The site for the shipyard was chosen on a flat piece of land on the eastern coast. In the future, as they developed, Wilder planned to build shipyards in the other directions as well, on all four sides.
The construction department moved quickly. From site selection to planning, drafting blueprints, and laying the foundation, the entire process took less than ten days before work began.
After assigning all the tasks and making some rough arrangements, Wilder plunged into the forest on the cliffs of the palace. The next phase required a period of adjustment and exploration, and he couldn't be involved in every step. He entrusted Claire with full responsibility for all matters, while he himself used this time to undergo a hellish training regimen.
Before setting out to Water 7 to find shipbuilding talent, he couldn't leave immediately during this phase of institutional reform. Otherwise, some people might cause trouble. So, using this period to hone his own combat power was an excellent choice. It would both intimidate certain individuals and ensure that no time was wasted.
"My body still needs to be strengthened. I can practice combining Armament Haki with my abilities after I get back. A good body is the key. And the process of tempering my body can also promote the growth of my Armament Haki. That's the plan."
Wilder decided to dedicate this entire period to training and tempering his body, focusing on strength and endurance.
The gap between him and the truly top-tier powerhouses was the strength of his body. Among these aspects, his strength, endurance, and durability were the weakest. So, that was what Wilder was focusing on now.
Every day after Wilder first entered the Beastland forest, people near the palace could hear the roars of ferocious beasts and earth-shattering commotions coming from within.
Every day, huge noises echoed from the forest, accompanied by the sight of heavy objects tumbling to the ground and freshly kicked-up dust.
The sound of flesh hitting flesh, of a human body fighting against various beasts—in this almost inhumanly brutal training, two months passed in the blink of an eye.
For two months, Wilder lived in the Beastland forest, eating, drinking, and sleeping there.
When Wilder emerged from the forest two months later, he looked like a wild man. All he had left was a pair of shorts, worn down to the point where they barely covered the important parts. Two months ago, they had been a sturdy pair of long pants; now, they were just tattered strips of cloth swaying in the wind, which could only be charitably called shorts.
His shirt had long since been worn to shreds in battle, not even a scrap remaining. When the bare-chested Wilder walked out of the forest, he exuded a bestial aura. The searing heat of his vitality could be felt even from a distance, a sign of the immense and highly compressed power hidden within.
Two savage scars, each about twenty centimeters long, now adorned his chest. The flesh of the scars looked as if it had been gouged out, leaving them sunken below the surrounding skin. They were savage and terrifying, a testament to how perilous the situation must have been.
But only Wilder knew that he had nearly died several times at the hands of the creature that had given him these two scars. And these scars were from his most grievous injury; at the time, his heart had almost been exposed.
Besides these two, Wilder's body was covered in countless other scars of varying sizes, large and small, all from his battles with the beasts.
"It's time to go." Wilder returned to the palace alone and washed himself. He had to change the water three times before he was clean. The amount of dirt he scrubbed off his body could probably have filled a bowl.
After his bath, Wilder stood in front of a mirror and shaved off the beard that had grown down to his neck. He had finally shed his wild man persona, and he now looked much sharper and more dangerous than before.
To put it simply, his entire temperament and appearance had become more rugged. The aura he exuded was like that of a dormant beast, waiting for the right moment to strike. It was like a sharp sword, its cold glint contained, a terrifying power hidden deep within, ready to erupt at any moment.
"I need to borrow a warship." Wilder put on his usual white shirt and black cloak, then used Moon Walk to leave the coast of Morass and head to the Marine fortress. As soon as he landed, he went straight to Kizaru's office. Unfortunately, Kizaru wasn't there. Wilder had no choice but to ask the Vice Admiral stationed there to give him a call and explain the situation.
"Hmm… is that so? Of course you can use one, Wilder-kun. But can you tell me why? The purpose of you borrowing a warship. I remember your own warship is even better than ours."
"If you're worried, Mr. Kizaru, you can have your Marines accompany me, or rather, ride on the same warship. As for the purpose… Water 7. I'm looking for shipwrights," Wilder said, not hiding anything. Of course, this so-called transparency was just a trivial piece of information thrown out to conceal other things.
He couldn't very well tell Kizaru that his own ship was too conspicuous and would attract Big Mom's attention.
"Well, in that case, I can't refuse. Momonga, you arrange it," Kizaru said, seemingly busy and not in the mood for a long conversation.
"Understood." Momonga took the Den Den Mushi, said a word, and then hung up. He looked at Wilder. "King Wilder, please come with me." With that, he led the way, and Wilder nodded, following at a leisurely pace.
The two arrived at a training ground where many Marines were training. Momonga led Wilder to a Marine who held a certain rank.
"Captain Kakarot, take your men and accompany King Wilder to Water 7," Momonga said, stepping aside to reveal Wilder.
Captain Kakarot was a young man who looked to be in his twenties, wearing a Marine cap. Hearing Momonga's words, he nodded and said, "Yes, sir," accepting the mission with a firm and calm demeanor.
After he had gathered his men, Wilder boarded the warship with them. After the warship had left the shore, a single sentence from Wilder instantly made Kakarot's expression freeze.
"We're going through the Calm Belt."
"Wh-what?" Kakarot thought he had misheard, and he forced a stiff smile. A bad feeling suddenly welled up inside him.
"We're going through the Calm Belt. We'll cut straight through the second half to reach the first half, and enter Water 7 directly from the Calm Belt," Wilder said calmly, looking at the turbulent sea ahead.
The air on the deck fell silent for a moment. All the Marines, including Kakarot, were stunned.
"WHAT!!!"
A few seconds later, the Marines' shouts were almost loud enough to pierce the deck, their high-pitched screams even drowning out the sound of the waves.
"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die…!!" The Marines behind Kakarot began pacing the deck like ants on a hot pan.
Kakarot forced a smile that was uglier than crying and walked over to Wilder. "King Wilder, you can go through the Calm Belt if you want, but please don't go straight through to Water 7 in the first half. There's a particularly terrifying Sea King nest there. A really terrifying one. If we go there, there won't be enough of us to even get stuck in a Sea King's teeth."
"Oh?" Wilder glanced at him. "Do you have another route?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Kakarot answered hastily. "We can follow the edge of the Calm Belt. That way, we can avoid that dangerous area, the area where humans are certain to die. Then, after we pass that area, we can turn out of the Calm Belt, reach the first half of the Grand Line, and then turn back and sail for a while to reach Water 7."
Kakarot's words were logical and well-reasoned. Wilder listened and thought for a moment.
"That's too far. Let's just go straight through the Calm Belt from the start."
Just as Kakarot thought he had persuaded Wilder and was secretly sighing in relief, Wilder's words made his heart stop for a moment. His smile gradually froze.
"Ah, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die…!!"
The Marines on the deck were silent for a second or two, then once again began running around like ants on a hot pan.
…
The ship entered the Calm Belt. The mood of the Marines on board was as heavy and gloomy as the thick clouds in the sky.
Like most of the Marines on the ship, Kakarot was squatting in a corner, staring blankly at the air in front of him.
The Calm Belt…
The danger zone…
The death zone…
The Sea King nest…
Total annihilation…
Countless words filled with pessimism and death spun in his mind.
I'm going to die. I'm going to die on this mission. Dammit! He has no idea how dangerous that area is!
The more Kakarot thought about it, the more he wanted to cry. He had a deep-seated fear of that area.
But his superior's orders before they set out were to cooperate fully with Wilder's requests. Now that the warship had entered the Calm Belt, he estimated they were about to reach the first half. And once they entered the first half, according to Wilder, they would go straight through the Calm Belt. But that would mean they couldn't avoid passing through that area!
Aah!!! I'm going to die!
After thinking it over, Kakarot still felt it was necessary to dissuade Wilder from this dangerous idea, to make him understand just how terrifying that area was. With the resolve to speak up even if it meant incurring the wrath of this dangerous man, Kakarot walked over to Wilder, his face graver than ever before, prepared to be killed for his insubordination.
He forced an ugly smile. "King Wilder, you may not know how dangerous that area is. It's one of the most infamous deep-sea Sea King nests in the Calm Belt. Any ship or human that enters that area is doomed. I once escaped a mission into that area because I was injured, and that's how I survived. But I personally witnessed my colleagues and my teacher lose their lives in that terrifying attack."
"With just one blow, no, perhaps just a slight movement, the entire warship was smashed into countless pieces. Can you imagine the feeling of total annihilation? What we're doing now is tempting fate on the edge of total annihilation. I clearly remember that Sea King just flicking its fin, and my teacher and colleagues, along with the entire warship, were wiped out. Listen to me, we turn back now, and then maintain a straight course. If we continue on this path, in less than half a day, we'll enter that area, and then it will really be over!"
Kakarot's voice was heavy, and the Marines squatting in the corners all looked up at him.
"Captain Kakarot is right, King Wilder! Please don't be so stubborn!"
"It doesn't matter if we die, but you're the king of a country! Are you going to die with us?"
"Think of Morass!"
Gradually, more and more Marines joined in the persuasion. With their words, a heavy and solemn atmosphere spread across the deck.
Wilder turned to look at them and gave them a gentle smile. The Marines' eyes instantly lit up, and a sense of accomplishment, like that of pulling a man determined to die back from the brink, rose in their hearts. Some of them couldn't help but shed tears of emotion and hope.
"Don't worry. If we really encounter a Sea King, I'll protect you."
Wilder's voice carried a solemn promise. The moment it sounded, the choked sobs vanished completely. The tears of emotion that had just been shed crawled back up the corners of their eyes.
The deck once again fell silent.
"…"
A heavy and oppressive atmosphere once again enveloped the deck. All of them, including Kakarot, walked like zombies to a corner, squatted down, and buried their heads in their knees, their entire beings filled with a numb and dazed sense of hopelessness.
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
All that talking was for nothing! In the end, you still want to drag us to our deaths!
The Marines roared silently, mentally tying Wilder to a cross and slapping him a thousand times.
The warship sailed on, shrouded in an oppressive mood. Three hours later, the warship passed from the Calm Belt of the second half of the Grand Line to the Calm Belt of the first half. On Wilder's orders, the warship changed direction and continued forward.
Half a day later, the surrounding sea became even quieter. A sinister and terrifying feeling rose in everyone's heart.
Above them, thick black clouds hung low. Not a single wave could be seen on the surface of the sea. The entire area was unnaturally quiet.
Kakarot and the other Marines looked up, their faces calm with the acceptance of their fate.
And just then, Wilder's considerate voice reached everyone's ears. "This is the death zone you were talking about, right? Don't worry, I said I'd protect you."
Kakarot and the other Marines all turned their heads at once, glaring at Wilder with resentment. If he hadn't said anything, it would have been fine. But now that he had, they were reminded of why they were in this godforsaken place in the first place. It was all because of the man in front of them!
So what's the point of comforting us?!
Those Sea Kings are huge! This warship is too small to even be a toothpick for some of them! When they show up, you might be able to escape with your life, but we'll definitely die! Waaah…
All the Marines, including Kakarot, were on the verge of tears, staring blankly at the sea with numb eyes.
Wilder, completely oblivious to the looks the Marines were giving him, suddenly twitched his ear, his eyes narrowing.
They're here!
A rushing sound, as if coming from the bottom of the sea, grew closer and closer. The Marines all tensed up, huddling together, their eyes closed, exaggerated, wavy tears streaming down their faces.
It's over, it's over! We're gonna die, we're gonna die! This is the end!