One Piece: The Multiverse Simulator

Prove that Whitebeard wasn't a coward, but a true strongman?

Did Ace really need to sacrifice himself to prove this? Would Whitebeard's decades-long reputation across the seas crumble because of a few words from Akainu?

To Wood, fools who failed to understand the weight of their own lives and squandered the goodwill of others deserved no sympathy.

If Ace were truly the protagonist, then his impulsive actions and rash decisions might have been forgiven thanks to some protagonist's plot armor.

Unfortunately, Ace wasn't the protagonist. His reckless decision to turn back and charge at Akainu did nothing to avenge Whitebeard nor prove anything significant. Instead, it only led to his death at Akainu's hands.

The idea that the Magma-Magma Fruit is superior to the Flame-Flame Fruit always struck Wood as absurd. Magma has a fixed temperature, while fire's temperature theoretically has no limit.

However, there was no denying that the power of a Marine Admiral completely outclassed Ace.

It was tragically ironic. As the central figure of the Paramount War—the man at the heart of this grand conflict—Ace met his end by a single devastating magma fist from Akainu.

That iconic moment, frozen in time, was one of the most infamous images that circulated online in Wood's previous life.

The so-called Paramount War felt like a hollow victory.

From the Marines' perspective, at least they managed to kill Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors, toppling his reign and shattering his legacy.

But for the Whitebeard Pirates? Their mission was a disaster. They had risked everything to rescue Ace—paying a heavy toll in lives, losing their captain in the process—only for Ace to throw it all away by charging to his death.

By sacrificing so much to save Ace, only for him to die in vain, the Whitebeard Pirates' efforts were rendered meaningless.

If this were a typical story, Ace should have inherited Whitebeard's will, grown stronger, and returned one day to avenge him. That would have been the proper heroic arc.

But Ace wasn't the protagonist. Without the narrative setup or enough time to shine, he simply met his end here.

With Whitebeard and Ace both gone, the true villain of the story finally made his entrance.

As Blackbeard arrived with his crew—consisting of Burgess, Doc Q, Lafitte, Van Augur, and the newly freed Level Six prisoners from Impel Down like Shiryu, Catarina Devon, Avalo Pizarro, Sanjuan Wolf, and Vasco Shot—Wood turned to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

"Didn't Gion report what I told her?"

Hearing Wood's pointed question, Sengoku's face darkened. Pulling out a Den Den Mushi, he attempted to contact someone.

But no matter how he fiddled with it, the snail simply snored in its shell, unresponsive.

"The men I sent to monitor Blackbeard... they've all gone silent."

Even without Sengoku saying it aloud, Wood could guess the situation from his expression. Despite Wood's warning, Sengoku had evidently underestimated Blackbeard's danger. The forces Sengoku deployed to monitor him had proven insufficient.

"Looks like my warning was wasted. I told you Blackbeard was a dangerous man, but you clearly didn't take it seriously enough."

As Wood's words sank in, Sengoku's gaze turned toward Blackbeard and the infamous criminals accompanying him, his expression grim.

"I sent two Rear Admirals and a Vice Admiral to monitor him.

Their task was merely to observe, not engage. I only needed them to report any unusual activity.

But to my shock, not only were they attacked, they didn't even have the chance to warn me."

Sending two Rear Admirals and one Vice Admiral to monitor a Warlord of the Sea should have been sufficient. Their orders were simple—observe and report. Yet somehow, they were eliminated without a trace.

It was only now, too late, that Sengoku began to fully understand the danger Blackbeard represented.

"Most likely, your men were discovered by Van Augur," Wood said.

"He's Blackbeard's sniper and possesses an incredibly strong and unique Observation Haki. That's probably how he found them.

But none of that matters now. What's important is stopping Blackbeard from reaching Whitebeard's body. If we don't, something catastrophic will happen."

Before Wood had even finished speaking, he was already moving, rushing toward Blackbeard's location at high speed. Sengoku, realizing the severity of the situation, followed without hesitation.

In the original timeline, Blackbeard was supposed to appear just before Whitebeard's death, only to be brutally beaten by the enraged Emperor.

Here, however, Blackbeard's late arrival was due to the Marines Sengoku had sent to monitor him. By the time he dealt with them, Whitebeard had already passed.

In a cruel twist, Sengoku's intervention not only failed to stop Blackbeard but inadvertently spared him a thorough thrashing from Whitebeard.

"Akainu, don't let Blackbeard near Whitebeard's body!"

Sengoku wasn't entirely sure what Blackbeard intended to do with Whitebeard's corpse, but he trusted Wood's intelligence implicitly.

While everyone else had overlooked Blackbeard as just another new Warlord, only Wood had remained vigilant, consistently warning of his danger.

And as it turned out, Blackbeard was every bit as dangerous as Wood had claimed. Sengoku didn't know the specifics of his plan, but Wood's urgency suggested it was something dire.

Akainu, having been at the forefront of the battle, was battered and exhausted after facing Whitebeard and killing Ace.

Even so, he was the closest to Whitebeard's body. Hearing Sengoku's command, he pushed through his fatigue and launched a massive Great Eruption attack toward Blackbeard and his crew.

"Damn it! Have the Marines figured something out? Dark Vortex!"

Seeing the torrent of magma surging toward them, Blackbeard extended his arm, creating a bottomless black hole with his Dark-Dark Fruit, absorbing Akainu's magma entirely.

Despite his weakened state, Akainu's attack was no joke. Even in this condition, his Great Eruption could annihilate pirates with bounties exceeding hundreds of millions like they were nothing.

But Blackbeard dismissed the attack so easily that everyone present, both Marines and pirates, began to focus on this unassuming, round-bellied man.

It was clear now—this man was far more dangerous than anyone had anticipated.

Blackbeard wasn't feeling triumphant, despite the special attention he was receiving from the Marine Admirals.

Instead, he was deeply unsettled. It felt as if some of his most well-guarded secrets had been exposed—secrets he couldn't afford to let anyone know.

Until now, he had kept a low profile, despite his bold actions. He had captured Fire Fist Ace and even secured the status of a Warlord of the Sea.

By all logic, as a Warlord under the World Government, even if none of the Seven Warlords were truly loyal, the Marines shouldn't have the resources to monitor him, especially with the Paramount War at hand.

Yet, the fact that the Marines had sent two Rear Admirals and a Vice Admiral to monitor him suggested that they were taking him very seriously.

At first, Blackbeard didn't think much of it. After all, he had handed Ace over to the Marines, and the Paramount War had been triggered by Ace's capture. Given his central role in these events, it wasn't too surprising that he was under watch.

But when Sengoku ordered Akainu to stop him from approaching Whitebeard's corpse, Blackbeard's unease grew.

How did the Marines know what he intended to do with Whitebeard's body?

The ability to steal other Devil Fruit powers was Blackbeard's most closely guarded secret—his trump card and the foundation of his ambitions.

His plan had been to take the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit from Whitebeard's corpse and then reveal to the world his ability to wield multiple Devil Fruits. But now, before he could execute his plan, it seemed someone had already uncovered his secret.

"Hold off Akainu for me. I swear, I'll fulfill what I promised you!"

With Whitebeard's body lying just ahead, and the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit within reach, Blackbeard had no time to dwell on how much the Marines might know. He quickly ordered Shiryu and the others to hold off Akainu while he moved to claim his prize.

Akainu was undoubtedly one of the Marine's strongest forces, but the crew Blackbeard had gathered was nothing to scoff at.

Individually, Shiryu and the others might not stand a chance against Akainu, but together, they managed to suppress the exhausted and injured Admiral.

"Zehahaha! Old man, your Tremor-Tremor Fruit power is mine now!"

With Akainu temporarily blocked, Blackbeard laughed triumphantly as he approached Whitebeard's body. To ensure no one discovered his method of stealing Devil Fruit powers, he had even brought along a large black cloth to conceal his actions.

But just as he was about to reach Whitebeard's body, a sudden danger alerted him through his Observation Haki.

In an instant, Blackbeard shifted his position, moving away from where he had been standing.

SLASH!

A razor-sharp sword slash tore through the ground where Blackbeard had been, carving a deep trench. The wild energy from the attack left several shallow cuts on Blackbeard's exposed chest.

The wounds weren't deep—barely an inch—but blood sprayed from them nonetheless. Despite the relatively minor injuries, Blackbeard fell to the ground, writhing and screaming like a child.

"It hurts! Damn it, it hurts!" he wailed, his earlier air of confidence and control replaced by pitiful cries of pain.

It was obvious who had intervened—Wood.

Though the distance should have made it impossible for Wood to reach Blackbeard in time, Akainu's earlier efforts had bought him just enough time to step in.

"What the hell are you doing here? Are you also interested in Whitebeard's corpse, Ancient Weapon Wood?"

Seeing that his new obstacle wasn't a Marine but Wood, Blackbeard's expression turned sour.

In his plan, Wood wasn't supposed to be here. Neither the Marines nor the Whitebeard Pirates had any strong connections to him, so his presence made no sense.

"Don't get me wrong," Wood replied, his tone calm. "I'm not some sicko with a fetish for corpses, not even for the strongest man in the world.

But while I have no interest in Whitebeard himself, I can't just stand by and let you gain his power.

If I'm not mistaken, you've got some fruit with you, don't you? Planning to get close to Whitebeard and see if that fruit transforms into the Tremor-Tremor Fruit?"

Blackbeard's expression shifted from irritation to shock as he listened to Wood's words.

"Surprised I know your secret?" Wood smirked.

"Listen, the world isn't short on clever people. As one of the major players in the underworld, I've come across my fair share of hidden truths.

Devil Fruits are shrouded in mystery. People say they're treasures of the sea, cursed by the ocean itself, but no one really knows how they come into being.

However, I've heard a theory: when a Devil Fruit user dies, the closest fruit to them has a chance of transforming into the same type of Devil Fruit.

Then there's another, far more gruesome method. Supposedly, by consuming the flesh of a Devil Fruit user after their death, one can inherit their power. Just like Big Mom did with Mother Carmel."

As Wood continued, his sharp gaze never left Blackbeard.

"So, Blackbeard, which method were you planning to use to take Whitebeard's power?

And while we're on the topic, I've got another question.

It's common knowledge that eating more than one Devil Fruit causes a person's body to explode from the conflict between the powers.

But here you are, already wielding the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, yet preparing to claim the Tremor-Tremor Fruit as well.

You seem awfully confident that you'll survive. Why is that?"

Blackbeard's face grew darker and darker as Wood's words pierced through his facade. His secret—the one he had worked so hard to conceal—was laid bare in front of everyone.

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