In Wilder's eyes, Big Mom only had two wings: Smoothie and Katakuri.
Dealing with Katakuri in a short amount of time was no easy task. Therefore, the injured Smoothie was the perfect target.
At this thought, Wilder glanced in her direction, a cold glint flashing in the depths of his eyes.
The battle erupted without reason or warning. Everyone was already on edge. The moment the conversation between Wilder and Luffy ended, Big Mom's side was the first to explode with rage.
"How dare you say such things! Who do you think you are, you bunch of fools who don't know your place!" Oven roared, stomping the ground. He shot forward, his fist instantly heating up as he threw a punch at Wilder.
BAM!
Wilder stood his ground, not moving an inch. He simply lifted his eyelids slightly. Before anyone could see what he had done, he had waved a hand, and Oven was sent flying backward, crashing into a wall.
Silence.
This guy… he's so fast!
Katakuri's heart skipped a beat, his expression growing grim.
"Mamamamama! Wilder! Straw Hat!" Big Mom's dark voice echoed through the area. Everyone tensed and looked toward her.
A cold smile was on her face as she looked down at Wilder and Luffy. Her eyes were bloodshot, filled with a suppressed rage that felt like a volcano about to erupt—terrifying and oppressive.
BOOM!
Suddenly, her smile vanished, replaced by an endless killing intent and fury. Her eyes snapped open, and her roar carried far. "None of you… are leaving here alive!"
As her words fell, a massive shadow descended upon Luffy and Wilder.
BOOM!
The two of them vanished in a flash. At the same time, Big Mom's massive fist slammed into the spot where they had been standing, the impact a deafening roar that shook their eardrums.
The solid ground cracked and splintered under the force of the blow. Then, with a loud crash, the stones collapsed, buckling outwards and exploding.
The power of a single punch sent rubble flying and a shockwave rolling outwards, forcing everyone to retreat, their faces grim.
Is this the power of Big Mom?
At just one blow, a tremor of fear ran through everyone's hearts. They felt an unprecedented pressure.
Can we really defeat someone like this?
A sense of defeat and helplessness began to rise in some of their hearts. Before they arrived, they might have had some confidence, but now, having witnessed the power of a single, ordinary punch and having personally faced the terrifying aura of this giant woman, they knew just how terrifying she was.
This was the kind of person who could make you despair before the fight even began.
Among those present, only Claire and a few others had fought against the Big Mom Pirates before. However, now, under the direct pressure of Big Mom's aura, even Claire and Vice felt their bodies grow heavy, and they had to grit their teeth to resist.
They were shocked. They couldn't understand how Wilder had managed to move so freely and fight with such vigor against such a person in the past.
Just standing at her feet made it difficult to breathe. This was the pressure exerted by one of the world's strongest.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The destructive force of Big Mom's punch was still spreading. The wind it generated felt like blades scraping across their faces.
And even more terrifying, the thick, solid floor of the palace rooftop was still cracking under the force of that single punch. The cracks spread outwards in a dense web at an incredible speed.
Seeing this, Vice couldn't help but shout, "Get out of here! It's going to collapse!"
As if on cue, the moment he finished speaking, a deafening roar filled their ears. The floor beneath them began to collapse from the center, and massive slabs of stone fell away.
Seeing this, everyone, including the members of the Charlotte Family, was horrified. No one dared to stay. They all turned and leaped from the walls.
Jumping down meant only having to endure the impact of the fall. With their physical abilities, a fall from this height wouldn't harm them.
But falling with the collapsing structure was a different story entirely. They would be crushed by the giant stones, or even buried alive.
No one wanted to risk that.
And so, the battlefield that should have been on the palace rooftop was instantly relocated by a single punch from Big Mom.
Everyone leaped from the walls and landed below, but they didn't dare to stop. Not only were people falling, but so were the stones. The moment they landed, they all scrambled to get out of the area, only stopping when they were clear of the falling debris.
But the screams didn't stop. Among the people outside the castle were not only the security for the wedding, but also many passing civilians. The falling stones, let alone the civilians, even the security guards couldn't all escape this disaster. They were crushed, and blood splattered from the impact sites.
"Aah!"
The sudden chaos caused screams to erupt. The civilians who had been leisurely strolling around were now in a panic, fleeing in all directions.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Wilder landed on the ground, his body solidifying from its swamp state. The others heard his slightly serious voice, then realized that he had disappeared again as soon as he appeared.
"You guys help Straw Hat deal with Big Mom! The rest of you, find an opponent! We need to turn our advantage in numbers into an advantage in quality! I'm going to take care of a certain wing!"
Wilder's gaze was determined. He moved with incredible speed, his body like a bolt of lightning as he shot toward a figure who had just landed, her face slightly pale.
Smoothie had just gotten to her feet, trying to catch her breath. A barely perceptible flicker of pain crossed her face. Her two broken ribs, still injured from before, had been jarred by the jump from such a height. Her face was now deathly pale.
The next moment, just as she had steadied herself, she felt a gust of wind beside her. A sense of danger made the hair on her body stand on end. Her eyes widened, and she quickly looked to her side.
A black shadow was upon her, and a black, clawed hand was reaching for her.
Smoothie's pupils constricted. She had no time to dodge. She could only instinctively raise her arms to block.
BAM!
The next moment, she was sent flying, crashing heavily into the thick castle wall, leaving a deep crater riddled with cracks.
"Cough, cough! Gack!" Caught off guard and already injured, even though she had managed to block the attack with her arms at the last moment, the impact with the wall was still immense. It jarred her broken ribs, and she couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood.
SWISH!
The sound of high-speed wind reached her ears. A fast-moving figure was close behind, clearly giving her no room to breathe. In the blink of an eye, he was upon her.
Smoothie's face changed, but she quickly flipped her body over, pushed off the ground with her feet, and instantly moved away, taking up a vigilant stance a short distance away.
BOOM!
The next moment, the wall she had been leaning against was blasted open, leaving a large hole billowing with dust.
"Quick reflexes," Wilder's slightly regretful voice came from within the dust cloud. Smoothie grit her teeth and stared. Wilder, now without his exquisite suit jacket, wearing only a white shirt, emerged from the dust.
The moment he appeared, his calm, determined eyes, filled with a murderous intent, fell upon Smoothie. The sheer force of his killing aura made her heart tremble.
Then, she was filled with rage. Her own eyes filled with killing intent as she stared back at him, her face a mask of cold fury. She practically spat his name through her clenched teeth. "Wil! Der!"
Swish!
She stood up straight, her feet slightly apart. She reached back with her right hand, grasped the hilt of her sword, and swung it down, holding the massive blade as she stared at him with icy coldness.
A warrior of her caliber would not be rendered useless by a minor injury. On the contrary, anyone who reached this level had a wealth of battle experience.
They had all suffered countless injuries, big and small. A minor wound like this would not put them at a disadvantage.
Wilder knew this very well. But he also knew that while a small injury might not affect a strong fighter's combat ability, it could… give their opponent a slight, insignificant advantage.
And even the slightest advantage, in a battle where a single mistake could decide the outcome, was enough. It could be magnified infinitely, becoming the key to victory or defeat.
Of course, his insistence on targeting her also served a purpose. As one of Big Mom's wings, she was the most valuable target for him to take down right now.
One, her life or death could be a key factor in the battle's outcome.
Two, compared to Katakuri, who was also a Sweet Commander, Smoothie was undoubtedly an easier target. Of course, the difference in difficulty was probably not that great.
Therefore, in terms of time, the process of clipping this wing could not be dragged out. Smoothie was the perfect target. If it were Katakuri, it would likely take much longer.
Besides, the Sweet Commanders were not easy to deal with. Even the current Wilder couldn't guarantee that he could kill one of them easily. It was impossible.
Furthermore, the battlefield was constantly changing. It was not unheard of for a strong person to be killed by a weaker one.
It was unpredictable, and it happened every day on the seas.
Especially with Straw Hat.
Every time he faced an opponent strong enough to crush him, Straw Hat would always manage to turn the tables at the last moment.
Wilder didn't know what to call this phenomenon, but he was certain of one thing: in every battle against a powerful opponent, Straw Hat was constantly growing stronger.
This powerful talent was the most terrifying thing. Who else could get stronger the more they were pushed into a corner?
At least, Wilder wouldn't dare to claim he had this talent. Every battle he fought was one he had thoroughly prepared for.
Therefore, it could be said that he never fought a battle he wasn't prepared for, and he never fought an opponent far stronger than himself.
Because he never had the talent to get stronger as he fought. He would only, through his own training, increase his strength, and then, use that to strike back at his opponents.
This was a style that allowed him to be in an unbeatable position from the very beginning.
Therefore…
BOOM!
A violent shockwave exploded from where he stood. Wilder vanished in an instant.
There was no wasted talk. His goal was to clip Big Mom's important wing in the shortest time possible. Any unnecessary words could prolong the time it took.
He didn't want to see that happen.
In this battle, from the very beginning, he had set his own position.
The lead role.
Only he could deal with Big Mom.
Therefore, before he faced her, he had to lay the foundation for the others, to weaken the enemy as much as possible.
Wilder was fast, faster than before. The unexpected experience had given his body the qualification to climb to the pinnacle of this world.
It had also given him an all-around enhancement in his strength, speed, explosive power, durability, resistance, stamina, as well as his reflexes, perception, control, balance, and Haki.
His combat power was on a completely different level than before.
Now, with a single movement, he gave Smoothie the feeling of facing a human cannonball shot at high speed.
That speed made her whole body tremble, and her expression grew grim.
She spread her Observation Haki all around her. She raised her greatsword, holding it in front of her chest, her eyes scanning her surroundings, but she stood her ground, not moving an inch.
She was waiting for an opportunity. At the same time, she knew that Wilder was also looking for an opportunity. The moment he reached her would be the moment she would have to counter, and also the moment he would strike.
Therefore, if she were to attack now, it was very likely that one thing would happen.
Wilder would dodge her attack, and she would be left with an opening, which he would exploit. At that point, she would have no chance to counter.
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, Wilder appeared in front of Smoothie, his black eagle claws reaching for her.
He's here!
At the same time, a sharp glint flashed in Smoothie's eyes. She was incredibly calm, her gaze locked on Wilder. The greatsword in her hand suddenly swung up.
BOOM!
A massive, pinkish-purple light illuminated the area. A terrifying sword wave distorted the air. A shockwave erupted, sending rubble and sand flying, and a large amount of gravel was kicked up from the ground, scattering in all directions.