The word rang through the air like a verdict delivered from the deepest reaches of hell, filled with merciless cold and boundless killing intent.
The instant it fell, the entire world seemed to ignite.
Ten thousand swords began humming at once.
The sound resembled an army charging across the land and a raging ocean smashing against cliffs, loud enough to make every listener's eardrums ache.
The countless illusory blades suddenly came alive.
They were no longer mere tricks of light.
Like divine thunderbolts obeying an absolute decree, they transformed into a devastating torrent of sword intent and poured down with enough force to destroy everything beneath them.
Yet this was no wild or indiscriminate bombardment.
It was a rain of death executed with absolute precision.
Every blade seemed to possess its own intelligence and purpose.
They carefully avoided every non-plant object aboard the ship. The Marines and all valuable equipment remained untouched amid the disaster.
For Ryokugyu, however, there was no escape.
The unstoppable torrent of sword intent swallowed the entire vessel in an instant, covering everything connected to his power beneath the shadow of death.
Shhk-shhk-shhk-shhk—!
A dense series of piercing sounds suddenly filled the air.
They were not deafening explosions powerful enough to rupture the eardrums.
They were countless incredibly fine cutting noises, each one seeming to burrow directly into the heart.
The sounds overlapped into an invisible web that spread across the ship.
The once-sturdy vessel appeared hopelessly fragile before Ron's sword intent.
...
The wooden deck was instantly pierced and shredded by countless fine blades of sword energy, reducing its once-thick, level planks to flying splinters.
The elegant railings met the same fate. Their intricate carvings and openwork patterns were torn apart before anyone could appreciate the craftsmanship.
Even the towering masts could not escape. Their massive wooden frames swayed beneath the relentless assault before collapsing with a thunderous crash.
Every plant carefully arranged aboard the vessel was also consumed by the sword intent.
The potted flowers, lush grass, delicate blossoms, and fresh green leaves were all invaded and mercilessly destroyed in the same instant.
They were ground into particles so fine that not even the smallest trace remained, as though they had never existed in this world at all.
The mysterious life connection linking Ryokugyu to the surrounding network of plants was forcibly severed by this precise and indiscriminate extermination.
It was a terrifying power.
Like an invisible blade of unimaginable sharpness, it mercilessly cut away every source of life and every hope of escape.
"No—!"
A desperate, unwilling scream tore through the deathly silence.
It carried endless fear, rage, and disbelief.
With every plant he depended upon erased, Ryokugyu's true body lost its foundation and was forcibly expelled from the void.
He stumbled into view, terror and confusion covering his face.
His eyes remained wide as he stared at the destruction around him, unable to comprehend how such a terrifying and exquisite technique could have annihilated everything he had carefully prepared in a single instant.
Then, at that critical moment, a condensed blade of sword light silently appeared.
It seemed to contain the combined essence of the thousands of swords that had descended before it, carrying enough power to destroy heaven and earth.
Yet it made no sound as it passed across Ryokugyu's neck like a ghost.
It moved too quickly for anyone to react.
For one brief instant, the world seemed to stop.
Every sound and every struggle abruptly ceased.
Ryokugyu's once-arrogant expression remained frozen forever upon his face, lingering terror and shock still visible in his eyes.
Then his enormous body collapsed like a crumbling hill, striking the ground hard enough to raise a cloud of dust.
His presence vanished with it.
The light of life within him had been completely extinguished.
The user of the Woods-Woods Fruit, Admiral Ryokugyu, had fallen.
He was dead.
His mountain-like body crashed down like a massive tower collapsing upon itself.
A deep impact shook the ground, sending fine dust drifting through the shifting light.
Only moments earlier, this Marine Admiral had been raging with unstoppable confidence, standing nearly invincible through the mysterious power of the Woods-Woods Fruit.
He had radiated a terrifying presence, his sharp gaze seemingly capable of piercing every obstacle and frightening anyone who stood against him.
Now, however, not the slightest trace of life remained.
His cold corpse lay silently on the ground, presenting one horrifying truth more powerfully than any words ever could.
A mighty Admiral had fallen.
And the battle had not even truly begun.
Under ordinary circumstances, both sides should have tested one another first, exchanging probing attacks before the fighting escalated into a full-scale clash.
Yet no one could have predicted that the Marines would lose one of their greatest fighters before the war had properly started.
It was like watching the lead actor leave the stage before a carefully prepared performance had even begun.
The entire battlefield fell into absolute silence.
It was so quiet that it seemed capable of swallowing the sound of every heartbeat, as though everyone had been cast into a barren, lightless abyss.
Only an oppressive atmosphere remained, heavy enough to make breathing difficult.
The decks of the Marine ships behind the front line were crowded with ordinary soldiers standing ready for battle.
Moments ago, their eyes had been firm and their expressions focused, each prepared to charge the moment an order was given.
Now, after witnessing the scene before them, almost none could believe it was real.
Their expressions had passed through a violent storm of emotion.
First had come the natural tension and unease before battle.
Then relief and renewed excitement when Ryokugyu appeared to regenerate, as though victory had suddenly come within reach.
That hope had turned into shock when ten thousand swords filled the sky, their eyes widening in disbelief.
In the end, every complicated emotion froze into overwhelming terror and confusion.
They looked like small boats lost upon an endless sea, unable to find their way.
Clang!
A sudden noise rang out.
Some soldier, too overwhelmed by shock to maintain his grip, had dropped his sword onto the hard deck.
The sharp metallic sound shattered the suffocating silence like a stone striking the surface of a still lake, sending ripples of panic through the fleet.
"A-Admiral Ryokugyu… is dead?"
A young Marine muttered the words with a violently trembling voice, tears already entering his tone.
The hero he had once admired had collapsed before his eyes.
The belief that had always supported him crumbled along with it, leaving only fear and helplessness behind.
"That's impossible… It was one slash! Just one damned slash!"
A weathered veteran stared with wide eyes, shock, terror, and incomprehensible confusion mingling within them.
He raised a scarred, calloused hand and pointed toward Ron, who remained suspended in the distance.
His fingers shook so violently that he could no longer control them, every trembling joint revealing the turmoil raging inside him.
"He was a Logia user! He could transform his body into his element and possessed nearly invincible defenses!
"How could he fail to withstand even a single attack?!"
The veteran's hoarse voice echoed through the silent air, sounding more like a cry of despair than a question.
Panic spread through the entire fleet like a devastating plague.
The soldiers crowded toward the railings like a startled swarm, stretching their necks and staring at the terrifying scene in the distance.
Horror and disbelief covered every face.
The determination they had possessed only moments earlier had vanished without a trace.
...