Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

By the time of Wood's class, it was already the fifth class.

Chapter 17 The Girl Named "Gion"

Wearing a white uniform with blue trim, Wood stood in the line, enduring the scorching sun like everyone else.

After entering the Marineford Naval Academy, Wood originally thought he would soon be able to begin training in the Six Styles.

However, it turned out that he was overthinking things...

To master the "Six Forms," ​​one must achieve superhuman physical standards in all aspects before being qualified to begin cultivation.

Wood gained considerable swordsmanship skills from his first life simulation; however, swordsmanship is one thing, but it is completely different from physical fitness.

Although more than a year of physical training on Red Leaf Island had made Wood's physique stronger than most people, this level was still far, far away from mastering the "Six Forms".

Moreover, the so-called navy requires students to learn more than just the "Six Styles"; in fact, this is a course that is close to graduation.

Swords, rifles, cannons, ship handling, and basic navigation knowledge—these are all fundamental courses that the navy must master.

In high-altitude battles, ships are the primary means of transportation, and learning to steer is extremely important.

Rifles and artillery are also essential tools for naval warfare, and a proud naval soldier must learn to use them proficiently.

What? You're saying naval petty officers don't need to fire cannons themselves? But no matter who it is, everyone who just graduated from here starts as a raw recruit.

In other words, even Akainu and Aokiji went through a phase of charging into crowds with rifles.

Freshmen of different levels will be assigned to different classes, and those with excellent grades will be able to graduate earlier.

Wood was lucky; he excelled in melee training, and the instructors approved that he no longer needed to waste time in this course and could simply focus on his daily training tasks.

Meanwhile, some unfortunate neighbors, because they can't swim, don't need to eat at all now, as they're full just by drinking water.

For example, if you can't master all the other skills, it's okay, but you must be proficient in swimming.

If a navy officer can't even swim, isn't that a complete joke?

"Hold on, everyone! Can't you even overcome this little difficulty?"

Whether using a rifle or a cannon to snipe the enemy, a calm mindset and the ability to adapt to the environment are essential!

Because you don't know if your own warship will be hit by the enemy's attack first. Are you just going to give up the fight back in the face of chaos and dire circumstances?

A naval officer, wearing a naval cloak and holding the rank of captain, stood before Wood and a group of new recruits, delivering a passionate speech.

The reason why Wood and his men were exposed to the scorching sun was, as the colonel said, to better adapt to various harsh environments.

Prolonged exposure to sunlight can indeed lower willpower and have a certain impact on the brain.

After standing for half a day, several unfortunate individuals with weaker constitutions collapsed and had to be carried away because they couldn't withstand the scorching sun.

Seemingly sensing that the time was right, the colonel finally had a row of targets brought out and ordered Wood and his men to take turns firing.

They had already learned the basics of firearms use a few days ago, and Wood had already mastered them.

Wood didn't pay much attention to the firearms in the One Piece world because the equipment was too outdated, and he felt that these things were not very practical in combat.

The sheer hassle of loading ammunition made Wood feel extremely insecure. It's not without reason that, despite the advent of firearms, cold weapons hadn't been phased out.

Because while you were loading the gun and pulling the safety, someone had already rushed over and was wielding a knife at your head.

"Raise your guns and fire!"

With a command from the colonel, a cacophony of gunfire erupted from the field.

In a shooting range of ten people, only half can fire on time. The other five who don't fire are basically just stuffing gunpowder and bullets into the barrel.

As for the remaining five who successfully fired, their shooting scores made the colonel shake his head in disbelief.

Each person fired three shots, but none of the five managed to hit the target. Three of them managed to hit the edge of the target with one shot each.

Of the other two, one missed all three shots, while the other hit the target with two shots, but hit someone else's target instead.

And the guy who hit everyone else's target was Wood himself...

There was nothing wrong with that. Although their grades were a bit poor, they were still in the top five out of ten, weren't they?

"Wood, successful shot, three shots off target, score below average."

"Gion, successful shooting, three shots missed the target, poor score."

As the colonel announced the results, Wood achieved a commendable fourth place, aside from the other two who successfully hit the target.

As for the other freshman who, like Wood, missed all targets, surprisingly, it was a woman, and she achieved fifth place.

"Instructor, I have a question. Since we both missed the target three times, why is his score higher than mine?"

The girl, named Gion, is slightly older than Wood, but due to the precocious development common in this world, she has already developed a curvaceous figure and is exceptionally tall.

At this moment, the pretty girl, who was all legs except for her neck, seemed quite dissatisfied with the results announced by the instructor and raised questions about them.

Upon hearing that someone dared to question his judgment, the colonel was about to give him a severe dressing-down. However, when he saw the information sheet about the girl in his hand, he ultimately suppressed his dissatisfaction and explained the reason.

There's no other reason than that the girl was able to enter this place because she was recommended by Lieutenant General Tsuru, and the girl named Gion had exceptionally good grades in both theoretical subjects and other areas.

Leaving aside the possibility that the other party may have a powerful background, generally speaking, teachers do have different attitudes towards academically weak students and academically strong students.

"Although you both missed the target three times, at least Wood hit your target, while your bullets went way off target."

Furthermore, Wood was slightly faster than you when firing. In conclusion, there's no doubt that his score is higher than yours.

According to the colonel, if the pirates were charging in groups, Wood might not be able to hit the target accurately, but he could at least hit the other unfortunate ones around them.

However, Gion accomplished absolutely nothing except wasting bullets.

The other party's analysis was logical and well-founded, and Gion couldn't find any excuse to refute it.

However, Gion remembered Wood because of this incident, as the girl thought that if Wood hadn't hit her target, she might have been able to hit it herself.

This line of reasoning is almost entirely illogical, but it must be said that proud and arrogant young girls can sometimes be just that unreasonable...

Chapter 18 This grudge, I, Gion, will remember!

Wood was completely dumbfounded when he saw the long-legged beauty glaring at him.

To be honest, his grades were mediocre, not even ranking third. Even if the girl was competitive, there was no reason for her to target him, the fourth-ranked student.

However, Wood, whose mental age is far more mature than his physical age, also knows that trying to reason with a teenage girl is simply asking for trouble.

And being resented by such a girl would only bring more trouble, so Wood raised his hand and spoke up: "Instructor, I think what Gion said is absolutely right."

Since all three shots missed the target, our scores should be treated as a tie.

Even put yourself in their shoes: what if the people standing next to the pirates weren't pirates, but marines fighting them...?

So I think my ranking should be fifth... no, tenth, because even though I hit an allied soldier, I did worse than those classmates who didn't fire."

It's just a test ranking anyway. Even if he comes in first place, there's no prize money to be won. This way, he can both dispel the girl's resentment and perfectly fit the image of a moderate person. Why not do it?

Wood considered himself a mature person and saw no need to argue with a bunch of kids. Besides, he had no sense of collective honor in the Navy and was only here to get a decent job in the future.

"I am very pleased that you are so strict with yourself, but a test is a test."

The results have already been announced, so there's no way to change them, and I don't think my judgment was wrong.

In formal training, questioning the instructor's judgment is very disrespectful and could even result in a demerit.

Wood didn't have the powerful backing of Gion, and he originally thought he would be criticized. However, to his surprise, the colonel seemed to have misunderstood something.

Instead of blaming Wood, they looked at him with admiration, believing that Wood's bizarre example of hitting a friendly force was entirely out of a desire to be strict with himself...

The colonel then looked at Gion and said to him, "You should learn from Wood. Instead of fighting for this insignificant fourth place, he was thinking about how to be more strict with himself."

Furthermore, he showed humility towards his colleagues. Although you excelled in other subjects, in a contest of character, the difference between you two was almost immediately apparent.

Hearing the colonel's high praise for him, Wood was truly stunned. Had he really considered so many things? Why didn't he know it himself!

And please, instructor, stop talking... If you continue, not only will you not be able to dispel the girl's resentment towards you, but the hatred level will only increase!

"Hmph, I don't need your humility. I will surpass you with my own strength."

I, Gion, will remember this grudge!

Wood: "..."

Wood was truly exhausted and felt that there must be something wrong with how he was approaching things.

He's only the fourth son, why would he be targeted even for something like this? If he had known it would end like this, he wouldn't have fired a single shot in the first place...

Marineford, Naval Academy Dining Hall

Having completed a day's basic courses and secretly found a place to practice a thousand sword swings, Wood arrived at the canteen, ravenously hungry.

When Wood left Red Leaf Island, he had completed his mission of guarding the island for a year and was rewarded with a chance to use the "Life Simulator".

While on the island, Wood was not able to use his abilities because of his serious injuries and because Zephyr had been on the same ship.

Now that he's been at Naval Headquarters for a while and his life has gradually settled down, Wood plans to find time tonight to conduct his second life simulation.

"That's him, I think his name is Wood. This kid doesn't look very old..."

"He's not very old, but his gun is amazing! I heard he shot Gion, and now Gion has declared that she'll remember him."

"Look at how much he eats in one meal. No wonder his gun can impress Gion. Maybe he's just young, but he's very capable."