Wilder looked around and finally walked over to a young waiter standing in the corner. He smiled elegantly and politely. "Excuse me, could you tell me where the restroom is?"
Everyone attending this wedding was a person of status. The waiter didn't dare to be disrespectful and immediately pointed respectfully to a corner up ahead. "Of course, sir. Go straight and then turn right."
Wilder nodded, then put on a troubled and slightly embarrassed expression. "I'm terribly sorry, but I have no sense of direction. Would you be so kind as to…"
Before Wilder could finish, the waiter nodded with an understanding look.
"Certainly, sir. Allow me to show you the way. Please, follow me."
"Thank you, you're too kind," Wilder said with a smile. Just as easy as I expected.
He wasn't surprised by this at all. The staff here were meant to provide the guests with the most comfortable service possible. Besides, no waiter would dare to refuse a guest's request. They were more likely to be looking for a chance to curry favor, so how could they possibly say no?
Added to that, Wilder's distinguished air made it clear he was not an ordinary person. Although he spoke with a polite smile, the waiters here had seen all sorts of people.
Usually, it was this type of person who was the most hypocritical and ruthless. Here, judging a book by its cover was a fool's errand. It was better to treat everyone as a dangerous individual you couldn't afford to offend.
"Here we are, sir," the waiter said politely, standing at the entrance to the restroom.
"Thank you so much," Wilder said with a smile. Then, to the waiter's utter shock, he reached out a hand. A torrent of swamp instantly erupted, engulfing the man as Wilder's smile twisted into something wicked.
The waiter didn't even have time to scream before his entire body was swallowed by the swamp.
The swamp churned rapidly. In less than a breath, Wilder had retracted it completely. Then, as if nothing had happened, he calmly walked into the restroom, relieved himself, and came back out.
"Just as I thought…"
A smirk played on his lips, and a meaningful glint appeared in his eyes.
Feeling the slight increase in the accumulation within his body, Wilder began to feel a sense of anticipation for the power this new ability would unleash once it was fully unlocked.
This time, he had obtained a far more terrifying ability, one that would directly impact his combat power.
This ability was called—
Corrosion!
It was another of the swamp's terrifying properties, but Wilder couldn't use it yet.
He had just tested it.
Through that experiment, he had learned the conditions required to fully use this ability. To gain this power, he first had to cultivate the swamp's corrosive nature.
And where did this corrosiveness come from?
Naturally, from the decay of living things within the swamp.
That was the first one. Wilder sensed that to fully unlock this ability, he would probably need a thousand sacrifices of equal measure.
Yes, sacrifices.
In Wilder's eyes, that's what they were—sacrifices to unlock his new power.
This was the first time he had allowed a living creature to decay directly within his swamp. In the past, he would at most swallow them and let them suffocate, then discard the bodies.
He had done so because he found it disgusting. It was his own body, after all, and the thought of a corpse rotting inside him was something even he had trouble accepting.
But things were different now. If letting a body rot inside him could bring him benefits, then Wilder was more than willing to do it.
Whether it was disgusting or not, in Wilder's view, it all came down to whether the temptation was great enough. As long as the temptation was great enough, he might even be willing to eat it.
A dangerous, excited light flickered in Wilder's eyes. He murmured in a low voice only he could hear, "It seems my objective has to change slightly. Right here… let my new power be born."
A thousand sacrifices of equal measure. It wasn't too many, nor too few. Wilder had considered capturing a Sea King large enough to complete the process in one go.
However, the information from his soul told him that wouldn't work. A single individual couldn't unlock this ability. Its corrosiveness was derived from the decay of many different individuals, a diverse collection of bacteria.
Even though two people were of the same species, they could contribute two separate portions, simply because even among humans, there are differences.
Wilder clenched his fists, his eyes shining with the light of ambition. He saw a path to the pinnacle of the world.
This time, I will shine brightly here! Wilder thought, his excitement growing.
When that time comes, whether it's the Four Emperors or the Marines, he would have the power to contend with them at any time.
Feeling the surging power within him, combined with the possibilities brought by this new ability, Wilder knew that his strength was now on a completely different level than it was before today.
Although he was already powerful, deep down, he had always felt that he lacked a certain fundamental confidence.
But now… Wilder had a feeling.
A feeling of being infinitely close to the pinnacle.
He didn't know what level his combat power had reached, so, next…
He was eager to test it.
"How do I compare to Big Mom? Heh heh…" Wilder's smile returned, and he went back to mingling with the guests.
Half an hour passed in a flash.
The atmosphere at the venue grew more and more lively. At the same time, Wilder noticed that more of his people were arriving.
Ivankov and Moria were also present, but they hadn't appeared as guests. They had chosen to remain hidden.
After all, their appearances were far too distinctive.
"Boss… the Straw Hat crew is ready," Claire whispered in Wilder's ear.
"Good," Wilder nodded. "Hold your positions. Wait for Big Mom to arrive."
Not only had the Straw Hat crew joined this operation, but some events from the original story had also remained unchanged. For example, the "Godfather," Capone Bege, was also involved.
The assassination of Big Mom.
It was a plan that would sound like a joke to anyone who heard it, but only those involved knew just how terrifying it was.
No matter how powerful a person was, if they were targeted, they could not escape danger.
Especially when multiple parties joined forces against them.
"Are the weapons distributed and ready?" Wilder's voice reached Claire's ear.
Claire nodded solemnly. "They're all ready."
Then she asked, "Boss, who will destroy the photo?"
That was indeed a problem. Wilder's plan was to act the moment Big Mom appeared with Mother Carmel's photo, not to wait until the wedding ceremony officially began. Otherwise, it might be like the original story, where Big Mom was so shocked by the photo's destruction that she was left unable to react.
He had to ensure that from the very beginning, the photo became Big Mom's first breaking point.
"This is not a job for the Straw Hat crew."
That much was certain. Wilder had no intention of entrusting such a crucial task to a person and a crew that constantly made mistakes.
So, who should do it?
That was the question.
It wasn't an easy task, because Big Mom herself would never allow such a thing to happen.
Therefore, the moment someone made a move, she would notice.
Unless, before that, a commotion was created to draw the attention of Big Mom and her children.
After a moment of thought, Wilder touched the earpiece in his ear and said, as if to himself, "Moria, you'll be in charge of destroying the photo."
To carry out this operation, the R&D department had produced a large amount of new equipment, and these earpieces were a crucial part of it.
They allowed for seamless communication and command delivery with everyone. Before setting out, Wilder had ordered the R&D department to produce these earpieces and distribute them to all participants in the operation.
Moria, of course, was also wearing one.
Hearing Wilder's words, the hidden Moria was stunned for a moment, then let out his signature laugh. "Kishishishishi… Entrusting such an important task to me? Aren't you afraid I'll fail, Wilder?"
Wilder replied coolly, "With your ability, you're the most suitable for this task. Your shadow can reach the target quickly and destroy it instantly. I have great faith in you, Moria…"
"Kishishishishi… This feeling of being trusted is truly terrible… Alright, I'll help you out this one time. Just don't forget our agreement."
The agreement, of course, was about the one billion Berries and the matter with Kaido. Wilder could only smile at that. These things would happen eventually. Even without Moria and the others, he knew that as long as he continued to grow and develop, he would inevitably clash with these people.
So, hearing Moria's words, Wilder just smiled faintly. "Of course. As allies, I take your affairs very seriously."
With the matter of who would destroy the photo settled, the next problem was who, and what kind of commotion, would be used to draw Big Mom's attention beforehand.
This wasn't really a problem. After a moment's thought, Wilder had a decision.
One person would make a move to create a commotion. But this move couldn't be random. It couldn't just be for the sake of creating a disturbance; it had to have a target.
And this target had to be important, otherwise it wouldn't be a strong enough distraction.
Wilder already had a target in mind.
Here, if there were any powerful targets besides Big Mom, it would be the Three Sweet Commanders.
One of them, Cracker, had already been killed in the battle against Morass. So, the only remaining targets were Smoothie and Katakuri.
The latter was too strong. Attacking him would be more trouble than it was worth.
The former, while also powerful, had been injured a few hours ago, so her threat level was significantly reduced.
In fact, Wilder was even considering taking this opportunity to eliminate Smoothie, one of Big Mom's right-hand women.
This would also be beneficial for the subsequent operation, as it would at least reduce a major threat. So, targeting Smoothie was very appropriate.
So, who should make the move?
First, this person had to be incredibly powerful, at least on Claire's level or even higher.
Wilder immediately ruled out Claire. The battle a few hours ago had proven that she was at a disadvantage against Smoothie. Her abilities were completely ineffective against her.
"Sand-Crocodile, Crocodile, seems like a good choice," Wilder muttered to himself.
Crocodile was powerful. Although he had been defeated by a pre-timeskip Straw Hat, that didn't negate his strength. It just meant he was unlucky. As for why he was unlucky?
Perhaps he just couldn't fight against the power of plot armor.
Crocodile's strength was undeniable. After all, he was someone who had dared to challenge Whitebeard. And his ability was a good counter to Smoothie's.
A Logia, the Sand-Sand Fruit. Wilder didn't think Smoothie had any way to grab him.
As long as Crocodile wasn't foolish enough to let his real body be caught, Smoothie's ability would be useless against him.
However, after some thought, Wilder discarded this idea.
In his plan, Crocodile's role was to deliver the fatal blow to Big Mom.
If he were to be the one to create the diversion, the plan would have to be altered.
With so little time, changing the plan would be a foolish move.
So…
Who would be suitable?
Wilder considered many people.
Including Ivankov, Vice, and several other powerful allies. But in the end, he rejected them all.
"Do I have to do it myself?"
Wilder considered this. It was indeed a good idea. And if he did it himself, he could ensure it was foolproof. He was confident in that.
But, the key problem was that, like Crocodile, his role in the plan was to deliver the fatal blow to Big Mom. Therefore, the timing had to be perfect.
He would have to attack Smoothie, draw everyone's attention, then have Moria destroy the photo, sending Big Mom into her screaming fit. And at that moment, he would have to disengage and attack Big Mom.
The entire process would take no more than ten seconds.
However, those ten seconds included his attack on Smoothie. Once he engaged, it wouldn't be so easy to disengage.
After all, Smoothie was also a powerful fighter. In a battle with such a strong opponent, disengaging in ten seconds seemed unrealistic.
After thinking it over and over, Wilder couldn't think of anyone who could do it. In the end, he decided he would have to do it himself.
"There's no other way, I'll have to…" Wilder was saying, but then he suddenly stopped. "No, maybe it's not necessary…"
He thought about the conditions for unlocking his new ability—a thousand sacrifices. Perhaps he could just take this opportunity to collect some of them.
The more Wilder thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. His eyes began to light up.
"This way, the commotion will be big enough, and it will draw everyone's attention. And with a large-scale attack, even if some people resist, I can still harvest some sacrifices. Two birds with one stone."