Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

However, to him, the Straw Hat crew is now a group of completely new pirate rookies. To put it bluntly, Wood could easily wipe them out with just his headbutts, even if he gave them their hands and feet.

"Thank you so much for saving us and our kingdom once again. May I ask your name?"

Considering the previous incident, Wood had already helped them twice, and this time he even saved the entire Alabasta. Princess Vivi felt it would be too disappointing if she didn't even know the name of her benefactor.

In fact, given Wood's fame, very few people in the New World wouldn't recognize his face.

However, this is the first half of the Grand Line, and Wood's wanted poster is from more than ten years ago. Since the World Government has given up on hunting him down, it has not issued a new bounty for Wood.

More than a decade has passed, and Wood's appearance is somewhat different from before. Moreover, after his weapons company became successful, he has been active in the New World. It is quite normal that Princess Vivi and Cobra do not recognize Wood.

"Actually, I'm just a handsome businessman passing by, or..."

"Hahaha, you guys don't think this guy is a good person, do you?"

This guy is Wood, a true villain known as the "Ancient Weapon" on the high seas, a traitor to the Navy whom even the World Government has given up on hunting!

Compared to this guy, the so-called "Seven Warlords of the Sea" are just minor figures. Do you really think this guy is genuinely trying to save Alabasta?

He's just doing this for... no, maybe this guy has bigger ambitions, and your Alabasta might not be able to satisfy his appetite.

Seeing that Princess Vivi regarded Wood as a good person, Crocodile couldn't help but burst into mocking laughter.

Wood was about to use the same excuse to introduce himself, but Crocodile had already interrupted him.

When they heard that Wood was the same Wood who had a bounty of 1 billion Berries and had committed a series of major crimes, the Straw Hat crew and Princess Vivi had different expressions.

Princess Vivi and Cobra were wondering why such a powerful figure was helping Alabasta. Was it really as Crocodile had said?

The Straw Hat crew stared in astonishment at Wood, for this was the very person Luffy had been saying he wanted to defeat.

Chapter 318 Long time no see, Smoker!

(Waaaaah, I forgot to update again today, sorry everyone. I know not many people are following along, but I'll apologize anyway (Д))

Wait a minute, if the other party is the Navy traitor Wood, Luffy, who has always regarded him as an imaginary enemy, should be able to recognize him, right?

No, considering that the Wood Luffy saw in the newspaper was more than ten years ago, plus Luffy's special facial recognition ability... it's not impossible that he didn't recognize him.

"Captain, the navy has entered Albana. Given our current status, it seems inconvenient for us to contact them."

Robin flapped her wings and landed in front of Wood. Because of the torrential rain, her clothes were soaked, and her graceful figure was clearly revealed to Wood.

"If you don't mind, you can hide in our palace for a while."

Princess Vivi spoke first. Cobra, who was standing next to her, wanted to say something, but seeing Vivi's determined expression, he immediately chose to remain silent.

Vivi has grown up. To be honest, if it weren't for his daughter getting the Straw Hat crew's help, the Nefertari royal family's years of hard work might have been completely destroyed in his hands.

Therefore, Cobra respects Vivi's choice, and regardless of what Wood, the naval traitor, might be up to, he has indeed just saved their kingdom.

Vivi had a similar idea, and she was very confident in her judgment of people, just like when she chose to trust the Straw Hat Pirates.

Vivi could tell that Wood was different from Crocodile; he wasn't the kind of ambitious and extremely evil pirate.

Moreover, given the strength Wood had previously demonstrated, if he really wanted to do something to Alabasta, they wouldn't be able to put up any resistance.

Therefore, instead of doing so, it would be better to show the grandeur of the "Nefertari" royal family here and express the gratitude due to their benefactor.

"Crocodile, one of the former Seven Warlords of the Sea, we have gathered enough evidence to prove that you violated the rules of the World Government and committed illegal acts against the desert nation of Alabasta."

The Marine Headquarters has now issued an arrest warrant, stripped you of your title of Shichibukai, and is bringing you back to Headquarters for further processing…

Smoker, who had jumped onto the palace's open-air balcony, was holding two long-handled jittes in his hands and had a cigar that had been extinguished by the rain in his mouth. He was reciting his lines as if following a script.

However, when he saw a certain figure in front of him, his voice stopped abruptly, and his body began to tremble violently.

"Colonel Smoker...?"

Tashigi, the bespectacled beauty standing to the side, looked at her boss Smoker and clearly sensed that something was wrong with him.

However, just as Tashigi was about to ask him more questions, she discovered that Smoker's lower body had turned into a puff of white smoke, and he charged forward with two crosses in his hands.

Upon seeing Smoker charging towards them, Sanji and Zoro immediately stepped in front of the unconscious Luffy.

They recognized the navy officer in front of them; he was a captain from Loguetown. For some reason, he was chasing them like a mad dog, determined to kill Luffy.

However, just as Sanji and Zoro were on high alert, dragging their heavily injured bodies to prepare for Smoker's attack, they discovered that Smoker's target was not them at all, but someone else on the field.

"Hey, Smoker, long time no see. You used to be my underling, how come after all these years you're still just a naval captain?"

Wood remained calm as he watched Smoker fly towards him. He could easily defeat Smoker in the past, and he could still do so now, even more easily.

Using the speed of the white smoke, Smoker charged towards Wood and thrust the cross in his hand directly at Wood.

However, just when he thought he was going to get his hands on Smoker, he found that his cross had been easily caught by Wood's outstretched fingers before it even touched him.

"White Snake!"

Smoker, feeling that the large cross in his hand was restrained and could not be shaken, quickly abandoned the cross and instead used the power of the "Smoke-Smoke Fruit" with his arm.

The arm completed its elemental transformation, turning into a giant white serpent that tightly coiled around Wood's body.

Seeing Wood get hit, Zoro and Sanji also looked disgusted. Their Straw Hat Pirates' three strongest fighters had also been hit by this move before.

Those white wisps of smoke may seem fragile, but they are actually extremely difficult to break free from.

If it weren't for that sudden storm, they probably wouldn't have been able to leave Loguetown successfully.

"What? Do you really think you can catch me with this kind of ability?"

As a powerful burst of energy erupted from Wood, the white smoke that seemed to be shackled around his body was instantly shattered.

Then, in Smoker's vision, a black fist kept growing larger in front of him!

"This bastard is still the same as before, always hitting people in the face!" Smoker had just thought this when he received a solid "Friendship Punch" to the face, and his body flew backward like a cannonball.

As for Sanji and Zoro watching from the sidelines, they were completely stunned!

Colonel Smoker, who was so difficult to deal with no matter how they attacked him, was suddenly punched away without any chance of fighting back.

"Smoker, after all these years, you haven't improved at all."

Moreover, ever since you ate the Devil Fruit, you seem to have become overly reliant on its power. To be honest, your current physical skills are even slightly inferior to what they used to be…”

"Shut up! Stop lecturing me like an older brother! Ever since you chose to betray the Navy, we've been on opposite sides!"

You were given so much hope, so why did you choose to go down this path? And what do you even know?

In order to gain power approaching yours as quickly as possible, I have no choice but to eat a Devil Fruit!

Before Wood could finish speaking, Smoker, who had been beaten black eyes, interrupted him, and it was clear from the weapon he had raised again that he had no intention of giving up.

"Then I'll show you the absolute gap that even if you eat a Devil Fruit, you absolutely cannot bridge!"

In the new world, Haki is the dominant force; Devil Fruits are ultimately just external powers.

Wood, who pulled the morning dew from the ground, suddenly changed his demeanor, and Zoro, the swordsman beside him, felt an immense sense of pressure from Wood.

He had experienced this feeling before, when he encountered the world's greatest swordsman, Hawkeye Mihawk, at the sea restaurant.

However, overwhelmed by Hawkeye's imposing presence, Zoro took a long time before he was finally able to draw his sword in front of Hawkeye.

Zoro now sensed the aura of a top-tier swordsman from Wood, but unlike the previous overtly sharp feeling, the aura Wood exuded was quite restrained.

Normally, Wood wouldn't give off that dangerous vibe, but at this moment, with his long sword drawn, he exuded a powerful and oppressive aura, like a blade being drawn from its sheath!

"Hyakki Mitsurugi-ryu - Itachi-ryu!"

A gust of wind roared out from the blade, transforming into a crescent-shaped slash that shot out. As the slash swelled in the wind and exploded towards Smoker, it had already reached a size of tens of meters.

Faced with such a powerful slash, Smoker dared not be careless in the slightest and immediately raised his two large jitte swords to protect himself.

However, when the crescent-shaped slash was right in front of him, he realized just how vast the gap was between him and Wood.

Feeling the force coming from the jitte, Smoker had already used all his strength to resist, but the enormous impact still sent him flying in an instant.

The crescent-shaped slash and the cross-shaped attack sparked a great deal of fire, and the powerful impact forced Smoker's feet to plow two deep furrows in the ground.

"boom------!"

The crescent-shaped cyan slash plowed Smoker dozens of meters away, eventually crashing through the wall and sending him flying. The cross on his hand finally succumbed to the immense pressure and flew off, while his body was split in two by the crescent slash in mid-air!

Fortunately, Wood did not apply Armament Haki to "Morning Dew" when he swung the slash, so when the crescent slash split Smoker in two, he did not bleed at all, but turned directly into a cloud of white smoke.

The slash pierced through the white smoke, flew out of the Alabasta royal palace, and finally landed in an uninhabited area below the city, instantly leaving a huge trench several miles long in the ground!

The Straw Hat crew and Princess Vivi were instantly stunned when they saw the huge chasm created by the slash below the palace.

Zoro, in particular, was excitedly gripping the three long swords at his waist, eager to challenge Wood.

During his previous battle with Mr. 1, Zoro mastered the "Breathing of All Things" technique, reaching the level of "Slicing Iron," and successfully became a swordsman of the "Sword Master" caliber.

The feeling that Wood gave Zoro was no less than that of Hawkeye, the world's greatest swordsman.

He couldn't encounter Hawkeye for the time being, but in order to verify the gains he had made in this realm improvement, Zoro felt that Wood was an excellent challenger.

The two halves of white smoke slowly converged and coalesced on the ground, forming the figure of Smoker supporting himself with one hand.

Smoker had just returned to his original form from his elemental state when he immediately spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

Although Wood's slash did not use the power of "Haki", Smoker's initial attempt to block Wood's slash caused him to suffer some internal injuries.

Moreover, although Smoker managed to dodge the slash by transforming into his elemental form, the great swordsman's sword aura still affected his elemental transformation to some extent.

Seeing that Smoker, whom she had always considered incredibly powerful, was so easily and severely injured by the pirate in front of her, Tashigi drew her Shigure sword, intending to fight as well.