone was outside.

When the bar door was pushed open, something even more shocking happened to Zoro: not only was Robert standing outside, but Nami and Usopp were also there.

Sanji's mind was entirely on Nami. He charged forward with a strange cry, only to be knocked to the ground by a punch from Nami.

"Nami-san! You've finally arrived!"

Nami looked disgusted: "I got here much earlier than you."

Shakky chuckled and said, "The first to return was the green-haired swordsman, followed by Franky, who is currently maintaining your ship."

"Nami and Robert arrived three days ago, followed by Chopper and Usopp."

"Brook has also returned to the Sabaody Archipelago for a concert today. Including Sanji, now only Robin and Luffy haven't arrived yet."

Rayleigh, who was standing to the side, put down his newspaper and squinted at Robert: "Brother Robert, today is the day we agreed to meet."

Robert sat at the bar with a smile, took out a pack of cigarettes and tossed one to Sanji, then borrowed a light from the proprietress, Shakky, took a deep drag, and replied:

"Yes, your old friends are really unreliable; they haven't come yet."

Rayleigh seemed hesitant to speak too directly due to the presence of the Straw Hat Pirates, and could only probe indirectly, "Why didn't you bring that child?"

Robert waved his hand: "Oh dear, don't you know what the situation is like in the Sabaody Archipelago right now? The navy seems to care nothing about everyone setting sail again, but in fact, they have already surrounded the area both openly and secretly."

"The reason they haven't made a move yet is because they know that the ones making the most noise are imposters. Once Luffy shows up, it will probably escalate into a major battle."

"In such a chaotic place, isn't it irresponsible to bring a child along, especially... the child is particularly conspicuous."

The Straw Hat crew huddled together reminiscing, and no one seemed curious about Robert and Rayleigh's conversation. Only Sanji occasionally turned his head and asked in confusion:

"You have a kid?"

Nami, feeling playful, pretended to be shy and hugged Robert's arm: "Yes, we have a child."

Sanji was stunned for a moment, then his whole body was enraged.

Under Robert's Observation Haki, Sanji's cells were extremely active, as if his bloodline factor had been awakened prematurely due to the stimulation.

Nami laughed loudly: "Just kidding! I can't have children!"

Sanji's flames instantly went out, and he reverted to his infatuated state.

"The child was born to Robert and another man; I am just a stepmother."

Sanji was enraged once again.

Robert couldn't stand it any longer: "This cigarette is very expensive. It was specially imported from the Kingdom of Lubniz. If you keep playing with it, it will burn out!"

Sanji shouted, "Let's duel, Robert!"

Robert glanced sideways at the bar entrance: "The duel might be a little late, the person I invited has arrived!"

Chapter 2 Habitual Surrender

Zoro was even more surprised, as he hadn't found anything, while Robert said someone was coming.

But Rayleigh was even more surprised. Zoro and the other young people had only been exposed to Haki for a short time. No matter how talented they were, how much could they develop it to? They still needed to fight life-and-death battles to grow quickly.

While the Straw Hat crew members were undergoing closed training in different places, Robert was never idle for a second, constantly stirring up trouble on the sea.

Moreover, his master was no less impressive; Redfield was a master who could rival their entire pirate crew all by himself back then.

Robert is now clearly ahead of Luffy and his crew in both strength and mentality.

He knew that when Robert said someone had arrived, he didn't mean anyone had reached the tavern door, but rather that Shanks and his crew had come ashore. As Jabba's old friend, he had already received the news.

For Robert to be able to detect this from such a distance, either he had spies planted on the island, relaying messages to them in some way unknown to Robert, or Robert's Observation Haki was so powerful that he could monitor the entire Sabaody Archipelago.

Robert stood up: "Luffy's ship won't be here anytime soon. I'm going to explore the island. It's been two years since I've been back, and I miss it. See you all on the Thousand Sunny later."

After politely greeting the proprietress, Xia Qi, Robert got up and left.

Robert strolled around the streets without a care in the world, and people along the way recognized him and fled in panic.

Despite the constant criticism that Robert has no chance of winning the Yonko title, his $20 billion bounty is proof of his strength.

But Robert himself was very dissatisfied with the bounty: "I already had a bounty of $1.84 billion, and after the bounty was revised, it only went up one level. Who are they trying to annoy?"

Robert revealed a dangerous smile: "But it doesn't matter. The fights with the Knights of God and the Red-Haired Pirates can't be written on the wanted posters, so the bounty can't be increased much."

"I'll give you a way out this time, in the Sabaody Archipelago!"

The island was in chaos, with flames rising everywhere from looting and burning. The recruitment notice from the imposter Straw Hat crew was like the start of a carnival, with all the crimes being branded as the Straw Hat Pirates' name, attracting countless pirates to join the feast.

In this chaotic crowd, Robert was like a reef; wherever he went, the pirates would automatically avoid him.