Chapter 103
"Boom!!"
A thunderous noise erupted, and Asa was left stunned. Half of the island was swallowed instantly by a Sea King—devoured as casually as a human biting into a biscuit.
The lantern fish surged, creating massive waves as its gigantic form quickly sank into the sea's depths.
"That fish… could it be that one?!" Asa's body trembled slightly. His eyes burned with excitement as he launched himself from the branch into the sky.
This lantern fish, larger than an island and brighter than the moon overhead, ignited his thoughts.
There were many lantern fish in the sea, but very few could grow to such a monstrous size. And this one—its lantern glowed with an unmistakable hue.
If his hunch was right... that glow was pure gold!
A miracle accidentally created by a scientist—an incredibly rare treasure capable of drastically slowing the flow of life force. And it couldn't be replicated.
Pure gold extended life to a near-immortal level. Many had spent their entire lives chasing such a dream.
The World Government once offered a staggering 5 billion Beli for the Surgical Fruit, just to obtain the ultimate power of the Ageless Surgery.
That price only served to deceive those who didn't know the true value of the fruit. Anyone who did—well, they wouldn't trade it for five trillion.
They say where there's life, there's hope. But if you could live forever, you'd witness even hope turning into despair.
"I don't know if it's the one... but if I've run into it, I have to check it out! Hahahahaha!" Asa laughed wildly, his body crackling with electricity as he soared forward.
Immortality? Asa didn't really need it...
He lived for thrill, joy, adrenaline, and excitement!
Rather than a long, mediocre life, humbled and forgotten like dust, he'd rather blaze across the sky like a shooting star!
To shine briefly with all his might was better than never shining at all.
He didn't really need pure gold. But it could be crafted into a bracelet, serving as a container for his Fortified City Fruit. And the longer he lived, the more adventures he could chase.
By then, the world's most valuable treasure... would be a pure gold storage bracelet.
"Hahahaha!!"
Blue lightning flashed around Asa's body. He was wrapped in a powerful electromagnetic barrier—his own undeveloped form of isolation.
It acted like a shield, immune to fire and water, and nullifying all external damage.
With a sharp pop, Asa dove into the sea, racing after the colossal Sea King—the lantern fish.
...
Two or three hundred years ago, there was an island called Alkemi, the City of Steel. Not to be confused with Steel of the West Blue—this Alkemi suffered a far grimmer fate. It was swallowed whole by a lantern fish.
A metal-refining scientist named Mischia Arcier lived there. His daughter had an incurable illness at the time—South Sea Emperor Fever.
She would die in the prime of her life.
Desperate to save her, Arcier pursued forbidden knowledge. Guided by notes passed down from his predecessors on how to create "pure gold," he repeated experiments endlessly.
Then, in a one-in-a-billion accident, he succeeded. He created the divine metal—pure gold.
Scientific miracles are often born by chance. Penicillin came from a moldy boot; gravity from a falling apple.
If Newton hadn't discovered gravity, someone else—Maton or Sheepton—eventually would have.
But Asier's discovery? It wasn't something anyone else had succeeded in replicating. His success was as unique as the miracle metal itself.
Someone in the past had refined pure gold—after all, the lantern fish's lantern held it. But why did no one else manage it again, even after the notebook had been passed down for generations?
Pure gold—this god-given material—glowed with an aura that could practically halt the vitality of all living beings.
If a human wore it, they could potentially live for thousands—tens of thousands—of years.
Asa had no reason to let such a miracle slip through his fingers.
He swam through the deep sea at full speed, always tailing the lantern fish. Though he couldn't catch up, he was far from discouraged.
...
Crash!
The lantern fish dove and surfaced erratically, stirring towering waves across the normally calm Windless Zone.
Man and fish chased one another, dashing past the zone—coming dangerously close to Marineford...
"Hahahaha! Broke the donut-eating record again!" Garp's unrestrained laughter echoed under the night sky.
Three warships crawled along at turtle speed through the swirling maelstrom.
As they neared the Gate of Justice, the current intensified. Yet the lantern fish swam with such force that it whipped waves into the vortex.
"What? Sea Kings attacking Marineford? Hahahahahaha!" Garp stopped picking his nose mid-snack, stared at the water, and laughed heartily.
...
"That's such a bright light... How could a lantern fish glow like that? And it's... golden?" Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned, then her expression shifted as a memory surfaced. "Could it be...?"
"Garp, follow it—quickly! It might be the one from two centuries ago!!"
"The Sea King that devoured Alkemi, the one the World Government put a bounty on—rumored to carry the secret of immortality!" Akainu Sakazuki, ever composed, furrowed his brow.
Even he was shaken. His breath grew heavy.
Who could stay calm in the face of eternal life? Only Asa, ever seeking euphoria—and Garp, who cared only about donuts!
After Arcier created pure gold, the secret couldn't be contained. Naturally, the World Government of the time caught wind of it.
They tried to seize it by force—but before they could, the island was devoured by a super-giant Sea King.
The sea was vast. Decades passed. Centuries. That lantern fish vanished.
Still, the World Government never gave up. For 200 years, they pursued the fish in vain...
Only the Navy's top brass knew about this event. It was briefly mentioned in their Sea King archives.
Now, at long last, Vice Admiral Tsuru and Akainu, under Garp's lead, had found it again.
"Lantern fish tastes terrible!!" Garp cracked a grin. To him, donuts were more valuable than eternity.
"Be serious!" Tsuru snapped. "Hurry up and catch it..."
"No need," Akainu said coldly. "The whirlpool at the Gate of Justice will trap it."
He stepped to the bow of the ship. His arm glowed with molten lava—and without hesitation, he launched a blast into the sea.
He couldn't risk letting this Sea King get away.
"Great Eruption!!"
Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle!
When lava met seawater, steam erupted, flooding the area in seconds.
BOOM!!!
The ascending lantern fish was scorched by the blazing magma. It thrashed in agony, slapping up waves dozens of meters tall.
Then, its massive head broke the surface—and with one enormous gulp, it swallowed all three warships.
A dark shadow blotted out the moonlight. Sailors screamed in terror—except for Garp, Tsuru, and Akainu, who stood firm.
...
Crash!
Under the sea, fierce currents surged. Asa pursued the lantern fish through the maelstrom, bursting through the waves into the sky.
Zzzzzzzzzttt!!
His radiant blue lightning crackled, illuminating the night sky.
His speed and prolonged use of the electromagnetic shield had taken a toll—but just as he was reaching his limit, the lantern fish seemed to hit an obstacle and paused.
Garp was the first to notice.
He looked up, stunned. "Asa, that brat?! Isn't he a Devil Fruit user? How the hell is he... swimming?!"
It shattered everything he thought he knew.
"Vice Admiral Garp! So many familiar faces in one place! Hahahahaha!" Asa hovered in mid-air, licking his lips with excitement. His wild laugh echoed with fighting spirit.
But then—
BOOM!!
The lantern fish swallowed the three warships in a single, monstrous gulp...
(End Of Chapter)
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