One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

Charlotte Lindsay's decision to have Karina sing on stage seemed like a sign of reconciliation, but in reality, both the wording and the occasion were quite impolite.

Karina is indeed a singer, but she is a world-renowned and popular singer, and she came to the tea party as Robert's companion, not some third-rate starlet who can be summoned and dismissed at will.

Regardless of Karina's profession, as long as she is by Robert's side as his female companion today, she represents Robert's reputation.

If there's a pre-arranged performance segment, or if the atmosphere is right and the host throws out a suggestion to invite Karina to sing a song, then it's acceptable.

Charlotte Linlin was quite blunt, basically treating Karina like a canary for her own amusement. It was Robert's right not to agree at this point, and it would be a favor to turn against her. Agreeing to Karina's appearance on stage would be a huge turn-off.

Let alone a formal banquet date, even if you bring a pet, it's disrespectful to the owner to be casually invited on stage to perform a spinning handshake.

But Robert agreed so readily that it surprised Stussy.

Now is the time for him to push his reputation to its peak, no longer the time to bide his time. He cannot afford to bow down or make any concessions.

Robert's attitude can be seen in his direct announcement at the start of the banquet that he would eliminate Du Field, the king of the underworld, and his refusal to back down even when the hostess herself intervened.

If he hadn't been so forceful earlier, and had only agreed to let Karina go on stage now, people would have thought he was just treating Karina as a plaything.

He was zero-tolerance towards Du Field, not even for a single unspoken curse. Now, if Robert could accept Charlotte Linlin, one of the Four Emperors, treating his female companion like a jukebox would be a bit of a slapstick.

A inconsistent attitude makes people think that Robert is playing favorites and only bullies the weak, completely destroying the tough persona he had previously established.

As expected, everyone present was shrewd. When this seemingly casual answer was given, no one showed any unusual expression on the surface. Some people showed expectant expressions, and some seemed to breathe a sigh of relief because of the reconciliation between Robert and Charlotte Linlin. But in reality, everyone's attention to Robert decreased immediately.

Charlotte Linlin was in high spirits because of Robert's affirmative answer: "Mama~! I've been very angry lately because some ungrateful brat has upset me."

"That newly appointed Shichibukai, Law, took the initiative to propose marriage, and I originally agreed."

"But he actually suggested that my daughter be his concubine, oh my god~"

Most of the guests remained calm, mainly because they didn't know what emotions to express and were afraid that they might inadvertently become the target of the older woman's anger.

Charlotte Linlin's invitation was vague, only stating that she was looking for a husband for her daughter.

The person who sent the invitation would give some verbal explanation, saying that Luo had come to propose marriage, but was found to have other women, which is why the old lady was furious and wanted to find a different son-in-law.

Everyone tried to find out through their own channels that Law had brought a woman to the island. Now, listening to Charlotte Linlin, they realized that Law was incredibly audacious.

He wasn't trying to keep a mistress and getting caught by the older woman; he was openly and brazenly trying to marry her daughter as a concubine!

"I've already finished making the wedding cake, how dare this bastard ask me to change the latte art on it! That's my favorite strawberry cream!"

"In a moment, I will extract his soul in front of everyone and put it into some small objects."

Even those most familiar with Charlotte Linlin were shocked by her bizarre way of thinking. The reason she was angry was not because Law wanted to marry her daughter as a concubine, but because that would mean the text on the wedding cake would have to be changed.

The calmest person on the scene was Karina, who was impersonating Robert. Her job was simply to buy some time, so she didn't need to make any unnecessary expressions or movements to attract unnecessary attention.

Meanwhile, the real Robert was gritting his teeth as he went in and out of the bathrooms on Whole Cake Island.

Robert and Law have known each other for over two years and have done many things together, but they don't have many places that can be called their "old haunts."

The only thing Robert could think of was that back in Dressrosa, he had been turned into a toy by Sugar and then left a message for Robert in the bathroom of the Grand Colosseum, asking him to help him rescue those who had been dismantled into parts.

Even if Robert had mastered both Observation Haki and Electromagnetic Induction, he still couldn't scan flat text written on a toilet partition.

So Robert had no choice but to resort to the most cumbersome method: he had to rush into the toilet himself to see what message Robert had left for him.

But he had already searched almost every toilet on the island and still hadn't found a single word about it. Robert was beginning to wonder if he had misunderstood the old place.

Robert was in a state of turmoil. He had already searched all the toilets in the Whole Cake Island area, and the only area left to go was the civilian living area. But that area was too big, and even if he was lightning fast, he didn't know how long it would take to search it all.

Even if Karina uses diarrhea as an excuse, she can only hide for half an hour at most; she can't stay in the toilet forever.

Since he had no clue what to do, Robert could only go back first, then adjust his thinking and look for another opportunity.

Just as I was about to leave, my eyes suddenly focused on a huge sign.

It was a tavern with a distinct pirate theme. Although it tried its best to blend in with the fairytale style of Whole Cake Island, it still couldn't hide its rough and rugged nature.

The tavern's sign gleamed with bright, colorful lights: The Old Place!

Chapter 45 The Little Glutton, Turns Out He Was Hungry

Bars are an essential building on every island frequented by pirates, and Whole Cake Island is no exception.

Robert should theoretically still be at Big Mom's tea party, not wandering around in her own backyard.

So at least he was somewhat considerate and took out a long-unused cloak from his prop space that he had almost hung up on the spinning top.

There weren't many people in the bar. The old lady's tea party was the most important event in Whole Cake Island these days. Most of the people who were still hanging out in the bar were marginal pirates who weren't even needed for odd jobs.

Among these scattered henchmen, Capone Becky, dressed as a gangster boss, stood out from the crowd.

Robert saw him as soon as he entered the room. Capone Becky, who had become a member of the Supernovas two years ago, naturally noticed the difference in Robert.

Robert didn't hesitate at all and went straight for Capone Becky. Capone Becky said in an impatient tone, "Why are you only arriving now?"

Robert sat down opposite him without any politeness: "What, have you forgotten how you cried out in pain when you were beaten back then?"

Capone Becky looked a little embarrassed. Two years ago, when Robert first arrived in the Sabaody Archipelago, his biggest hobby was to find people to spar with and gain experience. Capone Becky got beaten up quite a few times.

Capone Becky hated Robert Baratheon to the core back then, not only because Robert initially beat him up almost every day, but also because after only a few days, Baratheon stopped coming and only focused on Baratheon and Kidd, as if declaring that fighting him was pointless.

Capone Becky later realized that without mastering Haki, he was indeed not qualified to fight Robert. Robert could avoid all damage with a single elemental transformation, and even if he filled the castle with weapons, he couldn't hurt Robert in the slightest.

As Robert has become more and more successful in the past two years, the hatred he felt back then has gradually faded.

More importantly, Robert later begged him for help, adopting a very humble attitude, which allowed Capone Becky to regain some morale.

"And don't forget who made your fake identity for you."

Robert chuckled dismissively: "You mean Robert De Niro? He gave me a half-finished identity and still had the nerve to talk about it. I had to pull some strings in the CP department to clean up the mess myself."

"And that identity can't be used now. Of course, I'm a grateful person, so I'm still very thankful for your help."

Capone Becky scoffed: "Ronald asked you to save him."

Robert was taken aback: "How did Robert know I would come to Big Mom's tea party? What if I didn't come? How did he plan to get away?"

Capone Becky said expressionlessly, "It's because you came so suddenly that I had to find a way to have Carrot sneak into the tea party to let you know how to meet. If you hadn't come, it would have been easier; I would have just called you directly to deliver the message."

Robert realized he had overcomplicated the matter. He thought Robert was a master strategist who had anticipated his attendance at the tea party and had therefore laid out many backup plans, and that he was merely one of the final steps to save Robert's escape.

In fact, Luo's plan was so simple that it only took two steps: he came to cause trouble and court death, and Luo notified Luo to come and rescue him.

Robert couldn't help but roll his eyes: "What serious illness does he have that makes him go to such lengths to get me to come and fight the Big Mom Pirates?"

Capone Becky said, "I'm not asking you to fight her, I'm asking us to fight together!"

Robert raised his hand: "I snuck out of the tea party, and I don't know when I'll be discovered. You'd better get to the point and stop keeping me in suspense."

Capone Becky wasn't angry: "Roy said he made an agreement with you. The thing he promised is only one step away from being completed on Whole Cake Island, but he needs you to come and help him out."

Robert frowned: "He was being very secretive with me, only saying he was going to send a big gift, but he didn't tell me what he was up to. How did he tell you?"

Capone Becky's expression was aloof: "No!"

Robert rolled his eyes so hard they practically screamed, "Then what's so great about you, bro?"

Capone Bege said, "He promised me that as long as I bring you and Luffy, we can defeat Big Mom and become famous in one battle!"

Robert was almost speechless. If I wanted to fight one of the Four Emperors, did I need you guys to plan this for me? Why don't you just bring your fleet and attack me directly?

"So you summoned Luffy too? How did you convince him to come?"

Capone Becky said, "I told him you were tricked into coming to the island by the old lady, and that she's going to kill you at the tea party."

Robert was about to curse: "Are you out of your mind? You're using me as bait to lure Luffy? What are you going to say when he gets here and finds out it's all made up to fool him?"

Capone Becky stared intently into Robert's eyes: "I'm not lying to him, Big Mom really is going to lure you here to kill you!"

Robert frowned deeply. In the original story, the old lady's tea party was actually a meticulously planned murder plot.

She asked the Vinsmoke family to use technology to modify the soldiers of her pirate crew, but she was afraid that the Vinsmoke family might have some supreme authority to command the modified soldiers. So she wanted to use the excuse of marrying Sanji to lure the whole Vinsmoke family to Whole Cake Island and solve all the problems at once.

The Vinsmoke family didn't come to the tea party at all. Robert had wondered why the old lady couldn't possibly have organized a tea party because she was getting married off her daughter.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't guess who they were planning to target, and he never imagined that he would be their target.

Of the three existing royal crews, he had the least contact with the Big Mom Pirates, with no business dealings or disputes. That's why Robert dared to agree to attend the meeting so readily.

"What, have you become Charlotte Linlin's lover these past two years? How did you manage to find out such a secret?"

Capone Becky was completely unfazed by Robert's sarcasm: "This is no secret in Whole Cake Island. Your existence has seriously threatened the core security of Whole Cake Island."

Robert was most puzzled by this: what exactly made the Big Mom Pirates decide to take action against him? At their level, it wasn't something that could be started simply because they didn't like him.

Even in an organization like World of Warcraft, which is built around a family, Charlotte Linlin cannot disregard the interests of everyone and make arbitrary decisions based solely on personal likes and dislikes, unless she truly threatens the common interests of everyone.

"What did I do to offend her? Even if I have the ambition to become one of the Four Emperors, it's still easier than for an ordinary pirate."

"After all, I essentially inherited my father's estate directly. It's not like I have to defeat one of the old Four Emperors to make room for him. Why is this crazy woman targeting me?"

Capone Becky stared intently at Robert, slowly uttering two words:

"food!"

Chapter 46 Oh no, it's coming for me again.

Robert suddenly realized what he had done and almost slapped himself twice.

Before he arrived, he was at least confident, if not overconfident, and felt that befriending him would be more beneficial to the Big Mom Pirates than killing him.

I am now not only very capable personally, but my team has also grown into a behemoth.

Shanks turned against him twice. The first time was when he tried to lure him to the killing contest venue and call on the Five Elders and the Knights of God to ambush him.

The second time, they were more cautious. They used the entire group, along with the giants, to kidnap their master, hoping to force him to submit by taking him hostage.

After two counterattacks, Robert was confident that Shanks would never dare to attack him again unless he was prepared to fight to the death.

Kaido was more direct. After discovering his whereabouts, he immediately confronted him and challenged him to a duel. Once he had ascertained Kaido's strength, he simply proposed a collaboration.

The only one Robert could never have imagined when he received the tea party invitation was Charlotte Linlin, who planned to force herself on him.

His Devil Fruit ability is no secret on the high seas; his battle record is well-documented.

Moreover, given her consistently vengeful nature, she shouldn't risk her own life by attacking her, especially with the powerful and wealthy Big Mom Pirates.

But now, after Capone Becky's reminder, Robert instantly understood.

I'm not exactly keeping to myself with the Big Mom Pirates; just by controlling their supply lines, they see me as a path to certain death!