Chapter 98: Shiryu of the Rain

"Bah la la la la! Asa, don't joke about something like that..." Walder sneered.

To make him—once an overlord of the seas—bow to anyone was nearly impossible. He wasn't any weaker than the likes of Chinjao, and Asa's youth and lack of conclusive victories made him difficult to take seriously.

Even if Asa had shown terrifying power and awakened the King's Haki, it wasn't enough to sway someone like Walder.

Besides, Garp and the others didn't know the full truth of why Walder had been rounded up. And he certainly didn't intend to reveal it.

"Oh? Then what kind of bargaining chip would I need to make you surrender?" Asa's tone turned cold.

"Why should I take someone like you with me—someone who's lost all drive—when I may not even escape myself?"

"Bah... then let's part ways here!" Walder growled, a dangerous glint in his eye. He turned and walked away, separating himself from Asa.

As Asa watched Walder's back disappear down the corridor, a cold light flickered in his eyes.

"I respect your choice. But..."

"...I'll have to kill you."

The Multiply-Multiply Fruit was too valuable as a support ability. If Asa couldn't have it, then he wouldn't let anyone else keep it either.

If he couldn't claim it, he would destroy it. That was Asa's way.

Right now, his strength hadn't fully returned, and with others in the prison capable of threatening him, starting a war with Walder would only expose him to opportunistic enemies.

"If you escape Impel Down, we'll meet again on the sea. If not... well, tough luck." Asa smirked and kept moving forward.

"Walking like this is too slow. I'll be intercepted sooner or later."

Halfway through Level Three, Asa heard voices ahead in the corridor. He immediately paused.

While his invisibility via electromagnetic refraction could fool those with weak Haki or poor perception, strong foes could still detect him.

He stopped at the corridor's edge, pressed a hand against the wall.

It wasn't as thick or reinforced as the walls on Level Six. That meant—

"I can blow my way through."

"Zzzzt!"

Electricity sparked across Asa's body. He stepped back and pulled out a discarded iron chain, melting it into a fist-sized iron ball.

He laid the electromagnetic track with a single thought—and launched it.

Blue lightning spiraled around the iron ball, orange-red friction flames trailing behind it as it cut through the air at supersonic speed. The air screamed, and the pressure behind the shot was immense.

The further an electromagnetic projectile traveled, the faster it went—and the more destructive it became.

If Asa had a long enough track and a large enough shot, he could theoretically fire a Super Electromagnetic Cannon from a sky island and flatten Mariejois. Its destructive power might even exceed Heaven's Judgment.

But of course, that was just theory.

At present, he hadn't surpassed 200 million volts. His physical strength was limited, and his lightning still lacked the force to reach that level.

Still...

BOOM!!!

Thunder exploded across the prison floor.

The shockwave rippled through Level Three, shaking the entire structure. The walls shattered, dust filled the air, and a gaping hole appeared where solid stone had stood moments ago.

Asa blew dust off his face, stepped into the opening, and entered Level Two—bypassing the ambush waiting at the third-floor exit entirely.

Panting from the exertion, he found the stairwell to Level One, and vanished once more beneath a veil of electromagnetic distortion.

"Come out, invisible one..."

At the entrance to the second-floor corridor stood a man with a cigar in his mouth, calmly polishing his long sword with a white cloth.

His expression was calm—but his eyes sparkled with deadly anticipation.

Shiryu of the Rain.

His gaze locked onto Asa's hidden form.

"You found me?" Asa reappeared, curious. He hadn't expected Shiryu, still young, to have such sharp perception.

"How did you detect me?"

Though only a few years older, Shiryu had yet to reach his peak. Asa was genuinely curious.

"I'm a swordsman." Shiryu grinned, flicking ash from his cigar.

"I understand the breath of all things. I sense flaws... and kill in a single stroke."

"Everything was normal—until you passed by and deliberately suppressed your breath. That stood out."

His words were casual, but the bloodlust behind his eyes was anything but.

"Swordsman, huh..."

Asa locked eyes with him.

Within Shiryu's gaze, he saw the same madness he once had—the same obsession with killing, with strength, with overwhelming power.

But this man... he had no place in the Navy.

Even Akainu's extreme justice wasn't this twisted. Akainu would kill pirates without hesitation—but Shiryu?

He killed simply for pleasure.

That made him far more dangerous.

"Shiryu... is that your name?" Asa asked slowly.

The failure to recruit Walder had led him to something unexpected: a far more dangerous and promising candidate.

"You really love killing, don't you?" Asa said with a half-smile.

"Then follow me. Come to the New World and kill to your heart's content. Duel the greatest swordsmen. Hunt for the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades."

"Only the sea can satisfy a monster like you."

"Kill the world upside down?" Shiryu muttered, lighting a new cigar. His head lowered in contemplation, face hidden behind rising smoke.

After a long pause, he looked up again, eyes gleaming with bloodlust.

"Right now, my goal is to kill you. But..."

"If you can defeat me—sure. I'll follow you."

"Shing!!"

Shiryu unsheathed his sword without hesitation. The second-generation Kitetsu gleamed as it sliced the air, a burst of murderous sword energy following in its wake.

"Defeat you?" Asa chuckled and covered his face with one hand.

Then—

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

He laughed wildly.

"Then as you wish..."

ZZZZZTTTTT!!

The air crackled as blue lightning surged in his palm. Slowly, the thunder formed into a blade.

The Lightning Sword was drawn.

(End Of Chapter)

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