One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

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Due to unforeseen circumstances, I need to go to another campus for class this afternoon, so this chapter will be posted later.

Chapter 17 Take Everything You Want

Kaido scoffed, "You still don't understand. If you want to become one of the Four Emperors, you can only rely on yourself."

Robert was somewhat surprised that Kaido's focus wasn't on the fact that he had sent Luffy to Wano Country to cause trouble.

"Of course I know I can only rely on myself, but I never thought of stepping on you to get ahead. You said that you are Luffy's test, while my test subject is someone else."

Kaido flicked his tail and continued forward: "I understand. I will deploy a large force in your former territory. If you want to take it back, then let's have a real fight."

Robert stopped walking alongside Kaido and stood still, sincerely saying, "Our cooperation hasn't even started yet, so don't die!"

Kaido's dragon head exhaled hot air: "It's not certain who will die yet!"

Kaido continued forward without looking back, while Robert disappeared from the spot.

Without Robert's prior notice, Luffy and his crew's operation in Wano Country would still not have gone smoothly. After all, how could they bring out Luffy's potential if it went smoothly?

Robert intervened this time, originally intending to keep Law by his side to fight on the front lines. That's why he specially arranged for Ace to fill the gap in Law's combat strength, and also arranged for Carina to help them devise strategies. In essence, Ace and Carina were used to replace Law's position.

As a result, Law volunteered to go to Wano Country to rescue Kid. Seeing that Ace was immersed in the wonderful dream of fighting alongside the two brothers, Robert did not change the previous arrangements and simply let them both go to Wano Country.

With the addition of Ace and Carina, the fighting power to overthrow Wano Country has greatly increased. Even if Ace is still not able to carry the banner of a Yonko crew at this stage, he is no problem to be on par with the Yonko's first mate.

So far, aside from using her brain to play some tricks, Karina has only demonstrated the Nine-Tailed Fox form of the Devil Fruit's ability to change appearance. This is a Mythical Zoan type Devil Fruit, so how could its effect be similar to Bon Clay's Imitation Fruit?

Furthermore, the essence of Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruits is still Zoan-type Devil Fruits. Once a Zoan-type fruit is eaten, it will at least greatly enhance the physical strength. Karina has been by Redfield's side for so long, and she has always been diligent in learning physical skills and navigation.

Karina hadn't shown much strength before, just because she didn't need to. If a real fight broke out, even if you put Karina in the Straw Hat crew, she would at least be a top-five player.

Not to mention that Luffy is accompanied by his second brother Sabo this time. Even without eating the Flame-Flame Fruit, this strong man is still a top-notch fighter in terms of physical skills alone.

With the Straw Hat crew's strength receiving an epic boost, Robert naturally had to find a way to inform Kaido so he could prepare early. Otherwise, if the pressure on Luffy wasn't enough to teach him Conqueror's Haki or if the Nika Devil Fruit awakening failed, Robert would be in deep trouble.

Kaido may have been tough on the outside, but his actions betrayed his eagerness to return. The first thing he did upon arriving back on Onigashima was to gather all his officers together:

"Everyone knows about the Whole Cake Island incident. Robert has now consolidated the Whitebeard Pirates' power, and his original subordinates were all very strong."

"Given the immense power he gained from defeating the old woman, he will surely strive to become one of the Four Emperors. At that time, he is very likely to start by attacking the White Gang territory that we previously occupied."

"Jin, give the order: we will only retain a minimum force for basic operations in our original territory, and transfer everyone else to the original White Regiment's territory!"

King nodded and noted it down. Kaido continued, "What worries me even more is their direct attack on Wano Country. That place is too important to us. Gather all the officers and have them stay with me to defend Wano Country!"

Jack and Queen had no objections, but King frowned: "If we have to deploy a large number of troops to the newly occupied territory to defend against the Lightning Department's attack, and also take all the officers to Wano Country, then who will command the main battlefield?"

Kaido said nonchalantly, "Hasn't Doflamingo always harbored resentment towards Robert? Tell him that in this direct confrontation, all the Beast Pirates' personnel will be under his command!"

Kaido is capable of making decisions with a single word within the Beasts Pirates. Although King was puzzled by the order, he quickly carried it out.

The Beasts Pirates quickly mobilized, with a large number of elite pirates who were originally stationed on Onigashima boarding ships and sailing out to sea.

After meeting Kaido, Robert rushed to Dressrosa. The Raibu fleet had already arrived in the nearby waters and was confronting Buggy's delivery ships.

Such a large-scale fleet movement would be difficult to conceal from those who were interested, and during this period, besides his enemies, Crocodile was probably the most concerned about Robert's movements.

After taking over Dressrosa, Crocodile realized just how big a hole Robert had dug for Bucky.

It's not that Dressrosa is developing poorly; on the contrary, it's because it's developing too well!

Even with the withdrawal of White Group's logistics personnel, which also took away a large amount of business that was circulating in Tokushima, Dressrosa itself has demonstrated tremendous earning power.

The dreamlike style created by Robert using the Sky Island Clouds, combined with Tokushima's year-round summer climate, has attracted a large number of tourists.

A country with a thriving tourism industry can drive the booming development of its service industry, which in turn has a huge demand for light industrial products, thus revitalizing other industries in the country as well.

But the biggest problem is that the huge prerequisite for Dressrosa's glamorous success is the development of infrastructure regardless of cost.

When India was here, the money approved every day was like flowing water, which was able to maintain the country's high-speed development. Once the funds invested in infrastructure dried up, the first thing that would happen was that a large number of workers would lose their jobs, leading to a decline in the national consumption level.

The collapse of this economic system is a chain reaction, affecting everything. Within two months of taking over Tokushima, Pakistani was at a loss because he couldn't cover the subsequent investments.

Crocodile is absolutely capable. He made the decision to resume production only a few days after arriving. With the limited funds in the national treasury being allocated to various projects, Dressrosa instantly regained its vitality.

But Crocodile had no idea where to get the money next, and could only rely on his exceptional personal abilities to rob Peter to pay Paul and barely keep the country's economy from collapsing.

That's why he was so eager to give Robert a hard time when Robert came last time.

Crocodile's affected manner wasn't meant to scare Robert away; rather, he understood that Robert dared to hand Dressrosa over to Bucky because he knew that no one but them could fill the gaps in Dressrosa's development.

He first painted a rosy picture, pretending that he had already resolved all the problems since arriving in Dressrosa, in order to make Robert worry that he wouldn't be able to take back Dressrosa, thus securing a more favorable negotiating deal.

He really didn't expect that Robert didn't mention the ownership of Dressrosa at all, as if he really had no intention of taking it back. He just talked to him about bringing in other Shichibukai to form an alliance before leaving.

From then on, Crocodile lived each day as if it were an eternity, knowing full well that Dressrosa was like a giant bomb, which could turn into worthless trash or even a burden to its controller at any moment.

Now, Robert's newly formed Thunder Department army is pressing in, and Pakistani Express seems to be on high alert, but in reality, they're just waiting for the fireworks to welcome them!

Chapter 18 Business

What kind of deals were being made by those at higher levels was something their subordinates had no idea about.

All the Bucky Express mercenaries knew was that in front of them was a super fleet of forty or fifty ships, all large warships, carrying super pirates whose bounties had just been revised by the Navy.

The thin man standing at the bow of the ship now was once a pledge of allegiance from the Riku royal family when their leader occupied Dressrosa.

Although it's unknown how he escaped, he's now back in Dressrosa with a net worth of 2.63 billion Berries. No one would believe he's not back for revenge.

The main reason why the Indian man was able to receive such a high bounty is that he possesses a huge fortune far exceeding 26 billion. As a super-merchant who controls the grain routes across the world, it is no exaggeration to say that he is worth hundreds of billions.

But the menacing pirates standing around him now are all men who have earned huge bounties through their powerful strength.

The former Whitebeard Pirates had 16 division commanders, and even Izo, who was ranked last, had a net worth of 5 million. Not to mention those ranked ahead of him, the net worth of the great pirates present on this trip definitely exceeded 1000 billion.

The news that Raibu's fleet was heading towards Dressrosa was discovered early on by the Pakistani Express outposts, who quickly assembled dozens of ships to confront them at sea. However, Raibu's ships were outnumbered by Raibu's in terms of size.

Bucky is in a dilemma. He believes that he and Robert are secretly very close, but on the surface they are mortal enemies. Robert usually comes to him directly, and this is the first time he has done it in such a grand manner.

"Should I go out to sea to meet them?"

Crocodile remained seated on the sofa, fiddling with his cigar: "Don't you know how you got to where you are today?"

"You may die, but you must never show the slightest weakness!"

“Robert is a man who does everything with a deeper meaning. Since he chose to come in such a grand manner, there must be a reason for it.”

"Your identity is the boss of Buggy Express, a Shichibukai. Before Robert shows up, even if it's an incredibly powerful and wealthy person, you can't go out and lower your status!"

Alvida burst through the door, panting, without even knocking beforehand. But Bucky wasn't angry at all; instead, he asked anxiously, "What do they mean?"

Alvida had just used her Devil Fruit ability to rush over from the beach at high speed: "Rolly said he's not here for revenge, but to discuss a big business deal with our Buggy Express."

Crocodile scoffed, "What kind of business requires them to bring their army to our borders to negotiate? Are they trying to buy Dressrosa?"

Bucky's eyes lit up. He had originally thought Dressrosa was a huge money bag, but he didn't expect that after he arrived, he would even contribute a lot to it.

Bucky was greedy, not stupid. He had long suspected that Robert had tricked him, and if he could get rid of Dressrosa, that money-devouring behemoth, he would agree without hesitation.

“That’s great. If you ask me, we mercenary companies should build our headquarters in a more desolate place. Right now, those bastards just got their commission and immediately spent it all in Dressrosa. I feel sorry for them.”

"If Robert wants to take this place back, let's just give it to him."

As Bucky spoke, his eyes kept glancing at Crocodile. After all, Crocodile was the real boss, and Bucky could only express his attitude indirectly, but dared not make a direct decision.

Crocodile snorted coldly. What Buggy had just complained about was one of the solutions he had come up with after taking over Dressrosa.

After completing their missions, the Buggy Delivery pirates didn't normally need to return to headquarters. Usually, someone would come to settle their commission as soon as they left the mission location, distribute it to the pirates below, and then leave it to them to squander wherever they wanted.

These pirates will only be reassembled and sent to the battlefield of the new mission when there is another mission.

However, Crocodile now requires all pirates to come to Dressrosa by ship to settle their commissions after completing their mercenary missions.

To accommodate the large number of pirates, Crocodile even designated a special area and built a residential area using the best building materials from Dressrosa, specifically for pirates returning from missions.

He did this to use the pirates' commissions to fill the huge financial deficit in Dressrosa.

These pirates who risk their lives will squander their commissions, so it's better to spend them in Dressrosa than to let them spend their money elsewhere.

In any case, Tokushima is now one of the world's biggest money pits, with all kinds of entertainment facilities available, and you can taste all kinds of food and wine from all over the world here.

The pirates' spending will stimulate the economic cycle of Dressrosa and enrich the national treasury, which is truly Crocodile's masterpiece.

Now Bucky thinks his method is bad, and Crocodile really wants to chop him up!

Robert's voice suddenly appeared in the reception room: "I'm so sorry, I just rushed to see Kaido, so I'm a little late."

Bucky quickly waved to Alvida, signaling her to leave, and then put on a smiling face to greet her: "Not at all, look at what you're saying. Actually, if it weren't for the fact that too many brothers from the Raibu side came and Tokushima couldn't accommodate them all, I would have already brought everyone ashore and entertained them."

Robert chuckled and said, "I think I just heard that you're thinking of moving the headquarters of Pakistan Express?"

Crocodile remained silent, simply observing Robert's intentions. Bucky quickly scratched his head and said:

"The main problem is... when Tokushima was handed over to me, things were going very well, but I didn't have anyone skilled at managing it, and as a result, we quickly squandered the money you left behind..."

Robert laughed and said, "Look at you, I told you we're in cahoots, why didn't you tell me you were out of money?"

Crocodile finally couldn't help but sneer, "What good would it do to tell you? Would you take it back?"

Robert waved his hand: "What do you mean by taking it back? Don't I also have shares in Pakistan Express? We're just passing it around for show, why bother with all this back and forth?"

"So you're just short of money? I've sent someone to bring you the money."

Crocodile squinted and said, "You mean those dozens of giant ships outside aren't carrying pirates, but ships full of Berries?"

Robert met Crocodile's gaze without backing down: "Didn't we agree that we have to pretend to be two different groups on the surface? So I definitely can't openly send the money over."

Crocodile, with an expression that said "I knew it all along," and a tone full of mockery, said, "I really don't understand. If you can't just give me the money, then what do you plan to do?"

Robert looked surprised: "Hasn't Raleigh told you the purpose of his trip after all this time?"

"They're here to do business!"

Chapter 19 Doing business with smart people is simple

The Indians said they were there to do business, but Crocodile didn't believe them at all. Surely, the business they were doing with dozens of warships couldn't be the opium trade.

But when Robert himself said he wanted to do business, Crocodile really started to think about it. After all, Robert's own fighting power was enough to rival a fleet, so he didn't need any external support to make a show of force.

"What kind of business?"