Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

Although they call them "mothers," in the eyes of the other party, they are more like tools that can be thrown away at will.

And there's another important point: since Elsa has chosen to follow Wood, and since Mary wants to stay with Elsa, she has no choice but to follow her to the end.

“She’s not dead yet, but she should be close. Manipulating the power of shadows is indeed troublesome, but on my home turf, unless she has other tricks up her sleeve, she should be out of options.”

As Wood spoke, he once again unfurled a magic circle in his hand and condensed a huge ball of light with his magic.

A ball of light, formed purely from magic, can be used for direct attacks as well as providing illumination.

At this moment, the huge ball of light in Wood's hand slowly rose to the center of the room like a small sun, illuminating the entire basement with dazzling light.

The place where Elsa and the others' "mother" used to stay was described as a room, but it was more like a basement.

The surrounding area is made of smooth stone walls, and in the limited light environment, it is only illuminated by a few lamps around it.

The reason for living in such an environment may be partly because being an assassin inherently requires secrecy.

Another reason is that such an environment is the terrain most conducive to the "mother's" abilities.

The room is completely enclosed, leaving no escape for anyone who enters. The shadows can easily reach every corner, meaning that "Mother" is virtually invincible in this basement.

However, as Wood said, no matter how strong the ability, there will always be a weakness.

The shadows are concealed and extremely fast, leaving nowhere to hide, and can even ignore physical attacks, including those from swords and blades.

However, shadows are afraid of strong light. Unless the conditions for creating a shadow are met, the opponent's ability cannot be used.

At this moment, the ground, the surrounding walls, and even the ceiling were all frozen with a thick layer of ice, and under the illumination of the magic orb, the light was refracted on the ice.

The area was already a limited space, and the light, after being refracted on the ice surface, made the entire underground space even more dazzling.

In such an environment, shadows cannot form at all, so the seemingly powerful abilities of "Mother" are naturally useless at the moment.

After losing her powerful abilities, "Mother" naturally tried to struggle and also showed remarkable skills.

However, his skills were far inferior to Wood's, so he was quickly defeated by Wood.

The "mother" wanted to beg for mercy and even offered to be Wood's lackey, but before Wood could say anything, a curved knife pierced her abdomen from behind and brutally dragged out her intestines.

“Not a single word this woman says can be believed…” Elsa quickly explained, seemingly noticing Wood’s displeased gaze.

Elsa has wanted to kill "Mother" more than once or twice, but unfortunately she has never had the chance.

Given such a golden opportunity, Elsa would naturally not let it slip by, even at the risk of being killed by Wood.

"Now that you've killed her, you'd better take her place and become my lackey, working for me until you die."

"Mother" is different from Elsa and Melly; Wood never intended to let her live.

Although he didn't consider himself a good person, he still had some basic principles. He knew that those who could become leaders in the underworld were all notorious for their evil deeds.

"Mother" is the head of an assassination organization, and she must have a certain network of connections and loyal followers in the underworld.

Regardless of whether the other party truly submits to him, if Wood wants to reshuffle the assassination organization and establish new rules, then the old leader, "Mother," must die.

Wood was unhappy simply because Elsa had taken action without his consent.

And he acted so quickly. Wood had originally planned to feign acceptance of the other party's surrender in order to take over their property and such.

As the head of an assassination organization, "Mother" couldn't possibly be without a secret stash of money, and Elsa betrayed her old boss without hesitation, even spilling her intestines all over the place.

The other party is beyond dead, so it's obviously impossible to ask them anything. I can only spend more time searching for my "mother's" inheritance.

After "Mother's" death, the underworld was thrown into turmoil. Many people, upon learning that the head of the assassination organization had died, wanted to get a piece of the pie and seize some territory.

However, soon all those who had tried to seize territory and grab a share of the pie disappeared, and many people began to realize that things were not so simple.

"Mother" is not the only assassination organization in the underworld, but it is certainly the most powerful one.

Just as the leaders of the other assassination organizations gathered together, speculating about why "Mother" had suddenly died, the man behind them appeared...

The other party was a young man who called himself Wood. He barged into the party with an air of nonchalance, accompanied by a mature woman in black stockings and a little girl holding a plush toy. He swaggered into the main seat.

The young man claimed that he had killed his "mother" and taken over all her power and territory. He said that his main purpose in attending the gathering was to take over the territory and power of everyone else present.

Upon hearing Wood's arrogant remarks, the people present, all leaders of their respective assassination organizations and engaged in dangerous, high-stakes work, could not tolerate Wood's arrogance and immediately overturned the table, declaring that Wood was nobody.

The first to attack was a muscular man with a scar on his face and shirtless. He belonged to the second strongest organization in the underworld after Elsa's assassination group.

With "Mother's" power gone, their organization should have become the dominant force. But now some random kid has come out claiming to have killed "Mother" and even wants to take over their power. Isn't that just wishful thinking?

However, just as the burly man drew his broadsword, preparing to teach Wood, this young upstart, a lesson about who was the boss here, the temperature in the air suddenly plummeted.

When everyone present finally realized what was happening, they were shocked to find that the burly man, who was known as the leader of the second-largest assassination organization in the underworld, had turned into an ice sculpture.

Its arrogant expression was still vividly etched on its face, but the thick layer of ice seemed to tell that it had no signs of life.

Wood flicked the large sword that the other man had already extended in front of him. With a vibration from the collision of the blade and his fingertips, the burly man, who had already turned into an ice sculpture, instantly turned into a pile of ice shards, which flew and fell in all directions.

"Is this all the so-called second strongest assassination organization is? No wonder your organization doesn't have many members, yet you were able to maintain your position as the number one assassination organization before."

In short, I reiterate what I said before: I intend to take over your organization and territory. You can choose to be my lackeys, leave, or... fight against me.

And I will set the rules for this letter. Who among you agrees? Who disagrees?

Looking at Wood, who had a young and handsome face and a calm demeanor, and then at Ice Shard on the other side, the others present all chose to remain silent.

They desperately wanted to say no, but the fate of the scarred man was still fresh in their minds.

Both the "Bowel Hunter" and the "Beast Tamer" are assassins under the "Mother's" command, and everyone present is well aware of their abilities and protections.

The ability to instantly freeze the scarred man into an ice sculpture couldn't possibly be theirs, so it could only have been this young man who did it.

Although he couldn't compare to "Mother," the scarred giant was still a prominent figure in the assassination organization. The fact that he was instantly killed by someone else could only mean that the young brat in front of him was not as simple as they had imagined.

"You either agree or you disagree. What does it mean that you've chosen to remain silent?"

"You have one more minute. If you still choose to remain silent, then be careful—you might never be able to speak again."

Wood's rather cold words made the temperature in the room drop several degrees again, so cold that everyone present shivered.

In fact, this feeling of coldness is not just psychological, but also physically cold, which is reflected in the body as well.

As time passed, a thin layer of frost began to cover the conference table in front of them. As the temperature dropped, the underworld assassins present also felt a bone-chilling cold.

"The underworld has always been a place where strength reigns supreme; whoever has the biggest fist is the boss."

Since you were able to kill "Mother" with your own hands and just easily took down Scarface, you have already fully demonstrated your strength. Therefore, I have no objection to you leading us.

As frost began to creep up their feet along the floor, some of the assassins finally realized that Wood was a truly ruthless character, and if they didn't make a move soon, they might end up like Scar, a pile of ice shards.

“Yes, I also agree that Mr. Wood should be our leader.”

“We, the Black Raven Organization, also follow Lord Wood’s lead. If any of you dare to oppose us, you will be my enemy.”

Once the first person stepped forward, there was naturally a second, a third... and Wood completely took control of the entire underground assassination organization in just two days.

"As expected, reasoning with these guys who have been in the underworld for years is useless. The fastest and most effective way is to use force to persuade them."

Elsa had previously described to Wood the other assassination organizations in the underworld and offered a plan to gradually erode their power.

However, Wood felt that doing so would be too much of a waste of time, so he directly used his own method.

"The leaders of those assassination organizations are only subservient to you because of your superior strength; they have no loyalty whatsoever. Aren't you afraid they will betray you in the future?"

Looking at Wood's back, Elsa thought that although Wood's methods were simple and brutal, they would leave behind great troubles.

"Don't be naive. Even if I slowly subdue these assassination organizations one by one in the way you suggested, do you think they will be loyal to me?"

This is the underworld, and they are all assassins. People who live in the underworld have no concept of loyalty; they only care about risk and profit.

As long as I can offer them enough benefits, they will naturally be loyal to me.

"And if I can't give them anything, do you really think they'd be foolish enough to risk their lives for me?"

Wood had been a powerful figure in the underground world of One Piece for over a decade, and he understood this type of person far better than anyone else.

Perhaps what Elsa described could happen, but Wood didn't care at all. Under the absolute suppression of power, they either had to submit or obediently leave.

Chapter 349 Taking a Loli to flirt with people everywhere?

The Kingdom of Dragons, Capital of Lugnica

With the royal selection ceremony about to take place, the already bustling capital city has become even more lively recently.

At this moment, Wood was dressed in a black cloak with a knight's longsword at his waist, walking on the busiest street in the capital.

A blond boy with such an outstanding temperament and excellent looks would likely have many young ladies willing to be his guide, even if he didn't know much about the capital.

However, the key point is that Wood wasn't alone at that moment. Instead, he was accompanied by a little girl with sky-blue hair tied in three braids, holding a plush toy in one hand and licking an ice cream cone in the other, her face radiating innocence and romance.

As for who the blue-haired loli following behind Wood is, it goes without saying that she is none other than 'Beast Tamer' Melly.

Wood went to the capital intending to act alone, but Elsa said that they had just taken control of the underground assassination organization and established a new order, and many things could not be carried out smoothly without Wood.

Therefore, in order to be able to contact Wood in a timely manner, a means of communication is definitely needed.

In the medieval world, there was no convenient means of communication like telephones, nor was there any magic for long-distance communication. The only way to exchange information and communicate was through letters.

So, in order to be able to contact Wood at any time, Mary was sent to work alongside him.

While Meli might not be of much help to Wood in combat, as a "Beast Tamer," she can manipulate magical beasts to deliver messages.

Moreover, this is the capital of the Dragon Kingdom, unlike the border towns of Roswaal's territory, which are heavily guarded.

Those who run assassination businesses, including many underground killers like the "Bowel Hunters," are wanted by various countries, so they can't just stroll around the capital with Wood.