Chapter 60: Pride and Attack

After electrocuting the two ignorant fools, Asa wasted no time stepping into a luxurious roadside restaurant. His stomach felt like a bottomless pit, and he was determined to devour as much as possible to satisfy his hunger.

The restaurant was connected to a lively bar, filled with an assortment of guests—pirates, bounty hunters, and merchants who had come to Elgo to buy fine wine. The atmosphere was noisy, a mixture of revelry and cautious tension.

The moment Asa entered, nearly every pirate and bounty hunter put down their drinks, subtly shifting their posture.

A few bold bounty hunters even pulled out their bounty posters, carefully comparing Asa's face with the image on the wanted notice.

"Hiccup!" Asa swallowed a large chunk of meat, raised his wine glass, and took a few sips, watching them from the corner of his eye.

Sensing the shift in atmosphere, the more perceptive merchants hurriedly paid their bills and left, unwilling to get caught in the inevitable fight. The only ones who remained were those interested in claiming Asa's head.

"So, they want my bounty, huh?" Asa smirked inwardly.

"Well, I might as well let them try. A little exercise after a meal will help with digestion."

With that thought, he continued feasting, piling empty plates high on the table.

Meanwhile, at the port...

"Boss! The two men we sent out... they're dead. When we found them... they were burnt to a crisp—completely turned into charcoal!" A pirate with a flushed, rosacea-covered face hurriedly rushed onto a docked pirate ship, reporting to Buster Choate.

"Hiccup..." Buster Choate lazily woke from his drunken stupor, letting out a loud burp.

He was an unusual sight—a large, rotund man wearing a circus clown's hat. His face was perpetually red from alcohol, his nose was swollen like a sausage, and he carried a massive wine gourd on his back, along with two pistols at his waist.

"Drinking... drinking is the best thing... huh? What was that? Someone died?" he slurred, momentarily confused.

"Boss, that's not the issue! Look at this!" The rosacea-faced pirate hastily pulled out a bounty poster, shoving it into Choate's hands.

It displayed Asa's face, clear as day.

"The guy who killed them was none other than Hippolyte D. Asa, the one with the 300-million-beli bounty! The Thunder User! He's in the restaurant right now!"

Choate took a long, deep swig from his gourd, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Glug... glug... hiccup... so he's just some lucky brat who ate the Thunder Fruit? Fine, let's go meet him before we set sail," he muttered, squinting toward the horizon.

With that, Buster Choate staggered off his ship, following his underling toward the restaurant.

At the same time, a Marine warship quietly appeared on the horizon outside Elgo.

Inside the restaurant, Asa let out a long sigh.

"Well, looks like I'm surrounded," he muttered, placing his wine glass down.

He counted his enemies—the pirates and bounty hunters here for his bounty, Buster Choate, and now, the Marine forces waiting offshore.

"Tch... The whole damn world is after me, huh?"

He wasn't wrong.

Ever since his bounty was issued, Asa had become a target for desperate bounty hunters, reckless pirates, and ambitious Marines alike. The World Government's methods were truly effective—with just one bounty poster, they had mobilized countless greedy and power-hungry individuals to do their dirty work for them.

The Government didn't even need to send soldiers.

A single bounty order was enough to make people risk their lives.

"How ironic," Asa mused.

But rather than feeling threatened, he was thrilled.

This was the kind of life he wanted—full of danger, passion, and excitement.

Slowly, he stood up from his chair, flashing a wild grin at the bounty hunters and pirates who had been watching him closely.

"Hey," Asa drawled, his voice dripping with amusement. "You guys have been waiting for a while now... How about you stop hesitating and try to kill me already?"

His mocking tone struck a nerve.

Sching! Sching! Sching!

Swords were drawn, weapons clanked, and the bounty hunters immediately bristled with aggression.

"Hippoly D. Asa! With a bounty of 300 million beli, capturing you would make us rich beyond our wildest dreams!" one of them declared. "Surrender!"

Asa chuckled, lightning crackling at his fingertips.

"Surrender?" He scoffed. "Sorry... I don't do that."

With that, he casually raised his hand—a bolt of lightning surged, forming a Thunder God's Spear in his grasp.

The weapon hummed with raw power as Asa twirled it effortlessly.

But before anyone could make a move—

BANG!

A single gunshot rang out.

The bounty hunter who had spoken collapsed instantly, his head bursting like a rotten watermelon—blood splattering across the room.

The restaurant fell into stunned silence.

At the entrance stood Buster Choate, his flintlock pistol still smoking.

Taking a long gulp from his gourd, Choate smirked.

"Glug... glug... gulp! Damn bounty hunters, always so damn stupid." He hiccuped, wiping his mouth. "Mind if I kill a few more for you, Asa?"

Asa glanced at the bounty hunter's corpse, then back at Choate.

"I don't mind," he replied casually. "So, are you here to die too?"

Choate chuckled drunkenly, but there was a sharpness behind his gaze.

"Tell me something, Asa," he said, swaying slightly. "Do you really think you're making it out of here alive?"

Asa narrowed his eyes.

"You do realize the Navy is here, right? They've been chasing you down ever since you stole the Heavenly Tribute. If they catch you, you're finished," Choate continued, still slurring his words.

Asa studied the strange, clown-like man carefully.

At first, he had dismissed Choate as nothing but a drunk.

But now, he was beginning to realize...

He had underestimated him.

This man was no fool.

"Any pirate who becomes famous across the world isn't an idiot," Asa reminded himself. "If they were, they would've died long ago."

Choate took another swig from his gourd.

"So, how about it? Wanna team up and fight the Navy together?" he proposed, grinning.

Asa rested the Thunder God's Spear on his shoulder, his expression indifferent.

Then, suddenly—

He threw his head back and laughed.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Covering his forehead, Asa laughed hysterically, his body trembling from amusement.

"Choate, you idiot!" Asa sneered. "You seriously think I'd ally with you?"

His voice turned cold.

"If you ever say something so stupid again..." Asa's gaze sharpened. "I'll kill you myself."

Choate's smile faltered.

"Listen, if I get captured or killed, it's because I wasn't strong enough to escape. That's my own damn problem," Asa declared.

"If I die, then it means I deserved to die."

"You think I'd rely on anyone else? That I'd beg for help?!"

He scoffed.

"Get lost, Choate."

The sheer arrogance in Asa's voice left Choate momentarily speechless.

At that moment—

A lazily drawn-out voice echoed from the side of the restaurant.

"Ohhh... looks like I missed a fun little conversation?"

Slowly stepping into view was Kizaru, cigarette in mouth, eyes half-lidded as usual.

Behind him, Vice Admiral Tsuru and the masked CP0 agent emerged.

The hunt had begun.

(End of Chapter)

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