Asa's current bounty was 500 million, but Whitebeard didn't believe his strength matched the figure—there was a lot of inflation behind it.
After all, even past overlords of the seas only had bounties hovering around that number.
This wasn't like the hundreds of millions of bounty that pirates would have in later generations. In these times, bounties were earned through repeated killings and conquests.
But what about Asa?
According to intelligence, he had eaten the Thunder Fruit, robbed the Ark Maxim' Gold Transport Ship, escaped Garp's pursuit, and became the only person in history to break out of Impel Down.
Looting the Sky Gold was more about guts than strength. If you had the confidence to outrun the wrath of the Navy, then who couldn't pull off a robbery?
As for escaping Garp—well, the Thunder Fruit had inherent advantages. Its speed allowed a user to attack, retreat, or defend at will. Escaping wasn't too hard if you knew how to use it.
As for the prison break, Whitebeard suspected Asa had inside help. Who could escape from that place alone?
After thinking it through, Whitebeard concluded that aside from the Thunder Fruit, Asa might have some impressive skills. But in any case, he didn't believe Asa could threaten any of his sons.
To Whitebeard, no one in the world was better than his sons. That was something every father believed.
...
Asa hadn't left immediately after killing Scuyard. His ship had collided with the Great Maelstrom Spider Pirates' vessel deep underwater and was torn to pieces.
The real problem was that Asa hadn't stored his permanent record pointers in his fortress bracelet—they'd been mounted on the ship's rudder. Now, they were likely buried at the bottom of the sea.
How severe were the consequences of being without a pointer or navigator in the New World?
Across the Grand Line, navigators must constantly brace for unpredictable climate shifts and magnetic anomalies—but in the second half, these hazards multiplied.
Unstable magnetic fields, ever-changing climates, bizarre weather phenomena, whirlpools that defied logic—all of these made navigation in the New World a deadly gamble.
Only with permanent pointers and professional navigators could pirates avoid disaster.
Of course, if you weren't concerned with survival, you could always try to emulate lone wolves like Red or Hawkeye.
Permanent pointers typically pointed to three possible islands, with the most stable needle indicating the safest route. Following that path greatly reduced the odds of catastrophe.
But knowing Asa's personality, he'd probably pick the most dangerous route—because with danger came excitement. He was no different than Luffy, who always sought the thrill of risk.
Still, it was too late to recover the pointer now. Without it, Asa could only advance in a direction of his own choosing.
Fortunately, his mental network could cover dozens of kilometers, allowing him to predict wind directions and cloud formations. Plus, his ability to fly let him avoid many natural disasters.
He searched the seabed for a long while, but the pointers were nowhere to be found. At last, Asa chose a direction at random, and with a flicker, disappeared into the distance.
Leaving the waters near Fish-Man Island, he flew for over an hour, unguided. Eventually, within range of his observation network, an island came into view.
One of the three starting islands in the New World.
"Lischiled Island?" Asa muttered, disappointed it wasn't the Island of Thunder.
Still, landing anywhere at all without a pointer was fortunate enough.
Lischiled wasn't particularly large, but it was bustling with activity. Being one of the three initial islands every pirate passed through, it was always lively.
After docking, Asa pulled out a large blue hat and pressed the brim down. Narrowing his eyes, he looked up at the flag flying high above the island.
The skull-and-crossbones didn't differ much from other pirate symbols—except for the flamboyant, curly beard adorning the skull's teeth.
"So this island is currently Roger's territory?" Asa muttered.
If the Roger Pirates had truly conquered the New World, then naturally they'd claim land and plant flags.
The Golden Lion, Shiki, had been ruined at the Battle of Ed War and lost most of his territory, which had since been divided by others.
Now, the only true overlords in the New World were Whitebeard and Roger. The Golden Lion had vanished from public view.
Big Mom and Kaido of the Hundred Beasts were still gaining strength. Though powerful, they hadn't yet reached the heights of the top two.
As for Red, he was a free spirit—never interested in holding territory—yet powerful enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with any of the top contenders.
The presence of Roger's symbol likely meant this island was under his protection.
"You invaded my territory without cause. I'll have to settle that debt!" Asa smirked, licking his lips.
When you're strong, you can go anywhere. Throw Kaido into Marineford, and he'd still come out safe and sound.
Asa understood this well—but he wasn't one to be magnanimous. Roger had once said Buggy delayed the completion of the Thor, and that matter hadn't been addressed.
"Whatever, we'll talk when we meet."
With that, he quickened his pace toward the island's pirate hub.
Roger didn't prohibit other pirates from entering his territory, so Lischiled was crawling with them.
Asa passed few locals—most of the people he encountered were boisterous pirates, laughing, joking, or showing their fangs.
Now that he was in the New World, he no longer felt the urgency to push forward. He could afford to take part in the tides of the age, to influence its course.
Keep walking forward—and sooner or later, the chaos would come to you.
After strolling a bit, Asa wandered into a lively bar.
These kinds of places were perfect for passing time and overhearing loose-lipped pirates bragging about the latest news.
The noise didn't die down when Asa walked in. The pirates were too deep in their drink to notice.
Asa didn't care. He ordered a barrel of wine from the female bartender, picked a random seat, crossed his legs, and quietly listened to the barroom chatter.
"Hey, you heard the latest?" a drunken pirate shouted, standing atop a table.
"What, Roger and Whitebeard at war?" another pirate—likely part of Roger's fleet—replied lazily from his chair.
"Hahaha! Like Captain Roger would fear Whitebeard! And who said that fool was the strongest man in the world?" a third shouted in anger.
There were too many powerhouses in the New World now. Roger, Red, Golden Lion—if someone crowned Whitebeard as the strongest man alive, it would definitely stir up debate.
(End Of Chapter)
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