"Red-Haired Shanks is likely to compete for the title of Emperor soon.
A pirate crew fighting over fifty other crews has certainly earned the Red-Haired Pirates enough fame."
Looking at the newspaper from today's News Coo, Wood's face showed a faint expression of disbelief.
To be honest, Wood wasn't surprised that Shanks could fight against Golden Lion Shiki, but he didn't expect that Shanks would actually be able to overpower Shiki and even force him to retreat.
Before Wood had left, he had seen Shiki's powerful slashes firsthand. Compared to when Shiki had just escaped from Impel Down, he had grown much stronger.
Even now, if Wood were to face Shiki, the best he could hope for would be a fifty-fifty chance of winning—and that would be if he was willing to risk his life and use the "Heart of God."
For Shanks to overpower someone as formidable as Shiki and then continue to fight multiple pirate crews for an extended time meant that Shanks' strength was far superior to Wood's.
The Four Emperors were about to emerge, and the balance of power on the seas was stabilizing.
Since Wood had plans to start his own company, he would need to be strong enough to carve out a place in the New World.
Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, and the newly rising Shanks weren't just powerful individuals—each of their pirate crews was formidable as well.
Even Doflamingo, who had been defeated by Wood, had strong subordinates in his Donquixote family.
The Nirvana Pirates were still a newly formed crew, and Ruth and the others hadn't had many opportunities to train.
For now, the only way forward for Wood was to become even stronger himself to support the entire crew.
"Robin, I'm going to lock myself up for some training for a while. It could take three to five days, or maybe as long as ten days or more.
"During this time, I'll leave everything on the ship to you. Here, this is the blueprint for the ancient weapon 'Pluton.' If you have time, see if you can translate it."
After assigning the ship's responsibilities to Robin and handing over the "Pluton" blueprint, Wood locked himself in his room to begin his so-called training.
And, in truth, he wasn't lying—he really did intend to train and become stronger. The only difference was that his training method was somewhat special and not of this world.
[Would you like to claim the reward for the mission 'Save the Boy in Silence'?]
"Yes!"
[Would you like to use the Multiverse Simulation opportunity?]
"Yes!"
After confirming both choices, the space in front of Wood seemed to freeze, and a familiar countdown appeared before his eyes.
[Ding! The Multiverse Life Simulation is about to begin. This world will now enter a frozen state, and the host will experience a multiverse crossing in five seconds. Please be prepared.]
[The selected world is: Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation]
[Entering in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Multiverse Life Simulation begins!]
In a small village in the southern part of the Asura Kingdom, Wood slowly opened his eyes to the sound of a gentle voice.
The first thing he saw was two young, golden-haired adults.
"Paul, isn't our child a bit strange? This is my first time having a child, but I've heard that babies usually cry a lot when they're born.
"But look, our two kids aren't crying at all."
The young woman who spoke was beautiful, with a kind voice, though, to Wood's newborn eyes, she seemed overwhelmingly large.
"Zenith, don't worry about it. I've already checked—they're both healthy.
"And if they're not crying, it just means they're strong, like their amazing father."
The golden-haired man flexed his biceps, boasting, which earned him an eye roll from Zenith.
"Alright, Rudeus, and Wood, it's time for dinner.
"Rudeus, you're the older brother, so you should let Wood go first."
Hearing these unfamiliar names, Wood tried to recall the plot of the anime. However, his thoughts were quickly interrupted as his view was completely blocked by two large "mountains" pressing against his face.
Before he could react, one of those "mountains" was placed in his mouth.
It was only then that Wood realized why everything seemed so large—he had been reborn as a newborn baby! The people in front of him, Paul and Zenith, were his new parents.
This time, he had been born as the younger twin in the Greyrat family. His older brother was named Rudeus Greyrat, and his own name was Wood Greyrat.
Five years passed, and the Greyrat twins, Rudeus and Wood, had grown from infants to children.
Although Wood was familiar with Mushoku Tensei, he had only heard about the series in his previous life. Since it was a relatively new anime back then, he hadn't followed the plot closely.
Because of that, Wood didn't have the advantage of foreknowledge in this world. To maximize the benefits of the life simulation, Wood felt it would be necessary to slowly explore this world and focus on surviving and growing stronger.
From what he had gathered so far, the Greyrat family, while living in a remote village, were clearly not ordinary people.
For one, Paul and Zenith displayed subtle signs of nobility in their manners and habits.
Their meals were also quite extravagant, with meat and wine served at every meal—a far cry from the black bread that most families in this era were forced to eat.
Moreover, Paul was a skilled swordsman, and Zenith was a capable mage, though she didn't show her abilities often.
As for Wood's older brother, Rudeus, he was certainly not normal... Though, in this case, "not normal" referred to his habit of crawling around the house in a creepy manner with a pair of Lilia's underwear on his head.
Lilia was the Greyrat family's maid, a beautiful woman with long red hair. She was mature and had a refined elegance.
As the family maid, it was Lilia's duty to care for the family and the children. However, she couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that something was wrong with the two Greyrat boys. In fact, Lilia sometimes wondered if the children had been possessed by some kind of demon.
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 370+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a