Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

Chapter 311 Ace: Don't challenge if you don't have enough strength.

Wood

To be fair, Robin has put in a lot of effort in various ways over the years to win Wood's heart.

Whether it's looks, figure, or any other aspect, Robin feels that she is quite competitive among the women Wood knows.

Even so, over the past ten years, Robin has tried to give herself away many times, but has been rejected time and time again, which has made Robin feel frustrated.

For a time, Robin even suspected that Wood might be impotent in some way, given that he had openly and secretly accompanied her on vacations to Drum Island, a medical superpower.

However, by chance, Robin learned that Wood wasn't incapable; he simply had no feelings for her!

As Wood's personal secretary, Robin was usually inseparable from him, especially during business trips.

However, on one of Wood's business trips, the translation work happened to be at a crucial point. In order to avoid delays in the factory's operation, Uncle Ruth accompanied Wood on the business trip.

Robin later learned that the person Wood and Ruth went to see was none other than the Golden Emperor Tesoro.

As the richest man on the high seas, Tesoro had even built the world's largest city of extravagance. Naturally, he would not treat his benefactor Wood unfairly when he came to visit.

It was after that business trip that Ruth, who accompanied him, often boasted to the others on the ship that the golden city built by Tesoro was a wonderful place.

Not only was it a place of extravagance and debauchery, but it also had more beautiful women who were involved in the sex industry than other places. On that day, Tarus fought three dancers all by himself.

However, even with his strength, Tarus was no match for their young and powerful captain Wood, who single-handedly routed ten dancers!

Good heavens, it would have been better if Robin hadn't known. When Robin found out that Wood wasn't impotent, but rather that he had no interest in her and would rather have a dancer outside than have her, Robin was furious.

Ultimately, under Robin's "interrogation," Ruth, in order to avoid suffering the same fate as Rosinante, decisively chose to betray Wood and revealed the truth.

In reality, Ruth only needed one dancer, and Wood only had three rivals, not the outrageous ten...

Of course, none of that matters. The important thing is that Robin knows that Wood is not incapable; on the contrary, he is much stronger than the average person!

Continuing to wait will yield no results. I've already gone from being a teenager to nearly thirty. If I wait any longer, I won't be a ripe peach, but a rotten one.

So after careful consideration, Robin decided to take the initiative and try to find an opportunity to force herself on him!

Wood's daily life was quite laid-back; he never worked, spending his time either cultivating or lounging at home, which made it difficult for Robin to find a suitable opportunity.

However, this time Wood surprisingly announced that he wanted to go on vacation. Although he chose Alabasta, a godforsaken place, Robin naturally couldn't let this opportunity pass.

After confirming that there were no problems with the goods, the people from Baroque Studio honestly settled the payment.

Although their boss is one of the "Seven Warlords of the Sea," he obviously wouldn't dare to renege on payments from a bigwig in the underworld, especially with the real boss right in front of them. The people at Baroque Works would be even less likely to do so.

However, when the goods and payment were finally handed over, Mr. 12 was shocked to find that Wood and Robin had no intention of leaving, and he couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

Although he had ruled out the possibility that the other party was planning to double-cross them, Mr. 12's heart still couldn't quite handle having such an important figure right next to them.

"Lord Wood, is there a problem with the payment?" Mr12 looked at Wood and Robin, who were following them with calm expressions, and felt uneasy as if two demons were tailing them.

"There's no problem with the payment. In fact, your boss is quite generous, even paying a 5% premium for our goods."

Wood's new weapons were in high demand, and it was generally impossible to get them immediately; orders had to be placed first.

However, Crocodile clearly intended to break with the Alabasta royal family soon, which is why he paid a 5% premium to acquire Wood's inventory.

"If there's no problem, why have you two been following us..."

The rest of the weapons company boarded the ship and left after receiving payment and confirming that everything was correct.

On one hand, Robin didn't want anyone to interfere with her and Wood's vacation, and on the other hand, the desert environment of Alabasta was practically hell for the fish-men.

"What you're saying is strange. Even if Crocodile hadn't conquered Alabasta yet, or even if he had successfully taken over the kingdom, could he possibly stop me from going to the island?"

We're new to Alabasta and don't know anyone. What if we get lost in the desert? So, naturally, we'll have to follow you until we reach a town.

Since Wood had said that, Mr. 12 naturally couldn't say anything more. After all, even if he had objections, there was nothing he could do about it.

You can't fight city hall, and besides, these people are probably not even arms in front of Wood, at most they can only be considered fingers.

"Wood, I really don't understand. Alabasta may have its unique scenery, but there are clearly many other places in the New World with even better environments. Why would you choose to vacation in a place like this..."

Feeling the scorching heat all around and seeing nothing but sand everywhere, Robin couldn't understand why Wood would choose to come to such a place.

With Robin's intelligence, she naturally knew that Wood couldn't possibly be on vacation. However, she couldn't understand what was so special about Alabasta, a place so poor that all that was left was sand.

"So what kind of person do you think Crocodile is?" Wood didn't answer Robin's question directly, but instead asked in return.

"According to our intelligence, Crocodile was also one of the pirates who became famous in his early years. Although his bounty was only 8100 million Berries before he became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

But it is precisely because of this that Crocodile's excellence is proven.

Although we don't know much about Crocodile, as far as I know, Crocodile is a very cunning and ambitious person.

Compared to other pirates who rely solely on brute force, Crocodile is clearly a more dangerous type of pirate.

Although Robin didn't know why Wood would suddenly ask that question, she still shared what she knew and her own insights.

Not just anyone can become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the strength of the Seven Warlords is not determined by their previous bounties.

Just like Boa Hancock, the Pirate Empress, her original bounty was only 8000 million Berries, but does that mean she is weak?

The Queen of Amazon Lily, a user of the Love-Love Fruit, and even a master of all three types of Haki, it's no exaggeration to say that even among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Hancock is among the strongest.

The lower the bounty when a pirate becomes one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the more it proves that the World Government considers this pirate to be extremely threatening and have great potential.

It's obvious that the purpose of the "Seven Warlords of the Sea" is to check the Four Emperors and deter other ordinary pirates. How could they possibly just pick any Tom, Dick, or Harry?

There are plenty of people with higher bounties than Crocodile and Hancock, so why are they the ones who became the "Seven Warlords of the Sea"? It's because they have the strength and the means.

"Since you also think Crocodile is quite capable and has great ambitions, why do you think he chose Alabasta?"

With Crocodile's current strength and influence, he could easily take over any of the kingdoms in the first half of the Grand Line.

Why did they specifically choose Alabasta, a country with a harsh environment and so poor that all that's left is sand?

Wood and Robin didn't lower their voices during their conversation, so Mr. 12 and the others listened with trepidation.

For low-ranking members like them, the fact that they knew their boss was Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, was only a matter of days. They never expected to hear other earth-shattering secrets here now.

Mr. 12 and the others were terrified, but they were also extremely curious. They wanted to know what Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had in mind about this desert kingdom.

However, just as Mr. 12 and his companions craned their necks to eavesdrop, they discovered that Wood had no intention of continuing, and Robin did not ask any further questions.

With a guide leading the way, and thanks to Alabasta's specialty, the Run Duck, Wood and his companion quickly arrived in Alabasta's town and parted ways with Mr. 12 and his group.

Watching Wood and Robin gradually disappear into the distance, Mr. 12 felt that he had to report Wood's arrival on the island to his boss as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, after some twists and turns, the Straw Hat Pirates, having passed through Little Garden and Drum Island, increased their food reserves, and their adorable reindeer, the doctor, landed on the other side of Alabasta.

When Luffy landed in Alabasta, he also ran into his sworn brother, Portgas D. Ace.

Ace set sail two years earlier than Luffy. He also dreamed of becoming the Pirate King, but now he is the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

The brothers, having not seen each other for a long time, naturally had to chat when they met again. In the midst of their conversation, Ace reminded Luffy not to dream of challenging those famous strongmen on the sea, such as the Navy traitor Wood, until he was strong enough...

Ace used to be just like Luffy, acting like he was the most important person in the world.

However, with his lofty ambitions, the "Red Heart Pirates" he created soon encountered one of the strongest pirate crews on the sea, the "Whitebeard Pirates".

The result was obvious: Ace, who was just a novice pirate at the time, was no match for Whitebeard.

After being thoroughly beaten by his opponent, Ace was eventually impressed by Whitebeard's charisma and became the captain of his second division.

Back in Windmill Village, Ace and Luffy both believed that one day they would defeat the powerful enemies on the high seas and finally find the legendary treasure.

However, it wasn't until he was at sea that Ace realized the world was much bigger than he had imagined.

And as his knowledge grew, Ace also realized that none of those who had already made a name for themselves on the high seas were ordinary people.

Ace has now become a die-hard fan of Whitebeard. Although he doesn't think Wood is a match for Whitebeard, Ace can't deny that the Navy traitor Wood is one of the strongest people on the sea.

Even Ace had heard Marco and the others say that the Navy traitor Wood should have been a member of their Whitebeard Pirates, but Whitebeard was too slow and Shanks got the better deal.

It was for this reason that when Whitebeard had his eye on Ace, he took immediate action and refused to use the old trick of testing the younger generation's character.

"Is Wood really as strong as Grandpa used to say? Even Ace, you weren't a match for him?"

Walking through the desert, eating roasted desert crab meat, Luffy asked indistinctly while taking big bites of meat.

"Very strong, even much stronger than Grandpa said, although I have never directly fought him."

But the person I'm following now has crossed paths with him, and I can only say that I am far from being his match, and so are you, Luffy.

Years of being a pirate had eroded Ace's original arrogance, and now Ace was worried that Luffy would be too proud to challenge stronger opponents who were beyond his capabilities.

Unlike Luffy's situation, it's not unreasonable that Ace's arrogance would be shattered.

After all, Luffy had just left the beginner village, and World Mother kept providing him with experience packs to help him level up slowly, while Ace had only been out of the beginner village for a short time before encountering a big boss like Whitebeard.

Ace reminded Luffy because he was worried that Luffy would challenge an opponent he couldn't defeat before he had enough strength, which would lead to his needless death.

After all, not every strongman is like Whitebeard, who doesn't kill the provocateur but even takes him in as a godson.

Ace came to Alabasta to pursue the traitor Blackbeard Teach, so after crossing the desert, Ace parted ways with Luffy and his crew.

"Luffy, is your brother really strong? Why don't we recruit him into our crew and have him help us deal with Crocodile? In return, we can help him find that traitor in his pirate crew."

Although Nami hadn't known Ace for long, she felt he was much more reliable than their idiot captain, directionally challenged swordsman, and lecherous cook.

Although Nami had considerable confidence in the strength of the three fighters in her pirate crew, naturally, the more combat power the better.

After all, their opponent was no ordinary person, but Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Vivi had also said that there were at least several thousand people at Baroque Works, and their pirate crew was hardly able to influence the overall situation.

"Ace is very strong, because I have never beaten him."