In Bullet's eyes, Ryokugyu was nothing more than an overconfident fool prancing around in the center of the stage, proudly showing off what little strength he possessed.
"Heh. Does that idiot seriously think Ron is some harmless pushover he can bully whenever he feels like it?"
Bullet tilted his head back and spoke with open condescension.
His deep voice rumbled like it had risen from the bottom of a valley, carrying undisguised mockery.
It was difficult to tell whether he was speaking to himself or deliberately sharing his contempt with the companions standing nearby.
"What a damn joke!"
Bullet suddenly raised his voice.
"I've already experienced Ron's Armament Haki for myself!
"That terrifying hardness was beyond anything I could've imagined. He left me far behind a long time ago."
A faint trace of caution flickered through Bullet's eyes, but his usual arrogance quickly buried it.
After a brief pause, a hint of malicious amusement appeared on his face.
He could already picture exactly how this confrontation would end.
Ryokugyu would be crushed.
"That so-called Admiral they dragged in from some forgotten corner of the world probably won't even understand how he died."
Bullet muttered the words with a mocking grin.
The others remained silent, but their calm expressions said everything.
Not one of them showed the slightest concern or nervousness. If anything, they regarded Ryokugyu with almost pitying indifference.
They understood Ron's strength far too well.
As far as they were concerned, the outcome of this sudden confrontation had been decided from the very beginning.
...
Ryokugyu's assault bore down on Ron like a violent storm, yet Ron himself remained as calm as the surface of an ancient, bottomless well.
Not the slightest ripple disturbed his gaze.
He merely shook his head slowly, as though genuinely disappointed by the Admiral's stubborn refusal to understand.
"Still refusing to see reason…"
Ron spoke quietly, but the words carried immense weight and unwavering resolve.
"It seems the only way to open eyes completely blinded by prejudice is to make you experience real pain.
"Perhaps then you'll finally see what this world truly looks like."
The final echo of his voice had not yet faded when his right hand moved with lightning speed.
It settled firmly upon the hilt of the sword hanging at his left side.
The blade was named White Moon, a rare Supreme Grade sword with a special meaning to Ron.
It had been given to him by the beautiful and kindhearted mermaid princess as a heartfelt gift, carrying all her affection, blessings, and hopes within its steel.
Ron's movements were slow and solemn as he began drawing the blade.
As its edge gradually emerged from the sheath, a cool radiance blossomed across the steel like pale moonlight.
The glow was pure and gentle, resembling the silver light that spilled across a quiet night sky and giving the sword an ethereal, dreamlike beauty.
The blade slid against the inside of its sheath with a soft, melodious hum.
It sounded like clear water flowing through a mountain stream or a breeze stirring a row of wind chimes, as though moonlight itself were flowing from the scabbard and whispering forgotten stories.
Along with that beautiful sound, an overwhelming sharpness silently spread through the battlefield.
It was no ordinary aura.
The transcendent power within it inspired instinctive awe, causing the surrounding air to grow heavy as though time itself had slowed.
At the exact moment White Moon cleared its sheath, Ryokugyu's attack arrived.
The violent force of countless plants surged toward Ron like a collapsing mountain, threatening to crush everything in its path.
Yet Ron's eyes did not waver.
His gaze remained as calm and cold as a deep winter lake, untouched by anything in the world.
Then the power around him began to gather.
His presence rose rapidly toward its peak like a long-dormant volcano preparing to erupt.
An immense force surged through his body, seemingly powerful enough to tear him apart from within.
"Heaven-Splitting Draw!"
Ron's cold shout echoed across the battlefield like the tolling of a great bell.
White Moon instantly transformed into a brilliant streak of light that moved beyond the limits of human vision.
This was no ordinary slash.
In the instant he drew the sword, Ron compressed all the Haki and sword intent he had accumulated throughout his life into a single point.
Every fragment of his strength, will, and conviction erupted at once.
A dazzling sword beam a thousand meters long appeared from nothing.
It rose like a radiant dragon, carrying unimaginable power as it threatened to split the heavens and the ocean cleanly in two.
Its blinding light illuminated the entire battlefield and left everyone watching in stunned silence.
The brilliant slash tore through the void like the scythe of death rising from the depths of hell—or divine punishment descending from the highest reaches of the heavens.
Wherever it passed, space itself rippled violently like a lake struck by an enormous boulder.
The surrounding world twisted and warped beneath its power.
A strained hum continuously echoed through the distorted space, as though reality itself were groaning under the unbearable pressure.
Within that sword energy lay an absolute sharpness.
It was no longer merely the ability to cut steel or stone.
It had transcended the restraints of ordinary physical laws, breaking free of every shackle imposed by heaven and earth.
...
Before such absolute sharpness, everything in the world seemed as fragile as an insect.
Ron's swordsmanship had truly reached the supreme realm where nothing could escape his blade.
Every inch of the sword energy seemed to be formed from countless tiny yet indestructible edges. They intertwined and merged into a terrifying force capable of tearing open the heavens and cleaving the earth apart.
"What?!"
Ryokugyu's eyes widened in disbelief.
His pupils contracted sharply, terror and shock flickering within them.
The enormous arm he had formed from thousand-year-old trees should have been nearly indestructible, yet before Ron's absolute cutting power, it offered no more resistance than soft butter beneath a heated knife.
The massive wooden limb was severed without a sound.
There was no struggle and not even the slightest obstruction. It simply came apart, scattering splinters through the air as though Ron had performed the easiest cut imaginable.
The radiant sword beam moved at a speed beyond comprehension.
It flashed across the battlefield like lightning splitting the night or a meteor falling from the heavens, far exceeding the limits of Ryokugyu's reflexes.
Before he could raise any meaningful defense—or even transform his body into his Logia element—the freezing blade of light swept through his waist like a ghost.
Everything happened within the blink of an eye, so quickly that those watching almost doubted what they had seen.
Shhk—!
A faint yet unmistakable sound rang out, almost like the turning of fate's wheel.
Ryokugyu's enormous body was cleanly sliced in half at the waist.
His upper and lower halves separated instantly, leaving behind a cut so smooth that it resembled polished glass.
The flawless surface reflected a cold and merciless gleam, as though it had been finished by the world's greatest craftsman wielding the sharpest tool in existence.
Watching from afar, Bullet curled his lips into a mocking sneer.
The smile gradually widened, silently saying, 'I warned you.'
Satisfaction and contempt filled his eyes. Everything had unfolded exactly as he expected.
However, what happened next took many of those present completely by surprise.
No blood sprayed from Ryokugyu's severed body.
Instead, both halves rapidly underwent a strange transformation.
The flesh around the wounds turned to wood, its living tissue changing into hard, dry grain until his body became nothing more than two withered stumps.
They crashed heavily onto the ground with a dull thud, raising a cloud of dust.