News of a Devil Fruit existing on this island came from one of his subordinates. He didn't know the specific details, only hearsay. But Wilder still decided to try his luck, since this island wasn't far from his previous location.
He woke little Aisha from her sleep. Under Wilder's direct gaze, Aisha's groggy state instantly vanished. She fumbled to put on her black cloak and mask.
"Let's go." Wilder took her along and, with a leap, landed on the island.
The island wasn't large, but it was very prosperous. Various industries flourished on the island, but overall, it was a gray area; most of the businesses weren't exactly legitimate. Wilder and Aisha walked onto the street. Looking at the dazzling array of things around, Wilder remained silent, while little Aisha, her small masked face turning everywhere, found everything around her novel and fascinating. Their attire quickly attracted the attention of some passersby, but most just glanced and paid no further mind. A few, watching Wilder pass, felt a sense of familiarity, turning back to frown and ponder, but couldn't recall anything, eventually just shaking their heads and leaving.
On this island, there was a very famous black market. Not only was it famous, but it could also be said to be the kingpin of all industrial chains on the island. Basically, anything could be sold in the black market. At the same time, the military might backed by its wealth made it so that no one dared to provoke it. And the black market wasn't open to everyone. Those wishing to enter had to pay a certain amount of money to gain entry qualifications. Wilder's purpose this time was the black market, because according to the information he had received, there was a high probability that the Devil Fruit had flowed into it.
Wilder glanced at his silver-white wristwatch. Two in the afternoon. He still needed to wait another two hours for the black market to open.
"Let's go eat first," Wilder said. Little Aisha's eyes instantly lit up behind her mask.
"Okay!" a childish voice came from under her mask.
Following the street, the two stopped at the entrance of a restaurant. Wilder habitually looked up at the signboard, then took little Aisha's hand and stepped inside. "Sand-sculpture fish" and "stupid lamb leg" seemed to be ubiquitous in the East Blue, available everywhere. Wilder ordered two portions of each, a mischievous thought crossing his mind: Should I start an industrial chain selling sand-sculpture fish and stupid lamb legs? Monopolize it?!
"Hic!~" After a while, little Aisha let out a long, satisfied burp and slumped onto the table, unable to eat anymore.
Wilder glanced at her, called the waiter, and settled the bill. The meal took less than half an hour. There was still an hour and a half before the black market opened. Wilder was just thinking of taking this opportunity to go to a tavern for a drink when a bullet suddenly shot towards him!
Wilder's expression turned cold, his eyes flashing with icy killing intent. He shifted slightly, and the bullet missed him by a hair's breadth, striking a nearby stone.
"Ah!" In an instant, pedestrians on the street fled in panic, while some moved further away and stopped to watch.
Wilder coldly turned his head, looking in the direction the bullet had come from.
"Tch." On the rooftop of a house less than a hundred meters from Wilder, a young man wearing goggles and combat attire clicked his tongue with a hint of regret. He lifted his head slightly, his eyes moving away from the sniper scope, and met Wilder's gaze. "Such a pity," the goggled young man said, then gave Wilder a provocative smile, turned, and vanished from the rooftop.
"Mister…" little Aisha's trembling voice came from her mask. Wilder felt her small hand grip his fingers tightly and couldn't help but look down at her.
"It's fine," Wilder said faintly, then turned with her into an alley.
No one saw it, but just moments ago, a cockroach had crawled out from under Wilder's feet, moving very quickly. It had already started following the young man before he disappeared.
Leading little Aisha through various twists and turns, Wilder's pace wasn't hurried; instead, he strolled leisurely.
"Mister, aren't you going to chase that person?" Little Aisha, having finally calmed down after a while, couldn't help but ask.
"He can't escape." A cold smile lifted the corner of Wilder's expressionless face.
"Oh." Little Aisha nodded and obediently followed Wilder, saying no more.
The cockroach formed from swamp didn't possess a real cockroach's talents. Besides its cockroach-like appearance, it had nothing else in common with one. But in Wilder's "vision," following the cockroach's movements, everything was clearly presented in his mind. Sounds, sights—everything appeared directly in his mind without him needing to look, information and images shared by the swamp cockroach.
Therefore, Wilder wasn't worried at all. He just needed to wait for that fellow to stop, and then he would naturally find him. The reason he didn't act immediately but chose this method was, firstly, he didn't want to be exposed. Acting under everyone's watchful eyes could easily lead to exposure, which Wilder wanted to avoid. Secondly, Wilder wanted to see if the other party had any backup plans, whether he was alone or had accomplices, and why he had attacked him.
Wandering aimlessly, Wilder soon arrived at a secluded spot. It was surrounded by dilapidated houses and collapsed stone pillars, a stark contrast to the bustling town. It was silent all around, with only the occasional chirp of insects from the grass. Wilder glanced around, then closed his eyes to better visualize the images in his mind. The image was still, meaning the cockroach was currently motionless. Wilder "looked" and found the scene was a place with four standing stone pillars, obscured from his current position by a wall. There were partial walls on four sides, and in the middle, the young man who had tried to shoot Wilder earlier was right there.
Wilder opened his eyes. His Observation Haki swept the surroundings; no danger detected.
"Stay here and wait for me. Don't move," Wilder said, looking down.
"Okay." Little Aisha nodded and promptly sat down on the ground. All that walking had exhausted her.
That place was about six hundred meters away. Wilder reached it silently in just a few breaths.
"What do we do? I'm sure that guy is Morass! But it seems he didn't fall for it; he doesn't seem to be chasing at all."
Wilder leaned against the wall, truly just a wall away from the young man, listening quietly. The other party was talking on a Den Den Mushi. From the content, Wilder guessed they had originally planned to lure him somewhere, but after realizing he hadn't followed, they had stopped here to notify the person on the other end of the call.
"No matter what, we have to lure him over! A guy like that isn't someone we can beat head-on! Don't you want this money? You know that fellow currently has an underworld bounty of two hundred million Beli!"
Every word from the Den Den Mushi reached Wilder's ears. Hearing this, Wilder's eyebrow twitched slightly. He hadn't expected his "Morass" identity to already have a bounty in the underworld, and a not-so-low one at that. He just didn't know who had issued this bounty. A light flickered in Wilder's eyes; he made a mental note of this.
"I understand. But I need to prepare first," the young man on the other side of the wall said before hanging up the Den Den Mushi.
But the instant he hung up, with a thwump, a large hand pierced through the wall and instantly clamped around his neck.
"Explain everything clearly, and I might consider sparing your life," Wilder's low voice came from the other side of the wall.
The young man's gaze froze, his body began to tremble uncontrollably, and a look of terror gradually spread across his face. The young man reached to activate his Den Den Mushi, but soon, a strong sense of suffocation welled up in his chest. The large hand gradually tightened, and most of his strength instantly vanished.
How is this possible...!? The young man's eyes widened in disbelief. When did he follow me...!?
"Cough, cough!" His throat seized, the young man couldn't help but cough violently and retch, his mouth wide open, making gasping sounds. His eyes bulged outwards, bloodshot, tears streaming down his face. After a futile struggle and intense pain, the young man managed to gasp out, "Please… please spare me! I promise to confess… everything!"
Next, the young man, with snot and tears streaming, confessed everything in detail. Wilder took this opportunity to loosen his grip on the young man's neck.
But the instant Wilder's hand loosened, the young man, who had been like a dead dog, suddenly moved! With a leap, he sped away from his original spot, and in the blink of an eye, he was high in the air, intending to use the wall to jump into a nearby river channel.
BOOM! But equally in an instant, Wilder appeared expressionlessly above the young man. A kick, too fast to see clearly, slammed into the young man's stomach. A ring of air exploded in mid-air, followed by a cloud of dust erupting from the ground. The young man lay in a crater, blood continuously trickling from the corner of his mouth, already in a half-dead state.
"I hope you'll repeat that, and this time, the truth," Wilder said faintly, landing beside the crater.
"Hahaha! Did you think I didn't know you never planned to spare me? I'd die even if I told you! Why should I say anything?!" the young man in the crater suddenly burst out laughing.
"Is that so…" Wilder looked up, his expression impassive, and said in an utterly flat tone, "But at least that way, you wouldn't suffer before dying, would you?"
The young man's laughter stopped abruptly, his smile freezing rigidly on his face.
"Alright! I'll talk," he said a moment later, his voice firm.
"I'm an assassin…"
"I'm not interested in your identity."
"..." The young man reorganized his words. "I was responsible for luring you to the mine in the back mountains. We've set up an ambush with poison gas bombs there. When we arrive, I'll put on a gas mask. As soon as you enter the range, the bombs will be detonated. The poison gas can instantly incapacitate a person. Then, we can cut off your head and take it to the black market to claim the bounty. That's our plan."
The "we" the young man spoke of clearly referred to his accomplices, who were also responsible for the ambush and detonating the bombs.
"How did you find me?" Wilder was a bit curious about this.
"..." The young man was sullen for a moment, then looked at Wilder with a tearless, despairing expression. "Can I say I discovered you by accident? I noticed you from the moment you set foot on this island. At first, I was just a little suspicious, not yet sure. Then I went and looked up the bounty posters, compared them, and then I was certain you were that Morass. After that, I contacted my boss… Big brother, can you please spare me this time…" At the end, the young man finally couldn't help but add this plea.
The answer he received was blood splattering five paces away.
Taking the Den Den Mushi from the other's body, just in case something went wrong, Wilder ignored the young man lying in a pool of blood and walked out from the corner, expressionless.
Half an hour later, Wilder arrived at the mine the young man had spoken of. Only upon seeing it did he realize this mine had been abandoned for a long time; there were no miners present at all. His Observation Haki spread out. Soon, Wilder discovered several people hidden in the surroundings. At the same time, the bombs buried underground were also all detected by his Observation Haki. The quantity made Wilder narrow his eyes. He hadn't expected his head to be worth such a great effort from these people, even to the point of using so many bombs.
The entire mine was surrounded by cliffs, forming a valley-like terrain. The entire valley was covered with densely packed poison gas bombs. The bombs weren't buried very deep, only covered by a shallow layer of sand and earth, clearly considering the effective range—after all, the purpose was just to release poison gas; the explosive power of the bombs themselves probably wouldn't injure anyone. If buried too deep, the poison gas wouldn't be released effectively.
The few people detected by his Observation Haki were hidden in the cliff walls surrounding the valley. Wilder wasn't bored enough to go down into the valley and test the danger himself. After confirming their positions, his figure flickered, rushing towards one of their hiding spots.
"He's appeared! Detonate quickly!" But just then! A surprised shout suddenly came from a small hillock behind! Clearly, the other party hadn't expected Wilder to appear so suddenly, but at the same time, they were confident things were still under control.
The instant he heard that shout, Wilder felt the hairs on his body stand on end. A sense of danger welled up in his heart, and his expression changed!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The moment he was enveloped by the poison gas, countless thoughts flashed through Wilder's mind.
That guy didn't tell the whole truth?! They have other hidden measures?!
The ground collapsed, and Wilder's entire body fell into the valley. Simultaneously, continuous explosions rocked the valley, and purple poison gas instantly enveloped the entire area.