The corridor fell silent. Claire stared blankly at the tall figure standing before her, her mouth slightly agape.
Everyone's attention was now fixed on Smoothie and Wilder.
Gurgle—!
At the same time, a large amount of swamp began to ooze from Wilder's body, particularly from his back.
After a year of hellish training, no one knew just how much Wilder's strength had grown. No one had seen him fight in that year, and so, no one knew what would happen now that he was facing Smoothie, one of the Three Sweet Commanders.
But one person was feeling an immense threat, and that was Smoothie, who stood face-to-face with Wilder.
Looking into Wilder's calm, emotionless eyes, she felt, for some reason, as if she were staring into an abyss.
Her gaze shifted slightly, falling on the hand that was coated in thick Armament Haki. The blade of her sword was caught in his grip, and it felt as if a mountain were pressing down on it.
As she felt the swamp behind him begin to stir, an unprecedented sense of gravity settled over her.
I can't wait any longer!
Smoothie attacked decisively. Her right hand, holding the sword, remained still, but her left shot out like an eagle's talon, fast as lightning, aiming for Wilder.
If this attack landed, she could instantly wring a massive amount of moisture from her enemy's body. Seeing this, Claire cried out in alarm, "Boss, get out of the way! Don't let her touch you!"
A triumphant smile spread across Smoothie's face. Wilder… Morass… heh, they're all going to die here.
She had no doubt in her own strength. As one of Big Mom's two strongest fighters, she knew the outcome of this battle the moment she attacked. The sense of threat she had felt from him vanished the instant she made her move.
At such a short distance, she didn't believe Wilder could possibly dodge.
Just as Smoothie's hand was about to touch Wilder's body, suddenly, the swamp behind him moved.
The churning swamp instantly solidified, forming dozens of fists and arms. One of them shot out from behind him, appeared in front, and its hand opened, grabbing Smoothie's wrist.
Smoothie's pupils constricted.
"Armament: Ten Thousand Fists!"
Wilder's eyes snapped open, his body now cloaked in Haki.
In the next moment, the other swamp fists all moved at once, each one coated in a thick layer of Armament Haki. They shot forward like a barrage of cannonballs.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
A thousand fist-shadows struck all at once.
Everyone was stunned.
A moment later, Smoothie was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing into the far wall with a deafening BOOM! The wall collapsed.
The corridor fell silent once more.
"Gulp…" Brook swallowed nervously as he looked at Wilder, though, of course, a skeleton has no saliva.
Crash!
The pile of rubble was thrown aside, and Smoothie, a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth, walked out of the ruins, her expression unreadable.
BOOM!
Without a word, she raised her greatsword and slashed down. A massive, pinkish-purple sword wave shot toward Wilder.
Swish!
Wilder remained expressionless. With a single step, he moved from the left to the right. The sword wave grazed past him, striking the wall behind.
So fast!
Smoothie grit her teeth, her face darkening.
Just then, Wilder raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. A large amount of swamp surged from his arm, instantly forming a giant swamp limb. He then threw a punch.
"Twin Serpent!"
BOOM!
The swamp shot forward, rushing toward Smoothie. The punch nearly filled the entire corridor, and as it flew, the swamp began to change.
The transformation started at the front, where a serpent's head gradually took shape. Then, two sharp, right-angled horns grew from the head and hardened. Finally, the entire serpent head began to glow with a dark, cold light—it was coated in thick Armament Haki.
The serpent-shaped swamp shot straight for Smoothie, looking incredibly ferocious. The others could almost hear a beastly roar in their ears.
The swamp serpent was fierce and incredibly fast, radiating a sense of immense destructive power. It was impossible to dodge.
Smoothie watched the approaching swamp serpent, her gaze icy. She didn't move to evade. She raised her greatsword and brought it down on the center of the creature.
BOOM!
A massive, pinkish-purple sword wave erupted, tearing through the center of the swamp serpent with destructive force. As expected, the serpent was split in two, starting from its head. Wherever the sword wave passed, the serpent's body was cleaved in half like a piece of bamboo in a craftsman's hands.
Smoothie looked up at Wilder and sneered.
But in the next second, her smile froze, her pupils widening.
What is this?!
The swamp serpent, having been "split" in two, had actually become two identical serpents. They flanked her from the left and right and slammed into her with incredible force.
BOOM!
The two swamp serpents, carrying terrifying power, crashed into the wall, which collapsed with a deafening roar. Rubble rained down, burying Smoothie in the ruins.
"Assimilation!"
But Wilder's assault didn't stop there. The moment the swamp serpents hit their mark, he moved without the slightest hesitation, giving her no room to breathe. He slammed his right hand onto the floor.
Vmmm!
A visible ripple spread across the ground. The ripple grew larger and larger, until the floor began to undulate like waves. With a gurgling sound, the entire corridor transformed into a swamp in just a few breaths.
"No!" The effect wasn't limited to Smoothie. The few ministers who had come with her felt the ground beneath them give way. Their bodies began to sink, and at the same time, a pulling and squeezing force from below dragged them down. It all happened so fast that they had no time to react.
By the time they realized what was happening, they were already half-submerged.
Brook and Pedro, cold sweat running down their faces, glanced at Wilder, their eyes filled with shock and awe.
This terrifying ability, and the way he wielded it with such precision, as if it were an extension of his own body—for the first time, they were witnessing the true power of this renowned man.
Before, they had only read about Morass and Wilder in the newspapers. Today, they were finally seeing for themselves just how terrifying he was in action.
The ease with which he used his ability, the seamless transitions, the incredible speed of activation—everything pointed to his immense power and fearsomeness.
The assimilation was fast. Wilder glanced at the ministers struggling in the swamp and paid them no mind. His only target was Smoothie, a Sweet Commander. The others posed no threat. As for Brook and the others, he had intentionally controlled the swamp so they wouldn't be caught.
Now, everyone, including Wilder, turned their attention to the pile of rubble. The stones were slowly sinking into the swamp.
Hiss…!
Just then, a sound like evaporating gas came from the ruins, followed by a faint wisp of white smoke.
Wilder's eyes narrowed. The others' expressions also changed, and they stared nervously at the rubble.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A series of cracking sounds came from the ruins. Everyone's eyes widened in shock. The swamp around the rubble began to dry up and wither, the effect spreading rapidly outwards from the center.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface, and the swamp began to look like parched earth, completely devoid of moisture.
BOOM!
The rubble exploded outwards. Smoothie stood up, her greatsword in hand. The swamp around her continued to dry up and wither, the area of effect still expanding.
Just then, Claire, who was standing next to Wilder, was startled to find that he had disappeared from her side at some point.
At that moment, Smoothie, who had just emerged from the ruins, stiffened, a look of disbelief on her face.
"Not bad," a calm voice said from behind her. The hair on Smoothie's body stood on end. Without a moment's hesitation, she tried to leap away, but it was too late.
"Great Serpent!"
BOOM!
A white fist-imprint shot from behind her, punching straight through her chest. Smoothie's eyes bulged, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. But she grit her teeth, and even as she took the blow, she twisted her body and reached for Wilder.
BOOM!
Another deafening roar. Smoothie was sent flying by the powerful impact of the Great Serpent! Her hand passed straight through Wilder.
Damn it! He's intangible?
With a look of unwillingness on her face, Smoothie crashed into a wall at the end of the corridor.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She smashed through three walls before finally coming to a stop. The area was filled with thick smoke.
The moment Smoothie crashed into the wall, Wilder slammed both of his hands onto the ground.
"Hell's Thrust!"
Rows of sharp spikes shot out from the floor in front of him, extending rapidly forward.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The spikes continued until they reached the spot where Smoothie had crashed.
Everyone was stunned, watching this seamless chain of attacks.
They only snapped out of it when the smoke billowed and the loud crashes echoed through the hall.
Just as Wilder was about to make his next move, his expression suddenly changed. He looked toward the far end of the corridor, his ears twitching.
Seeing the change in his expression, the others held their breath. Wilder took one last, deep look at the rubble where Smoothie had crashed, then, without hesitation, he released a wave of swamp that enveloped everyone. "Big Mom is here," he explained. "Now is not the time to fight her."
The others were shocked, but before they could say anything, Wilder's swamp had already surrounded them. His body dissolved into the swamp, and they all sank into the ground, disappearing from sight.
All that was left was the ruined corridor, and… the Cake Island ministers who Wilder had suffocated with his swamp before he left.
A few breaths later, a massive figure charged in from the end of the corridor. When she saw the scene before her, her eyes turned blood-red.
"WIL! DER!"
Big Mom's roar echoed through the corridor. At the same time, from the pile of rubble, Smoothie, her face covered in blood, crawled out and came before her.
Two of her left ribs had been broken in the attack. Fortunately, for someone of her level, such an injury was still within a tolerable range.
Big Mom's blood-red eyes stared coldly at Smoothie. Smoothie grit her teeth and endured it, kneeling on the ground in a gesture of self-preservation, but she said nothing.
After a long moment, the red in Big Mom's eyes finally faded, and she withdrew her icy gaze.
"Mamamamama! Today is a joyous occasion! You should be happy, Smoothie!" Big Mom's mood changed as quickly as the weather. A blissful smile spread across her face, and she let out a loud laugh.
"Yes, Mama," Smoothie said, standing up, a forced smile on her face, cold sweat on her brow.
Meanwhile, after leading everyone away, Wilder had been traveling underground. He finally emerged in a deserted area and released the others from his swamp.
"Well then, I'll leave it to you to find Straw Hat. When you do, tell him the plan. Then, everyone disguise yourselves as guests and blend in at the wedding banquet. We'll prepare at the venue and meet up there," Claire explained the plan to Brook and Pedro. They both nodded.
Just then, Wilder tossed them a few sets of clothes. "To avoid any trouble, you should wear these."
Pedro and Brook exchanged a look, then sighed with a shared sense of understanding. They knew exactly what Wilder meant.
"Having such a reckless captain really is a lot of trouble for everyone."
As a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, Brook knew very well that if a plan was going to go wrong, the source of the trouble would undoubtedly be his own captain.
It wasn't the first time something like this had happened. He deeply appreciated Wilder's thoughtful preparation, because the rest of the Straw Hat crew was also wary of their captain's recklessness.
"Franpetar, and you, Jacks. You two go with them," Wilder said, turning to the two of them.
"Yes, sir." Claire had made the same decision earlier, so they were already prepared.
"Well then, let's part ways here and act separately. But you must remember to arrive early and meet on the palace rooftop. We need to go over the specific deployment with you beforehand."
"Understood. Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Wilder," Brook said, tipping his hat in a very gentlemanly manner.
The two groups then went their separate ways.
Brook, Pedro, Franpetar, and Jacks went to find the Straw Hat Pirates, while Wilder and Claire returned to the palace rooftop to begin their observations and prepare their deployment plan.
Time passed, bit by bit.
There were less than three hours until the wedding ceremony began.
Wilder, with Claire in tow, moved through the banquet hall in disguise, observing their surroundings while secretly conferring with the other Morass members who had already infiltrated the venue.
Wilder didn't just have one plan. No one, not even Claire, knew if he had other contingencies.
Of course, Wilder wouldn't say. The more he said, the greater the risk of exposure.
Before long, Wilder spotted a few people in the crowd with small red dots on their faces. They exchanged a knowing nod as they passed each other, then went their separate ways to mingle with the guests.