Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

"I won't mention my name. You can think of me as a relative of your Neferutari royal family or as a handsome businessman passing by, but the point is, I'm not with Crocodile."

Of course, don't expect me to help you with anything. I already broke my promise by saving you, so don't expect me to help you defeat Crocodile or anything like that.

Finally, here's some information: Crocodile is a Logia-type Devil Fruit user with the Sand-Sand Fruit. He was responsible for the drought in Alabasta, and his weakness is water.

Chapter 315 Ace: How dare you hit my brother!

When they heard what Wood said, Vivi and the others wanted to ask more questions, but they soon found that Wood had disappeared from their sight.

When Wood left, Sanji breathed a sigh of relief. Although Wood hadn't shown any hostility, his powerful aura was still too much pressure for them at this stage.

"What a mysterious guy. He ran away so fast. I was thinking of negotiating with him that if I defeated Crocodile, I could share some of the reward with him. I didn't expect him to just leave like that."

Nami looked on with regret as she watched Wood disappear.

After witnessing what had just happened, Nami immediately realized that it was really a stretch for their pirate crew to take on such a huge order of 1 billion Berries.

So after seeing Wood's incredible fighting prowess, Nami was originally planning to hire him as a henchman for one-tenth of his salary, but before she could even finish her sentence, he had already run away.

Don't underestimate this one-tenth of the reward. For Nami, who is absolutely greedy, being able to reluctantly give away 100 million Berries is already an extreme recognition of Wood's strength.

"I don't think that person would do something for a mere 100 million Berries."

If he were also a pirate, his bounty would be far higher than this.

Sanji lit a cigarette, thinking that the idea of ​​hiring the other party was too unrealistic, and that the other party would not be tempted by a mere 100 million Berries.

"A bounty of over 100 million Berries? I remember Luffy is only worth 30 million Berries, and Crocodile is only worth 81 million Berries, right?"

"Does that mean the other person is stronger than Luffy and Crocodile?"

Nami and Chopper had previously only operated in the East Blue, and their method of judging the strength of pirates was solely based on the amount of their bounties.

Furthermore, because they have seen so few strong individuals, Luffy, Zoro, and the others are already seen as monsters in their eyes.

"Since I've never met Crocodile, I can't make a judgment, but if it's that person from before..."

Even if Luffy, the green-haired guy, and I teamed up, we wouldn't be a match for him at all; we might even be instantly killed!

Sanji offered his very fair assessment, but his words nearly terrified Nami and the others.

Meanwhile, Wood and Robin, who had returned to Albana, were walking side by side on the street, watching the Alabasta citizens who had been incited by the rebels and were now armed and ready to fight the Kingdom's army. Wood remained calm and composed.

"It seems the great battle is about to break out ahead of schedule. Even if you, Captain, break the rules to save Princess Vivi, you won't be able to stop this battle."

Because it was an internal conflict, the navy located outside the city was unable to participate in suppressing the rebellion.

If things continue as they are, the rebel army and the kingdom's army will both suffer heavy losses, and Crocodile will become the new king of the kingdom as a hero.

"You've lost this bet, Captain."

Although Vivi was rescued, Mr. 2 from Baroque Works had already used his Devil Fruit ability to imitate the face of King Cobra of Alabasta, and during negotiations with the rebels, he shot the rebel leader, Koza.

It is precisely because of this that the royal army and the rebel army have now completely broken into battle, and the entire royal capital Albana has been engulfed in war.

"That's not necessarily true. If the Straw Hat crew can defeat Crocodile, things might turn around."

The severe drought in Alabasta was caused by Crocodile's Devil Fruit power; perhaps only a long-awaited rain can quell this conflict.

Crocodile was supposed to be in the Rainlands, but now he's in the palace in Albana.

In other words, Luffy and Zoro, who went to the Rain Land to intercept Crocodile, either missed him or were unable to defeat him.

However, Wood had no doubt that Luffy and his crew would die at Crocodile's hands.

He's a chosen one of the world, someone with the destiny of a cockroach. If he were to die so easily, One Piece wouldn't have been able to continue for over ten years.

"Captain, you don't really think the Straw Hat Pirates can defeat Crocodile, do you?"

Admittedly, Crocodile is not considered one of the strongest among the current Seven Warlords of the Sea, but he is still a world-renowned pirate with considerable strength and skill.

As for the Straw Hat crew... they're just a group of rookie pirates. It's undeniable that their style of doing things is somewhat different from other pirates, but that's about it.

Crocodile is not like the pirates they encountered in the East Blue; the difference in their levels is significant.

From any perspective, Robin believed that the Straw Hat crew's chances of winning were extremely slim. Yet, despite this, their captain seemed convinced that the Straw Hat crew would win.

At this moment, in the royal capital of Albana, Crocodile, wearing a coat and with a large cigar in his mouth, had completely taken control of the rebel army in Alabasta and was launching a fierce attack on the royal palace.

The rebel leader was originally Koza, but he was shot and seriously wounded by Mr2's imitation of Kobra and is currently in a coma.

The enraged rebels, leaderless, wanted to seek justice directly from King Cobra, but lacked a leader.

At this time, the position that Crocodile had already placed in the rebel army came in handy. In addition, with the good image that Crocodile had cultivated among the people over the years, he easily took over the kingdom's rebel army.

Crocodile's original plan was to let the Kingdom's army and the rebel army fight each other to a standstill before he stepped in as a "savior" to clean up the mess and take over the country.

However, the situation has changed, forcing Crocodile to bring forward his original plan and seize control of the Alabasta kingdom as soon as possible.

Half a day ago, Crocodile, who was still in the rain, welcomed two guests: Straw Hat Luffy and Pirate Hunter Zoro from the Straw Hat crew.

Crocodile originally didn't take these two "minor characters" seriously.

However, because of his previous bet with Wood, Crocodile, while looking down on Luffy and his crew, did not underestimate them excessively.

After a fierce battle, Luffy and Zoro, who had not yet learned Armament Haki, were undoubtedly utterly defeated by Crocodile, who had eaten a Logia-type Devil Fruit.

Neither Luffy's punches nor Zoro's three-sword style could inflict any effective damage on Crocodile.

Finally, Crocodile used the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit to easily turn the two into dried-up corpses and delivered a standard villainous taunt.

Because of his bet with Wood, Crocodile did not leave the two barely alive to fend for themselves as he did in the original story. Instead, he planned to eliminate them completely!

However, just as Crocodile was about to deliver the fatal blow to Luffy and his crew, a pillar of flame radiating intense heat struck Crocodile's chest in an instant, knocking him back a hundred meters.

The person who arrived was none other than Fire Fist Ace, the second division captain of Whitebeard, who was shirtless and wearing a cowboy hat!

God knows how Ace, who was clearly chasing Blackbeard, ended up in the rainy region of Alabasta.

Whether it was because he had received word of it, or because the aura of the World's Chosen One was just that powerful, we don't know, but in any case, Ace appeared just in time.

Ace had absolutely no interest in what the desert kingdom of Alabasta would become, or what Crocodile's purpose was. He didn't want to meddle in other people's business; he just wanted to complete his mission and bring Blackbeard back to the Whitebeard Pirates to be punished.

However, since Crocodile almost killed his brother Luffy, Ace couldn't pretend he didn't see it.

As siblings who grew up together, Ace might not give Vivi, who is a princess, any face, but if anyone dares to mess with his younger brother Luffy, they're going against Fire Fist Ace!

"No wonder he said I would be defeated by the Straw Hat crew. I never expected that the famous Portgas D. Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, would be the Straw Hat's brother."

As one of the "Four Emperors," and Crocodile having been defeated by Whitebeard, it's impossible for the Whitebeard Pirates not to recognize one of his captains.

Fire Fist Ace is a well-known pirate even in the New World, and Crocodile finally understands why Wood didn't think highly of him before and made a bet with him.

"Hmph, so what if he's Fire Fist Ace? He's just a brat who made a name for himself by relying on Whitebeard's name."

"If the Whitebeard Pirates were here, I admit I wouldn't stand a chance, but if you're alone, then die here today alongside Straw Hat Luffy!"

In terms of combat power, Crocodile at this stage should be no match for Ace.

However, putting aside their "domineering" cultivation levels, everyone here is a Logia-type Devil Fruit user. The "Flame-Flame Fruit" may be very powerful, but this is the desert kingdom of Alabasta.

Crocodile, who has the entire desert as his home ground, doesn't think he can lose to anyone!

Beyond the rain-soaked desert, raging quicksand clashed with raging flames. The intense heat instantly evaporated the moisture in the air, making the already scorching environment even hotter.

During that battle, the temperature in the desert outside the rainforest rose by at least several tens of degrees compared to usual, and the scorching sand was hot enough to instantly cook any creature that passed by.

In that battle, no one knows the outcome, only that Crocodile eventually arrived in the capital Albana from the Rainlands with a furious expression, and carried out the plan ahead of schedule.

Clearly, in the end, even though Crocodile didn't lose, he still failed to defeat Fire Fist Ace and Straw Hat Luffy.

Whether Fire Fist Ace's visit to Alabasta was a personal act, or whether the Whitebeard Pirates discovered the "Pluton" and instructed him to come, Crocodile did not know.

However, one thing he was quite clear about was that in order to avoid the failure of his plan, he had to take control of the kingdom of Alabasta as soon as possible.

It was for this reason that Crocodile changed his original plan, chose to take over the rebel army, and quickly and completely defeated the Kingdom's army.

As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile is not allowed to take action against the allied nation of Alabasta. However, the rebel army consists of Alabasta's people, and he is merely a mercenary.

Internal strife within kingdoms and the changing of dynasties are normal aspects of historical progress, and even the world government cannot catch itself in the act.

A large number of Baroque Works personnel changed their identities and became the rebels in Alabasta, in addition to Crocodile providing the rebels with new weapons.

The rebel army, which was originally under the suppression of the royal army, suddenly gained weapons and strong reinforcements and advanced all the way with unstoppable momentum, and stormed into the royal palace at an extremely fast speed.

Alabasta's lieutenants, "Pell the Falcon" and "Jackal the Jackal," are both people who have eaten Zoan-type Devil Fruits, yet they couldn't even withstand a single move from Crocodile.

Just as the Alabasta palace fell, and even King Cobra was being held like a chick by Crocodile, the Straw Hat crew appeared as if by divine intervention, bringing Princess Vivi with them.

"Great Flame Ring!"

A barrier of fire rose from the ground, instantly separating the kingdom's army from the rebels in battle.

Because the fire barrier, which stretched for hundreds of meters, was so astonishing, the kingdom's army and the rebel army, who had been locked in fierce fighting, stopped at this moment.

It was through this opportunity that Vivi came before both the Kingdom's army and the rebel army, exposing Crocodile and Baroque Works' crimes, including the use of "Dancing Powder."

As a princess of Alabasta, Vivi has been beloved by the people since childhood for her kind nature, and her words have earned the trust of some Alabasta citizens.

"How utterly ridiculous! Have you all forgotten who injured your rebel leader?"

Then take a look at the people around your respected Princess Vivi now.

They're all pirates. How can a princess who associates with pirates be trusted? Don't forget, who helped you repel the pirates who tried to invade this island before?

Seeing that the plan was about to succeed, Crocodile naturally did not want to give up all his previous efforts, and naturally would not admit what Vivi said.