"Hahahaha! So the journey... ends here. Too bad I didn't tell Jessica about the electromagnetic stance—developed it too late."
Asa laughed silently to himself. He closed his eyes in resignation and began to rest.
Facing so many top-tier opponents at once, he had completely exhausted his strength.
If it were one-on-one, he could have fought for ten days and nights—but surrounded like this, his stamina and will were crushed.
The electromagnetic force field Garp encountered when he tried to seize Asa was different from previous ones. It had been developed at the last moment—right after Asa fell into the sea.
The instant he was submerged, inspiration struck. He built directly on his prior magnetic barriers and created an advanced electromagnetic stance—similar to Magneto's powers—isolating all external interference. With this, he could even theoretically survive the vacuum of space or the crushing depths of the ocean.
If he still had stamina left, he could've maintained the isolation indefinitely. The Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs wouldn't have been able to disable him at all.
Not because he had overcome the sea, but because the magnetic field wrapped around his wrists, preventing the cuffs from actually making contact—like a forcefield.
Training between life and death—it truly was the fastest path to growth. Asa believed that wholeheartedly.
Unfortunately, he realized this too late.
If he'd developed this stance before the war, unless completely trapped, exhausted, or starved, not even Garp could have done anything to him.
The stance's defense rivaled the Barrier-Barrier Fruit. Until his stamina ran out, no one could lay a hand on him.
"Ahem..."
Army General Basque St. Andri slowly lowered the barrier. Hunched and trembling, he coughed heavily.
All of the destruction and overwhelming energy during the battle had been absorbed by his barrier. What could have leveled the entire Sabaody Archipelago had been condensed into just a two-hundred-meter space. His body could no longer handle it.
Dark red blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. He didn't have many days left.
"General Andri..."
Vice Admiral Tsuru approached with a sorrowful expression, but he gently refused her support.
He understood his condition well. It was time to step down… time to prepare for the end.
Aokiji and Kizaru, who had been hit by Asa's Super Electromagnetic Cannons, slowly stood. Though seriously injured, they could still move.
"Hahaha! Garp, the Navy and Army combined their forces, gathering nearly all top-tier strength—and it was all for one young man? That's not like you."
Roger and Rayleigh slowly stepped out from behind a Yarukiman Mangrove.
Roger's red coat fluttered behind him. He grinned wide, flashing a neat set of white teeth.
With such an earth-shattering clash, it was inevitable that people would gather to watch.
It wasn't just Roger—others from afar were observing too.
"Roger?!"
Garp immediately leapt to his feet, Haki surging as he prepared for battle. Sengoku, Zephyr, and the others instantly went on full alert.
"Roger, does the Navy need your approval to arrest pirates now?" Vice Admiral Tsuru said coldly.
Everyone was tense. Roger's relationship with the Navy was well known—should he attempt a rescue, it might fail, but not without enormous cost.
"Roger, what are you planning?"
Golden light glimmered around Sengoku. If Roger so much as hinted at interference, he'd strike without hesitation.
"Haha…" Roger's beard shook with laughter, but he didn't answer Sengoku. Instead, he looked over at Asa, lying still on the ground, and smiled.
"Kid, do you want me to rescue you?"
"Oh?" Asa opened his eyes calmly. Despite his capture, he was unbothered.
"What would it cost me?" he asked plainly.
There's no such thing as charity. Asa didn't believe Roger would oppose the Navy's strongest just to do him a favor.
"My crew and I accidentally wandered into your territory," Roger admitted with a sheepish grin. "One of them got greedy and almost damaged the golden parts on your ship."
"Hahaha! I'm just a prisoner now. Whether I see that ship again doesn't matter," Asa laughed and shook his head. "This deal is unbalanced. I refuse."
He and Roger were not the same kind of people. Asa would rather die than owe someone. If it came down to charity, he'd rather end it himself.
As for Buggy nearly damaging the ship? If Asa survived, maybe one day he'd test which was stronger—luck or lightning.
"Huh?" Roger blinked, surprised by the blunt refusal. "In that case… Rayleigh, let's go."
Not wasting another word, they turned and vanished swiftly, returning to the coating factory.
"They really left…"
Seeing them retreat, the Navy let out a collective breath of relief. The tense air dissipated slightly.
No longer willing to linger, Garp lifted Asa, and together with Sengoku, Zephyr, Tsuru, Aokiji, Kizaru, and the ailing General Andri, they returned to the naval headquarters and boarded the warship.
Out at sea, a heavily guarded warship carried several of the Navy's strongest—and one of the most dangerous prisoners.
In the lowest cage of the ship, Asa lay still. Only Sea-Prism Stone cuffs bound his wrists. His expression remained blank.
Outside the cage, Vice Admiral Tsuru and Zephyr stood watch. Their presence showed how seriously the Navy viewed Asa.
"Asa, wouldn't it be better to surrender to the World Government—to serve justice—than be a pirate spreading chaos?" Zephyr asked with regret in his voice.
"Hahahahaha! General Zephyr… We're at this point, and you're still this stubborn?" Asa opened his eyes, laughing bitterly.
"Death is the only true survival through time. My loss today is just that—I wasn't strong enough. I understood the consequences the moment I went to sea. I accepted them."
"Can't afford it? No—I planned for it."
"Surrender to the World Government? Are you joking? You'll have to kill me or cut me to pieces. That would be easier."
Surrender? To Asa, that idea didn't exist. He'd rather die in battle than live in chains. If he wanted to survive that way, he would've accepted Roger's offer.
"You're the stubborn one, Asa!" Zephyr snapped. "You gained strength, but not responsibility. You fight for your own ambition—your own thrill! This kind of strength is hollow."
"There's no satisfaction from hard-earned growth in it—just an outlet for your own chaos."
"You've used your power in the wrong place. The Thunder Fruit gave you a shortcut to the top… but it made you forget to fear the sea!"
Zephyr cherished talent. All the grief he bore for his lost family, all the hatred for pirates, he poured into training the next generation. The last thing he wanted was for another promising youth to be lost to the darkness.
(End Of Chapter)
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