Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

Upon hearing about the upcoming sparring, Brand and Akame insisted on joining in, and that's how the base ended up like this.

Upon hearing Wood's words, Leone and the others, who had been chatting and laughing, were immediately dumbfounded. Didn't they say before that they were all good partners and would share the blame even if there was a problem? What was with this skillful way of shifting blame?

"It's all Tatsumi's fault. He was curious about what Wood's Teigu was and made me test it out."

"Tatsumi asked me who the strongest person was during the night raid..."

"It's all the fault of the newcomers..."

As Najenda listened to what everyone was saying, her expression grew increasingly dark. Meanwhile, the only boy who had been injured in the sparring session was still lying on his bed in his room, remarking how wonderful it was to have a group of companions he could rely on.

Unfortunately, this guy had no idea that his trustworthy companions were now stabbing him in the back with knives.

Poor Tatsumi, having only recovered from his injuries a few days ago, was ordered by Najenda to repair the house. Although Tatsumi didn't know what he had done to offend the BOSS, he felt that his comrades during the night raids were much kinder to him during this time.

Even Mine, who used to be sarcastic towards him, has been less sarcastic towards him lately.

"The reason I went back to the Revolutionary Army headquarters this time was specifically to find out about Esdeath."

According to reliable sources, the alien tribes in the north have been largely suppressed, but the ministers in the capital are pressing for their return. Therefore, Esdeath has first dispatched her capable lieutenants, the "Three Beast Warriors," back to the capital.

"It is clear that Esdeath only knew from the minister's few words that a troublesome assassination organization had appeared in the capital, but she regarded us as a minor character."

However, this is also a good opportunity for us. The Three Beast Warriors have followed Esdeath for many years, and their methods are equally ruthless.

Furthermore, as users of Imperial Arms, they possess considerable strength. If we can eliminate these "Three Beast Warriors" before Esdeath returns to the capital, it will be tantamount to breaking one of Esdeath's arms, making the subsequent battle against her much easier.

Chapter 414: There are two Woods?

Wood and Najenda had met Esdeath's "Three Beast Warriors" before in the army.

It can only be said that after spending a lot of time with Esdeath, those three guys also became twisted and extremely vicious, and were not good people at all.

"To entertain the 'Three Beast Warriors,' the nobles of the minister's faction even held a banquet specifically for them."

Many of the Empire's corrupt officials will also be at this banquet, so this presents a good opportunity for us as well.

The frequent actions prior to the night raid had caused the nobles of the ministerial faction to live in constant fear.

Now that Esdeath's capable lieutenants, the "Three Beast Warriors," have returned to the capital, they naturally have to fawn over her to save their own lives.

Although the "Three Beast Warriors" were merely Esdeath's lackeys, and in terms of status they were far inferior to the nobles present, the current situation was that whoever had the biggest fist was the boss.

Esdeath's slaughter instilled fear in all the alien races surrounding the empire. Although her "Three Beast Warriors" were not as famous as Esdeath, they were still well-known.

In the eyes of the empire's nobles, the "Night Raid" were nothing more than a bunch of amateur assassins. How could they be compared to the "Three Beast Warriors" who were always out fighting?

Because there were quite a few targets to assassinate, Najenda mobilized the entire Night Raid team and assigned tasks in an orderly manner.

First, Brand and Tatsumi, who were in charge of the banquet venue, were assigned to a team to conduct an infiltration operation, locate the assassination target at the banquet, and confirm the reported location.

Mine remained in a group with Hill, and the two were responsible for reporting the targets and locations through Tatsumi, then carrying out long-range shootings against the targets.

Leone and Akame formed a group and did not participate in the actions at the noble banquet. Instead, they created chaos in the capital to prevent the capital from sending a large number of troops to surround them if trouble broke out at the banquet, thus preventing Tatsumi and Brand from successfully escaping.

Wood and Lubbock work together as a team, responsible for cleanup and support. Lubbock will use the "Cross Tail" to set up a barrier at the banquet venue to prevent the assassination target from escaping.

As for Wood, Najendan instructed him to maintain maximum mobility and adaptability.

The banquet where the nobles welcomed the "Three Beast Warriors" was held on a luxurious ship docked at the pier.

Since Tatsumi wasn't wanted, he had already disguised himself as a waiter and infiltrated the banquet venue, while Brand, using his "Possessed by Evil" invisibility ability, had also been hiding in a corner of the ship.

Looking at the bustling banquet hall and the "Three Beast Warriors" being fawned over by the nobles, Tatsumi patted his cheeks to keep himself calm.

"As the BOSS has said before, this assassination target is different from the past. The 'Three Beast Warriors' are all Teigu users, and each of them is stronger than the previous murderer Zank. So I need to stay calm!"

As Sister Leone once said, one must learn to conceal one's aura and forget one's identity in order to naturally blend into the environment and be overlooked by others.

As Tatsumi recalled the lessons his companions had taught him, he was about to approach some ordinary targets with his wine tray and assassinate these nobles when his peripheral vision caught sight of a figure in the banquet hall, which startled him greatly.

So surprised was Tatsumi that he even thought he was seeing things, so he moved even closer to the other person.

"Waiter over there, you've come at the right time. Give us your wine, we're out of wine here."

The one who spoke was a pretty noblewoman. After seeing the red wine on Tatsumi's plate, she snatched it without saying a word and then very attentively poured some wine for a young man in front of her.

The task of pouring drinks for people is something that should be done by the waiters, but now the noble girl in front of Tatsumi is doing it without regard for her status.

And it wasn't just this one noblewoman who was vying to pour the wine; several other noblewomen around her were also eagerly competing with her, looking on with envy.

The scene before him was unusual, but it shouldn't have surprised Tatsumi. The reason he was emotionally affected was that he recognized the boy surrounded by the noble girls. The boy was none other than a member of their assassination organization named Wood!

“Mr. Wood, your story is very interesting. Could you tell us more?”

"Mr. Wood, this is my home address. You are welcome to visit anytime. I will certainly treat you well."

“Mr. Wood, we have many…”

Seeing Wood surrounded by a large group of noble ladies, Tatsumi was so frightened that his eyes almost popped out.

As far as he knew, Wood should be a wanted person in the Empire, but now he was swaggering into this place, and his conspicuous behavior had not attracted the attention of anyone else.

So shocked was Tatsumi that he even suspected the other person wasn't Wood, but someone who looked very much like Wood. So instead of leaving immediately, he stayed to gather information.

According to this strikingly similar person, his name is also Wood, but he is actually an adventurer.

He has ventured to the highest peaks of snow-capped mountains, and to the farthest reaches of the world. He once fought dragons for his family and battled witches for his friends.

The story he told was so captivating, with each part seamlessly connected to the next. At first, Tatsumi thought the other person was just making things up, but the scenes and events he described were so real that it made him feel like it was all true.

Wood is a noble and virtuous man who risked his life for his family and friends. He is a man of deep feelings and integrity, but he has no true love.

Young girls in their prime are all sentimental, and even noblewomen are no exception.

Wood is witty and humorous, possesses a mature and melancholic air that belies his age, coupled with impeccable manners that would make even nobles envious, and outstanding looks—making him a total heartthrob.

Wood said it was just a coincidence that he shared the same name as someone wanted by the Empire, and the noble girls believed him.

Wood said he was just unlucky and that he looked like that guy, and the noble girls believed him again!

Many noblewomen who were already infatuated with Wood even offered to use their connections to help him get his arrest warrant removed.

Do not doubt the power of these noble girls; those who can participate in this banquet are all prominent nobles in the empire.

The women who were brought in were naturally the most beloved in their families. If it were just one or two, that would be one thing, but so many noble girls gathered together was quite a force to be reckoned with.

However, Wood politely declined the girls' offer of help, saying that he was an adventurer and the Empire was just a transit point for him; his life belonged to the stars, the sea, and poetry and distant places.

Upon hearing Wood's words, the girls were captivated, their eyes sparkling with wonder. Some even expressed their willingness to abandon their noble status and wander the world with Wood.

After standing there for a while, Tatsumi realized that apart from being an excellent storyteller, the other person had nothing else to offer. He also felt that the person in front of him was not the Wood he knew, but just someone who looked similar, as the other person had said.

Because the Wood that Tatsumi knew was always a cynical and irreverent person who would drink like a drunkard with Leone and go spying with Lubbock.

But the "Wood" in front of me was not only elegant in demeanor, with an air of nobility, but he also played the piano and was extremely gentlemanly.

The noble ladies were all eager to offer themselves to him, but the young man always politely kept his distance from them.

In other words, although their names and even appearances were very similar, their personalities were so different that Tatsumi did not associate the boy in front of him with Wood, whom he knew.

"The world is full of wonders. I wonder what Wood's expression would be if he knew that there was someone who looked so much like him."

It's a pity the mission is urgent right now, otherwise I really would like to get to know him. The adventure stories he tells are indeed interesting, and he doesn't seem like a bad person.

Realizing he still had a mission to complete, Tatsumi glanced at "Fake Wood" briefly before continuing his search for his target.

Seeing Tatsumi leave out of the corner of his eye, Wood stopped playing the piano and said to the noble ladies surrounding him with a gentle smile, "Ladies, I must excuse myself for a moment."

“Mr. Wood, this is my home address. I'll be waiting for you at home tonight…”

“Mr. Wood, this is my villa in the capital. I admire your piano playing skills and hope you can come and play for me again.”

“Mr. Wood, this is my home address. My husband will be away on business for a month and won’t be back. The drain in our house seems to be clogged lately. It would be great if you could come and help fix it.”

……

Seeing that Wood was about to leave, many noble girls hurriedly slipped him small notes. Wood even overheard some unpleasant things from among these noble girls.

“Madam, this is very difficult for me… but out of a spirit of helping others, I will find time to pay you a visit.”

On the other side, rookie Tatsumi followed an assassination target into the restroom and, before the target could react, cleanly and swiftly slit his throat.

To Tatsumi's utter surprise, another mission target happened to enter the restroom at this moment and witnessed Tatsumi committing the crime.

Upon seeing Tatsumi committing the crime, the attacker immediately thought of the infamous assassination organization "Night Raid." Just as he was about to shout a warning, a crisp "crack" sounded from his neck, and his entire body collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud.

"Tatsumi, you were too careless. If this guy had shouted like that just now, our mission would have been much more difficult."

As Tatsumi watched the nobleman fall with his neck snapped, he remained in a forward-leaning posture, looking at the person who had made the sound from the doorway with a puzzled expression. As the figure gradually emerged, Tatsumi's mouth gradually opened wide in surprise.

"Wood, that person who was just playing the piano and telling stories over there, it really was you!"

Seeing Wood dressed in a suit and elegantly wiping his hands with a handkerchief, Tazumi was genuinely surprised.

Because he genuinely hadn't expected that the elegant and refined young gentleman he had just imagined would actually be the same person as that slovenly drunkard in their organization.

"Otherwise, you don't really believe that there's someone in the world who looks exactly like me and even has the same name, do you?" Wood said with a nonchalant expression, seeing Tatsumi's surprised look.

"But that person just now could play the piano, and he also knew aristocratic etiquette and was so elegant."

But you like to get drunk, and you're a lecher... and so cynical..."

Tatsumi wanted to say that the Wood he had just met was so different from the usual lewd Wood that he couldn't believe it was the same person. However, considering that they were all companions and given Wood's fighting prowess, Tatsumi was worried about getting beaten up, so he quickly changed his words.

"Has no one ever told you that before joining Night Raid, I was the young master of a wealthy business family?"