Chapter 87: Unrepentant!

Asa admired people like Zephyr—but when paths diverge, so too do values, and conflict is inevitable.

"So what? Isn't getting stronger about breaking free from restraint? Why must it only be about justice, or pleasure? What's wrong with chasing strength for your own goals? Aren't you working hard to uphold justice? We're the same... just with different labels!"

"Awe? Such a thing doesn't exist. The pursuit of one's path is endless!"

"If gaining strength day after day doesn't serve a purpose—then what's the point of getting stronger? Tell me!" Asa's shoulders shook as he laughed maniacally.

Unrepentant. Arrogant. Unrestrained. Fearless.

Zephyr stood speechless, recalling the belief that first ignited his passion for justice—his drive to protect the weak as a young man.

But Asa… Asa chased freedom, excitement, and self-defined happiness. It wasn't so different from Zephyr's own justice. Both were stubborn beliefs—unwavering obsessions that would not be repented, even in the face of death.

Everyone must bear the weight of their choices—and the price for their actions. Only pain that cuts deep can ever etch that lesson into the soul.

"Getting caught is the result of my own weakness. I deserve this." Asa's voice was calm now.

"I chose to sail freely, to defy the world. Being hunted was inevitable. I accepted that from the start. So, General Zephyr... don't waste your mercy on me. It'll only hurt you in the end."

The laughter faded. Asa closed his eyes, letting silence take hold. Zephyr stared at him for a moment longer, then sighed and left the prison cell.

"That brat… reminds me too much of myself," Garp chuckled while picking his nose and eating donuts. "Hahaha!"

"Tsuru, cleanse him. Send him to Impel Down so he can reflect on his life," Garp added.

Vice Admiral Tsuru silently nodded. She opened the iron cell door with a creak and stepped inside.

She knelt beside Asa, her hands covered in a crystal-like glow, and placed them gently on his head.

In that instant, Asa's tired, groggy mind felt suddenly light—like waking up from a full night's rest, or soaking in a hot spring. His body felt like it was floating.

Of course, he knew it was all an illusion...

But suddenly, the glow on Tsuru's hands dimmed.

Her expression shifted into one of confusion—as if something unimaginable had occurred.

After a moment of stunned silence, she activated her ability again, attempting once more to "cleanse" Asa's mind.

"Tsuru, what's wrong?" Garp asked, puzzled.

Tsuru's face turned pale with disbelief.

"This… Asa only has one trace of evil thought in his heart?! That's impossible. Even the most righteous of people have many! How can someone like him have only one?"

"Eh?" Garp's eyes widened in shock. The donut slipped from his hand and hit the floor.

Even figures like Garp and Zephyr, paragons of justice, had dark thoughts within them. How could a pirate like Asa, known for evil and rebellion, possess only a single evil thought?

"Hahahahaha! Vice Admiral Tsuru, you're hilarious!" Asa sneered.

"Different beliefs lead to different views on good and evil. You're judging me by your standards."

In his former world, peace prevailed. War zones were few. Crime existed—but remained the minority.

But when Asa came to this world, his entire worldview changed.

This was a world of chaos and violence. Countries, the World Government, pirates, and revolutionaries were locked in endless struggle.

During five years on Gaya Island, Asa saw far too many pirates committing atrocities—plundering, murdering, destroying.

In such a world, strength was survival.

That was his new belief.

Strength let you live freely. Strength let you live happily.

To others, he was a pirate who committed countless evils.

But Asa never believed he had done anything wrong.

And if there was no guilt—how could there be evil thoughts?

"We just see the world differently. So where would my 'evil thoughts' even come from? Hahahahaha!"

His laughter grew so intense, it brought tears to his eyes.

"This kid…" Garp's smile faded into a frown. "He really was born to be a pirate."

"There's no saving him," Tsuru muttered coldly as she stood and left the prison cell.

They had already decided to spread the news of Asa's capture across the world—to show the price of becoming a pirate.

In the dim cell, Asa's eyes still glimmered faintly with inner light.

A few hours later, the warship entered the Calm Belt—and arrived at the infamous prison: Impel Down.

Asa was roused from sleep. He felt his body being lifted, and then, blinding light pierced his eyes.

Instinctively, he tried to shield his face—but his body wouldn't move.

"Oh right... I almost forgot. I was arrested at the Sabaody Archipelago. Hahaha..." Asa laughed in his mind, as if none of this had any weight.

In a daze, he heard the voices of Garp, Tsuru, Zephyr… then felt himself handed over to someone nearly four meters tall.

That person dragged him across rough ground without care.

Through waves of heat, unbearable humidity, freezing cold, and the deafening roars of beasts—he was dragged further and deeper.

BAM!!

He was thrown hard against the ground. Chains rattled.

His legs were shackled to the wall of a narrow stone cell.

"Tch…" Asa winced and slowly opened his eyes. The air was filled with the clinking of chains and murmurs of madness.

"Hahaha! A brat this young ended up on Level 6 of Impel Down? The Navy must really be slacking!"

"They only catch us when we're already bleeding. Otherwise, we'd never be here!"

"Hey kid, stop playing dead! Get up and tell us what's happening outside! Is Roger fighting the Golden Lion yet?"

In the darkness of Infinite Hell, terrifying auras surged around him. In nearby cells, monstrous voices echoed from within.

These men had been rotting in this tomb for years—and craved any glimpse of the outside world.

Asa retracted and released his Observation Haki, scanning the entire sixth floor with ease.

The Sea-Prism Stone restricted his Devil Fruit, but it couldn't fully block Haki. Without the Thunder Fruit's electromagnetic amplification, his range was limited—but his mind still reached out.

"Where's Buster Choate? Wasn't he captured too? Isn't he on Level 6?" Asa wondered quietly.

Suddenly—

BAM!!

A brutal kick slammed into his side.

Only now did he realize—he wasn't the only one in this cell.

(End Of Chapter)

Gimme Powerstones :)))

Also Check out my Patreon at [Patreon.com/GGFanfiction]