Since it was an undercover mission, the fewer people who knew about it, the better. Tsuru knew her request might put Sengoku in a difficult position, but she couldn't bear to see Gion (Momousagi), whom she regarded as family, remain in such a state of dejection.
Ever since Gion returned to Marine Headquarters after failing to capture Wood, she had frequently fallen into a state of melancholy, though she hid it well. As someone who knew Gion better than anyone else, Tsuru could easily discern her true feelings.
As someone who had been through similar experiences, Tsuru wasn't sure how to console Gion. But she knew that if this continued, it would hinder Gion's growth. After all, Gion was a candidate for admiral; it would be a waste if she faded into obscurity because of this.
"Tell her some of the truth," Tsuru suggested. "Otherwise, with Gion's personality, she won't easily let this go."
Meanwhile, Wood was completely unaware of the opinions Marine Headquarters' higher-ups had formed about him or Gion's current state.
After all, Wood had only been given a bounty of fifty million Berries, and he felt it would be nearly impossible to make a name for himself in the New World with that amount. So, they decided to turn back to the first half of the Grand Line.
With only a fifty million Berries bounty, no major pirate crew would take them seriously. Without the backing of a large crew, the only option left was to build and grow their own pirate crew.
A pirate captain with a fifty million Berries bounty was a dime a dozen in the New World, so expanding their crew was no easy task. Therefore, the best strategy was to go back to the first half of the Grand Line, find promising recruits, and train them themselves.
A fifty million Berries bounty might be insignificant in the New World, but it was quite impressive in the first half of the Grand Line.
Of course, going back to the first half of the Grand Line wasn't just about showing off; it was also about searching for treasure.
Let's not forget that Wood had gained quite a bit from those prisoners he freed from Impel Down.
The guys locked up in the first level of Impel Down weren't very powerful, and most of their wealth was left behind in the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line.
With the crew newly established, they naturally needed funds, so this journey was necessary no matter what.
Once they had gathered the treasures left by those prisoners, they planned to commission a new pirate ship at Water 7.
After all, they were now established pirates, and it wouldn't be proper to continue sailing around in a Marine warship.
After spending half a day in the captain's quarters, Wood finally finished recording all the treasure locations on a piece of paper. He handed it over to Russ and the others to handle.
Although Wood had only noted the islands and treasure coordinates, that was enough for Russ and his crew to find the corresponding sea charts and plot their course.
After all, the dozen or so people on the ship weren't just some random pirates; they were highly skilled former Marines who had worked in administrative roles for years.
With the detailed sea charts aboard the warship, it wasn't difficult for Russ and the others to devise a perfect sailing route.
Once he had assigned all the tasks to Russ and his crew, Wood returned to his cabin under the pretense of healing and training.
He also instructed Russ and the others not to disturb him unless it was absolutely necessary.
What Wood really intended to do was claim the reward for completing his special mission.
[Would you like to claim your special mission reward and use your opportunity for a Multiverse Life Simulation?]
Seeing the pop-up in front of him, Wood didn't hesitate and chose to confirm.
[The Multiverse Life Simulation is about to begin. This plane will now enter a frozen state, and the host will traverse to another plane within five seconds. Please prepare yourself.]
[World Selection Result: The Familiar of Zero]
[Entering the dimensional transfer countdown: 5, 4, 3, ... 1. Multiverse Life Simulation begins!]
As the flood of information appeared before him, Wood was momentarily overwhelmed.
So this was the "Multiverse Simulation"!
In this simulation, a world from the vast multiverse would be randomly selected, and Wood would experience an ultra-realistic life in that world. Once the character dies or the scenario is completed, the simulation ends.
In the Multiverse Simulation, death does not mean true death; instead, the soul is returned to the original plane, and any powers gained in the other world can be brought back!
The ability to bring back power from another world alone made this much more impactful than an ordinary life simulation.
Moreover, the "Multiverse Life Simulation" was hyper-realistic, meaning that any combat experience and techniques gained would be retained in his memory and could be accumulated in this world!
Before Wood could fully process the flood of information presented to him, he felt his consciousness detach from his body as he was pulled into the simulation.
Tristain Academy of Magic.
Today was an important day for the academy's students as they summoned their familiars.
"As magicians, familiars are our most important companions, their bond with us as strong as that of a lifelong partner.
A magician can only ever bind one familiar, so today marks one of the most important moments of your lives."
A group of vibrant, youthful boys and girls stood on a vast grassy field outside the Tristain Academy of Magic, led by their professor.
The reason for conducting the familiar summoning outside instead of in the classroom was due to the unpredictable nature of the summoning process. Some students had exceptional talent, and could even summon legendary creatures like dragons, so it was safer to perform the ritual outside.
"Summoning a familiar isn't a particularly difficult spell; as long as you don't rush, you should all be able to summon one successfully."
Professor Colbert of Tristain Academy of Magic patiently explained the key points of familiar summoning to the students before him.
And indeed, the familiar summoning proved to be quite simple. As long as a magician had a bit of magic power, and recited the incantation correctly, they could generally summon a familiar suited to them.
The familiar summoned would respond based on the magician's magical attributes and power level—the stronger the magician, the rarer and more powerful the familiar they could summon.
"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière.
Answer my call, and appear before me as my familiar!"
In the crowd, a petite girl with flawless, peach-pink hair held her wand, nervously chanting the incantation to summon her familiar.
Unlike the other students, Louise's familiar summoning was watched with bated breath by everyone, including Professor Colbert, who couldn't help but look on anxiously.
Note from the author: (Familiar of Zero is considered an older anime. Not many may have seen it, but it's a truly great series and was one of my gateway anime.
If you haven't seen it, don't worry. I write in such detail that even those unfamiliar with the series will be able to follow along just fine (??▽｀).
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 200+ at patreon.com/Betek.