The Cautious Warlord's Next Plan

"Is this what it is?"

Inside the Blackbeard Pirates' large raft, a group of people, led by Teach, stood thoughtfully around something on the ground.

Under the watchful eyes of this group of powerful figures, a piece of white paper on the ground trembled slightly and slowly moved in one direction. —Although the speed was as slow as a tortoise's crawl, it was quite obvious:

"It was placed on our ship by the other side's ability users for 'location' purposes."

The ship's doctor, Vajirus, slowly spoke, admitting that he hadn't expected the ship to have been sabotaged twice. Now, with a group of Observation Haki experts truly determined to find them, not even an ant could escape their pursuit!

"Fate is truly unpredictable. That little Straw Hat crew member was already plotting against us back on Jaya Island? Heh heh heh~~~"

In the hands of the ship's doctor, who looked 'terminally ill,' were Bounty Poster for the entire Straw Hat crew. And right now, the one on top was the bounty for the 'White Knight.'

"180 million, that's something. But this..."

The Bounty Poster depicts White Knight, clearly a creation of superpowers. What is the Navy up to? They can't be that blind—

"Looks like we almost got tricked."

'Devil Security Officer' Lafitte toyed with the cane in his hand, watching with great interest the white paper 'crawling' on the ground.

Should we go after them and see?

The other party can use their Devil Fruit powers to create objects to locate them; conversely, they can also use the other party's creations to find them!

"No,"

Teach shook his head and waved his hand, a surge of darkness instantly swallowing up the white paper on the ground.

"Let's set off immediately and bypass Water 7!"

·······

Call,

Roman opened his eyes.

The location paper was destroyed, which means the Blackbeard Pirates has given up on their plan to seek revenge.

What a pity!

That piece of paper was originally another backup plan for Roman. After all, it was Roman's creation, and he could destroy it at any time if needed.

The reason he deliberately left it was to see if the Blackbeard Pirates, having just captured Ace, would become arrogant and careless and follow the paper to their doom. If so, Vice Admiral Garp would show them why the flowers are so red!

Aokiji should also be lurking around. With two top-tier fighters, it wouldn't be a problem for them to beat the current Blackbeard Pirates to a pulp.

Unfortunately, it seems Blackbeard isn't as headstrong as Ace; he destroyed Roman's trap immediately.

Oh well, it's all about doing your best and leaving the rest to fate anyway.

Roman didn't really expect to be able to rescue Ace, unless the 'Door-Door Page' he had just acquired suddenly underwent a miraculous evolution, allowing Roman to instantly transport Garp from Water 7 to Banaro Island. Otherwise, no plan would work against absolute power.

In any case, Roman wouldn't cause trouble for Garp, his free bodyguard, until the new ship was built.

"Sigh, that's why life really can't be too smooth."

Who is Ace?

The son of Pirate King Roger, and the grandson of Vice Admiral Garp... Okay, although it sounds like Roger is a generation younger than him, his bloodline is definitely not inferior:

Indeed, Ace displayed extraordinary talent from a young age, possessing Conqueror's Haki as a standard skill, and with Garp's personal guidance, he possessed considerable strength as soon as he set sail.

Not long after, he ate the Logia 'Mera Mera no Mi', and his strength became unstoppable! The Navy wanted to invite him to become Shichibukai, and although he refused, there was no doubt about his strength and reputation.

Then they stormed into Wano Country, just in time to find Kaido and his crew on an expedition. They fought Kaido's daughter, Yamato, and realized that Yamato shared their hatred for their biological father. Together, they smashed the dragon statue, a symbol of Kaido's authority, as a warning. How triumphant they were!

Later, Ace encountered Shanks. Shanks initially thought Ace had come to challenge him, but Ace explained that he simply wanted to meet the person who had saved his brother. Shanks was overjoyed upon hearing this and threw a grand banquet to welcome Ace.

Have a look,

Having only been at sea for a few years, the government was already trying its best to win him over, he was based in Kaido's hometown, and Shanks was a guest of honor. Anyone would get arrogant, let alone Ace, who was just a hot-blooded young man.

Later, he encountered Whitebeard, and although he was defeated and absorbed by him, he generously forgave Ace's offense.

Even though Ace was unconvinced and attempted to assassinate Whitebeard hundreds of times without success, Whitebeard not only didn't kick him off the ship but also laughed it off. This finally made Ace acknowledge that Whitebeard Edward Newgate was a great pirate, and he was ultimately willing to bear the name "Whitebeard".

Whitebeard not only treated Ace like his own son, but he also planned to pass the entire pirate crew on to him, aiming to make him the King of the Pirates!

Looking at Ace's voyage, it was all smooth sailing and triumphant progress, like a protagonist in a wish-fulfillment novel! Coupled with Whitebeard's 'pampering', it's no wonder he developed this stubborn and arrogant mentality.

Luffy, on the other hand, fought his way through countless battles. He learned what it means to be alone and what it means to assess the situation. When faced with an unbeatable opponent, he immediately tells his crew to run away, and he admits that he cannot survive without them.

In contrast, Ace single-handedly chased after the Blackbeard Pirates, stubbornly refusing to back down...

"Phew, if it were someone else—"

Roman, go to hell!

Unfortunately, the other party is Luffy brother, with whom he shared a sworn brotherhood drink. If he could help, Roman would certainly be willing to lend a hand. However, if it came at the cost of putting the Straw Hat crew in danger, he would rather not.

"Roman, what are you thinking about?"

Faced with Luffy's question, Roman, who had just come out of his reverie, rubbed his face.

"It's alright, eat your meat."

Leave the rest to me.

If Roman hadn't learned the Life Return, which allowed his puppet 'White Knight' to remotely use his recorded abilities, he would have not only gained nothing from this trip, but would have been left heartbroken and in tears...

Nami,

Thinking of his recording ability, Roman waved to Nami, who was practicing with "The Art of the Thief" next to him.

"Give me the book, and I'll 'upgrade' it for you."

?

Nami looked pale as she looked at the two pages Roman pulled out.

"Roman, I know you want to improve my strength quickly, that's true, but—"

I've been practicing with this book every day, but even this pretty girl needs a break...

"These are 'Door-Door Page' and 'Bubble Page,' both very useful auxiliary abilities!"

Roman explained as he added the pages to the book.

"The 'Door-Door Page' can greatly enhance your mobility, while the 'Bubble Page' can create defensive bubbles to improve your survivability. Furthermore, the bubbles can wash away anything (including force) and make objects they touch incredibly smooth..."

!

In an instant, Nami's eyes, which had just looked drowsy, sparkled like stars.

Skin... smooth...

"This is a great skill! I'll practice even harder!"

??

"Wait, wait a minute!"

As Nami reached out to snatch the book, Roman waved her hand, telling her to calm down. "You're practically lying on top of me, what kind of behavior is that?"

"Once I've 'upgraded' the book itself—"

As Roman trains in 'Life Return', he is now able to alter parts of his own body! For example:

"I gave 'The Art of the Thief' the ability to store energy and endowed the book with a certain degree of independence."

"From now on, this book will no longer consume my physical strength, but will instead consume the 'book's' physical strength. That is, using the life force of the blood vial paper to activate the ability."

"All you need to do is store enough blood vials regularly, and you can transform into a mobile artillery emplacement!"

"Of course, how well you can develop the abilities in the book depends on your own efforts, Nami."

"Okay, okay,"

Nami snatched the brand-new "The Art of the Thief" 2.0 and eagerly began practicing, but:

'Smooth skin, beautiful appearance, eternal youth...'

????

Miss Nami, isn't your approach to 'training' a bit... a bit...?

Alright, now all we need to do is wait for Franky to finish the ship so we can set sail. —As for Ace, if Plan A doesn't work, we'll try Plan B, if Plan B doesn't work, we'll try Plan C... and if none of those work, then Roman will have to accept his fate.