One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

Robert even seemingly idly helped Morgans write several tabloid articles as a special commentator, Clark Kent, including the love-hate relationship between the old lady and her more than forty husbands.

When the airship finally arrived at Cake Island, Morgans was satisfied, and so was Robert.

The Big Mom Pirates, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, held a tea party, which was a major event that everyone in the New World had to take seriously. Robert saw the grand scene on the sea from mid-air. The outer waters of Whole Cake Island were practically surrounded by ships eager to make a fuss.

Even most of the participants were not allowed to sail to Whole Cake Island. Instead, they were assigned to different islands under the control of the World Kingdom and then transported to Whole Cake Island by a unified ship to attend the tea party.

Only a select few guests who are truly considered equals have the right to park their vehicles directly in the heart of the world.

Morgans, one of the underground emperors, was naturally one of these people. His airship did not hide in the clouds, but instead flew over the small islands at low altitudes to the tea party venue. Everyone in the Big Mom Pirates ignored this.

The airship came to a stop, and Morgans turned to Robert with a smile: "Although we came together, I've arranged for reporters to take pictures outside, so let's walk the red carpet separately."

Robert smiled and gestured for Morgans to go first.

Morgans wasn't angry. Although he debuted earlier and had a much higher status, Robert's current worth was comparable to that of the Four Emperors, so it wasn't wrong for him to appear after him.

Robert waited for Morgans to disembark for a while before slowly pulling Karina up and saying, "Let's go, this is my first time walking the red carpet."

Karina covered her mouth and chuckled: "So you let Morgans go first because you were afraid of making a fool of yourself, so you were secretly learning how others make their entrances?"

Robert shook his head: "No, I just feel that we should be the grand finale at this tea party!"

In an instant, a powerful confidence surged from Robert. It was already the end of the game, and keeping a low profile was no longer an option. Now, every move Robert made had to be made like that of a 40 billion dollar pirate, otherwise he wouldn't even be able to get past the threshold of the finals.

Robert and Karina attracted everyone's attention as soon as they appeared.

When Morgans disembarked from the airship, but the airship remained stationary, everyone wondered why.

Seeing Morgans chatting and laughing with the others as he happily took his seat, it didn't seem like he was about to leave. Everyone guessed that he might have brought some gifts on the ship, waiting for Charlotte Linlin to appear before taking them out.

Even after all the guests had entered, Katakuri, the second-in-command of the Big Mom Pirates and the second-in-command of the entire Whole Cake Island, was still standing at the end of the red carpet, his eyes fixed on the airship's hatch. Only then did everyone realize that he was waiting for someone to appear from there.

Robert is currently one of the top ten most wanted figures on the entire ocean. Standing next to him is the most influential singer in the world. Even though the two of them don't have their own car and came down from Morgans' airship, no one dares to underestimate them.

Robert walked toward Katakuri with a smile, and Karina whispered, "I'm starting to regret it now. We should have brought our own boat."

Robert, completely oblivious to the stares around him, leaned close to Karina's ear and whispered intimately, "Stop fooling around. I did have a ship made of gold, but Vegapunk dismantled it. Of all the other ships I have, besides Dad's Moby Dick, the only one Hela can really show off is the Moby Dick."

"If the sea were truly opened up, do you think the Kingdom of All Nations could maintain the same level of composure as it did with the Morgans' airships?"

"We just blew up a small island in the Sabaody Archipelago. Although Hela is hidden in the clouds, if I bring it out today, who wouldn't guess that it's our secret weapon? Everyone will be scared to death."

Karina's ears were tickled by Robert's breath, and she chuckled as she brushed a stray hair behind her ear.

The two walked down the welcoming red carpet as if they were coming home, until Katakuri took a half step forward and extended his right hand: "Robert D. Neru, I've heard so much about you, but I've never had the chance to meet you. Thank you for coming to my mother's tea party."

Robert gave a polite bow, then reached out and shook hands with Katakuri.

The moment their palms touched, all three types of Haki were passively activated by Robert.

First, if you encounter someone with Observation Haki, you must also unleash the other two types of Haki, otherwise you will suffer a great loss.

Robert's palm showed no change, but a layer of blackness immediately covered his palm.

Robert has been training in Armament Haki for almost two years. Although his fighting style is not known for close combat, and his strength attribute is currently the weakest of all attributes, he has put the least effort into practicing Armament Haki.

However, this does not mean that Robert's Armament Haki level is poor. In fact, even his weak point of just over 100 points of Strength is among the best on the sea. Apart from a few experts who specialize in Strength, he can fight anyone head-on.

The two men clasped hands together, and Katakuri suddenly exerted force. If Robert hadn't noticed, he would have been at a disadvantage.

Katakuri was not surprised at all that Robert was prepared. What surprised him was that Robert did not show any signs of using Armament Haki when Katakuri did not use it. Robert only slowly used Haki to protect his palm after Katakuri made his move.

Katakuri's smile widened. Although he was using considerable force, his movements were very gentle. To outsiders, it looked like he was gently pulling Robert's hand up and down, a perfectly normal handshake.

However, as time went on, everyone noticed that something was wrong. The two had been holding hands for almost a minute, without saying a word, but they just wouldn't let go!

Everyone watched coldly until a woman with a harsh face broke the deadlock:

"Could these two have hit it off immediately as gay?"

Chapter 37 You should get used to the fact that I'm a master.

The woman thought she was very funny, but she soon found herself unable to be funny anymore.

Without needing any input from the Big Mom Pirates, the man who brought her to the tea party stood up, whispered to the pirate next to him for his opinion, and after receiving a positive reply, walked directly to the woman and snapped her neck in front of everyone.

After doing it, he shrugged with a relieved expression: "That way, we don't need to trouble the host to clean up, right?"

Robert completely ignored the incident and continued to look at Katakuri with a smile.

This first mate of the Big Mom Pirates is a character that Robert really likes, and he was quite excited to see him in person today.

As for Robert testing him right from the start, he wasn't angry at all. If he were in Robert's position, he would have taken the initiative to test him as well.

His net worth is as high as 4.05 billion Berries, a figure not far from that of his mother.

While debut time isn't the only criterion for measuring bounty on this high seas, it is certainly an important factor.

First, the time spent at sea indicates the duration of practice in skills such as Haki, physical techniques, and swordsmanship, which can be improved through training and experience.

Secondly, the fact that the pirate has been around for a long time suggests that he is lucky and knows his limits; otherwise, he would have died in some strange accident long ago.

Katakuri has been in the industry for over twenty years. He's part of the top-tier Big Mom Pirates and ate a Devil Fruit that's considered a special Paramecia type. He has exceptional talent in both developing his Devil Fruit abilities and training in Haki, which is why he has a bounty of 1.057 billion Berries.

Robert has only been in the industry for two years. Although he seems to have been involved in various major events, if you think about it carefully, his experience is definitely not on the same level as Katakuri's. Yet the Navy gave him a bounty of 40 billion, which is on par with that of a Yonko.

Regardless of whether Robert is truly deserving of his title or merely a figurehead, Katakuri, as the vice-captain of one of the Four Emperors, must help his mother uncover Robert's true nature.

If Robert is not worthy of his reputation, then he is not qualified to receive a bounty similar to his mother's. Katakuri must kill him to maintain the prestige of the Four Emperors' crew. Otherwise, if the Navy brings in any more high-bounty scoundrels in the future, wouldn't they lose face as one of the Four Emperors?

If Robert lives up to his reputation, Katakuri needs to test the extent of his strength. This test cannot be conducted by Big Mom herself, as there would be no room for maneuver regardless of the outcome. Only he, as her son, can do it.

Since Katakuri should test his strength both morally and logically, Robert naturally wouldn't hold back. Having agreed to attend Charlotte Linlin's tea party, he had no intention of keeping a low profile any longer.

Katakuri kept increasing his strength, but Robert handled it with ease. With Armament Haki protecting him, a simple contest of strength was no longer useful.

When Katakuri realized that he couldn't even make Robert's expression change in the slightest, no matter how hard he tried, he knew that the young man in front of him was at least not just some fancy but ineffective fighter used by the Navy.

Katakuri changed tactics and began to compete with Robert in terms of Haki. He first used Observation Haki to interfere with Robert's perception, while constantly changing the intensity of his Armament Haki.

Robert found it boring; the two had been shaking hands for quite some time. Although his main purpose today was to make a splash, he didn't want to be a guest performer for others' entertainment.

Since Katakuri wasn't speeding up the process, Robert simply moved on to the next stage.

Karina pulled her left arm away slightly, and she knew what Robert meant. She took a few steps back and let go of his arm, but still looked in this direction with her arms crossed. She did not enter the banquet hall first.

When Katakuri saw Robert drive away his female companion, he thought Robert was having trouble keeping up. But he quickly realized that if Robert was having trouble keeping up, how could he be distracted by signaling his female companion to leave?

Sure enough, when Katakuri realized something was wrong, Robert suddenly unleashed a powerful aura, activating his Conqueror's Haki.

Although the old man Chinjao lowered the prestige of Conqueror's Haki by saying that "there are countless strong people with Conqueror's Haki in the New World," in reality, people who possess this top-level talent are still very few and far between.

Katakuri is also a master of Conqueror's Haki. If Robert hadn't reacted quickly enough and actively suppressed the Haki that was about to erupt passively, he would have almost unleashed all three types of Haki the moment they shook hands.

Now that he has made the first move, Katakuri was also taken aback and quickly unleashed his Haki to counter.

Two of the most outstanding young masters suddenly unleashed their Conqueror's Haki, causing the other guests watching the spectacle to stagger backward.

In fact, both Robert and Katakuri were very restrained, keeping the range of their Haki within a small area of ​​a few meters as much as possible.

However, Conqueror's Haki is an extension of one's own spirit and energy. Once you decide to unleash your aura, you can't simply suppress it.

After just one duel, Robert smiled. He knew that his Observation Haki was probably inferior to that of a prodigy like Katakuri, and his Armament Haki was likely also inferior to Katakuri's due to a lack of training opportunities.

But this Conqueror's Haki is something I've got a cheat code for!

With his current prestige at sea, several people have already elevated his Conqueror's Haki to an extremely high level. He was not at a disadvantage when he fought Shanks before, let alone Katakuri, who can only be considered a Yonko's second-in-command.

Robert even had a vague feeling that as someone's second-in-command, he would never be able to cultivate Conqueror's Haki to the top tier, because a master of that level would never be content to be second to anyone.

Now, with just one test, Robert has completely suppressed Katakuri's Conqueror's Haki.

Robert released his hand, and Katakuri couldn't even resist: "I felt a sense of kinship with Mr. Katakuri today, but I am here for a tea party, and I can't delay your welcoming of guests. Let's find another opportunity to talk later."

Robert nodded slightly, and Karina walked forward with a smile and took Robert's arm. Everyone's expression changed as they looked at Karina.

They all knew that Karina was a famous songstress on the sea, and they had also heard that Robert had an ambiguous relationship with her, and even killed the Golden Emperor Tesoro for her.

But everyone only realized today that Karina is also a master!

She stood so close to Robert and Katakuri, directly enduring the clash of their Conqueror's Haki, yet remained completely calm and composed, maintaining her elegant posture throughout.

Some of the more shrewd individuals have already begun considering their escape routes. Robert, aboard Morgans' airship, attends Big Mom's tea party and gains the upper hand when faced with Katakuri's show of force!

This tea party is probably going to turn into something quite turbulent!

Chapter 38 Here comes the stepping stone.

Many people attended the tea party, but the real key guests were all in the upper echelons.

After getting past Katakuri, Robert and Karina naturally walked up the candy stairs, where they were personally greeted by Perospero and escorted to the top-floor banquet hall.

Logically, it should have been Perospero, the eldest son, who greeted the guests in Charlotte Linlin's place, not Katniss II, who was standing at the end of the red carpet.

Before Robert, Katakuri hadn't been seen interacting with anyone. It seemed like he was just waiting there specifically to test Robert.

After seeing Robert and Karina upstairs, Perospero didn't follow them up, but instead went to his younger brother Katakuri's side:

"Hehehe~ This isn't like you. Did you suffer some kind of hidden loss?"

Katakuri snapped out of his reverie: "No, I was just savoring the spirit conveyed in his domineering aura. It's very interesting."

Perospero laughed and said, "Then I'm relieved. I thought you were overthinking things. You have a lot to do today, so don't slack off."

Katakuri nodded, completely ignoring the stares of those around him, and quickly turned and left.

Perospero still wore a smile, as if he were wearing a mask, and it seemed that no matter what happened, it wouldn't affect his smile.

He turned and walked up his candy-themed spiral staircase. Once he was upstairs, the staircase would be demolished. Robert was the last guest upstairs.

Robert went upstairs, and Morgans, accompanied by several oddly shaped people, came forward to greet him: "I can only introduce you; whether they agree to cooperate with you is another matter."

Morgans turned to Robert and said, "These old fogies insist on getting to know you."

He pointed to a fierce-looking man with a full beard and said, "This is Umit..."

Robert politely shook the man's hand: "King of Shipping, I've heard so much about you. Raleigh mentioned you to me."

A drunkard with a bright red nose interrupted, "Was he the only one mentioned?"

Robert bowed slightly and said, "Of course, Mr. Gibson, the king of warehouses, was also mentioned."

Umet, with a stern expression, said, "Mr. Raleigh is a powerful dragon that can stir up the seas and make us old guys feel a little breathless."