One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

This was already a very clear indication of a ceasefire to Blackbeard. Although Blackbeard was purely evil, he was definitely a smart man and understood Akainu's meaning immediately.

“Robert! Back then, you were just an ordinary person running a small tavern on Jaya Island. I was the one who took you away from that place, and then I was used by you to help you obtain a Devil Fruit.”

Even if you don't appreciate my kindness, you shouldn't have tried to kill me!

Blackbeard was full of grievances, but in reality he was waiting for Robert to get closer, for Robert to reveal a weakness, and for Akainu to make the first move.

Robert shook his head and said, "You have no right to say that."

"Back then, your father Rocks died in God Valley. Your mother took you away and faced the World Government's relentless pursuit. It was your father who took you in despite the immense pressure."

"That was a life-saving grace, a kindness of being raised, and yet you betrayed him so easily, even killing him with your own hands in Marineford?"

"It is true that I joined you voluntarily on Jaya Island, but I offered you advice and strategies, yet you treated me like a human being because of my low strength."

"As the saying goes: If a ruler treats his ministers as his hands and feet, then the ministers will treat the ruler as their heart and soul; if a ruler treats his ministers as dogs and horses, then the ministers will treat the ruler as a fellow countryman; if a ruler treats his ministers as dirt and weeds, then the ministers will treat the ruler as an enemy."

"I will treat you the way you treat me. This Rumble-Rumble Fruit was obtained by Luffy and me when we defeated Enel, the god of Skypiea. You only helped to extract it from Enel's corpse. Shouldn't I take this fruit?"

When Robert revealed Blackbeard's past, Blackbeard was terrified. It was his biggest secret, one that he believed even Whitebeard didn't know!

When Blackbeard joined the Whitebeard Pirates, he only said that he was an orphan without parents, but he never used his background to gain Whitebeard's sympathy, because his mother warned him countless times that once his identity as the David family was exposed, he would have no way to survive in this world.

Before joining the Whitebeard Pirates, there were people who helped the mother and son, but they all died.

Now that Whitebeard is dead, Blackbeard once thought that no one would ever know his true identity again. He silently vowed that when he overthrew the World Government and killed the demon who killed his father, he would step on his head and tell him the secret.

But he never dreamed that in such a strange setting today, Robert would casually reveal the biggest secret of his life in public, as if it were just an afternoon chat.

Blackbeard's mind raced, already considering whether it was possible to kill everyone present to keep the secret.

Robert continued speaking as if he were completely oblivious: "And don't think I've been targeting you all along. You have no idea how many things I've done for you behind your back."

"You thought that being attacked from both sides by a former admiral and me today was all part of my scheme?"

"Ha, you have no idea. If I hadn't made a lot of preparations beforehand, you wouldn't be facing this former admiral who only knows how to throw lava today."

"You're about to face a super strong man who used to chase after your dad and Roger's two great pirate crews with his fists. At most, an admiral could give you a dripping wax with lava, but when that old man comes, his big, thick, black arms will poke your dad out."

Blackbeard seemed oblivious to Robert's foul language, his hands behind his back, seemingly doing nothing.

Akainu, who was closer, sensed the danger first and suddenly frowned, shouting at Blackbeard, "What are you doing!"

Robert laughed and said, "Remember when we met about a year ago on the outskirts of Beehive Island? He was just concocting a powerful move that could wipe out an entire island."

Akainu no longer cared about seeking revenge against Robert and unleashed a Darkhide attack on Blackbeard.

Robert exposed Blackbeard's actions, so Blackbeard stopped secretly gathering his strength and instead openly created a black hole while dodging Akainu's attacks.

Robert's figure suddenly vanished from his spot, appearing in perfect coordination with Akainu in Blackbeard's evasive path, delivering a powerful side kick imbued with Conqueror's Haki to Blackbeard's hand as he was gathering strength.

The dark vortex, which had not yet been compressed into a black hole, was instantly dispersed by Robert's Haki. Akainu's follow-up attack also struck Blackbeard hard, almost punching a hole through him from front to back.

Blood trickled from Blackbeard's mouth as he unleashed the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, forcing the two back, and the three of them formed a pincer movement once again.

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

Luffy confidently patted his chest and said, "We'll get you the key, and you help us move the boat to the beach, okay?"

Loki laughed heartily: "Then you'd better hurry up."

"I have to get back before those uninvited guests kill me!"

Chapter 26 Why Eat Rabbits

Although Luffy didn't know what Loki meant, since Loki claimed to be Robert's friend and had received Robert's confirmation, Luffy felt obligated to save him.

Several enormous icebergs gathered around Loki, who casually gave him a few instructions. The giant creatures then moved to the side of the Sunshine, set up the ship, and began to transport it to the sea.

Franky was going to go with the Sunny, but he also made a promise with Luffy and his crew that he would return to Loki and join them after delivering the Sunny to the beach and settling it in.

After watching Franky leave on the ship, Luffy and Sanji sped off along the path to the mortal realm that Loki had indicated.

On the other side of the massive tree trunk in Elbaf, two figures were rushing down from the canopy.

Loki still wore an indifferent smile, and even hummed a little tune.

If Luffy were here, he would immediately recognize one of the two uninvited guests Loki mentioned as the mysterious swordsman who looked just like Shanks and had once blocked the giant Eric.

The other was a woman with demonic wings on her back, who was dragging Shamlock around the thick trunk of Elbaf as she flew, her eyes constantly scanning the area until she spotted Loki.

Loki seemed to have known the two would come all along, and showed no surprise whatsoever.

The two landed in front of Loki, and Shamrock said arrogantly, "You must be Loki, the cursed prince of the giants?"

“We can give you a chance to become a god, just like your father, as long as you join us and become a member of the Knights of God.”

Loki's smiling face visibly stiffened upon hearing the word "father," but he quickly burst into even louder laughter:

"I refuse!"

"Thank you for inviting me to join the world's most noble order of knights, which means you are Celestial Dragons, right?"

"But I finally got born into this world, why should I deliberately become some kind of trash or scum?"

"If you're too drunk to understand, then I'll say it again!"

"I refuse!"

The woman, having folded her black demon wings, said expressionlessly, "We can't just pretend we didn't hear anything. In that case, let's kill him!"

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

On the way to the world of the living, Sanji made contact with his lost companions via Den Den Mushi.

When everyone heard that not only were Luffy and his two companions safe and sound, but the Thousand Sunny had also been successfully protected, they all cheered loudly.

Nami, referring to the map provided by the giants, tried hard to discern the location where Luffy and his crew had entered the mortal world, and emphasized to Sanji:

"Sanji! You'd better keep a close eye on Luffy. Once he arrives in the mortal realm, he needs to quickly follow the route I gave you to rejoin us. Don't let him wander off!"

As Luffy climbed upwards, he grumbled indignantly, "Don't underestimate me! I'm not like Zoro, who has no sense of direction!"

Nami gritted her teeth and said, "You think you're so great! We're visiting the school in Nishimura, come quick!"

Luffy and Sanji did not refuse. They urgently needed to reunite with their crewmates first, and then find a guide to take them to the place where the key to Loki's shackles was kept.

It took them a long time just to climb the trunk of Elbaf to reach the mortal realm. After passing through the lowest layer of the canopy, the sheer size of Elbaf made Luffy and his companion despair.

Even by the standards of giants, Elbaf is definitely a huge country, not a small country made up of a few villages.

Luffy and Sanji followed Nami's instructions to locate themselves and then adjust their direction. However, even after running for an hour at their combined speed, they didn't see a single person.

Sanji had lost count of how many times he had leaped high into the air to observe from above. Just when he thought he was about to return empty-handed once again, his eyes suddenly sharpened.

Luffy, standing on the ground with his hand supporting his gaze, watched Sanji. Seeing that Sanji hadn't landed for a long time, he couldn't help but shout, "Hey Sanji! Do you see the village Nami mentioned? I'm so hungry!"

Sanji pointed ahead: "I can't see the village, but there's a big rabbit over there!"

Upon hearing the word "rabbit," Luffy's eyes lit up, and he charged off in the direction Sanji had pointed.

Before Sanji could react, Luffy had already run more than ten meters away, so he quickly used Moonwalk to catch up.

In order to catch up with food that could fill his stomach, Luffy even activated Gear Second, which consumes his lifespan. Although he has now developed Gear Fifth, it is already excessive to activate Gear Second just to travel.

Just as Sanji had predicted, Luffy hadn't been chasing for long when he saw a rabbit bigger than an elephant hopping around in front of him, moving forward dozens of meters with each leap.

Luffy was incredibly excited and charged forward, swinging his fists.

The rabbit, being a giant species in Elbaf, was already on high alert when it heard the strange cry behind it. When it saw something no taller than its calf charging towards it with its claws outstretched, its first reaction was not fear, but rather a fierce bite.

With eyes full of lust for meat, Luffy suddenly stretched out his arm, his fist imbued with Armament Haki, and punched the rabbit in the forehead before it could react.

The rabbit was hit so hard that it reared its head high and fell straight to the ground with a cry of surprise.

Luffy was slightly puzzled, wondering why the rabbit was making human sounds, but he quickly convinced himself that he might have misheard.

He leaped high to deliver a punch to the rabbit, turning it into an ingredient that Sanji could easily cook.

But as he flew through the air, he suddenly saw a figure emerge from behind the rabbit, growing larger and larger as if it were being inflated.

This person's body had already grown to seven or eight meters tall and hadn't stopped. While it was still growing, it had already launched a flying kick that slammed into Luffy!

Luffy could easily dodge that slow kick, but he knew all too well that the rabbit he had just knocked down was someone else's pet.

Out of guilt, Luffy took the kick head-on.

Sanji caught up from a distance and saw his captain being kicked backward like a cannonball, which made him shudder.

He only saw Luffy chasing a rabbit from afar, and then being kicked away by a giant that appeared out of nowhere.

In his mind, although the giants were very powerful, even someone as strong as Dorry and Brogy couldn't possibly kick Luffy away like a football so easily.

He quickly caught Luffy in mid-air, then looked ahead warily.

A green-haired giant woman tenderly picked up the unconscious rabbit and yelled at Luffy with a reproachful tone, "Who are you people? Why are you hitting the rabbit?"

Although Luffy looked guilty, he still told the truth: "Eat..."

Chapter 27 Did they run away?

The situation on Onigashima has become tense again. Robert, Blackbeard, and Akainu have been standing on the beach for an hour or two, and none of them have made the first move.

Akainu and Blackbeard had reached an agreement to join forces to take down Robert first. This is one of the benefits of Akainu leaving his Marine identity. When carrying out justice, he is more in line with his extreme ideals, only caring about the result of justice and not the process. To achieve his goal, he can even temporarily join forces with another pirate.

However, Robert revealed Blackbeard's biggest secret in one sentence: anyone who is a little older knows who Rocks was—the previous Pirate Emperor.

Roger's pirate crew was at best an adventurer's party compared to Rocks's. Rocks's pirate crew was split into seven or eight parts, and three of the members from those parts became Yonko (Emperors of the Sea).

Others who didn't become Yonko include Shiki the Golden Lion, who nearly drove the Roger Pirates to their doom, and Wang Zhi, the pirate godfather who occupied Beehive Island for many years and was known as someone even the Yonko dared not provoke.

The World Government can tolerate even the Four Emperors, as long as they are willing to maintain a balance, the World Government can turn a blind eye.

But Rocks was different. He and his evil bloodline were a higher level of threat than Roger and his son Ace. They were beings that had to be eradicated at any cost once exposed.

Although Akainu has left the Navy, he is still worried about his old comrades. Blackbeard just now prepared a powerful move without saying a word, in order to kill them all before the news got out.

Now that so much time has passed, the news of Rocks' son's return to the seas has probably spread far and wide.

Robert has certainly built a great reputation at sea over the years; he's a man of his word, and his pronouncements are always accurate and decisive.

Any news that comes out of his mouth, whether it's the news king Morgans or Stuart, who built a huge news network through the sex industry, must be subconsciously treated as true news first, and then investigated and verified later.

When Robert became one of the Four Emperors, rumors began to circulate that he was actually Thor reincarnated. These rumors were especially exaggerated in remote and underdeveloped areas, and one important piece of evidence was that he always seemed to be able to say things that no one else knew.