Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

People might think his strength hasn't improved, but that's just their preconceived notion that he chose the path of martial arts, coupled with Wood's deliberate concealment of his abilities.

Wood, who graduated with average grades, was not directly assigned to an vacant junior officer position.

As for Gion, who ranked first, he was assigned to the position of sergeant immediately after leaving the naval academy.

Moreover, this position as sergeant is only temporary. Given Gion's strength and performance, his position may be promoted dramatically within just two years.

Smoker and Tina were both retained for naval officer training this year due to their outstanding performance.

As he was about to leave the naval academy, Gion specifically sought him out and expressed her desire to have one last sparring session.

Unsurprisingly, Wood rejected this thankless request outright, stating that he, a guy of average to above-average ability, was no match for a genius.

"Although you wasted a year, your swordsmanship talent is still outstanding, and you are also several years younger than us."

If you abandon martial arts and return to the right path, you still have a chance to catch up with me again, and even surpass me!

Gion wasn't sure why she said those things to Wood. Perhaps she felt sorry for Wood's talent, or perhaps she had considered Wood a rival for the past two years.

“I have never said that I have given up the way of the sword. What the eyes see is not always the truth, Gion.”

As Wood finished speaking, Gion felt as if a gentle breeze had brushed past her. Feeling a sudden sense of danger, she had just grasped the hilt of the Kinpira sword at her waist when she found a sky-blue scabbard pressed against her neck!

Gion was stunned! She hadn't seen anything Wood had done just now.

Although it was because her body was completely unprepared just now, the aura emanating from Wood at this moment made Gion, who was also a swordsman, feel her skin tremble!

The boy in front of everyone, who was regarded as a fool, not only did not regress in his swordsmanship over the past year, but actually became stronger!

"I hope you can keep this a secret, I don't want to be assigned to any dangerous position because of this."

Perhaps it was because of Gion's caring behavior towards a friend, or perhaps because Wood felt that the two, who had been assigned to different places, would not have any further contact.

So Wood ultimately, by some strange twist of fate, displayed the results of his year of training in front of Gion.

Chapter 35 High-Ranking Cannon Fodder Heads to Work in Impel Down

Previously, about a hundred people participated in the training for non-commissioned officers, but after a year, only about half of them remained.

As for the other half, most of them died in battles against pirates during practical training.

Another group was expelled from the Navy because they faced ferocious pirates for the first time and acted cowardly and ran away during the battle.

Wood's performance at the naval academy was mediocre, so he graduated with the rank of private.

Strictly speaking, this rank doesn't even qualify as "non-commissioned officer"; at best, it's just a slightly higher-ranking cannon fodder.

What made Wood uneasy was that his job was to patrol the area around Impel Down!

Impel Down is where the World Government imprisons criminals; most prisoners are held here before being executed.

Those imprisoned here are not limited to pirates, but also include other vicious criminals.

Impel Down is not under the jurisdiction of the Navy Headquarters, but there are corresponding positions within it to guard the prisoners.

The prison is divided into six levels. The first level holds ordinary criminals, while the sixth level is said to hold extremely heinous criminals who could threaten the world.

Before his execution, the Pirate King Roger was imprisoned on the sixth level of Impel Down.

Impel Down has its own defense mechanisms, and its isolated location on an island makes it impossible for escaped prisoners to get away.

For some unambitious navy personnel who just want to coast along, working in Impel Down is undoubtedly the best job they could ever have.

Because hundreds of years have passed, no one has been able to leave Impel Down, and the so-called patrols are merely routine procedures.

In the past, Wood would naturally have been quite satisfied with this job that allowed him to coast along and do nothing.

However, after experiencing the second life simulation, Wood was quite clear that Impel Down, which had not had any problems for hundreds of years, was about to lose face!

The captain of the Flying Pirates, the great pirate Shiki the Golden Lion, who is imprisoned on the sixth floor, will soon cut off his own legs and escape!

In my second Sims, I died at the hands of Shiki the Golden Lion who escaped from prison. Now I've become a patrolling Marine. This is clearly history repeating itself!

Although Wood's current strength is far greater than his strength in the second life simulation.

Not only did he become a "sword master" and master "Observation Haki," but even so, he still didn't have the qualifications to challenge a great figure like Shiki the Golden Lion!

He wanted to remind Zephyr and Garp that Shiki would choose to escape from prison in the future, which would then be completely inexplicable.

After all, nothing has happened yet. Whether Zefa and the others will choose to believe him is another matter. Even if they do believe him, how will he explain his ability to foresee the future?

Wood went to great lengths to conceal his strength, just to remain a minor character. Such attention-grabbing behavior is completely out of character for him.

Furthermore, the navy isn't all benevolent. Having the ability to predict the future isn't necessarily a good thing. It's even quite possible that he'll wake up to find himself pinned down on some mad scientist's experimental bed.

Since the plan to warn the Navy leadership in advance was not feasible, Wood could only try to change himself in an attempt to improve the future.

So when he took his transfer application to the only bigwig he could find, Zefa, hoping that Zefa could transfer him to another unit, even if it was just to be a regular cannon fodder soldier, he was rejected by Zefa.

Zephyr is a stubborn man who believes that as a naval soldier, it is his duty to obey orders from his superiors.

He also believed that Wood's personality was too undisciplined, and despite his great talent, he was always wasting his time.

Impel Down is a place where criminals from all over the world are imprisoned, and everyone imprisoned there is a vicious and ruthless individual.

Zephyr also believed this was a good opportunity. Only by seeing the evil in this world could Wood find justice in his heart and understand that the people he needed to protect were not just those on Red Leaf Island.

Zephyr rejected Wood's request to change positions with a righteous and stern expression, leaving Wood with only two choices.

They either obediently chose to work in the new position, or they chose to disobey orders from their superiors and defect to the navy...

Defection is out of the question. I'm just a nobody right now, without the protagonist's halo. I can't possibly be like some rubber boy who can fight his way through Impel Down and then leave unscathed.

Compared to facing the numerous bigwigs of the entire Navy Headquarters, Wood felt that facing Shiki the Golden Lion alone would be safer.

Moreover, although history is strikingly similar, some changes have actually occurred.

In the second life simulation, Wood died as a support Marine, even though he was killed by Shiki the Golden Lion. But this time, he is directly serving as a Marine guard in Impel Down.

Besides the change in his position, Wood's own abilities are now vastly different from what they used to be.

According to the results of the second life simulation, Wood was probably killed casually by Shiki the Golden Lion who escaped from prison, and Shiki didn't even know who he was.

Based on his own strength in The Sims, he was indeed no match for Golden Lion. However, the current Wood is far stronger than his second life simulation self.

If he hadn't deliberately provoked Shiki the Golden Lion, or been targeted intentionally, he wouldn't have been killed off so easily like an ordinary extra.

Thinking about the details, Wood felt much more at ease. At worst, he could just slack off and if he really encountered Shiki the Golden Lion, he could just lie down on the spot.

Having graduated from the Marine Headquarters academy and being a student of Zephyr, coupled with his previous experience in killing pirates, he only needs to accumulate seniority in Impel Down for a few years before he can apply to go to other Marine branches.

The Red Leaf Island Marine Branch was naturally the first choice. It was their hometown, and they were used to living there. Moreover, as it was the first half of the Grand Line, even if they encountered pirates, most of them would be newbies.

To put it bluntly, if Wood didn't deliberately hide his strength, he would definitely be at the level of a Navy captain, and not just any ordinary Navy captain, but a full-fledged Marine Headquarters captain.

With the Six Powers of the Navy, Observation Haki, and swordsmanship at the level of a swordsman, if Wood were to encounter "Iron Arm Cook" from back then, he could easily defeat him with both hands and feet!

Chapter 36 Naval Squad Stationed in Impel Down

Impel Down, the world's number one prison

The prison houses serious criminals and is extremely dark and terrifying, with various monster guards and video Den Den Mushi (snail phones) monitoring the area. Outside the prison, there are large numbers of sea kings in the ocean, which is why Impel Down is known as an "impregnable fortress."

The Marine Headquarters, Enies Lobby, and Impel Down are the World Government's three major strongholds on the high seas, practically forbidden zones for pirates.

Compared to Enies Lobby and Marine Headquarters, Impel Down has its own internal management mechanism, and the positions in Impel Down are not closely related to the Marines.

Even ordinary naval personnel, unless under special circumstances, are not allowed to enter or leave Impel Down; they can only guard the outside of Impel Down.

However, there are always exceptions. In the years since the Pirate King Roger was executed, the number of pirates on the seas has increased dramatically.

Impel Down, which used to imprison all kinds of criminals from around the world, has almost become a so-called "pirate prison" in the last two years.

Because vicious pirates are thrown into Impel Down every day, and because the Marine Headquarters needs to cross the Calm Belt to get to Impel Down, a series of procedures are required each time, whether it's bringing someone in or capturing someone.

After a while, Sengoku, who had just taken over as Fleet Admiral, felt that it was too troublesome, so he consulted with the warden of Impel Down.

Establish a small naval squad on the outskirts of Impel Down. Its main function is to handle matters such as pirates captured and brought to Impel Down, and to patrol the outer perimeter of Impel Down as well.

Sengoku's proposal was entirely beneficial to Impel Down, and he also promised the warden of Impel Down that the naval forces sent to Impel Down would not be too strong or too numerous.

After concluding that Sengoku's proposal would indeed simplify many steps and would not affect his own rights, the warden of Impel Down happily accepted the proposal.

This so-called naval liaison point on the outskirts of Impel Down is the post Wood is now going to.

After bidding farewell to Smoker and the wild boars on the back mountain, and spending half a day on a ship at Marine Headquarters, and passing through numerous checkpoints, Wood finally saw the so-called world prison.

Don't get me wrong, given Wood's current status, it's impossible for the Navy to specifically send a warship to Impel Down to deliver him.

He came here purely on the side; besides a naval admiral, there was also a large ship full of pirates who were about to be thrown into Impel Down.

The Warring States Marshal has just taken office and is now frantically racking up achievements every day to solidify his position.

Moreover, pirates have indeed been rampant and numerous on the high seas in the past two years. Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals like Garp have brought back a number of bounty pirates every time they set sail.

Impel Down is a massive, tower-like structure submerged in the sea, with its foundation on the seabed. The higher the criminal's rank, the deeper they are imprisoned on the seabed.

Moreover, the chains binding the prisoners and even the cells were built using "sea stone," demonstrating their immense wealth and power.

The reason for doing this is that many of the prisoners held here are Devil Fruit users.

Seastone is a mineral that emits the same power as seawater and can nullify the abilities of those with superpowers.

As soon as the Navy Headquarters warship docked, the prison chief of Impel Down approached with several creatures that looked like blue gorillas and were carrying axes.