One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

-----------------

Luffy and his crew landed in Egerhard entirely at Robert's behest, so naturally they weren't told all the plans.

Luffy felt that after the big battle, he not only obtained the Super Dragon and the Ancient Robot, but Nami also took away the Gem Synthesis Machine that she had been longing for, and even brought the machine that could automatically produce food onto the ship.

However, his initial goal of coming to Eghead—to help Robert cause chaos in order to rescue the scientist who could change the world—was ultimately thwarted.

After escaping on the giants' ship, none of the Straw Hat crew members were in high spirits.

Robin knew what was making everyone sad, and comforted them with a smile:

"Don't worry, everyone. There's no need to worry about Robert. He should have already achieved his goal."

Luffy looked worried: "But that old man with the apple on his head died right in front of us. Robert really wanted to save him."

"And just by looking at the inventions on Egghead Island, you can tell that Uncle Applehead is a scientist who specializes in researching how to improve people's lives. We couldn't save him..."

Robin smiled mysteriously: "Robert told us to follow the giants to Elbaf to wait for him, and said he had a little surprise for me there."

"Judging from the expression on his face when he said he would give me a little surprise, he didn't look like someone who had just lost a comrade. So, he probably lied to everyone. Dr. Vegapunk is most likely not dead."

Luffy's eyes lit up instantly: "Really?! That's great!"

Seeing that he had finally emerged from his dejection, Robin smiled, only to hear Luffy shout:

"Now we can have a banquet! Sanji! Quick, bring out that machine we stole!"

The door to the enormous house opened, revealing Brogy's bearded face: "Can we start the banquet now? We've been preparing for this for a long time! Lord Luffy, one of the Four Emperors!"

Luffy looked puzzled and pointed to his face: "The Four Emperors? Me?"

Broglie stretched out his huge palm, with a stack of newspapers in the very center.

Robin reached out and took the stack of newspapers, his eyes widening in surprise.

The front page headlines weren't about the Straw Hat Pirates; after all, the Cross Guild, a super power capable of overturning the maritime order, was definitely more eye-catching.

However, on the second page, World Economic News also devoted a huge amount of space to detailing the various major events that the Straw Hat Pirates have accomplished since their debut.

Coupled with the World Government's recent announcement that raised the Straw Hat Grand Fleet's threat level to the highest, it's clear they've been recognized as one of the Four Emperors.

Luffy smiled as if he had activated his Nika form. In his view, becoming one of the Four Emperors was the only way to become the Pirate King.

Laughter filled the cabin, but suddenly Dorry's booming voice rang out from the deck outside: "Shanks! You actually came to greet us in person?"

Upon hearing Shanks' name, Luffy excitedly rushed out of the house.

But just as he rushed across the super-wide deck to the bow, he saw a slash coming straight at him!

Chapter 6 I find the green hills charming

After a major update, Luffy's Devil Fruit ability has been upgraded from the Paramecia-type Gum-Gum Fruit to the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan type, Nikka form.

However, the characteristics and power represented by a Devil Fruit are never determined by the name of the fruit, but by the spiritual expectations that everyone in the world places on it and the direction in which the user develops it.

Ever since Luffy ate the Devil Fruit, he has been developing it based on the Gum-Gum Fruit. Even after awakening his Nikka form, he still habitually shouts "Gum-Gum" when unleashing his attacks.

His rubbery body has become his trademark, and the characteristic of rubber is that it is not afraid of any blunt force, but it has low defense against slashing and stabbing attacks.

The moment Luffy rushed to the bow of the ship, what came into view was a slash powerful enough to split the sea.

However, Luffy has been at sea for two years. With the protagonist's halo, he can level up several times in a single battle. Not only is he exceptionally talented, but his teachers are also among the strongest in the world. How could he possibly have any obvious weaknesses now?

Black Armament Haki covered his entire upper body, and Luffy instinctively wanted to activate Gear Fourth to withstand the sword energy that was powerful enough to damage the giant's ship.

However, Dorry, the captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates who was already standing at the bow of the ship, would not wait for his guest to make a move. He immediately swung his giant sword and unleashed a powerful shockwave in the opposite direction—the Mighty Kingdom!

The two current captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, Dorry and Brogy, had a major scandal involving being captured by Mr. 3 in Little Garden. However, they later offered some explanations to cover it up. At that time, the two had been fighting tirelessly on the island for many years and were almost exhausted, which is why Mr. 3 took advantage of them.

Now that they have been found by their crew, they have decided to put aside their differences and set sail again. Of course, they have eaten and drunk their fill and recharged their energy, and they have returned to the ranks of top experts.

If Dorry and Brogy were to team up, they could even unleash a strengthened version of the Mighty Kingdom's attack, but Brogy had just come out of Luffy and the others' room and could only watch helplessly as Dorry used his own attacks to defend against the sudden attack.

Fortunately, as one of the strongest living members of the Giant race, the most powerful fighting race in the world, Dorry's strength is still astonishing when he is in good condition. Although his attack on the flagship, the giant Eric, was extremely powerful, the attacker was just a human, and Dorry's hasty attack was enough to neutralize it.

Broki, who followed him out of the cabin, displayed a surprisingly agile physique, rushing to the bow of the ship to stand shoulder to shoulder with Dorry.

The other giants of the Giant Warrior Pirates instantly went into battle mode. Only the Straw Hat crew, who had just followed the ship out of the cabin, were a little confused. Weren't they supposed to be out to greet Shanks? How did it suddenly turn into the ship being attacked?

Everyone used their unique abilities to rush to the bow of the ship, and what they saw was rather bizarre.

In front of the giant pirate ship, which was as tall as a mountain, a small single-masted boat blocked the course like a grain of sand. The boat bobbed up and down in the waves, seemingly about to be capsized by the waves pushed by the giant Eric.

But no matter how big the wind and waves were, the ship remained steadily afloat on the sea, and the man on the bow had striking red hair!

Dorry looked on incredulously: "Shanks! What's wrong with you? That attack just now didn't sound like a joke!"

Brogy asked anxiously, "Is there some misunderstanding?"

Luffy's tone was icy: "He's not Shanks!"

Everyone was taken aback. Upon closer inspection, they indeed found that the person blocking the sea was somewhat different from Shanks.

Although they looked almost identical, the person in front of him had meticulously styled long hair and wore incredibly luxurious clothes.

Most importantly, this person has both arms intact, and there are no scratches on his face like Shanks's from the battle!

If Robert were here, he would definitely recognize this person as Shanks' twin brother, Shamrock, at a glance. However, neither the giants of the Giant Warrior Pirates nor Luffy's crew knew about Shanks' background, and their faces were solemn at this moment.

Shamlock looked at the people at the bow of the ship, but did not continue to draw his sword. Based on that one strike, he had already assessed the combat strength of the other party. Dorry and Brogy, relying on their giant race talents, were much better than him in long-range combat.

However, if one wants to rush forward and use agility to deal with these giants, one must first get past Luffy.

Knowing full well that the battle would be difficult, Shamrock did not continue to probe and quickly turned into a shadow, disappearing from the small boat and vanishing to who knows where.

Luffy and his crew, who were initially excitedly shouting about having a celebratory banquet, have now lost their enthusiasm and become serious.

Dorry frowned: "That guy just looks a lot like Shanks, but he's not weak at all. I exchanged a blow with him, and in terms of swordsmanship alone, he should be able to fight Shanks to a standstill!"

Brogy looked utterly astonished: "Isn't Shanks probably the strongest swordsman in the world right now? Wasn't he supposed to be evenly matched with the great swordsman Hawkeye? Where did this guy come from who looks exactly like him and is just as strong?"

Robin frowned: "I heard that Dr. Vegapunk has been forced by the World Government to research some kind of lineage factor all these years. Could this guy be a pacifist created using Shanks' lineage factor?"

As the smartest and most clear-headed member of the Straw Hat crew, Robin rarely offers her opinions, but when she does speak, no one in the crew dares to ignore her.

"I think we should be more worried about his motives than his identity."

"Whether he's after the Giant Warrior Pirates or us, his goal is to stop us from moving forward."

"We should be able to reach Elbaf in a few more days, so he probably doesn't want us to go there!"

Robin's analysis immediately made Dorry and Brogy anxious. Elbaf was their hometown, and they hadn't been back for so many years. Now, there was a powerful figure comparable to Shanks blocking their way. They were afraid that something terrible had happened in Elbaf!

"Cassie! Raise the sails! Full speed ahead!"

"We need to get back to Elbaf as quickly as possible!"

Luffy and his crew had lost all interest in having a banquet, and no one even offered a word of comfort to the giants.

In other circumstances, even if Luffy and his crew generally lack emotional intelligence, someone as mature and steady as Jinbe should at least step forward and say something like, "Don't worry too much, Elbaf will be fine."

But just then, Robin told everyone that Robert said he would soon be going to Elbaf to meet up with them, and that he had even prepared a big gift for Robin in the Kingdom of Giants!

In Luffy's crew's eyes, Robert is the most troublesome person in the world.

Wherever he goes, danger follows!

Chapter 7 Good Pregnancy Im

"Luffy's crew is a bunch of troublemakers. Just keep an eye on them and you'll know where big things are going to happen."

While Luffy and his crew were cricketing Robert from behind, Robert was also cricketing Ace and the others.

Law chuckled, clutching his sword: "How dare you talk like that about him? Luffy goes wherever something big happens; at most, he just likes to join in the fun. What about you?"

Ace laughed and replied, "You're the embodiment of bad luck in other people's eyes. Wherever you go, something bad is bound to happen."

Even the usually mature and composed Marco chimed in, "Because he's the one who started this whole mess. So, where are you going to cause trouble this time?"

Robert looked utterly defeated, with an expression that seemed to say, "How could you say that about me?"

"What do you mean I'm looking for trouble? The new world order is just beginning to take shape, and in my opinion, it would be best to have a period of peaceful development."

"The World Government has been developing for nearly a thousand years. Even though it has been served by various forces in recent times, its resources are enough to withstand any losses."

"We've only been established for a month at most. Even if we've accumulated some resources before, it's still just a drop in the ocean compared to the World Government. If the war situation doesn't go our way, we could be completely wiped out."

Marco shook his head and said, "You know we can't withstand any setbacks, so why did you..."

Robert smiled and shook his head: "I've always thought of myself as conservative and steady, but Karina always says I'm a gambler."

"At first I didn't want to admit it, but after thinking about it carefully, I realized that saying I have a gambling addiction is an understatement."

"What I've done in the past two years can only be described as reckless. I have no concept of tiered investment at all. I go all in every hand."

"As success guru Zhou Wenqiang once said, the more you have nothing, the more you should go all in."

Ace, being the most straightforward, interrupted directly, "Wait a minute, who is Zhou Wenqiang?"

Robert gave an awkward smile: "Never mind that. All you need to know is that going all in is a form of wisdom."

Luo stood up seriously and reminded them, "But we're not penniless paupers anymore. We now have hundreds of islands and hundreds of thousands of brothers under our command. If we always gamble everything and leave no way out, what will happen to them if we fail?"

Robert smiled wryly and said, "You only see the hundred or so islands under our control. How much territory does the World Government have?"

"We currently have over 100,000 combat-ready soldiers under our command, but how many people are in the navy?"

"If we, with our small size, want to leverage a behemoth like the world government, we have no choice but to take some risky moves."

Marco also suggested, "What if we take it slow for now?"

Robert took a deep breath: "Like I said, I also want to take a break, but Luffy has already gone to Elbaf."

"The giant race is the strongest fighting race in the world. The World Government has wanted to bring them under its control for decades. The giant vice admirals in the Navy now are the product of the plan to subdue the giant race back then."

"But fortunately, it all fell short in the end, because the World Government wanted more than just the giants to join the Navy. They wanted the giants to be used as arsenals to produce warriors for generations to come, enslaving all the giants and turning them into machines for creating humans."

Ace became very nervous upon hearing Luffy's name and couldn't help but ask, "Will Luffy be in danger if he goes to Elbaf?"

Robert laughed and said, "It is indeed dangerous, but the danger is others. There are people and things in Elbaf that even Im fears. Once Luffy meets that person, it will immediately set off a fierce battle."

"You all know what Luffy's Devil Fruit power is, Nika, the Liberation Warrior, the one who overthrows the evil rule of the government in all the legends."

"Back when my father was still a crew member, his captain once predicted that as long as we obtained both the Nika Fruit and Elbaf's Inheritance Fruit, we could overthrow the World Government."