Just when everyone assumed the battle was over, an unremarkable bush several dozen meters away suddenly began growing at a frantic rate.
Its branches stretched wildly outward as fresh leaves unfurled, and within moments, the tiny shrub had become a towering tree.
Amid its dense canopy, Ryokugyu's body reformed without a single injury.
Abundant life energy surrounded him, making him seem like the entire world awakening at the arrival of spring.
"Woods-Woods Fruit: Life Conversion!"
Ryokugyu spread his arms and threw back his head in arrogant laughter.
"Wahahaha!"
His booming voice rolled across the battlefield like thunder, overflowing with mockery as he proudly displayed his seemingly immortal vitality.
"Impressive! Very impressive, Ron, ruler of the Divine Kingdom! You really do have some skill!
"That slash nearly scared the soul right out of me!"
Still laughing, Ryokugyu directed a provocative stare at Ron, the flames of battle blazing within his eyes.
He raised one thick hand and struck his unharmed chest with a heavy slap.
The enormous horns on his head gleamed coldly beneath the brilliant sunlight like natural weapons, and even the air around him trembled faintly with the force of his movement.
His expression became even more contemptuous.
"But honestly… did you really think you could kill me? How naive! You're still far too inexperienced!
"I possess the extraordinary power of the Logia-type Woods-Woods Fruit!
"As long as even a single blade of grass or one tiny plant remains anywhere across this vast earth, my life can continue without end! Like a weed that refuses to die, I can always return!
"No matter how sharp that sword is or how fast you swing it, can you really cut down every one of the countless billions of living plants across the world?
"Wahahaha!"
His arrogant laughter echoed through the open sky, filled with blatant provocation.
Ron remained suspended high above the battlefield.
He stood straight and steady while his robes snapped violently within the raging currents around him, resembling a battle flag flying proudly in the wind.
Despite Ryokugyu's overwhelming vitality and unrestrained mockery, not the slightest ripple disturbed Ron's fathomless eyes.
To him, this seemingly immortal life force was merely a dull trick intended to deceive the senses.
There was nothing about it worth fearing.
"Why couldn't I?"
Ron asked calmly.
His voice was not loud, yet it somehow passed clearly over Ryokugyu's deafening laughter. Every syllable carried the certainty of an undeniable fact.
Those three simple words struck Ryokugyu's arrogance like a bucket of freezing water.
His grating laughter stopped abruptly, as though an invisible hand had closed around his throat.
Then, in the very next instant, an astonishing transformation swept across the battlefield.
With Ron at its center, an immense sword intent that seemed to stand above every living thing erupted toward the heavens like a volcano.
Its power was so overwhelming that it appeared capable of tearing the entire world apart.
The previously clear blue sky above his head suddenly darkened, as though an invisible and unfathomable force had covered it, stripping away all color and light.
...
Before the horrified eyes of everyone present, countless ethereal sword shadows appeared across the darkened sky.
They possessed no physical form, yet inspired far greater terror than any legendary blade.
Each shadow contained a freezing, murderous sharpness. As they crossed and collided overhead, they released a continuous metallic hum that sounded like a death sentence echoing from the depths of hell, making the soul itself tremble.
The densely packed swords nearly blotted out the entire sky.
There were far more than ten thousand of them.
What truly terrified Ryokugyu, however, was that these countless manifestations of sword intent were not floating around without purpose like a disorganized mob.
Every single one had locked onto a precise target with almost impossible accuracy.
They were aimed at the deck beneath his feet.
The wooden structure, which had seemed perfectly ordinary moments before, now appeared unbearably fragile beneath that overwhelming sword intent.
Every grain in every plank had been identified. Every joint and seam had been marked. Not even the tiniest imperfection escaped their perception.
The flowerpots decorating the deck had also become targets.
Those finely crafted ceramic pots, normally present only to add a touch of elegance, now seemed to tremble before the endless blades, as though they might be ground into dust at any moment.
Even a single insignificant blade of grass stubbornly growing through a crack between the planks had not escaped.
The tiny sprout should have been swaying peacefully in the breeze, nourished by sunlight and rain.
Instead, countless blades of sword intent had seized upon it, as though an invisible hand had closed around the throat of its fate.
The lock was absolute.
There were no blind spots and no omissions.
The entire deck had been covered by an enormous net woven from sword intent, leaving nowhere beyond its reach.
The arrogance on Ryokugyu's face froze.
His eyes widened, and his pupils contracted violently. The earlier contempt had vanished, replaced by absolute horror and disbelief.
His mouth opened as though he wanted to speak, but fear caught in his throat and refused to let even the faintest sound escape.
For the first time, his mountain-like body began trembling beyond his control.
It was not caused by cold or exhaustion.
It came from fear buried deep within his instincts.
The power of his Devil Fruit was frantically sending danger signals to his mind.
This crisis was completely different from anything he had ever encountered.
Every previous battle, no matter how intense, had ultimately remained a physical contest.
What he felt now was something entirely different.
It was an exterminating force that operated at the level of the world's very laws—something capable of erasing its target completely.
It existed beyond everything he understood about combat.
For the first time in his life, Ryokugyu tasted true despair.
"W-Wait…!"
His eyes contracted until his pupils were no larger than pinpricks.
Terror twisted his face, and his trembling lips struggled to form words.
Perhaps he intended to beg for mercy, instinctively lowering himself in the hope of preserving his life.
Or perhaps he meant to force out one final use of his mysterious ability and find some way to escape the disaster bearing down upon him.
Fate offered him no such opportunity.
Ron stood quietly above him, tall and unyielding, his gaze filled with cold and unquestionable resolve.
He did not hesitate.
He gave Ryokugyu no chance to respond.
The instant the Admiral managed to force out that first broken syllable, time itself seemed to stop.
Ron looked down upon him like a god holding absolute authority over all beneath the heavens.
With calm majesty, he extended a single finger.
It was long and steady, faintly illuminated beneath the shifting light.
He pressed it gently toward the ship below.
The motion appeared almost effortless, yet carried enough power to overturn mountains and seas.
His lips parted naturally, as softly as a breeze stirring ripples across a lake.
Then he uttered one freezing word.
"Execute."