"Shipbuilding?" Standing before Wilder was a small, skinny old man with dark skin. But don't let his size fool you; he was a master shipwright with terrifying strength, capable of lifting a keel with one hand. He was the man Wilder had chosen to lead the hundred-plus shipwrights he had recruited.
Besides him, Wilder had also selected a strong, honest-looking young man with a wealth of helmsman experience to be their future pilot. He followed Wilder's every command, constantly referring to him as "Boss" and telling anyone who would listen, "The Boss took a liking to me, hehehe…"
The skinny old man's name was Beck, and the sturdy young man was called Pace. At the moment, both were looking at Wilder with confusion.
Though, Pace was just copying old man Beck's expression. The goofy grin on his face had already betrayed his simple, unquestioning nature.
Wilder, smoking a cigarette, nodded. "Shipbuilding. We need to build a ship that can hold over a hundred people and a large amount of supplies. It has to be sturdy, not too ordinary. A plain appearance is fine, but the quality has to be top-notch, resistant to impact and collisions."
Beck was even more confused by Wilder's words. He nodded. "You can rest assured about that, Boss. We know to prioritize quality without you even having to ask. But… aren't we going to the New World?"
He couldn't for the life of him figure out what Wilder was planning. They were shipwrights, yes, but… couldn't they wait until they got to the New World to build a ship?
Wilder turned and looked at him steadily, slowly uttering a single sentence. "That's right. That's why we need to build a ship. How else are we going to get to the New World?"
"…"
Does the Boss mean… we don't have a ship?
And he's acting like he's leading everyone to make a new life in the New World without even having a ship! What's he so smug about?!
"I see." But what could he do? The man was the boss.
So, Beck held out his hand. "Since the Boss doesn't have a ship and wants to build one now, well… that's not going to be cheap."
Boss or not, he still had to get paid.
"How much?" This was a reasonable request. Wilder didn't waste any words and asked directly.
Beck lowered his head and thought for a moment, seemingly calculating in his head. Then, he said, "According to the Boss's requirements, the ship must be able to accommodate over a hundred of us, plus supplies for that many people for a period of time. So, the ship can't be too small; it has to be at least medium-to-large. Hmm… as for materials, we can use the standard ones. You don't have to worry about the quality of the workmanship. If we build it the way we usually do, it'll last for over a decade without any problems. By that calculation… we'll need at least eighty million Beli."
Wilder shook his head. "The quality must be even better than what you usually build. Buy the best materials! Here's two hundred million. Make the ship well. Try to keep the appearance from being too conspicuous."
As Wilder's voice fell, a hole opened up in his body. With a thud, a heavy cloth bag landed at their feet.
Beck's eyes went wide, and his voice trembled. "T-two hundred million!"
"Hehehe… the Boss is so rich." Pace's reaction was much stranger. He scratched his head with a goofy look on his face as he grinned.
Beck tore his eyes away from the bag, wiped his mouth, and said with conviction, "Don't worry, Boss! I guarantee I'll get the job done beautifully! By the way, does the Boss have any other requirements for the ship?"
"Hmm…" Beck's words reminded Wilder of something. "Do you know about ships that are pulled by sea beasts?"
"Oh, that…" Beck nodded. "I know about them. Those ships aren't that special, really. You just need to leave two grooves in the hull and add some movable rings for tying things down. Is the Boss planning to use a sea beast to pull the ship in the future? That's not a bad idea, and it's fast, too."
"Then let's go with that design." Wilder said no more. He tossed the money to Beck and walked away. He didn't want to get involved in the process; the environment of the shipyard, with all the dust and the strong smell of paint, was too much for him.
"Don't worry, Boss!" Beck shouted after Wilder's retreating back. He then joyfully hugged the bag of money, rubbing his face against it. "Money… two hundred million Beli… what a great ship we can build."
Pace stood by, grinning foolishly. "Hehehe… hehehe…"
With money and over a hundred shipwrights, the speed of construction was incredible. In less than two days, a ship large enough to hold two hundred people was completed.
It had a huge white sail and a hull painted in a natural wood color. There was no uniquely shaped figurehead; it was plain and ordinary. Apart from looking sturdy and wide, there was nothing particularly eye-catching about the ship.
The vessel slid slowly into the water. The hundred-plus shipwrights, some with their families, some alone, stepped onto the deck. Wilder leaped, his body soaring from the ground to the deck dozens of meters above, drawing gasps of amazement from the crowd.
He walked into the helm room and said to Pace, "We're going straight through the Calm Belt." He then gave him the coordinates of their destination.
Goofy Pace grinned and nodded, not asking any unnecessary questions. In his mind, he was someone the Boss valued, so he would do whatever the Boss told him to do.
The ship slowly pulled away from the shore. After a period of excited discussion about the New World, the people on board gradually realized something was wrong.
"Where… where are we heading?"
"I don't remember the course for the Grand Line going in this direction."
"Could that Pace guy have gone the wrong way?"
"That shouldn't be. That guy may be a fool, but he's really sharp when it comes to sailing. No one can match his sense of direction. He shouldn't be wrong."
The discussions on the deck grew louder. Some began to suspect they were heading in the wrong direction and repeatedly shot glances at the frowning Beck.
Beck wanted to pretend he didn't see their looks, but he knew he couldn't avoid it. And he himself was starting to feel a bit uneasy. This direction just didn't seem right. It felt like… they were straying further and further from the Grand Line.
Thinking of this, Beck didn't dare to delay. He cautiously walked over to Wilder. "Boss… this… this direction seems a bit off."
While Beck was speaking, the ship's speed had somehow slowed down. Everyone also felt the wind at sea had died down considerably, and a stuffy heat hung in the air.
"It's not wrong. We're not going to sail the first half of the Grand Line to reach the second half. We're going to cut straight through the Calm Belt to the New World."
Straight through the Calm Belt…
Straight through the Calm Belt…
The Calm Belt…
Wilder's voice wasn't loud, but it was just audible enough for everyone who was holding their breath and eavesdropping. In an instant, the deck fell deathly silent.
"Ah! We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die!"
The next moment, the faces of everyone on deck turned pale. Some even broke down and started running around in a panic!
Beck's face went white. Wilder's casual words had caught in his throat. For a moment, he thought he had misheard. He coughed a few times, then shot to his feet in shock, his voice piercing the heavens.
"What?!"
After his shout, Beck realized the ship had slowed down. He instantly knew they were about to enter the Calm Belt. He felt like crying. How did he end up with such an unreliable boss?
He snapped back to his senses and anxiously said to Wilder, "Boss! We can't go through the Calm Belt! We can't go through the Calm Belt!"
The others loudly agreed, saying anxiously, "That's right! That's right! The Calm Belt is the nesting ground for Sea Kings! It's a death zone! If a ship enters, it's a one-in-a-million chance of survival!"
Beck continued to explain anxiously, "And even if we ignore the problem of the Sea Kings! A ship is basically paralyzed in the Calm Belt! It can't move at all! Boss, please turn back!"
Everyone felt like they were about to die. The Calm Belt? What kind of place was that? Was it a place a ship that relied on sails could enter?
Just then, Wilder ignored everyone. He walked silently to the bow of the ship, looked up at the sky, and grinned. Everyone stared at his smile, a feeling in their hearts that this boss was not normal.
The next second, Wilder leaped, his feet kicking off the air as he climbed higher and higher, as if there were invisible stairs beneath him. This sight left everyone on the deck stunned and in disbelief.
But then, something even more incredible happened. Everyone's eyes widened as they watched a mud hole suddenly open up on Wilder's body in mid-air. Swamp poured down from the sky! Just as it was about to hit the sea, the swamp suddenly churned.
And then…
"ROAR!" A roar that pierced the heavens made everyone's ears ring and their heads spin. A terrifyingly massive body shot out from the swamp and crashed into the sea, sending up a monstrous wave!
"What… what is that…"
Everyone was completely stunned by the sight, their eyes filled with shock.
Wilder grinned and landed lightly on the bow of the ship. Like everyone else, he looked down at the sea. A huge black shadow gradually rose to the surface, and then! BOOM! Water exploded, splashing onto the ship and onto everyone on board. But at that moment, everyone seemed to be frozen, their mouths agape, their heads tilted back, staring at the massive Jiao head that was now looking down on them from above the ship.
"Holy—crap!"
After a long moment, someone finally managed to get a word out. It was as if a butterfly effect had been triggered, and a series of "holy craps" echoed across the ship. Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the giant head above them.
"Th-th-that…" a shipwright named Wade stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.
Beck's mouth twitched. His gaze fell on Wilder at the bow. "This… this was your plan?"
"Wait… its eyes don't look right." Just then, someone took a step back, swallowing hard. His words brought everyone back to their senses. They too noticed that the terrifying monster above them was looking at them in a strange way. They all took a step back in fear. "Its… its eyes, it looks like it sees us as food… Look, it's drooling! We're done for!"
Just as everyone was panicking, Wilder took a step forward. This movement seemed to attract the ferocious monster's attention. Its head lowered slightly, moving closer to the bow. Then, an astonishing scene occurred.
Wilder gently reached out his hand and placed his palm on the scales of the monster's nose. Instantly, the bloodlust in the monster's eyes seemed to fade a little.
Then, Wilder opened his mouth and seemed to say something to the monster. Instantly, the monster's head slowly sank back into the sea.
This scene left everyone stunned. "This…"
Wilder turned around and looked at Beck. "Beck, find some ropes. Have a few men go down and tie them securely. From now on, this big guy will be pulling the ship forward."
Beck was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied, "Yes!" He turned and shouted to a few young men, "You lot, come with me!"
The men who were called were reluctant. The thought of going into the water to face that terrifying monster drained all their courage.
But soon, under Wilder's piercing gaze, they could only put on expressions of tragic resignation and go down with ropes and chains.
After the few men came back up, shaken but unharmed, they all collapsed from exhaustion. The sea of the Calm Belt itself was terrifyingly oppressive, and on top of that, the monster had just looked like it was about to eat them. It would have been strange if they weren't scared.
After everything was secured, the Jiao's head emerged from the water in front of the bow, revealing a short section of its neck. Of course, this "short section" was not small at all. To everyone on board, it looked even bigger than the ship they were on.
Everyone's hearts pounded with fear. They secretly glanced at Wilder, who was sitting at the bow with his back to them. They couldn't understand how a single person could keep such a terrifying creature. And the ability to release such a massive beast from his own body was also incredibly terrifying and bizarre. At this point, none of them knew Wilder's true identity.
Soon, the ship was pulled by the giant Jiao and entered the Calm Belt completely. It was as if it were pulling a piece of insignificant plastic trash. Although the comparison was not quite right, that was the reality. Everyone on board felt light, and not only was the ride incredibly stable, but the ship was also moving very fast, at least three or four times faster than with sails. And that was with the Jiao deliberately slowing down; otherwise, it would have been even faster.
After a while, everyone seemed to have accepted the fact that they were cutting straight through the Calm Belt.
"But even so… won't a beast like this attract even more Sea Kings? What if it attracts a Sea King even bigger than itself…"
This was not an exaggeration. In the Calm Belt, there was no "biggest," only "bigger"! Hearing this, everyone became a little nervous.
As the saying goes, what you worry about is what you get. Not long after the words were spoken, the sea in the distance suddenly exploded with a splash! A massive, ugly head emerged and charged toward them.
"We're done for…" Seeing this, the faces of everyone on board turned pale, their hearts sinking to the bottom of their stomachs.
But the next moment, a terrifyingly cold aura erupted from the giant Jiao at the bow of the ship. Before the Sea King could even get close, it was as if it had encountered its natural enemy. It actually turned around and swam away desperately, as if its life depended on it. This sight left everyone completely stunned.
"Holy… crap! Awesome!"
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