One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

Sabo stared intently at Robert's expression for a moment, and, confirming his sincerity, nodded solemnly.

They had known each other for some time, and Sabo believed he knew Robert quite well, especially after several major events when the Revolutionary Army conducted a detailed investigation and assessment of Robert.

Since Robert said he needed the Revolutionary Army to provide some kind of testimony, it seems that his capture of this member of the Kozuki family is not as simple as it appears.

What was supposed to be a celebratory banquet for everyone's united efforts in escaping the clutches of the terrifying Four Emperors turned into an awkward situation due to the antics of a few unrelated Wano Country samurai. As a result, everyone lost interest in continuing the festivities and returned to their respective ships.

Luffy and his crew were already conflicted. They didn't take it seriously at first because they believed that Robert was not the kind of bad person who would kidnap a child.

But Robert actually admitted it himself. Although he had some reasons, they had made a promise to the samurai of Wano Country before, so they were a little unsure of how to handle the situation.

Robert knew very well that since Luffy had gotten involved in this matter, it would become a rift between them if it wasn't completely resolved, so he took the initiative to ask to meet with Kin'emon and the others.

Back on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, only their own crew remained. Law suggested that Carrot go and rest, then spoke up to ease the awkwardness: "I've been working on these Poneglyphs for almost half a year, risking my life to get them. You just casually handed them over to that kid Luffy. Aren't you worried he won't return them to us?"

Luffy wasn't bothered by the awkward footage at all. He laughed and said, "Luffy, don't you understand? If he could do something like hacking these Poneglyphs, he wouldn't be where he is now, and he wouldn't be our friend."

Ace chimed in, "Hey, that's my brother! I'm right here and you're already talking bad about him?"

Of course, they could all tell that Luo was joking, so they weren't really angry.

Luo is usually very easygoing: "How about it? My pledge of allegiance is pretty good, right? Except for the lost Poneglyph from Fishman Island, which I couldn't find, I got everything else."

Marco, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "The Poneglyphs of Fish-Man Island..."

Robert's eyes widened. "That's right! Fishman Island was always Father's territory before. The Poneglyphs have been hidden on Fishman Island for so long. Our Whitebeard Pirates should know what's on them!"

Marco stammered, "The Poneglyph wasn't lost; it was moved elsewhere, but..."

Robert noticed Marco's predicament: "Is it that you can't tell me?"

Marco nodded somewhat sheepishly: "I promised Dad..."

Robert laughed and said, "It's alright, I'm not actually in a hurry to find the One Piece."

Even if Robert had obtained all four Road Poneglyphs, he wouldn't immediately go looking for the One Piece.

Even Roger was helpless against it, so even if I found the place, how could I possibly take it away?

Seeing Marco's guilty expression, Robert quickly changed the subject: "Everyone, most of our main members are here today, and I need to give you an explanation of some of the previous plans."

All of the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders, plus the captains of several affiliated pirate crews whose organization had been scattered during the final battle, were on board. After the situation on Skypiea stabilized, Robert sent all of the Whitebeard Pirates' elites back to sea and placed them under Indian command.

Although the White Group lost its territory on the sea during this period, many of the brothers who had been scattered earlier were found.

Seeing that Robert's tone was serious, everyone stopped laughing and joking and listened to what he was about to say.

"We were too weak before and were severely injured by Akainu and Blackbeard. We couldn't defend the territory that our father left behind."

Everyone's faces were filled with grief and indignation; some gritted their teeth, while others lowered their heads in shame.

"So at that time, I had no choice but to give up all the territory. At that time, holding onto the territory would only make us more hesitant, and we would eventually be trapped on the islands and slaughtered by the enemy."

A great man from my hometown once summarized it as: "If you save people but lose land, you can save both people and land; if you save land but lose people, you can lose both people and land!"

"We have lost land, but we have saved the lives of the vast majority of our brothers, which has left a spark for a future counterattack."

"And now, it's time to counterattack!"

Chapter 7 I'm really bad at naming things

The atmosphere froze for a moment, then erupted into a deafening cheer.

Since Whitebeard's death, his adopted sons have lived in pain and self-blame every day.

It's normal to feel pain. They used to live the life of the world's strongest pirate crew, but suddenly they fell from grace. Countless nobodies and scoundrels that they used to look down on now dare to come and cause trouble.

Although the Whitebeard Pirates were very strong, they had just experienced the Marineford War and suffered heavy losses.

Dealing with all these rotten fish and shrimp every day is simply too much for him to handle, something that would never have been possible when Whitebeard was alive.

As for the self-blame, it's because he lost the family business left by his father.

When Robert said he would give all his territories to Kaido, no one blamed him, because if he hadn't risked his life to raid Blackbeard's lair, these territories would have been lost during the final battle.

Compared to these territories falling into the hands of their archenemy Blackbeard, it's better to let Kaido, who was also one of the Four Emperors and who didn't take advantage of their misfortune after their father's death out of some consideration.

The pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates are all old guys who have spent most of their lives at sea. Even though Robert has never specifically explained it, they know very well why they ceded their territory to Kaido.

The White Gang needs a new banner to deter troublemakers, just like when their father was still alive, so that all the monsters and demons would tremble in fear and everyone could save themselves from dealing with trivial matters and focus on developing their territory.

However, after the battle, Akainu and Blackbeard completely exposed the Whitebeard Pirates' weakness and vulnerability to everyone. Even though Robert used a strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" to break the siege, it still couldn't calm those ignorant thieves down for a while. Instead, they attacked Whitebeard Pirates' territory even more frantically.

It's fair to say that before Robert ceded his territory, the Whitebeard Pirates had already been driven to the brink of collapse by this endless challenge.

It wasn't until Robert quietly laid out his plan for Skypiea and led everyone to occupy such a large territory in the White Sea that the Whitebeard Pirates felt relieved, at least they had a stable rear base where they didn't have to rush around putting out fires every day.

The Whitebeard Pirates gave the territory to Kaido so that they could recuperate. During the time the Whitebeard Pirates were relocated to Skypiea, they finally had time to allow the pirates who were injured in the final battle to recover properly, and they also sent people to reunite the brothers who had been scattered in the previous battle.

Robert raised his hand to silence everyone: "Gentlemen, I live with guilt every day for handing over the last of Father's assets to others."

"But we lack both strength and time, so this is a last resort."

"And there's another important reason why we gave away all the family property left by our father!"

Ace chimed in at the opportune moment, "What's the reason?"

Robert gave him a look that said, "You're so sensible." He continued, "Inheriting one's father's legacy has always been a way to avoid many detours, but it has also always been a way to be looked down upon by others."

"Even if we remain powerful, it's just a false prosperity. If the new generation of pirates were to choose to challenge one of the Four Emperors and reach the top, who do you think they would choose?"

No one spoke, but the expressions on their faces clearly showed that they all agreed with what Robert had said.

The Four Emperors may seem incredibly powerful, but every day countless new generation pirates try to challenge them and reach the pinnacle.

Ace joined Whitebeard's ranks after constantly challenging him.

Let alone the now-down-on-their-luck Whitebeard Pirates, even powerful figures like Big Mom and Shanks have stubborn guys like Capone Bege and Kid challenging them.

"If we want to return to the top, it's not enough to rely on the reputation left by our father. We must walk the same path he walked and fight our way out with real swords and spears."

"In battle after battle, we will show the world just how strong we are!"

"Playing defensively will only make us look like pushovers. It's time to let the world see us for who we really are!"

Ace walked up to Robert and slowly began, "My father entrusted the Whitebeard Pirates to me, but I failed to protect them..."

Before Robert could offer any words of comfort, Marco stepped forward and said, "I also bear some responsibility for this. Ace was under immense pressure at the time, enduring humiliation to go to Shanks' side and hone his skills. I was the one actually managing the team."

"But as everyone knows, the endless trivial matters on a daily basis had already exhausted us. When Akainu and Blackbeard attacked, our vulnerability was immediately exposed."

"Even without Blackbeard, there would be Redbeard, Yellowbeard, and Purplebeard. As long as we don't become strong again, we will eventually be defeated by others."

Ace took a deep breath and said, "To secure our position among the Four Emperors, we must dedicate all our resources to nurturing a leader whose strength is so great that everyone trembles in fear. I'm sorry, but my strength is not yet sufficient to take on this responsibility."

Vista, the swordsman, knew what the two were implying, so he simply stated bluntly, "Marco and Ace have already discussed this with everyone privately! We all support Robert!"

Robert knew exactly what they were talking about. The subtle, three-fold invitation and refusal tactics of the Chinese, culminating in the emperor's ascension to the throne and a bitter rebuke of those who had misled him, were not applicable in the world of One Piece.

Robert stepped forward without hesitation: "Everyone here is my senior and elder brother. I am honored to be chosen to take over. If there is anything I have done wrong, please do not remain silent. I will humbly accept it!"

The people present—Ah San, Karina, Luo, and Baby-5—were all members of Luo's own team, so naturally they wouldn't jump out and sabotage him at this time.

The other members of the White Team had also received the news long ago, watching as Robert proved himself time and time again in battle.

Robert has actually raised his net worth to over 40 billion Berries without relying too much on the Whitebeard Pirates, and everyone is convinced that he has taken over as captain.

Marco and Ace exchanged a glance, then cleared their throats and said, "Since no one has any objections, there's only one last thing left."

Ace interjected, "It's not that we want to erase all of Whitebeard's mark, but that he's no longer here. We can't live our lives under Whitebeard's name forever. We have to do what Robert said and make something of ourselves."

Marco made the final decision: "So, we should change the name 'Whitebeard Pirates'..."

All eyes turned to Robert, who was truly caught off guard this time.

When Ace first said he would hand over the Whitebeard Pirates to him, he mentioned the matter of changing the name. However, at that time, Robert believed that it was not enough to rely solely on Ace's wishes without everyone's consent, and he could not create hidden dangers for the future.

So he didn't agree to take over at that time, and naturally he didn't agree to change his name either.

Now that almost all the members of the White Group are present, and he is now the official leader in law, the matter of changing his name has been brought up again.

Robert was completely unprepared. Seeing everyone's eyes fixed on him, waiting for him to say a memorable name, his mind went completely blank for a moment.

"We...are standing at the forefront of this era...how about we call ourselves..."

"Times Fengjun?"

Chapter 8 Thunder Department!

After rejecting several names, including "Lick the Feces Boys" and "Middle-aged Group of the Times," Marco finally couldn't stand it anymore.

"When you were acting like a god on Sky Island, didn't you say you were a Heavenly Venerable of the Thunder Department? I think the name Thunder Department is quite good."

"At the level of the Four Emperors' crews, the focus is more on the characteristics of the team's main combat force. Your ability is lightning, so it wouldn't be out of place for us to call you the Lightning Division."

Robert nodded quickly; it was really too much trouble for him to come up with a name.

Many of the Whitebeard Pirates members present felt somewhat saddened, but it was out of nostalgia for the first half of their lives, not because they had any objection to the names Robert or Raibe.

In fact, Robert had thought about this issue long ago. No matter how soft-hearted he was, he would eventually have to remove the Whitebeard Pirates symbol from his crew.

These are minor issues when everyone is united, but when faced with setbacks, clinging to old designations can become a trigger for division.

Moreover, if Robert had simply taken over the Whitebeard Pirates' legacy and then used that legacy to his advantage as a veteran Yonko crew, that would have been one thing. But Robert started from scratch and built his own crew before incorporating the Whitebeard Pirates.

He himself does indeed have the identity of the white-bearded adopted son, but how should his subordinates conduct themselves?

Even when inviting Law to join, Robert had already considered this issue. He had already made up his mind that if he invited Law to join as the new leader of the Whitebeard Pirates, Law might not agree.

Indians reacted the fastest. During this period, he used the economy as a starting point to build up a huge reputation within the White Group and has completely taken over the position of the Ice Witch Whiteybe as the head of logistics in the White Group.

He walked to the ship's side and whispered a few words to the pirates waiting there. Instantly, the news spread that the Whitebeard Pirates had officially changed their name to the Raibu and that Robert had been elected as their new leader with the unanimous approval of all the officers. The news reached the ears of every member.

Some people are reminiscing about the past, some are looking forward to the future, but in fact everyone knew that this day would come, and everyone was ready for Robert to officially become captain and lead everyone back to the top.

As for the Raibu, it's just a name. They've long since let go of the glory of the Whitebeard Pirates, allowing them to shed the burden of being the world's strongest and move forward with a lighter load. This is probably what their father would have wanted most in heaven.

As dawn broke, the newly established Thunder Department had already changed all the ships' flags with the brand-new ones designed overnight.

Raibu and the Straw Hat Grand Fleet set sail together, heading towards the ever-wandering Zunesha.

The World Economic News was published a full half-day late that day, and many well-informed people had already learned of the dramatic changes on Whole Cake Island through their own channels.

The tea party invited all the dark kings of the underworld, including Morgans, the owner of World Economic News. The next day's newspaper had not been published by late afternoon, and many people were speculating whether Morgans had died on Whole Cake Island.