Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

In addition, Wood's temperament is indeed somewhat incompatible with the righteous navy, so no matter how you look at it, he is the best candidate for this top-secret mission.

Wood was Zephyr's student, and Sengoku had heard about what he had done on Red Leaf Island.

Furthermore, considering Wood's act of personally killing a Celestial Dragon, Sengoku concluded that although Wood was usually somewhat unconventional, he also had his own sense of justice.

Chapter 78 The System's True Core Functions!

This return to Impel Down was actually for a special purpose: Sengoku and his group had arranged a drama specifically for Wood so that his "betrayal" could be justified.

Wood's trip to Impel Down will, for some reason, "accidentally" release the prisoners. Because of this heinous crime, Wood, the former "Naval Lieutenant Commander," will be forced to defect from the Navy...

I originally thought becoming a naval lieutenant commander was a good thing, as I could get a few months' salary in advance to enjoy life at the branch in my hometown, but now I've been forced to become a traitor!

It is common knowledge that few traitors end up well.

Don't spout that nonsense about good triumphing over evil. This is a high-risk profession; one wrong move and you could be killed by friendly forces.

Wood was about to refuse such a difficult task without even thinking about it, and he declared righteously that since he had become a Marine, he would never do anything that would betray the "justice" behind him, not even pretending to be a pirate.

Although he only received the cloak of justice in the last few days after being promoted to major, now that he has put on the cloak of justice, he must be responsible for the two words behind it.

What? You're asking why he could impersonate a fishman and commit arson and robbery before? Well, that's because just a few days ago he was a piece of cannon fodder in the navy, a mere nobody who couldn't affect the overall image of the navy.

But things are different now. Wood is now a lieutenant commander in the Navy Headquarters. Although his rank is not as high as Gion's, he is at least qualified to wear the cloak of justice.

However, just as Wood had prepared his speech and was about to speak, the long-dormant mute system suddenly became active again and triggered a special mission.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for successfully triggering a special mission event."

Mission Name: Havoc in Impel Down

Mission objective: Create chaos in Impel Down and ensure that over 100 prisoners, including Shiki the Golden Lion, successfully escape from Impel Down.

Task progress: 000/100

Mission Reward: One chance to simulate life across countless worlds.

(P.S.: Be thankful, newbie. Special missions are rare and hard to come by; the core capability of this simulator is its ability to simulate life across countless worlds.)

When Wood saw the task that popped up in the system, his initial intention to refuse was immediately choked.

According to the system, the previous life simulations were merely rewards for newbies, while this "Multiverse Life Simulation" is the system's true core capability.

Moreover, putting aside the fact that so-called special missions are extremely rare, even ordinary missions are only triggered by the system once in a long while, so Wood really doesn't want to give up.

Every time the system releases a task, it can dramatically improve one's abilities; this is the benefit of having a cheat program.

However, the system's task requirements this time left Wood somewhat conflicted.

Shiki the Golden Lion was destined to escape successfully, and even Wood couldn't stop him; there's no question about that.

However, Wood harbored some resentment towards his role in helping more than ninety-nine other prisoners escape.

The guys locked up in Impel Down, while not all of them were vicious criminals, were definitely not good people either.

Releasing this trash back into the ocean will only implicate more people. Wood really wants to become stronger through the system, but he has his own bottom line.

If the price of gaining power is the lives of many other innocent strangers on the high seas, then he would rather not have such power!

However, just as Wood was about to decide what to do and resolutely click the "Reject Task" button, the system unexpectedly popped up a dialog box again.

"This is the host's first special mission. If you refuse, you will permanently lose the ability to use the 'Multiverse Life Simulation' system. Are you really sure you want to refuse?"

Looking at the dialog box that appeared in front of him, Wood hesitated for only a moment before clicking "OK" again.

He didn't know what the so-called "Multiverse Life Simulation" was, but Wood didn't want to lose his personality for the sake of power.

The ordinary "life simulation" is enough. He makes the choices himself and doesn't want to be completely led by the system.

However, to Wood's surprise, when he clicked the "Reject Task" button again, the system popped up a dialog box with some additional prompts.

"Since this is the first time the host has triggered a special mission, he may not be very familiar with the mission mechanism of this system, so we are giving the host some helpful tips for now."

As the mission literally means, the host's current mission is to release one hundred criminals from Impel Down, which will be considered a mission completion.

As for the fate of these 100 criminals, the system will not interfere in any way; everything will be based on the mission conditions.

"If, after careful consideration, the host still chooses to abandon the mission, then this system will not intervene a third time."

Wood had always thought that although this garbage system was taciturn, it must possess a certain level of intelligence, judging from its often sarcastic PS messages.

With the series of reactions he had just received and the prompts that had appeared now, Wood was even more convinced that his previous thoughts were correct.

And this lousy system seems quite eager for me to take on this task, after all, it has already given Wood the maximum amount of hints it has.

Although the system's prompts were somewhat ambiguous, Wood wasn't hopelessly stupid and quickly grasped what the system meant.

The mission is considered complete if more than 100 criminals escape from Impel Down.

Once the mission is completed, the system will not interfere with what happens to these criminals.

This means that Wood could release these people to complete their mission targets first, and then kill them all to prevent them from harming others on the high seas.

Now that there was something to be done, Wood had no reason to hesitate. He was going to betray the Navy after accepting the top-secret mission, and now that he was cooperating with this mission, it was a perfect match.

I wonder what kind of expressions the Sengoku commander and the others would have if they knew that the prisoners who escaped from Impel Down were not just the few minor figures he had arranged, but a hundred prisoners including Shiki the Golden Lion.

Wood's mission to escort slaves to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise lasted for more than a month. When he returned, he had already jumped eight ranks from a mere private to a naval commander.

Previously, the highest-ranking officer in the naval squad stationed in Impel Down was only a naval lieutenant. Now that he has returned, Wood has become the highest-ranking officer here.

Although there were only a few dozen navy personnel left in Impel Down, Wood still got to experience what it was like to be a commander.

Chapter 79 The Golden Lion's Escape

Good heavens, back at the Navy Headquarters, anyone you randomly grabbed on the street had a rank far higher than Wood, a mere Navy Lieutenant Commander. There, he, as the "commander," couldn't really show off.

However, things were different when Wood arrived at Impel Down. Being assigned to this position was, frankly, not much different from being exiled.

Seeing that Wood had risen from a lowly cannon fodder private to a naval lieutenant commander in just one month, the dozens of slackers left in Impel Down were even more convinced of their previous suspicions that Wood had someone backing him up.

Are naval positions so easy to advance to? Don't you see many people who have been in the ranks for over ten years and are still just ordinary cannon fodder?

Either one must possess exceptional skills or achieve remarkable results; otherwise, it would be impossible to be promoted so quickly under normal circumstances.

Wood was just a private before, which immediately ruled out the possibility that he was quite capable.

As for achieving remarkable results, Wood had only been gone for a month, and they really couldn't think of any short-term mission that could lead to a promotion of eight ranks.

Then there's only one possibility left: Wood has connections at Navy Headquarters, and he might even be the illegitimate son of some bigwig.

Initially, they were assigned to Impel Down, a godforsaken place, just to divert attention. Once they achieved something, they would be transferred back to gain experience and then be promoted naturally.

"Commander Wood, please have some tea. This is a fine tea that I've been saving for a long time. I've been reluctant to drink it before, just to offer it to you."

"Commander Wood, is the pressure of my massage okay?"

Since Wood returned to Impel Down, the attitudes of the naval squad stationed there have undergone a complete 180-degree change.

They were always serving tea and water, or showing concern for each other's well-being, acting even more like lackeys than sycophants.

Wood could probably guess the reason for their eagerness: they suspected Wood had powerful backers and wanted to curry favor with him so that he could help them rise to prominence.

"Things aren't actually what you think. I was able to rise from a private to a naval lieutenant commander, all by risking my life."

This mission was incredibly dangerous, almost a death sentence. If it weren't for my good luck, you might not be seeing me today.

Seeing Wood's serious expression, the few lazybones who were originally circling around him were stunned. Then, the squad leader, who was also the naval captain, asked the question that had been on his mind.

"I wonder what mission Commander Wood went on this time. Tell us so we can admire his heroic bearing."

Following the captain's words, the other lazybones also looked at Wood with curious expressions. In fact, they were quite curious about what kind of mission Wood had gone to carry out, and how he had been able to rise so many ranks.

"Actually, it's not a big deal, it's just... cough cough, because it's a classified mission, it can't be exposed, you know what I mean."

When Wood used to share a dorm with Smoker, the younger guy was too serious and never cooperated, which made Wood very bored.

Right now, there's a bunch of lazy bums who want to hear him brag, so Wood is naturally very interested. However, just as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered that he had been hiding his identity when he went on the mission with Gion.

If he were to expose himself now, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't give himself away later, so Wood decisively kept quiet again.

Upon seeing Wood's expression as he abruptly stopped mid-sentence, everyone, including the captain, exchanged knowing glances.

And secretly, he cursed in his heart, "What kind of secret mission is this? It's clearly just a way to get credit. Since I didn't do anything, I have nothing to say now."

Of course, despite their inner complaints, as seasoned veterans of the workplace, the expressions on the faces of these seemingly indifferent people were quite convincing.

Although they didn't know what Wood had actually done, they were now showering him with flattery, using every last bit of ink in their mouths to sing his praises.

"In short, Commander Wood is now my boss. Just say the word, and we brothers will follow you through thick and thin!"

With such a powerful figure right in front of them, if they wanted a promotion and a raise, they could leave this godforsaken place. The captain and his men thought that becoming a lackey wasn't out of the question.

"Are you really willing to work with me? Even if I make mistakes, are you willing to stand by me and shoulder the burden?"

Upon hearing Wood's words, the captain and the others felt that Wood was testing their loyalty, and immediately thumped their chests loudly, indicating that brothers should share both good times and bad.

No... as the underlings, they'll shoulder the blame when things go wrong. As long as the boss doesn't forget about them when things go well, that's enough.

Hearing what the others said, Wood was deeply moved. He felt it was a real shame that Smoker wasn't there. Look at him, that's what a truly qualified underling looks like!

Several days after returning to Impel Down, Wood did not take any action, as he was waiting for an opportunity.

If Wood were to act now, he could at most allow a few prisoners that Sengoku had arranged for him to escape, which would fall far short of the standard required to complete the mission.