One Piece: The Multiverse Simulator

The chaotic drama unfolding between Ain, Hancock, and their complicated relationships was completely beyond Wood's awareness.

No, it wasn't that Wood didn't care—it was simply that he didn't have the bandwidth to deal with anything else at the moment. His current opponent was proving to be incredibly challenging.

Earlier, while clad in the Winter Knight armor, Wood had completely countered Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit powers.

Though Wood couldn't fully negate the damage from the ice, the Winter Knight armor's exceptionally high resistance to cold, combined with the enhancement of Armament Haki, reduced Aokiji's effectiveness by more than 80%.

In terms of Haki, Wood's level was on par with Aokiji's—perhaps even stronger, given his mastery of Conqueror's Haki.

On top of that, Wood was a master swordsman with an enormous reserve of magical energy.

Within just ten minutes of their fight, Aokiji was already struggling, repeatedly finding himself slammed into the ground by Wood's overwhelming force.

It wasn't entirely Aokiji's fault—he hadn't expected Wood to develop armor that countered his Devil Fruit abilities so thoroughly.

But his Devil Fruit powers weren't the only thing being neutralized. As the fight dragged on, Aokiji became increasingly astonished by Wood's abilities.

He couldn't even figure out what type of Devil Fruit Wood had eaten.

At the start, Wood had summoned phoenix-like flames to counter his Violent Pheasant Beak. But after that, he unleashed a series of sword techniques.

Each technique was not only incredibly powerful but also infused with unique elemental properties.

There were slashes as swift as the wind, thrusts as electrifying as lightning, strikes that scorched everything in their path, and even cuts that froze everything solid, just like Aokiji's ice.

As if that wasn't absurd enough, Wood also possessed the ability to regenerate.

Although Aokiji had spent most of the fight taking hits, as a Marine Admiral—one of the highest combat powers of Marine Headquarters—he had managed to land a few attacks on Wood.

But what Aokiji couldn't accept was that even the injuries he inflicted were healed in a matter of moments.

Devil Fruit users could wield all kinds of strange and powerful abilities, but Aokiji had never encountered anyone as overpowered as Wood.

Elemental attacks were bad enough—but self-healing? How was he supposed to fight that?

Initially, Wood had been enjoying the fight. After all, top-tier opponents were rare, and Aokiji was the easiest of the Admirals for him to deal with. It was a perfect opportunity to both show off and conserve his energy.

Unfortunately, some people on the battlefield just didn't know how to read the room.

After being thoroughly beaten by Admiral Kizaru multiple times, Marco decided to call for reinforcements.

Among the few capable of holding their own against a Marine Admiral, Whitebeard was locked in battle with Akainu and several Warlords of the Sea.

Marco didn't want to trouble his aging father, so he turned to Wood, who was dominating Aokiji. After marveling at how much stronger Wood was than he had anticipated, Marco flew toward him for help.

Wood didn't mind Marco joining him—until he realized Marco wasn't alone. Trailing behind him was a very annoying yellow tail.

"Wood, our main objective is to get Ace's brother to the execution platform. He has the key to Ace's handcuffs.

I'll handle Sengoku. The rest is up to you," Marco said as he zipped past.

Wood: What the…?

Watching the yellow-and-blue blur of Marco vanish, Wood's face turned blank with disbelief.

Were they seriously treating him like a workhorse? He'd only agreed to Sengoku's request to show up and make a minimal effort.

But what was happening now? Wasn't he supposed to be on the Marines' side? Why was he fighting two Marine Admirals?

"Admiral Kizaru, shouldn't you be chasing that pineapple-head? I don't even know him that well...

And if I told you I'm here on behalf of the Marines, that we're technically on the same side, would you believe me?"

Wood hadn't expected Marco, who seemed so straightforward, to be this cunning. Marco had essentially dumped a wild Admiral on him and flown off.

And Kizaru, ever the opportunist, had abandoned Marco to focus entirely on Wood after seeing him dominate Aokiji.

Against Aokiji, whose abilities were thoroughly countered by the Winter Knight, Wood could maintain the upper hand. Against Akainu or Kizaru, he could manage an even fight.

But against both Aokiji and Kizaru? His only option was to run.

The Winter Knight provided no resistance to Kizaru's Light-Light Fruit powers. While Kizaru's Haki wasn't as strong as Aokiji's, his speed was unparalleled.

As a "man of light," there were few on the seas faster than Kizaru. In addition to his speed, Kizaru's swordsmanship was exceptional.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of rapid blade clashes echoed across the battlefield as two streaks of light—one yellow, one blue—engaged in a high-speed duel.

Unlike Mihawk's straightforward and forceful style, Kizaru's swordsmanship was as slippery and unpredictable as his personality.

Wood's versatile swordsmanship allowed him to hold his own, but the real problem was Aokiji, who continued to lurk nearby.

Although Aokiji's powers were heavily countered by the Winter Knight, he still served as a formidable support.

Beyond freezing, Aokiji's ice could restrict movement or deal piercing damage.

Every time Wood and Kizaru clashed and separated, Aokiji would seize the opportunity to attack. Even if his attacks didn't land, they forced Wood to expose openings for Kizaru to exploit.

Under these conditions, the punching bag role shifted from Aokiji to Wood.

If not for the numerous healing magic arrays inscribed on his body, Wood wouldn't have lasted long against two Marine Admirals.

Thanks to these arrays, Wood had become the most dazzling figure on the battlefield. His prominence even overshadowed Whitebeard, the "World's Strongest Man."

After all, Whitebeard was only fighting Akainu and two Warlords, while Wood was single-handedly taking on two Marine Admirals. It made Whitebeard's efforts look almost trivial.

"No wonder they call him an 'Ancient Weapon.' I can't imagine what kind of deal Father made to get someone of his caliber to help us."

"You might not know this, but before we joined this war, the Whitebeard Pirates placed a massive order with his weapons company.

Plus, our crew once protected Fish-Man Island. You're aware of Wood's connections with the Fish-Man race, aren't you?"

Watching Wood single-handedly fight two Marine Admirals, the morale among the pirate forces skyrocketed.

Initially, many pirates had little hope for the mission to rescue Ace.

After all, while the Whitebeard Pirates were one of the Four Emperors, the Marine Headquarters was no pushover. Even though Squard's earlier betrayal was prompted by Marine manipulation, his words weren't entirely baseless.

Rescuing Ace was an uphill battle. Whether they succeeded or not, the price would likely be steep, with countless lives lost on their side.

Fear of death lingered in everyone's hearts. Some subsidiary crews of the Whitebeard Pirates, after witnessing the might of the Marines, even started to believe Squard's accusation that Whitebeard intended to sacrifice them to save Ace.

But after seeing Wood unleash his devastating power, the doubts in these pirates' minds were instantly swept away.

It all became clear—Whitebeard had planned this in advance, enlisting such a powerful ally to assist them.

Now, with Wood's help, they weren't just hoping to save Ace; they were ready to wreak havoc on Marineford and remind the world of the Whitebeard Pirates' legendary might.

What these pirates didn't know, however, was that Whitebeard himself was just as confused as they had been.

Only he knew that he had never invited Wood to join this battle. The Whitebeard Pirates' relationship with Wood's weapons company wasn't anywhere near close enough for such assistance.

Even if Wood had come for some unknown reason, Whitebeard couldn't fathom why he was fighting so desperately.

No matter how strong Wood was, going up against two Marine Admirals was no joke. If he had some ulterior motive, the price and risk were far too great.

Could it be that there was some unknown connection between Wood and Ace?

While the pirates' morale soared, Fleet Admiral Sengoku was on the verge of losing his mind.

It was one thing for Aokiji to clash with Wood—despite being suppressed, Aokiji wouldn't be in any real danger.

With Kizaru putting in some effort, they could still maintain the upper hand on their home turf.

What Sengoku hadn't anticipated, however, was Kizaru's sudden burst of dedication.

Normally, Kizaru was the epitome of laziness, but now he was giving it his all. Seeing Aokiji being overpowered, he jumped in without hesitation to assist, fighting with a seriousness Sengoku hadn't seen in years.

"These two idiots—Aokiji with his laziness, and Kizaru with his slacking. Now, of all times, they decide to show what true Admirals can do, but only when fighting someone on our side!"

Watching his two Admirals gradually push Wood into a corner, Sengoku was so frustrated that he nearly ripped out his own beard.

He couldn't believe it—Aokiji and Kizaru were complete actors. The Marines had a clear advantage in this battle, but these two had thrown everything off course.

Earlier, Sengoku had thought Wood was the problem, but now it was clear that he was being dragged into this mess against his will. Wood had even stated he was on the Marines' side, but no one believed him.

With the Admirals no longer obstructing their path, and Marco clearing the way, Luffy, with his protagonist's aura, charged forward relentlessly. Incredibly, he made it all the way to the execution platform.

Reaching the execution platform, however, was only the first step.

Garp, torn between his duty as a Marine and his role as a grandfather to both Ace and Luffy, stood aside, effectively stepping down and letting Luffy pass.

But beyond Garp, there was still one last obstacle—Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself, known as "Buddha Sengoku."

Although Sengoku was famed for his intelligence, he was also one of the strongest figures of his generation, alongside legends like Garp and Roger.

A man who could rise to the position of Fleet Admiral was not someone who relied solely on his brains.

As Luffy reached the platform, Sengoku activated his Devil Fruit ability. His slightly corpulent frame began to expand rapidly, inflating like a balloon. His Marine uniform and skin transformed into a brilliant golden hue.

The Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan Model: Great Buddha—this was why Sengoku was called "Buddha Sengoku."

How powerful Sengoku truly was, Wood didn't know. However, as a former Admiral and one of the Navy's top combat forces, Sengoku remained a force to be reckoned with, even if age had dulled his edge.

Against a novice pirate like Luffy, who couldn't even use Haki, Sengoku should have easily secured victory.

Yet Wood could clearly see that Sengoku wasn't going all out.

Despite loudly berating Garp for letting Luffy pass, when Luffy stood before him, Sengoku hesitated to deliver a fatal blow to his friend's grandson.

The massive shockwave from Sengoku's golden palm appeared devastating at first glance—its visual and auditory impact was immense. But the actual damage it caused was almost negligible.

Luffy managed to block Sengoku's "full-strength" attack with his "Rubber Balloon" technique, even causing the execution platform to collapse entirely.

Who would believe this if it were told later?

The collapse of the platform seemed to catch Sengoku off guard. He had intended to pull his punches, not destroy the platform. But Luffy, with his protagonist's aura, managed to block the attack and bring the entire structure down.

Realizing the situation had spiraled out of control, Sengoku leapt into the air using Geppo, his golden hands outstretched to catch the falling Ace and Luffy.

But before he could act, Marco, the Phoenix, once again swooped in, disrupting everything.

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