Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

"Gulp—!" Faced with Wood's smiling question, Caesar swallowed hard, then looked at Wood in disbelief and said, "The famous ancient weapon of the sea, the uncrowned emperor of the Four, wants to recruit me? Mr. Wood, are you sure you're serious and not joking with me?"

Seeing Caesar's bewildered and confused expression, Wood couldn't help but chuckle and ask, "Do you think I would waste so much time joking with you?"

Monet is also my important adopted sister. If it were just about killing you, would I put her in danger?

Besides, do you think that, given your strength and status, I would have any reason to deceive you?

Wood's three consecutive questions completely dispelled Caesar's doubts, and Caesar's response to Wood's recruitment was also quite straightforward, decisively abandoning his original ally Doflamingo.

It wasn't that Caesar was disloyal, but rather that he had no other choice given the current situation.

Leaving aside Wood, who maintained a constant smile, Monet's murderous intent was almost overflowing, as if if he were to utter a single "no," he might be torn to pieces the next second.

Moreover, Caesar himself was a smart man. He was quite aware that although his situation with Doflamingo was called cooperation, in this kind of cooperation, he was just the one being used.

Even so, Caesar had no other choice. Circumstances were beyond his control. Compared to himself, Doflamingo had connections, wealth, and great strength, while he himself had no advantage in any aspect except for a clever mind.

Caesar's wish has always been very simple: he only wants to prove that he is better than Vegapunk, nothing more.

Research requires a lot of money, and without the protection of a powerful force, the Navy wouldn't let someone like him go.

Therefore, under duress, Caesar had no choice but to cooperate with Doflamingo. Caesar conducted research for Doflamingo, and in exchange, Doflamingo provided him with funding, facilities, and protection.

Compared to Doflamingo, the Ancient Weapon Wood and Wood Weapon Company are clearly far superior to the Donquixote Family in terms of funding, connections, and influence.

Doflamingo was merely a high-ranking pirate, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, while Wood, the Ancient Weapon, was the uncrowned emperor of the sea. The difference between the two was truly like heaven and earth.

Although Caesar didn't know whether Wood recruited him simply to use him or for some other purpose, since he was cooperating with Doflamingo and the latter was also just using him, why didn't he find a more powerful protector?

Wood hadn't expected Caesar to agree so readily; he had thought he would have to waste some time explaining.

However, Wood quickly let it go after thinking about Caesar's personality.

"Since you've decided to join our company, you're one of us now. With your intelligence and abilities, we certainly won't let you be just a nobody. We'll assign you a junior management position first."

Whether it's funding or research equipment, you can talk to Robin about it; the treatment will definitely not be worse than what you get with the Joker.

But there's one thing I need to emphasize to you: research is research, but if you dare use the residents of Dark Island as experimental subjects, or recklessly cause any poison gas explosions, you should be well aware of the consequences.

Upon hearing Wood's warning, Caesar shook his head vigorously, indicating that he would absolutely not act recklessly.

And despite his fear, Caesar was also extremely pleasantly surprised after hearing Wood's words.

He had initially thought that Wood would simply use him to complete a research project, just like Doflamingo, and then discard him. But now that he heard Wood was actually going to appoint him as a cadre, Caesar was overjoyed.

Wood Arms Company is a force comparable to the Four Emperors' pirate crews. Even ordinary officers can basically roam freely on the seas.

Moreover, Wood Weapons Company's influence is, strictly speaking, more valuable than that of other "Four Emperors Pirate Crews." While the officers of other Four Emperors Pirate Crews may only be influential within the pirate community, the officers of Wood Weapons Company are influential throughout the entire sea!

Wood Arms Company's weapons business spans almost the entire ocean, and it enjoys a certain level of influence with the Navy, pirates, and even the Revolutionary Army and the World Government.

If he had Wood as his backer, would Caesar still need to go after that fat woman, IG MOM?

"Captain, is there anything I can do for you? Whether it's drug research or scientific weapons development, I'm quite skilled in both."

After confirming that Wood's intention to recruit him was not a joke, Caesar's attitude underwent a complete 180-degree change, and his skill in fawning over Wood even impressed Monet.

"First, take out that Trafalgar Law heart you're holding."

As for your job, I'll arrange it for you once we return to Dark Island, so you don't need to worry about that.

Although Caesar didn't know what Wood wanted to do with Law's heart, he had already latched onto the big boss's coattails and obviously didn't dare to disobey Wood. He obediently took out a piece of heart that was still beating, encased in a cube by the Op-Op Fruit.

Chapter 579 Wood: Why don't you all come at me together!

"Monet, keep that heart safe. It's not Trafalgar Law's heart, it's yours."

Previously, in order to gain Caesar's trust, Law seemingly handed his heart over to Caesar, but in reality, his heart had already been switched.

If Caesar, in a fit of rage, were to crush his own heart in his hand, then it wouldn't be Trafalgar Law who dies, but you.

This is why Wood changed his mind and suddenly chose to land on Punk Hazard.

It was only after receiving Monet's Den Den Mushi that Wood remembered this important plot point, which is why he immediately abandoned Robin and Perona and rushed here as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, the original plot hadn't happened yet. If Monet's heart had been crushed by Caesar, even if Wood was incredibly powerful, he wouldn't have been able to save it.

After all, even "Emperor-level" healing magic can regenerate severed limbs like a miracle, but the heart, as one of the most important central organs of the human body, is no different from death if it is shattered.

Even "Emperor-level" healing magic cannot achieve the absurd feat of bringing the dead back to life.

After subduing Caesar, the Punk Hazard incident was practically over.

Vergo was hacked to pieces and died by the combined attack of Smoker and Law.

When Law and the Straw Hat crew arrived at this place, their expressions became extremely puzzled when they saw Caesar, Monet, and Wood standing together.

Luffy and Zoro, who couldn't see the situation clearly, thought Wood had encountered Caesar and Monet, who were trying to escape, and was fighting them.

Enraged, Luffy originally wanted to avenge the prisoners and children on the island who had been deceived by Caesar, so he charged directly at Caesar, while Zoro charged at Monet at the same time.

However, before the two could make a move, a sharp blade of light suddenly shot towards them. The crescent-shaped outward slash not only instantly destroyed the ground several kilometers in front of them, but also sent Luffy and Zoro, who were using Armament Haki, flying several kilometers away at the same time!

Kin'e, the Wano Country samurai "Foxfire" who met the Straw Hat crew on this island, was also quite astonished by what he saw.

Although they haven't known each other for long, he had already witnessed Luffy and Zoro's strength. Without exaggeration, even in Wano Country, where there are many powerful people, there are definitely no more than a handful of people who can compete with Luffy and Zoro.

But now, even such a powerful person couldn't put up any resistance and was cleaved away by a single strike!

Not only that, Kinmon is also a swordsman himself, and he is quite aware of how strong the opponent's outward slash was. If Wood hadn't lacked the characteristics of "Hawkeye" and his longsword wasn't the Supreme Grade Sword Yoru, Kinmon would have even thought that the man in front of him was the world's greatest swordsman himself.

"Such a powerful strike, who exactly are you?"

Upon hearing the question from the guard, Wood was clearly taken aback. Although it sounded a bit boastful, there were very few people on this vast sea who didn't recognize his face.

However, Wood quickly put his mind at ease when he thought that Kin'emon was a samurai from Wano Country.

Wano Country is a relatively isolated island. Although they may have heard of some people and things, they may not have actually seen them in person. Therefore, Kin'emon obviously did not recognize who Wood was.

Despite being knocked away, Luffy and Zoro did not lose their fighting spirit. Instead, they rushed out of the ruins one after the other and charged at Wood again at an astonishing speed, even using their own techniques.

"Armed - Third Gear - Elephant Gun!"

"Three-Sword Style - Purgatory Demon Slash!"

The enormous arm, like an inflated balloon, swelled to the size of a giant in an instant. Covered in Armament Haki, it directly crushed the ground in front of it and slid horizontally towards Wood's location.

Seeing Luffy's massive black fists all around him, Caesar, who was standing next to Wood, was so terrified that his tongue was twitching like a spring, and his eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets.

But Wood, who was in the lead, and Monet, who stood with Caesar, remained remarkably calm.

Monet even complained that Caesar was too noisy, so he stuffed a snowball into his mouth.

Even before the enormous fist covered in Armament Haki arrived, the powerful pressure of the punch already made the clothes of Wood and his companions flutter loudly.

However, in the face of such an attack, Wood curled the corners of his mouth and extended his right hand as well. Not only was his fist instantly covered with a layer of black substance that looked like metal, but also a layer of cherry blossom-colored aura quickly covered his Armament Haki fist again.

"Flowing Cherry Blossoms - Charge!"

"boom------!"

As the two fists, one large and one small, collided, the clash of Armament Haki instantly sparked out numerous black and red lightning bolts, shattering the ground like tofu.

Luffy's "Elephant Gun" in Gear Third is so big that it's not even as big as Wood's fist. Even Wood's entire body, or hundreds of people combined, probably wouldn't be as big as Luffy's fist at this moment.

However, unexpectedly, despite the huge difference in size, Luffy's Armament Haki, which was more impressive in both size and power, was completely powerless against Wood's Armament Haki and was punched away by Wood!

It wasn't surprising to everyone present that Luffy couldn't beat Wood. After all, Wood's combat strength was undeniable. Even though he hadn't improved at all in the past two years, the strength he displayed during the Marineford War was enough to place him at the very top of the pyramid on the sea.

Luffy's defeat was expected, but no one anticipated that he would lose so decisively, without even having the strength to withstand a punch from Wood.

It's important to understand that the difference in strength between Luffy two years ago and Luffy now is absolutely enormous.

Two years ago, the Straw Hat crew almost got wiped out in a group battle against a "Pacifista".

Two years later, Luffy, in Gear Second mode, defeated the Pacifistas who almost wiped them out with a single punch.

The pacifists are machines, so their strength could not have changed in the past two years, which further demonstrates that the Straw Hat crew is not what it used to be.

Luffy and his crew have become so strong, but what's unbelievable is that when they face Wood, they are still just as helpless as they were in Alabasta!

Wood unleashed a powerful punch, the force of which instantly cracked the ground beneath his feet and sent a large amount of debris floating into the air. As the fist struck, the powerful shockwave also shattered Luffy's Armament Haki with overwhelming force.

His body was sent flying like a cannonball, sliding across the island for dozens of kilometers, crashing through countless obstacles before finally landing in a pile of rubble and falling into a coma.

"You can't be kidding, Luffy was defeated with just one punch!"

"Just how strong is this monster Wood?"

"Luffy is supposed to be incredibly resilient. No matter how serious his injuries were before, he could always hold on and defeat his opponents. How come he was knocked down with just one punch?"

"Aren't they both Armament Haki? Why is there such a big difference?"

Seeing the lingering ring of air in front of Wood, and Luffy already unconscious, Nami, Usopp, and the others were completely dumbfounded.

In the instant Luffy was sent flying by Wood's punch, Zoro's Three-Sword Style: Purgatory Demon Slash also rushed in front of Wood. When Zoro leaped high into the air, Wood even saw a ghostly phantom behind him.

“Interesting. Your moves are somewhat similar to my Hundred Demon Sword Style. And the killing intent and demonic energy wrapped around the blade, are they insights gained from my Conqueror's Haki Killing Intent?”

Since that's the case, then let me show you what swordsmanship is—the ultimate refinement and fusion of killing intent and ghostly energy.

Hyakki Mitsurugi-ryu—Kyouran Shuten-dōji!

Wood, who was originally calm, suddenly transformed into a raging sea of ​​blood the moment he pulled the Heavenly Dry Sword from his waist.

Beneath this crimson wave, a handsome, red-haired demon slowly emerged, holding a wine gourd in one hand and a long sword in the other.