The roasted sheep had a unique, delicious flavor—fragrant and without any gamey taste.
Night fell. The bonfire, initially blazing, burned even brighter for a time before eventually dwindling to a crimson ember in the darkness, pulsing like a living breath – bright one moment, dim the next.
Wilder leaned against a stone, his eyes closed.
He wasn't asleep. Nights like these were fraught with danger. He'd surveyed this dense forest during the day; it teemed with wild beasts and was effectively a forbidden zone on the island, devoid of human presence. That was precisely why he'd chosen it for his training.
With no one around, he could train in peace, unconcerned about being discovered as Wilder, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. His aim was simple: to further diminish his presence.
He needed to maintain a low profile, at least until his ambitions in the East Blue were realized. An idea had taken root, one that demanded discretion starting now.
And then… gradually make certain people forget the connection between him and the Black Serpent.
Garp knew about him, Kizaru knew about him, and it was unlikely he could hide from other Marines. Regardless of whether Garp divulged his declaration as "Lord of the East Blue," there was always a chance it would leak.
Therefore, his next course of action was to maintain, at least outwardly, an appearance of non-criminality. In other words… he couldn't get directly involved. If involvement was unavoidable, he had to ensure he wouldn't be detected during operations.
As for the other members of the Black Serpent, Wilder would instruct them to operate in the shadows as much as possible, focusing primarily on assassination missions. All other matters would be handed over to the Black Serpent Merchant Guild's management and development, requiring no further direct involvement from them.
Not only Wilder himself, but he also planned… when the time was right, for his high-ranking officers to separate from the Black Serpent Merchant Guild as well.
Shaking off these somewhat nebulous thoughts, Wilder considered his future journey to the New World and found it… even more ethereal.
Fortunately, everything was looking promising.
A rustling sound pulled Wilder from his reverie. Before he even opened his eyes, his Observation Haki had already spread outwards.
The surrounding scene imprinted itself swiftly upon his mind, everything clear and visible.
A smirk touched Wilder's lips as he gazed towards a clump of bushes, his eyes deep and inscrutable.
Then, his gaze swept across the rest of his surroundings. The deep night obscured vision, branches clawing at the darkness like monstrous figures.
Amidst the rustling, five or six pairs of feet crunched through the undergrowth.
Figures wielding large blades fanned out, surrounding Wilder and slowly closing in.
"Keep it down, don't wake him. We're just after his valuables." A well-intentioned warning, spoken softly, likely audible only to their own group.
"I know, quit yer yappin'."
When they were less than five meters from Wilder, the men noticed dark shadows appearing behind them as well.
"When I give the signal, we all jump him! Pin him down! Tie him up! Usual routine: search him first. If he's got money, take it. If not, we sell him!"
The others nodded, crouching lower as they continued to approach Wilder. Simultaneously, the shadows behind them also drew nearer, merging as they moved into relatively large entities, roughly half-human height, and quite plump.
"D-did you guys hear something?" the one who had spoken earlier suddenly stopped.
"What sound? Nah… Hmm? Actually, maybe." The man's eyes glinted in the darkness as he frowned and paused.
"Wait…" someone started to say, but suddenly collapsed, something now on top of him. He struggled, letting out muffled cries.
"Fatty!" The other five, alarmed, forgot about stealth and swung their large blades at the thing on their comrade!
"Argh!" A dull cry, and the men felt something was off about the impact.
"Felt like I hit flesh?"
"So painful! No crap! You hit me!" Fatty, finally able to speak, cried out in pain.
Schlick! Another blade struck.
"That one must've hit the mark, right? I was aiming carefully."
Fatty shrieked, "You idiots! Stop, stop! Don't swing! When you hit this thing, you're hitting me! Get this thing off me, quick!"
"Oh."
The men scrambled ineptly, failing to notice that similar entities had now converged behind each of them.
"Gurgle!"
Another man went down.
The black swamp creatures continued their assault. The men were overwhelmed and successively pounced upon before they could react.
"Looks like these things are quite useful for dealing with riffraff in the dark," Wilder mused, opening his eyes and glancing at the struggling men on the ground.
"Aah! Please! Help us!" The men, noticing Wilder approaching, pleaded for rescue.
"Alright," Wilder said, raising his hand. Several swamp bullets shot out.
Thwp-thwp-thwp-thwp-thwp-thwp!
The men's bodies jolted backward, gurgling sounds escaping their throats as they collapsed.
The ground rippled, and the men's bodies slowly sank into it, everything returning to its previous state as if nothing had happened.
Wilder turned away, his expression impassive.
Just a few mountain bandits…
Early the next morning, Wilder resumed practicing his new skill.
The Black Anaconda was sent out to forage, tasked also with bringing back prey.
Swamp creatures roamed the dense forest. One, four or five meters tall, crushed numerous bushes as it writhed along, startling birds into flight with a flurry of wings.
Subsequently, Wilder controlled these swamp creatures, making them climb trees, attempt to ingest things, and so on.
It was worth noting that, aside from vegetation, other things could not be assimilated into the swamp.
"Purupurupuru… Purupurupuru…"
The sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out in the dense forest.
Wilder took it out; it was Bacon calling.
"Katcha!" He answered.
"What is it?"
"Boss, the supplies have all been procured."
"Understood. You guys act on your own for now. Wait for my signal. Remember, don't expose your identities or whereabouts."
"Right, Boss."
After hanging up, Wilder immersed himself in practice once more.
He decided to stay a while longer, using this time to elevate his new skill to the point where it could be a formidable technique.
Days rose and moons set. For half a month, aside from a few trips back to the Black Serpent for lodging and washing up, Wilder spent the rest of his time in the mountain forest, cultivating his new ability.
Until one day, the Den Den Mushi rang again.
Bacon's excited voice came from the other end: "Boss! We got news from HQ! Exploration Fleet No. 5 found an island! It might… it might work as our new headquarters!"
"Prepare for departure," Wilder said, his expression calm as he hung up.
After so long… finally, some news.
Exploration Fleet No. 5 was one of the advance fleets. Within the Black Serpent's sphere of influence across other islands, a total of twenty ships had been mobilized for the search mission, their purpose to find a suitable island. No. 5 was one of them.
These ships had all departed half a month before the Black Serpent, each responsible for a different direction, fanning out across the East Blue.
Wilder moved swiftly, his body transforming into a black shadow that flitted through the dense forest.