Chapter 58: Elgo, the City of Wine

Due to the recent bounty incident, Asa had successfully caught the attention of the top figures.

Initially, he was quite pleased with the recognition and reward, even though the title wasn't what he had hoped for. However, what followed quickly became an annoyance.

"That's... the flag of Xibolai D. Asa! If we kill him, we can claim a bounty of 300 million beli!" Somewhere on the sea, another ship spotted Asa's vessel and recklessly charged toward him.

Annoyed beyond measure, Asa unleashed Heaven's Judgement, instantly sinking the bounty hunters who were more interested in riches than their own lives.

For days, anyone who caught sight of Asa's flag charged at him like madmen, leaving him no time to rest. Only after he had slain enough of them did his brutal reputation spread, finally making some bounty hunters reconsider attacking him.

"Ugh, this is all because of that damn flag!" Asa grumbled, standing on the deck of his stolen ship, staring up at the pirate flag he had designed.

Unlike traditional pirate flags, his did not feature a skull. Instead, it depicted an outstretched hand, with blue lightning crackling along its fingers and a blue thunderball floating in its palm.

If one looked closely, the thunderball bore an uncanny resemblance to the world beneath his feet.

Mere days after he painted the flag, the World Government caught wind of it and published it in newspapers. As a result, desperate bounty hunters from all over the Grand Line had come swarming toward him.

"If this keeps up, I won't even get a chance to sleep!" Asa sighed in frustration. In order to get some proper rest, he decided to take the flag down for now, planning to raise it again once he reached the New World.

After removing the pirate flag, Asa followed the navigation route and sailed into Reverse Mountain.

After marveling at the incredible phenomenon of the upward-flowing current, he finally entered the place every pirate dreamed of—the Grand Line!

Lying on the deck, he unfolded a map of the first half of the Grand Line, along with the permanent pointer he had taken from a bounty hunter. He randomly chose a route.

The first half of the Grand Line had a total of seven magnetic routes, all of which eventually converged at the Sabaody Archipelago. Naturally, he couldn't explore them all.

Asa decided to follow the direction indicated by the Log Pose. Taking the helm himself, he sailed at high speed.

For two days, his ship drifted endlessly across the open sea without encountering a single island. He had already eaten all the food on board and was on the verge of considering the wooden planks as his next meal.

"What the hell is going on? Why haven't I reached land yet?"

Frowning, Asa examined the Log Pose carefully, checking if it was malfunctioning.

To test it, he manipulated the magnetic field around the needle, only to realize that the pointer stayed in whatever position he moved it to.

"Tch, useless thing." His expression darkened. "So I've wasted two days for nothing?"

Furious, he smashed the defective Log Pose on the spot. Abandoning the pirate ship, he flew into the sky, scanning the area for any nearby islands.

If he didn't find food soon, he might starve to death.

After flying at low altitude for about half an hour, Asa suddenly noticed a strong scent of alcohol in the air. Spreading his Observation Haki, he detected an island roughly twenty to thirty miles ahead.

"What kind of place has such a strong smell of liquor?" Asa wrinkled his nose. He thought he had a decent alcohol tolerance, but the overwhelming aroma nearly made him dizzy.

The island's port was crowded with pirate ships, and from their conversations, Asa gathered that they had come to stock up on fine wine.

The name of this island? Elgo, the City of Wine.

The moment Asa stepped onto the dock, several well-dressed, friendly-looking men approached him.

"Welcome, sir, to Elgo, the City of Wine! Are you here to purchase some fine liquor? I know exactly where to find the best!"

The man leading the group spoke enthusiastically, while the ones behind him nodded hurriedly. However, their eyes gleamed with the unmistakable look of opportunists eyeing an easy target.

"Buying fine wine? Sure." Asa squinted at them, scanning their expressions.

"Allow me to introduce myself! I'm Bard!" the leader declared proudly. "Let me tell you, the wine here in Elgo is famous throughout the Grand Line. You've come to the right place! Do you need a guide?"

Hearing Bard's pitch, Asa chuckled.

"Alright, lead the way."

"Great, great! Follow me!" Bard beamed, while his companions struggled to suppress their excitement. They exchanged knowing glances, surrounding Asa as they led him toward a less crowded part of the town.

The locals at the dock merely sighed and shook their heads.

"That poor fool... falling for such an obvious scam."

"Yeah, he'll probably get robbed blind and sold off to one of the wineries as a slave."

Asa overheard the murmurs, but he didn't mind. Instead, his grin widened.

"Oh, so they just want to rob me?" he muttered under his breath. "Here I was thinking some bounty hunters recognized me and were trying to lure me into a trap."

Bard and his crew led Asa to a secluded area where the scent of alcohol was even stronger. The surroundings were lined with wineries, yet there were hardly any pedestrians in sight.

Asa's smile deepened. He casually remarked, "This doesn't seem like a proper place to buy wine. It's practically deserted."

"Haha, buy wine?" Bard and his men burst into laughter.

"You must be really stupid."

Without hesitation, they pulled out steel pipes and pointed them at Asa.

"Boss, this guy's an easy mark," one of Bard's men snickered. "Barely any effort needed! Just don't rough him up too much, or he'll be harder to sell. Hahaha!"

Bard grinned. "Alright, hand over all your beli and valuables, and we'll let you walk away without any trouble."

"Beli? I don't have any on me." Asa shrugged, reaching into his coat. "But... would Devil Fruits work? I've got two of them. Are those good enough?"

"Devil Fruits?!"

Bard and his crew gawked as Asa pulled out two fruits—a gray one and a green one. The moment they recognized them as the Fort-Fort Fruit and the Door-Door Fruit, their eyes gleamed with greed.

"Jackpot! Boss, this is huge!" one of the thugs exclaimed. "Each of these is worth at least 100 million beli! We're rich!"

"Hold on..." Bard's excitement suddenly faded as something clicked in his mind. "Wait a minute... what did you just say?"

Asa's grin stretched wider. "Oh, and by the way, the head on my shoulders is worth 300 million beli. Want me to throw that in too?"

A deathly silence filled the air. Bard went pale as sweat dripped down his forehead. His men, however, were still blinded by greed.

"Boss, hurry up and grab the fruits! This is our chance to—"

SMACK!

Bard slapped his subordinate so hard that the man spun three times before hitting the ground.

"N-No, we don't want them anymore!" Bard stammered.

"You don't?" Asa's expression darkened as he slowly stepped forward.

The group instinctively backed away, their fear mounting.

"HELP!" Bard shrieked.

"Go ahead, scream all you want," Asa sneered. "No one's coming to save you."

His laughter echoed through the air, sending chills down their spines.

(End of Chapter)

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