The Black Serpent Merchant Guild headquarters began its relocation. Personnel gradually arrived at the new HQ base, and everything started falling into place.
On this day, Wilder announced the establishment of the "Apex Association." Its members were high-ranking officers who would formally separate from the Black Serpent Merchant Guild. While independent of the Black Serpent, they would simultaneously retain absolute control over it.
However, for the current phase, the Apex Association still needed to directly lead the Black Serpent. Only after everything was truly on track and the Black Serpent had firmly established itself would they step back and entrust leadership of the Black Serpent to other officers.
Fish Scale Island was composed of volcanoes, wetlands, and forests, boasting a diverse ecosystem and abundant resources. Overall, however, it was fundamentally a stone island formed by solidified lava from volcanic eruptions. Many houses on the island were built directly from stone, or were simply habitable caves dug into rock crevices, a style somewhat reminiscent of the Revolutionary Army's headquarters.
Wilder's first step was to establish factories on the island—various kinds, including armaments, scientific research and development bases, pharmaceuticals, new types of weaponry, and so on.
The second step was to open up shipping routes to sell the factory-produced goods. Thus, it wasn't just about opening routes; they also needed to find buyers and build a long-term chain of profit. Beyond conquest by force, their own products had to possess superior qualities.
This meant a significant need for talent. The Black Serpent's original scale naturally didn't possess such a vast pool, so recruitment became an urgent matter.
To attract talent, he could have originally leveraged his title as a Warlord of the Sea. However, with his plan to maintain a low profile, this method was no longer viable.
It wasn't entirely impossible, though. After all… those in the know understood that the Black Serpent was Wilder's enterprise. Joining the Black Serpent was effectively equivalent to gaining the protection of a Warlord. As long as Wilder himself didn't acknowledge it or show his face, even if it was obvious the Black Serpent was his, there was nothing anyone could do without proof.
Didn't the Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo operate similarly? Did no one truly know about his activities? Such blatant matters clearly couldn't be hidden from the Marines and the World Government. However, Doflamingo understood restraint and knew how to preserve the face of the Marines and the World Government. Coupled with his special status, as long as he didn't personally surface, the Marines would turn a blind eye, doing him a favor.
Wilder knew his situation was ultimately different from Doflamingo's. Yes, the low profile wasn't to hide the truth but to maintain superficial appearances for everyone involved. As long as the Marines had no evidence to arrest him, his position would remain unchanged.
As for his enterprises—if you, Wilder, don't admit this is your industry, then if we Marines take action against the Black Serpent, it has nothing to do with you.
Therefore, when the time came, once the Black Serpent developed to a point where the Marines could no longer ignore it, it would inevitably face obstruction, even attacks.
This was why Wilder chose to maintain a low profile at this juncture. He needed this period of discretion to reassure the Marines. Not just him, but the Black Serpent also needed to lay low. Then, they would need the right moment for a thunderous strike. Develop in secret first, prepare everything, and then seize the East Blue in one fell swoop. By the time the Marines reacted, they would have to think twice before moving against such a power.
That was the plan. So, how to acquire the strength and trump cards needed to take the East Blue in one decisive move? Manpower was the primary key. Secretly connecting with multiple factions was crucial. How to connect these factions? The "stick" was part of it, but the most important factor was profit. He needed excellent products that would allow these factions to make money and automatically lead them to protect their mutual interests.
Therefore, product development and opening sales channels were also of paramount importance.
Wilder meticulously organized the upcoming matters in his mind. First, develop Fish Scale Island and strengthen themselves. Then, during this period, secretly recruit personnel. Ideally, the process of strengthening their forces should go undetected. This would require the involvement of high-ranking officers and above.
Non-combat personnel, unless particularly special or vital, didn't need to be concealed. Outsiders would merely perceive it as developing the island and preparing for something, not expanding forces. Even if they suspected it wasn't for a benign purpose, they wouldn't become overly alarmed.
And all these plans were actually predicated on the current state of the seas. The chaotic state of the world meant the Marines couldn't spare many major forces. For minor skirmishes, the Marines wouldn't focus their energy here, naturally making everything much easier.
In a different scenario, such as before the Summit War, attempting these things would likely have drawn intense scrutiny.
After running through all this in his mind, Wilder walked out of his current office. The Black Serpent Merchant Guild's HQ base was still under construction. This couldn't be helped; the previous island force's headquarters was simply an eyesore, not befitting the image of a powerful merchant guild. Wilder had always paid attention to things like image.
After leaving the office, Wilder went straight to a dense forest behind the town on Fish Scale Island.
Time to train! Wilder never dared to slack off when it came to strengthening himself. Recently, he had focused most of his energy on his new ability.
Currently, he could create a Swamp Creature ten meters tall. Any taller, or with more life force imbued, and it would become too diluted, slow-moving, and only serve as a target.
In terms of quantity, based on a standard of threatening size, Wilder could currently secrete twenty half-human-sized Swamp Creatures. Their threat level was much greater than before.
He still needed more practice and exploration.
After releasing twenty Swamp Creatures at once, Wilder closed his eyes and issued them various commands.
Life was a peculiar thing. Wilder himself couldn't quite figure out the cause of the Swamp Creatures' generation. Even the method of controlling them or issuing commands felt particularly strange, as if originating directly from his soul. And Wilder's training process was about enhancing the rapport and proficiency between his soul and the Swamp Creatures.
He stayed in the dense forest for half a day, until the sun was about to set, when Claire appeared.
She held a newspaper. Seeing Wilder look over, she handed it to him. "After Aokiji and Akainu's great battle, the World Military Draft also concluded yesterday."
"Is that so…" Wilder took it, his eyes scanning the paper.
As expected, the Marines had two new Admirals, codenamed Ryokugyu and Fujitora.
A flicker in his eyes, Wilder fell into thought. Claire watched him, unsure what he was contemplating.
"Accelerate the construction progress," Wilder said calmly, standing up and gazing into the distance.
"Yes, sir," Claire replied respectfully.
Next up: opening the shipping lanes.