Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

Wood did not choose to continue hunting these people, because they had no chance of surviving.

They are now in the middle of the ocean, far from any village or town. The nearest land is Impel Down.

However, even if they had the stamina to swim back to Impel Down, it would be impossible for them to cross the Calm Belt. The Sea Kings that inhabit there would probably not let these passing snacks go unnoticed.

No, even if they were capable of crossing the Calm Belt, they couldn't possibly swim there because they would still have shackles binding their feet.

In short, jumping off the ship now is almost certain death; the only difference is whether you are killed by Wood or drown at sea.

Gou stood at the cabin door watching Russ and the others. When he saw Wood finish off the last prisoner and achieve the feat of killing 100 people, he swallowed hard.

To be honest, Ruth had previously thought that Wood's proposed solution was to persuade the Impel Down prisoners, but the way things were being handled was something he hadn't expected at all.

"It seems we were all wrong before. The captain's promotion from private to lieutenant commander in a single mission might not be due to any powerful connections, but rather to his own abilities..."

As a former naval captain and a seasoned veteran who had served in the navy for over a decade, Ruth believed he had seen many high-ranking officers in the headquarters and had witnessed their actions.

However, Ruth was certain that the other naval lieutenants in headquarters were no match for Wood, and might not even be worthy of carrying his shoes.

The strength Wood displayed was conservatively estimated to be at the level of a rear admiral, and Wood was still so young...

At the same time, Ruth suddenly felt that if he followed someone like Wood, he might one day rise to prominence!

Admittedly, Wood's behavior just now did seem a bit brutal to them, but what does that matter in this dog-eat-dog world of the sea?

Staying in the Navy would only mean a life of mediocrity in Impel Down. A man's ambition lies in all directions; who would be content to be a mere extra in the Navy for their entire life?

Seeing the mountain of corpses on the deck, Ruth swallowed hard, suppressing his fear. He was about to go up and ask Wood about his next plan, since they hadn't decided on their course yet.

The ship's course and destination could only be decided by Captain Wood, and Ruth dared not make decisions on her own, especially after Wood had just displayed such ruthlessness.

However, when Ruth boldly approached Wood, she found that Wood was staring intently at a certain direction in the sky with a solemn expression.

Even when facing over a hundred Impel Down prisoners alone, Wood maintained a completely calm demeanor.

"Tsk, it's probably too late to change course now. There's a troublesome guy coming this way."

If I start fighting with them later, don't worry about me, I'll just jump into the sea and run away. I have no confidence in dealing with the guys coming this way.

If a fight really breaks out, I might not be able to protect you all, and I might not even be able to protect myself.

Hearing what Wood said, Ruth also showed a look of surprise. Although the scene of Wood killing the prisoners in Impel Down was brutal, it also made Ruth and the others immediately label him as "powerful".

They couldn't even imagine what kind of person the approaching figure was, that even someone as powerful as Wood felt he couldn't protect himself.

"Is this reinforcement from the Navy Headquarters? It's a pity that with your current strength, Captain, even if the Navy Headquarters sends a vice admiral-level force, there should only be a few people who can easily overpower you."

Everyone here has just defected from the Navy, so they are quite clear about the current combat strength level of the Navy Headquarters.

In Russ's opinion, given the strength Wood had demonstrated, apart from special vice admirals like Marine heroes Garp, Akainu, and Kizaru, other vice admirals shouldn't be able to do anything to him.

"They're not from the Navy, they're guys who escaped from Impel Down like us."

Even our smooth escape from Impel Down this time was largely thanks to this guy.

No sooner had Wood finished speaking than Ruth asked him who the other party was, a figure had already floated up above their warship.

Shiki the Golden Lion, dressed in Impel Down prison clothes, had somehow acquired a cigar and was currently puffing away while watching the situation unfold.

After the battle in the Infinite Hell of Impel Down's sixth level, Shiki killed the current Impel Down warden, but his own situation is not much better now.

Shiryu of the Rain and Magellan are no pushovers. Although Shiki eventually escaped, he was hampered by the overuse of his abilities during the battle.

It was clearly not an easy task for Shiki to use the power of the "Float-Float Fruit" to float to another island.

The oceans of the New World are not to be underestimated; without a seasoned navigator and a logbook, it is easy to get lost.

Using his abilities to float in the air for days or even months is not a problem for Shiki.

The key question is whether he can find an island to stay on and get food within this timeframe.

Even with his immense strength, Shiki the Golden Lion is still a normal human being, and once you're a living being, you can't escape the need to eat.

Moreover, Shiki is already injured after the battle, and it's questionable whether he can even stay afloat at sea for a few days. He doesn't want to die at sea because of this after finally escaping that hellhole of Impel Down.

Previously, after leaving Impel Down, Shiki the Golden Lion had considered stealing a naval warship. However, he suddenly realized that even if he managed to steal the warship, he himself had no knowledge of navigation.

Furthermore, since traveling by boat is far slower than traveling by air, Shiki ultimately abandoned the idea and decided to rob those who already had navigators.

Chapter 86 Shiki: Join me, or die!

Impel Down is a forbidden area for pirates, and because it is surrounded by the Calm Belt where Sea Kings live, there are almost no ships traveling in the surrounding waters.

Despite the excruciating pain of severing his own legs, Shiki floated and flew for a long time before finally spotting Wood and his crew's ship at sea.

At first, Shiki also thought that this was a warship from Impel Down transporting death row inmates back to Marine Headquarters for execution.

However, Shiki soon discovered that things were not as he had thought, because there were far too many prisoners on the ship, and what surprised him even more was that the boy wearing a navy cloak had actually killed all of them!

This absolutely cannot be the navy!

Judging solely from Wood's style of conduct, Shiki had already concluded that Wood could not possibly be a legitimate member of the navy.

However, whether Wood and his crew were actually Marines or not was no longer important to Shiki.

Looking at the vast sea area around him, this warship was the only place he could find to land.

Whether Wood and his crew are real or fake, Shiki is determined to have this ship!

"You must be the infamous Golden Lion Shiki, right? The Navy must be hunting you down everywhere. What brings you aboard our ship?"

Now that Shiki's legs are crippled, although he has simply bandaged them with his trouser legs, fresh blood is still dripping from the air.

Because of his battle with Magellan and Shiryu of the Rain, Shiki was covered in injuries. However, even so, the aura emanating from this legendary pirate was still not to be underestimated.

In the theatrical version, Shiki basically died due to plot-driven deaths. Shiki was at least a character who could be compared to Roger and Whitebeard, with both prestige and strength.

Even though he cut off his own legs, which may have affected his strength to some extent, he shouldn't have been defeated by Luffy, who hadn't even mastered Gear Fourth.

Not only Shiki, but Zephyr, a former Marine Admiral who was able to fight Kizaru to a standstill after the formation of the new Marines, also ended up being killed by Luffy.

In short, Oda doesn't know anything about One Piece. Once Luffy's protagonist halo kicks in, whether it's legendary pirates or former admirals, they all have to kneel down!

However, Wood is not Luffy. He doesn't have the destiny of a chosen one, nor does he have any powerful backer to help him get a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.

Faced with the approaching golden lion, Wood could only remain calm and confront it.

He is no longer cannon fodder who can be slaughtered at will in a life simulation. Two years of honing his skills have greatly improved his abilities.

Shiki is currently exhausted and his injuries are extremely serious. Even if it were a big shot, he might not be completely without a chance of winning.

"Kid, you're not a Marine, are you? I've been sailing the seas for so many years and I've seen plenty of Marines, but I've really never seen many as ruthless as you."

"But since you know my name is Golden Lion, you should also understand that I'm completely different from the small fry you just slaughtered."

Shiki the Golden Lion is cunning and ruthless; generally speaking, he'll take action rather than talk.

The reason he didn't choose to take direct action this time was partly because he greatly admired Wood's strength and ruthless methods.

On the other hand, Shiki the Golden Lion doesn't have much sailing skill. If he were to kill Wood and the others without warning, it would be impossible for him to find the next island.

"You've guessed wrong. You can tell just by looking at our clothes. We're from the Navy Headquarters."

You are a great pirate comparable to the Pirate King Roger. We know that we are not strong enough to arrest you. If you don't want to be surrounded by the arriving Marines, we advise you to leave as soon as possible.

"You should know that every warship in the Navy has a special Den Den Mushi (snail phone). You were just engaged in a fierce battle at Impel Down; you probably don't have the strength to fight against the top-tier forces that Headquarters has sent."

If possible, Wood would not want to fight Shiki the Golden Lion. On the one hand, he was not confident, and on the other hand, he was worried that the warship would be destroyed because of the two of them fighting.

Once the warship is destroyed, and unlike Shiki, he can't fly, it's almost certain that he'll be captured by the pursuing navy.

Wood had just defected from the Navy, but before he could even become a pirate for a day, he was arrested by his own forces.

"Kid, don't try to fool me. I'm not stupid. I know you're the traitor those people in Impel Down were talking about."

I'm too lazy to beat around the bush now, I'll just ask directly: I admire your skills and personality, do you want to join me?

Wood was dumbfounded when he heard what the Golden Lion said. He had only just defected from the Navy and become a pirate for less than a day, and he had already been noticed by a big shot.

Before he became a Marine, he was noticed by Marine Admiral Zephyr. Now that he has become a pirate, he has been noticed by the great pirate Shiki the Golden Lion.

Wood even began to wonder if he also had some strange aura about him, and why people always wanted to take him as their underling.

And coincidentally, both Shiki and Zephyr later became Luffy's "experience points" in the movies...

Shiki extended an olive branch to Wood for two reasons. Firstly, Wood's previous performance was indeed remarkable, and secondly, his ruthless nature was quite to Shiki's liking.

On the other hand, Shiki has been in Impel Down for two years, and his former underlings have either gone their own way or disappeared to who knows where.

If you want to rebuild your pirate crew and sail the seas, you'll naturally need underlings, and in Shiki's eyes, Wood is a good candidate, at least qualified to be his underling.

"I appreciate Brother Shiki's kindness, but the reason I defected from the Navy is that I've had enough of being a lackey who's bossed around."

"These guys I rescued before didn't recognize me as their leader, which is why I killed them. Now they want me to be someone else's henchman? That's out of the question."

Sengoku sending Wood to infiltrate Shiki's "Flying Pirates" was actually a good idea, since Shiki was a figure of some importance among pirates and the information he obtained should be quite valuable.

However, joining another pirate crew would mean losing more autonomy, and given Shiki's suspicious and ruthless nature, Wood felt that being his subordinate offered no future.

"Hehehehehe, since this is your choice, then die!"

Seeing Wood's stubbornness, Shiki was grinning broadly one second, but the next second he was wielding two swords and slashing at Wood.

Chapter 87 Copy Pirate Wood