Chapter 95: King’s Qualification!

"Huh? Asa's not talking today? He's unusually quiet!"

"Hahahaha! Did you take a heavy blow to the heart, kid?"

Asa ignored them all. He didn't say a word.

The pirates, annoyed that they couldn't provoke a reaction, finally shut their mouths.

"Bah la la la la! What's going on here? Did you even release your Conqueror's Haki?"

Awakened by the surge of aura, Bundy Walder opened his eyes inside the ice and asked curiously.

"Hahaha! Walder, you're late to the party! Some World Government dogs came earlier to humiliate Asa. Looks like the kid's still shaken!" the bald old pirate said lazily.

"World Government?"

The moment Walder heard those words, a vicious gleam flashed in his eyes.

He was betrayed by his own men, manipulated by the World Government into a rebellion—and thrown into this hell. That hatred burned eternally in his heart.

If he ever escaped, he swore he'd build a giant cannon powered by the Multiply-Multiply Fruit and blast Mariejois into the sky.

"Hey, Asa... what did you do to get sent here? Even people from the World Government came just to see you?" Walder asked, intrigued by someone who seemed just as cursed as he was.

"Stole gold from the sky. Got surrounded by the Navy at the Sabaody Archipelago. Then captured," Asa replied casually, glancing at Walder's icy cell before closing his eyes again.

"What? You dared rob from the Celestial Dragons? Are you suicidal?" Walder's expression froze in disbelief.

Even in his prime, he hadn't dared to provoke the World Government directly. That ancient behemoth had ruled the world for over eight hundred years. Only fools—or madmen—dared defy it.

Now that he had nothing left, he could afford to dream of vengeance. But in the past? Never. Not even the "World Destroyer" had dared go that far.

"Kid, you're either insanely lucky or just too crazy. You should've been executed for offending the Celestial Dragons!" Walder sighed.

"Hahaha! That's what makes it exciting—facing the strongest. You wouldn't get it," Asa suddenly opened his eyes, smirking.

"If you were still out on the sea, Walder, I'd show you what real thrill looks like..."

"The sea, huh? Excitement?" Walder laughed bitterly.

Inside his laughter, the frozen ice cracked faintly—as though his very spirit trembled with longing.

"If I could just taste that freedom one more time… that thrill…"

"It's addictive," Asa said, his eyes sparkling. "Once you feel it, you'll never want to stop."

The wait dragged on.

As usual, the jailers came to deliver food and retrieve yesterday's tableware.

Asa smiled faintly as he ate—this might be his final meal in Infinite Hell.

As night fell, the already-dark prison plunged into pitch-black silence.

Snoring filled the air. But amidst it, one pair of glowing eyes remained open.

From his mouth, Asa carefully pulled out a small saw.

Creak... creak... creak...

The faint scraping was completely drowned by the snores of sleeping inmates.

Asa sawed faster and faster, heart pounding with excitement.

He didn't know what this saw was made of, but its effect on Sea-Prism Stone was astonishing.

He wasn't surprised.

Vegapunk was the one who pioneered the use of Sea-Prism Stone—naturally, he would know how to craft materials specifically designed to counter it.

The man researched Sea-Prism Stone, gigantification, bloodline factors, life design, and even mechanical weapons. An all-round genius.

A scientist five hundred years ahead of his time—not by his own boasting, but by the World Government's recognition.

In less than ten minutes—

Crack!

One of the leg cuffs broke free.

Asa took a short break... then began sawing the second.

"Asa... you!!!"

Bundy Walder, bored and scanning the area with his Haki, suddenly noticed Asa's movements and cried out in surprise—forgetting to lower his voice.

"Shut up!"

Asa growled, eyes fierce. He was this close. A single slip-up, and his shot at freedom would vanish forever.

It took ten minutes to saw off one shackle. How long would it take for guards from Impel Down's control room to reach Level Six?

Maybe just a few minutes.

"Alright, alright!!" Walder nodded frantically, trembling with excitement.

He saw it—the hope of escape.

Asa had said he owed him a favor. It clearly hadn't been empty words.

Creak... creak... creak...

Time crawled forward.

Asa had never felt this exhausted, mentally or physically. This was even more draining than the Navy's siege at Sabaody.

Finally—

Click!

The second cuff hit the ground.

Asa's heart exploded with joy.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

ZZZZZTTTT!!

Electricity, suppressed for months, exploded from his body. Blue lightning danced wildly across the floor and walls.

For the first time in two months, Level Six of Infinite Hell was lit like daytime.

**"What's going on?!"

"Asa? He's... he's broken free of the Sea-Prism Stone?"**

One by one, the pirates woke up, eyes wide in disbelief.

"ASA'S OUT!!"

"Asa!! Take me with you! Get me out too!!"

Asa stretched, flexing his joints. Though his stamina hadn't fully returned—thanks to the slow toxins—his movements were unhindered.

With continued rest, the toxins would leave his body in a day or two.

Chaos erupted in Infinite Hell.

"QUIET DOWN!"

Asa roared, irritated.

And with that shout—a pressure swept across Level Six.

An aura unlike anything before.

Conqueror's Haki.

After over two months in hell, Asa's unshakable will to escape had finally reached its peak. His courage, tempered on the sea, ignited his long-dormant Conqueror's Haki.

BOOM!!!

The floor quaked as his aura exploded outward like a storm.

In an instant, all noise died.

"Thunder Fruit... and now Conqueror's Haki?"

Bundy Walder stared in awe. In the New World, there were many with this rare qualification—but very few whose first awakening was as intense as Asa's.

"Surveillance snails..."

Asa looked up.

All around Level Six, Den Den Mushi silently watched from the corners.

ZZZZZZZTT!!

Thunder sparked across his fingertips. He slammed his hand down, unleashing a powerful burst—

"Electromagnetic Pulse!"

BZZZZT! BZZZTTT!!

Electric sparks surged over every surveillance Den Den Mushi. The snails spasmed, eyes rolling back, and collapsed—completely fried by the attack.

(End Of Chapter)

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