Chapter 110: Vice Admiral Tsuru

Asa asked calmly, aiming to recruit this rare talent.

"How about this—I'll save your daughter, and in return, you'll work for me? The outside world is now nearing the end of the year 1496 in the Haiyuan Calendar. I'll give you two years to think it over!"

During that time, Asa planned to journey into the New World—to witness the rise of the Pirate King, to experience the dawn of a new era firsthand, and eventually... to personally bid farewell to the remnants of the old world.

For now, it wasn't realistic to form a crew or seize territory. It was a period of observation and preparation.

"As long as you can bring my daughter back to me, I don't care if I die working for you!" Asier exclaimed, eyes shining with anticipation at the thought of reuniting with his child. "However, I'll work for you out of my own will. I won't accept being forced."

"I created pure gold!"

"That was the realm of devils—a miracle granted by the heavens. Its success was purely accidental. I can't replicate it again!"

"Hahahaha! I don't care about pure gold or any of that," Asa chuckled softly. The pure gold on Alchemy Island, inside the third stomach, was more than enough to craft countless bracelets if he wanted to.

"Alright then. I'll go pick up your daughter. You stay here and wait."

Electric sparks flickered across his body as his figure vanished from the dinosaur cave.

…

The Heart Network had been keeping track of Olga's location in Stomach No. 2, Vice Admiral Tsuru who was secretly trailing her, and Akainu and Garp in Stomach No. 1. Those two, lacking any sort of guide, were no match for Asa's awareness and control.

Asa wasn't worried. With his speed, it would be effortless to reach the second stomach and rescue Olga. For now, all he needed was food to replenish his depleted energy.

Lord Lantern's stomach was unbelievably vast. It was difficult to comprehend the sheer amount of energy a creature like this required to survive...

And this was just one of the many Sea Kings in the deep sea. The ones guarding the super-giant ship at Fish-Man Island were even more colossal—utterly beyond human imagination.

Still, Asa didn't dwell on such things. In his eyes, the only thing that mattered was whether these beasts were edible or not.

He flew to a forested island within the creature's body, hunted several wild beasts, sparked a bonfire with lightning, and began to devour his meal with gusto.

…

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! These idiots don't even know if anyone's left, and they still think they can sneak away with someone else's treasure..." Olga giggled wickedly, covering her mouth.

After tailing her for several days, Vice Admiral Tsuru finally stepped out from the shadows, unable to stay silent any longer.

"Young lady, why not give up on finding pure gold? It would be better for the World Government or our justice-upholding Navy to have it, rather than letting it rot inside this sea creature where no one will ever see it again."

She was clearly losing patience. Who knew how much deeper this lantern fish might swim? If it went too far into the abyss, they might never escape.

"Besides, a dangerous pirate has also entered this place. If he learns about the pure gold, he'll definitely kill you and claim it for himself..."

Tsuru painted Asa as a ruthless villain, trying to scare Olga into aligning with the Navy and giving up the treasure.

"Yo? So I've been found out..."

Olga put on an exaggerated expression of surprise, then leapt onto Elizabeth's back, preparing to flee again.

"Haha... Vice Admiral Tsuru, spying behind others' backs seems to be a habit in the Navy, huh? Tell me—haven't you smeared people like Roger, Golden Lion, and Whitebeard before?"

At that moment, a mocking voice came from behind Tsuru.

Truthfully, aside from the Golden Lion, Roger and Whitebeard had only fought the Navy when provoked. They wouldn't have bothered otherwise.

Roger was perhaps more aggressive, but Whitebeard? He didn't care about irrelevant matters or people. His personality simply wasn't wired that way.

Roger, on the other hand, had been seeking truths the World Government had long hidden. Naturally, this made him a target of their wrath.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku had ordered surveillance on Whitebeard's every move. Garp's mission was even clearer—capture Roger at all costs.

…

Tsuru's expression shifted sharply when she heard the voice. Turning around, she saw the person she least expected.

"Asa? Why are you here?" she asked in disbelief, her voice low and tense.

From his relaxed demeanor, he didn't look like someone who'd just been through a major battle. Yet the tremors that had shaken Stomach No. 1 the day before were unmistakable...

It only took a second for her to realize that Garp hadn't managed to stop Asa. Her face grew grim. She dropped into a defensive stance, treating him like the monster he was.

"Tell me, what are you planning to do?"

"Vice Admiral Tsuru, no need to give me that look! Isn't it obvious what you're doing here? Of course, you came to steal the pure gold!" Asa said with a smirk.

Little Mischia Olga glanced between the two and burst out laughing.

"Oh? Are they about to start fighting? Maybe I can slip away again—hehehehe!"

She laughed mischievously, not even trying to hide her thoughts.

"As expected..."

Tsuru's expression darkened further. Asa wasn't even trying to hide his ambitions.

She was deeply worried. If Asa obtained the pure gold—an item capable of extending life indefinitely—he could still be in his prime hundreds, even thousands of years later. That kind of threat would shatter any hope for peace, even beyond what the Navy could imagine.

But truthfully, Asa wouldn't even bother with the Navy unless they gave him a reason to.

"Pure gold should never fall into the hands of a pirate like you who brings chaos to the world!" Tsuru growled, determined to stop him at any cost.

"Hahahahahaha! Vice Admiral Tsuru, don't flatter yourself. If Garp were here, maybe he could slow me down. But you? You're nothing!" Asa sneered, looking down on her with utter disdain.

"The Navy's duty is to stop evil at all costs! We will never give up—"

"That's enough!" Asa interrupted, clearly losing patience. "You want to stop me? Call Garp and give it your best shot. As for you... just stay down!"

He vanished in a blink, and a fist wrapped in crackling lightning slammed toward Tsuru.

"So fast... I can't react..."

That was her only thought. Even armed with Haki, she couldn't respond fast enough at such close range.

The strike hit her directly, launching her dozens of meters away and crashing her into a rocky wall.

Boom!

Rocks shattered and crumbled, burying her in debris.

Vice Admiral Tsuru was stronger than most Vice Admirals, but in Asa's eyes, she didn't even qualify as an obstacle. Only admiral-level combatants were worthy of his attention.

Not bothering to check if she was dead or alive, Asa walked over to the little girl—Mischia Olga, who barely reached his thigh—and smiled down at her with a voice that left no room for argument:

"Little one, come with me. Someone very important is waiting to see you!"

In that moment, he looked like one of those weirdos who lured kids with candy—but instead of a lollipop, he had lightning and authority in every word.

(End Of Chapter)

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