One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

Chapter 23: The iconic scene that stunned 50,000 people arrived late but surely.

Luffy was completely bewildered. It was as if he had been dragged to the square where Hody Jones had planned to execute King Neptune, and then he saw tens of thousands of prisoners trembling in the square.

Hearing that 100,000 prisoners were to be slaughtered and actually seeing 100,000 lambs waiting to be slaughtered are visually vastly different.

Previously, Luffy mostly sided with the civilians on Fishman Island affected by the war, but now he unconsciously feels sympathy for these 100,000 desperate prisoners.

They were just ordinary people caught up in the machinations of ambitious individuals, forced to do foolish things only because of Hody Jones's selfish desires.

Luffy felt he should do something; he couldn't just stand by and watch so many people be executed.

King Neptune stood on the high platform, the entire square completely surrounded by the Dragon Palace's guards.

“You were all originally subjects of the Dragon Palace Kingdom. Although you were bewitched by Hody Jones and developed some resentment towards humans, I will not execute you for that.”

“Even if you follow Hody Jones into the Dragon Palace to kill me and usurp the throne, I will still not execute you.”

"But you shouldn't lay a hand on ordinary people! The moment you raise your knives against your own compatriots, you've sentenced yourself to death!"

“It’s not that I, Neptune, want to execute you! It’s that letting you go would be unacceptable to the victims who died in the riots!”

The square was filled with wails; whether fishmen or humans, they were all truly terrified at this moment.

Even if Neptune hadn't offered such a righteous reason, they knew they deserved to die. Rebellion was the most heinous crime, especially since the king was now in the right.

However, it is difficult for anyone to face death calmly. Even though these prisoners knew they deserved to die, they still couldn't help but want to struggle.

Faced with the pleas for mercy echoing across the square, Neptune wore a heartbroken expression: "I can spare you, but tell me, how am I supposed to explain this to the people?"

"Am I supposed to persuade them to live in peace with these executioners who killed their loved ones, robbed them of their property, and burned down their homes?"

“Even if I exile you, everyone will live in constant fear, afraid that one day you thugs will come back and repeat the atrocities of the past.”

"Unless someone can restrain you and guarantee that you will turn over a new leaf, but where in this world is there such a person?"

Neptune trailed off his words, as if he were waiting for someone to make their entrance.

Sabo patted Luffy on the back, and Luffy slipped and fell off the high cliff, landing on the plaza.

All eyes were on Luffy. Although Luffy hadn't clashed with Hody Jones yesterday, nor had he gone crazy and tried to dismantle Noah, the ark as big as an island, with his own fists, that didn't stop many people from recognizing this famous pirate.

Especially the 30,000 human pirates, who were extremely familiar with Luffy, immediately cried out for help.

Luffy's personality is to face challenges head-on; he would never say something like, "I was just passing by and accidentally fell down."

Having already decided to save the lives of these 100,000 people, Luffy firmly and loudly proclaimed it:

"I'll be the one to keep them in check!"

Neptune narrowed his eyes. Even though having Luffy take those 100,000 people away was something he and Robert had already discussed, when Luffy actually agreed, Neptune, as king, still asked a crucial question:

"What makes you think you can control them? These are executioners with blood on their hands. Do you think they'll change their ways just because of your promise?"

"If they come back and retaliate against the Dragon Palace Kingdom, can we really expect you to appear on Fishman Island immediately to protect everyone?"

Luffy was initially just being forced into this role, but at this moment he truly displayed the aura of a future Pirate King:

"Because I'm going to be the Pirate King! I'll take them to the New World and see for myself that humans and fish-men can coexist peacefully!"

"I will lead them to earn back their dignity on the high seas with their own hands, and let them personally win back the chance for both fish-men and mermaids to survive on the surface of the sea!"

Neptune burst into laughter. At that moment, he suddenly understood why Robert said that all they had to do was hand these hot potatoes over to Luffy, because Luffy was indeed someone who made people willing to take a gamble and trust him at any time!

"Your ambition is great, but I'm sorry, I am a king and cannot place my hopes on your aspirations!"

"It's absolutely impossible for me to hand the person over to you directly. If you want to take the person away, you'll have to do it yourself!"

"All Dragon Palace guards, listen to my command!"

"Prepare for the enemy!"

Luffy is just straightforward; he's not stupid. Seeing tens of thousands of Ryugu guards surrounding him, he knew that this was both a test Neptune had given him and a way out for him!

A confident smile appeared on Luffy's face, and red and black lightning began to emanate from his body. For the first time, he displayed the results of his two years of training to others without reservation.

The Conqueror's Haki exploded from his center, causing the Dragon Palace guards to freeze in place.

They were, after all, the elite of the Ryugu Kingdom. They weren't stunned by Luffy's domineering aura, but they were still intimidated and lost the courage to fight.

Luffy walked step by step through the forest of gunfire surrounding him, until he reached a human prisoner and reached out to untie the ropes binding him.

Once one prisoner was untied, a chain reaction quickly ensued, with new prisoners being released and then used to untie other prisoners.

Once all 100,000 prisoners were released, the balance of power on the field had already been reversed.

Although the prisoners of war who were nearly executed were unarmed, the bodies of the fish-men were their best weapons. Their eyes began to turn fierce as they looked at the Dragon Palace guards who were intimidated by Luffy's domineering aura.

Luffy noticed this as well, and his Haki instantly spread towards the pirates he had just rescued.

Compared to the elite of the Dragon Palace, the pirates performed much worse. Luffy unleashed his Haki, and fifty to sixty thousand pirates immediately fainted.

Luffy didn't say a word, he just looked coldly at these pirates, his attitude was very clear: if they wanted to live, they should do as he just said and go out to sea with him to make their way in the world; anyone with any wicked thoughts could stay here and wait to die.

The 30,000 human pirates naturally had no objections. They were originally in the same line of work, but after being captured by the New Fishman Pirates, they were forced to become slaves to the fishmen. Why wouldn't they agree to follow a promising new star like Luffy?

With 30,000 humans as a base, plus the overwhelming force of Luffy knocking out 50,000 to 60,000 pirates, the fishmen of the New Fishman Pirates were also inspired to blindly follow, helping up their unconscious companions and following behind Luffy.

The Thousand Sunny sailed up to the top of the square, and Nami waved and shouted, "The concert is about to end! Run!"

Seeing his crewmates arrive by ship to pick him up, Luffy was filled with fighting spirit. He stretched out his arm and launched himself onto the Thousand Sunny, waving his hand and shouting, "Let's go!"

The ground erupted in groans. The Straw Hat crew had set off by boat, but could they possibly cram all 100,000 newly recruited people onto the Thousand Sunny?

Even if the fish-men can swim and keep up, what about the 30,000 humans?

King Neptune was also bewildered. He could follow Robert's script for everything else, but he couldn't very well send a ship to bring these people to the surface himself.

Chapter 24 Another Member Joins the Destroyer of Fishman Island

Robert always envied Luffy. He not only had great luck, but also great courage. Although Luffy's decisions seemed outrageous, they turned out to be the most correct choices when they were proven later.

Especially when everyone is undecided or clearly realizes that they cannot take responsibility for certain decisions, Luffy will step forward without hesitation to take responsibility. Having a leader like Luffy who is willing to take responsibility is a blessing.

Robert admits that he lacks Luffy's boldness, which is also related to his knowledge that he is not the protagonist, so he inevitably has many concerns when doing things.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses; there is no perfect person without flaws, nor is there a useless person without any strengths.

Luffy's greatest strength is his unwavering courage, but this inevitably leads to the weakness of leaving no way out. Faced with this problem, Luffy can only rely on the protagonist's halo to solve it. Whenever he is helpless, someone will always step forward to clean up his mess.

Robert doesn't have Luffy's luck, so his actions always seem hesitant and timid. However, Robert also has his own way of dealing with things, which is to leave himself several options before doing anything and to anticipate all possible situations.

Since Robert wanted to give Luffy these 100,000 pirates, he couldn't possibly give up halfway just because he lacked the means to take them away.

A massive shadow loomed over Fishman Island once more. It had last appeared three days earlier when King Van Deikun IX threatened to kill himself in an attempt to force Princess Shirahoshi to marry him.

But Van Deacon had long since been torn to pieces by the enraged Mermaid King, and Robert hadn't even had time to pull out a leaf to conjure a clone of Blackbeard to capture the Target Fruit.

The only way to get Noah's Ark to the skies above Mermaid Island is by having it pulled by sea kings.

King Neptune was taken aback for a moment, but quickly figured out the key to it.

His three sons stood around him, watching as the pirates, coated in protective gear, were carried by the fish-men to Noah's Ark and then floated to the surface. He couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"They actually had to be escorted by my younger sister!"

King Neptune looked pleased: "Noah's mission is to one day bring the people of the Dragon Kingdom to the sea where the sun can shine. Although we only took away 70,000 fishmen today, it is still much more meaningful than staying in the dark and sunless Fishman Street."

Robert had appeared beside King Neptune without anyone noticing: "Believe me, in about six months at most, Noah will complete its mission. The promise that Joey Boy failed to keep will finally be fulfilled in our generation."

King Neptune gave Robert a deep look: "In the Dragon Palace Kingdom, there is a fortune teller named Lady Shirley. All her prophecies have never been wrong. The only prophecy that has not yet come true is that Fishman Island will be destroyed by a human wearing a straw hat."

Robert chuckled and shrugged: "Just call him Luffy by name. Regardless of whether he destroys Fishman Island in the future, he's at least a hero fighting for the Ryugu Kingdom right now."

King Neptune shook his head and said, "That's not what I wanted to say. Lady Shirley came to me specifically to make the latest revision to this prophecy."

Robert's face lit up with joy; this was a change that had not appeared in the original storyline.

Lady Shirley foresaw that Luffy might destroy Fishman Island, so she was not very friendly to the Straw Hat crew at first, until Luffy did his best to save Fishman Island.

Although Madam Shirley did not foresee the new future, after getting to know Luffy, she chose to believe in him as a person rather than in some vague prophecy.

"The prophecy has changed? We've changed our predetermined fate, haven't we?"

King Neptune hesitated, then finally sighed and said, "Lady Shirley said that the fate of Fish-Man Island to be destroyed remains unchanged, but besides the one wearing the straw hat, there's another one now destroying it—someone who...manipulates lightning..."

Robert nearly choked on his breath upon hearing this. So, whoever helps the fishmen is predicted by Shirley to be the sinner who will destroy Fishman Island in the future?

Shirley is the dragon's sister. The dragon has always hated humans, and it seems that Shirley also harbors some prejudice against humans deep down.

Robert was maliciously speculating whether Shirley was deliberately trying to extort money when he suddenly seemed to realize something and froze on the spot.

Neptune thought Robert was angry and was about to say something in Shirley's defense when he saw Robert looking at him with a relieved expression:

"King Neptune, if one day mermaids and fishmen were able to live on the surface of the water, but at the cost of the complete destruction of Fishman Island, what would you choose?"

Neptune didn't hesitate for a second: "Compared to the bright future of the race, a place where we've lived for many years is nothing."

Robert smiled and nodded: "Please pass on a message to Madam Shirley: if one day her prophecy comes true, and Luffy and I really do have to join forces to destroy Fishman Island, we will definitely bring all the people of the Ryugu Kingdom to the sea before that happens."

Neptune smiled and nodded, not really taking Robert's words to heart.

In his opinion, neither Robert nor Luffy were the kind of people who would destroy Fishman Island.

Although Madam Shirley's prophecies have never been wrong, the human wearing the straw hat is not necessarily Luffy, and Robert is not the only one who can use lightning.

But Robert had already figured out why the all-knowing Mrs. Shirley would predict the destruction of Fishman Island, and even include himself in that prediction.

On his way to Fishman Island, he had already thought about how to destroy it!

If it can be confirmed that Im is also a Devil Fruit user, then Fishman Island is the best place for the final battle.

Once we can lure Im here, destroy the coating outside Fishman Island, and let the seawater flood in, we can completely seal Im in this ten-thousand-meter-deep abyss.

No matter how strong Im is, he cannot escape the underlying logic that Devil Fruits are hated by the sea!

Therefore, whether it's Luffy or himself, if they are to fight Im to the death in the future, it will most likely come at the cost of Fishman Island.

Sabo walked up to Robert: "You tricked me into coming here, saying you wanted me to recognize Luffy, but you just wanted to use me as a tool to trick him into rescuing these fish-men?"

Robert realized that Sabo wasn't really there to reprimand him, but just teasing him, and he smiled as he put his arm around Sabo's shoulder.

"Luffy is your brother, and he's also my friend. Would I ever harm him?"

"Do you think it's more important for the brothers to recognize each other, or for him to have 100,000 loyal followers?"