Watching the wisp of translucent, pale purple gas on his fingertip dissipate into the wind, Wilder stared at his hand and fell silent.
After a long moment, a barely audible sigh escaped his lips. "Still not enough."
Wilder didn't stop after that single sigh. He knew that the path of training and becoming stronger was never smooth. The only difference was… he was particularly desperate to grow stronger right now. It was a pressing need.
But precisely because of this, Wilder understood that any act of despondency was a waste of time, a step that would only take him further away from his goal.
He continued his training, closing his eyes once more.
His body remained motionless, like a great stone standing firm against the wind and sand.
The orange hue of the sky gradually faded to a dark gray. The sun had set. Faint starlight, along with the moon, replaced it as the new ornaments in the heavens.
The temperature dropped under the starry night, and the sand carried by the wind felt cool against his skin. But it was a comfortable, pleasant sensation, a coolness that rose from the depths of his heart, calming the mind and clearing it of distractions.
Wilder's body remained perfectly still, fixed amidst the starlight and sand, feeling the evening breeze against his skin.
He sat until the stars had shifted and the next day's sun rose from the east, only then feeling the stiffness and hunger in his body.
He opened his eyes, his brow furrowed.
Unsurprisingly, a single night had not brought about any miraculous, groundbreaking progress.
Wilder felt a sense of urgency. He had a gut feeling that if he could just develop the "swamp gas" trait of his Devil Fruit, his combat power would increase exponentially.
He would finally have the confidence to contend with the coming threat of Big Mom.
But Wilder also knew this was impossible to rush.
Impatience would only throw his mind into chaos and dull his judgment. It would bring him no benefit.
After a night of sitting, his body was covered in a layer of sand. As Wilder stood up, it cascaded off him.
He walked towards his command tent.
It was about six in the morning. Claire was asleep at her desk, lying on her side. The position stretched her slender waist into a beautiful, alluring curve. Her professional uniform was stretched taut, showcasing her stunning figure to its fullest.
Smack!
Wilder walked over, a sudden mischievous impulse taking over. He brought his hand down on Claire's round, firm, and exceptionally supple rear.
Claire's eyes shot open. Shock, disbelief, and a dazed confusion flashed through them in succession before finally settling on a blank stare.
Slowly, a blush crept across her face.
If one were to use a sound to describe her current mood and thoughts, it would undoubtedly be…
A flustered whimper?!
Overcome with a mix of shame and a complex sort of joy, Claire frantically lowered her head. Mumbling, "Boss, I'll go get you breakfast," she scrambled out of the tent, not daring to look at Wilder's face for even a second.
"Heh…"
Women…
Wilder's expression returned to its usual calm. He sat down behind his desk and began to deal with the half-day's worth of paperwork that had piled up.
A short while later, Claire returned with a lavish breakfast, looking somewhat bashful.
But as if remembering something important, she regained her composed and capable demeanor. Placing the tray to one side, she reported, "Boss, we've just received news about a suitable location for the capital."
"Hm?" Hearing this, Wilder looked up.
So soon?
Although he had given the order to keep an eye out for a potential capital site while the fighting was ongoing, he hadn't expected news this quickly.
This was the matter he cared about most.
"Who found it?" Wilder asked urgently.
"It was the First Squad of the Monitoring Unit, the only one stationed on this island. The squad leader is waiting outside," Claire replied immediately.
"Have him come in."
"Yes, sir."
The squad leader was brought in by Claire. Wilder asked him several questions about the environment and, after confirming that it met his requirements, began to enjoy his breakfast.
Wilder didn't wolf down the meal, but he ate much faster than usual.
"Let's go, take a look," Wilder said to the squad leader as soon as he finished eating.
The capital of his future nation, his main base of operations, was not something to be delayed or treated lightly. It had to be chosen based on a combination of factors, and the location had to be the most advantageous for him. Wilder took this very seriously and had to see it for himself.
Soon, the squad leader led Wilder and Claire out of the camp and towards their destination.
The journey was not short. They traveled through wind and dust, only arriving as the sun was beginning to set in the west.
"This is it. The capital will be built here!" The moment they arrived and saw the surrounding environment from a distance, Wilder was certain. This was the place for his future capital. No one understood his requirements and the conditions he envisioned better than he did. This was exactly what he wanted.
The first thing that came into view was a wetland forest of dead trees. A chaotic tangle of withered black branches formed a deathly silent, black "forest."
The gnarled, intertwined trees were entirely black, every one of them appearing dead. And yet… they weren't truly dead. Here and there, one could spot tender green leaves sprouting from the blackened branches.
It was called a wetland forest because the blackness of the deadwood was largely caused by moisture. Years of being steeped in humidity had blackened the wood, creating a unique type of flora: hard and entirely black.
Their roots were sunk into a murky swamp.
In some ways, it was like water, but it was murkier and thicker. A more accurate description would be a particularly watery marshland. The swamp sediment lay below, topped with about ten centimeters of water, and it was in this that the black, tangled trees were rooted.
The deadwood wetland was just one part of it. The surrounding area was dotted with countless marshes, large and small, some connected and some isolated. Between them were patches of grassland, but beneath the grass lay bottomless water. It was a rather unusual type of swamp, formed by a dense growth of aquatic plants. Step into it, and one could easily sink between the roots and stems.
There were also areas that were nothing but mud, a few small patches of solid ground, and simple lakes—though the areas around the lakes were, of course, lined with the same dangerous, waterlogged grasslands.
This was the general environment of the vast territory that could serve as the capital. Of course, within this landscape, there were still areas suitable for living.
This was the macro-environment of the capital, but the true "Royal Palace," Wilder's main headquarters, still had to be found within it.
If the capital's environment could be developed to be habitable, then the site of the Royal Palace, in the eyes of an ordinary person, was an utterly treacherous and deadly place.
The location Wilder had in mind for his palace was like a miniature version of the entire capital's landscape, a collection of all its perilous features.
Wetlands, swamps, and the blackwood forest surrounded the area. In the center was a massive lake, parts of which had been so encroached upon by the swamp that they were now nothing but mud. Crocodiles and other ferocious beasts roamed, enacting scenes of blood and slaughter.
Behind the lake stood sheer cliffs. Atop the cliffs was a lush green forest, and beyond that forest was nothing but desolate emptiness. For there lay a true land of no return: a massive, bottomless, and seemingly endless chasm. A purple mist lingered between the chasm and the outer forest, obscuring the view within.
"Boss… are you sure you want to build the capital in a place like this?" Claire asked hesitantly, looking at the scene before her.
"Of course." Wilder grinned, a profound meaning in his smile. "A place like this is a rare find. Besides, Claire, don't forget your ability. In a place like this, aren't you the perfect architect?"
"But Boss…" This time, it was the squad leader beside them who spoke, frowning as he looked into the distance. "You haven't been deep inside, so you might not know. One of my men went in and almost didn't make it out."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Wilder turned his towering frame to look at the man.
"Never mind the forest and the great chasm behind it. Just around those cliffs… where you want to build the Royal Palace, it's filled with a massive amount of toxic gas. I suspect it's swamp gas. My men started having trouble breathing and felt dizzy not long after going in. If they hadn't been rescued quickly, they might have died."
"Swamp gas…!" Wilder's heart stirred. He looked towards the location the squad leader mentioned and extended his Observation Haki. Sure enough, he sensed something faint and ethereal there.
Perhaps…
A flicker of excitement flashed in Wilder's eyes. An idea began to form in his mind.
Could I use this natural environment to stimulate the swamp gas trait within my Devil Fruit?
Wilder didn't know if it would work, but with an opportunity to rapidly develop it right in front of him, he had to try.
As for building the palace, it wasn't an unsolvable problem. With proper planning, the areas untouched by the gas could be used for auxiliary buildings, allowing his subordinates to move freely. He himself wasn't afraid of the gas, so his personal residence, the main hall, could be built within the gas-filled area. They could then just build a secondary hall outside the gas zone.
Of course… if he could find a perfect solution, it would be even better to build everything within the gas.
Besides, things like gas masks existed. It wasn't impossible to move through the area.
There were many solutions. Wilder wasn't concerned about such a minor issue.
First, he had to put his idea into practice.
Wilder looked at the expanse of swamp gas, a sense of impatience rising within him.
"I'll handle the gas problem. You two head back for now and report any new developments to me."
"Yes, sir."
"Understood, Boss."
After they left, Wilder took a step, his body leaping through the air as he charged into the dangerous region.
The wind whistled past his ears as he moved at high speed. He landed on a sharp, protruding rock on the cliff face.
"As I thought. My body has the ability to accommodate… or rather, to survive in swamp gas."
The moment he sat down, Wilder felt a change in his body. The wisp of swamp gas he had spent so many days refining within himself suddenly became active, much more distinct than before.
"This place is definitely useful for my swamp gas training. Perhaps one day, I'll even be able to control all the gas in this region."
Wilder had been making progress with his swamp gas training, but it was incredibly slow. His physical strength had reached something of a bottleneck. And while his mastery of the Swamp-Swamp Fruit was constantly improving, he didn't know if his body was holding him back or if his ability hadn't yet reached the standard required to develop the swamp gas trait further. Its development was moving at a snail's pace, a snail that was still a million miles from the finish line.
Wilder closed his eyes, releasing his Observation Haki without reservation. At the same time, he activated his unique 'Scan' ability, enveloping the entire six-hundred-meter area around him. Soon, the slowly flowing swamp gas surrounding his body became clearly visible to his senses.
What do I do next?
Above his closed eyes, Wilder's brows knitted together tightly.
He observed the swamp gas around him while simultaneously observing the wisp of gas inside him, wanting to see if the two would "resonate" or produce any kind of change.
Wilder believed the gas around him could definitely be used to his advantage. His body possessed a natural affinity for it.
So…
It came back to the same question.
What do I do?
Wilder didn't know. He could only wait, wait for that slight change to appear.
This wasn't ordinary training. It was an unprecedented experiment, using an external force to aid his development.
"Perhaps I should just let go and madly inhale this swamp gas?" Wilder was unsure whether to act on this potentially dangerous idea.
No one could guarantee that increasing the frequency of his breathing wouldn't break the immunity to swamp gas he currently possessed.
Perhaps things would develop in a positive direction.
But they could also turn for the worse, catching him completely off guard.
"I'll wait. If there's no change after half an hour, then my body might really be completely immune to the gas. I'll try it then."
Wilder cleared his mind, focusing his thoughts entirely on the swamp gas, carefully perceiving every subtle change.
Unconsciously, a breeze began to blow.
A gentle breeze.
The flow of the swamp gas quickened. Just then, Wilder suddenly caught a slight change. His heart stirred, and he quickly quieted his mind to experience it.
Time gradually passed. Wilder felt the temperature drop and knew that night had fallen.
Within his Observation Haki, the surroundings suddenly became "lively." Man-eating beasts emerged from the shadows to hunt.
Wilder wasn't worried about being disturbed. The cliffs here were so treacherous that ordinary beasts couldn't climb them.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Exceptions were usually unexpected. Wilder opened his eyes, and an invisible force radiated out from them!
Voom…!
An icy, dizzying presence caused the giant beast approaching the cliff face below to go cross-eyed. The whites of its eyes showed as it rolled back down.
"This is…!"
Wilder's pupils constricted, trembling slightly. The expression on his face was one of utter disbelief.