One Piece: With Sign-in System Chapter 324 - 25 – What Does It Mean to Be Powerful?

To unleash a slash like that—aside from the mysterious Swordmaster who had once briefly appeared in J City and cleaved the Deep Sea King in a single stroke—there could be no other.

The mont Tatsumaki laid eyes on that figure, she was certain.

That guy was the Swordmaster!

lzargard, too, sensed the imnse danger radiating from that man the very instant he appeared. Charged with defending the mothership, the alien made a quick decision—abandon Bang and the others, whose threat to the mothership was negligible, and unleash all five of its clones to attack the new arrival at full force.

Watching those five clones streak toward the figure like cots, tal Bat couldn’t help but shout, "Don’t even think about running!"

But he was too slow to catch up.

Among the S-Class heroes present, only Bang and Atomic Samurai had the speed to match the clones.

They split up, each targeting one clone, racing toward Ron.

And just as the five clones of lzargard, along with Bang and Atomic Samurai, entered within a hundred ters of Ron—

The man in the baseball cap slowly lifted his head.

From beneath the brim, his calm, ocean-blue eyes glead with a flash of gold.

Then—BOOM.

A tidal wave of Conqueror’s Haki, overwhelming and unmatched, burst forth from him.

The sky and earth changed color.

lzargard’s eyes went wide in horror.

Bang, Atomic Samurai, tal Bat—and all the other S-Class heroes—felt it in the pit of their chests. The mont they were struck by that suffocating wave of Haki, their faces twisted in shock.

"What... what a terrifying aura!"

Even Tatsumaki’s small face went pale.

"No... this is bad..."

The less ntally resilient heroes—like Child Emperor—were struck so hard by the Haki that their consciousness nearly blacked out.

The oppressive pressure of Ron’s Conqueror’s Haki made even the air feel dense, suffocating. So heroes couldn’t even stand—A-Class hero Iaian, for example, collapsed on all fours, completely pinned down.

"Impossible!!"

The five clones, now hunched over and immobilized under the pressure, let out a desperate roar.

"Even that one didn’t have such a terrifying presence! How could you—"

Ron gave him a glance.

"Die."

Word Technique—activated.

Combined with Conqueror’s Haki.

His words carried law. Carried power.

The five regeneration cores inside lzargard’s body were crushed instantly by an invisible force infused with Haki. In the stunned eyes of Bang and the others, the creature’s supposedly immortal body disintegrated into ash.

All because one man had said, "Die."

To kill an immortal monster with just a single word—what level of power was that?

A god?

Even Genos was utterly shaken.

He had always known Ron was powerful—but this? This was far beyond anything he had imagined.

Ron looked up toward the alien mothership.

As if through its hull, he could see Boros seated deep within—on his throne.

Boros was staring back at him.

Star-busting power, huh...

Ron couldn’t help but wonder—between the two of them, who was stronger now?

His eyes glinted with interest.

He raised his right hand, crimson sword light condensing within his grip, and slashed toward the sky.

"Ittō-Ryū – Climb the Tower."

His blade struck directly at Boros’ location.

A challenge.

Boros’s eyes lit up with excitent. Rising from his throne, he threw a punch forward.

A shockwave burst forth, obliterating the air in front of it and turning into a massive air cannon the width of a house—hurtling toward the incoming slash.

When the punch t the sword—

An explosion of clashing energies erupted, producing a wave of power even stronger than either individual attack.

The ground for a full kiloter radius caved in.

Shockwaves ripped outward like tidal waves, leveling everything in their path. Bang and Atomic Samurai were both sent flying.

Hundreds of massive bolts of energy lightning rained down from the sky, smashing into the already ruined battlefield and carving deep craters into the earth.

Only now did the other S-Class heroes react.

"Watch out! Protect Headquarters!"

Genos launched a burning cannon blast, blasting away a giant flying chunk of debris.

Superalloy Darkshine leapt into the air, using his body to block a falling lightning bolt. It smashed him into the ground, but he held firm.

tal Knight, Drive Knight, Pig God—all stepped in to shield the Hero Association.

As for King?

He had long since frozen in fear, trembling in a corner.

Up above, the alien mothership shook violently from the impact of the attacks. Then, ominous lights lit up across its entire fra.

Tatsumaki, protected by a green energy shield, narrowed her eyes. Danger was building. She turned her gaze toward the mothership.

And then—

Countless massive shells launched from the alien ship.

The very strike that would destroy City A.

Tatsumaki raised both arms. Her body radiated a fierce green glow, her eyes blazing.

Her psychic power surged.

Thousands of cannon shells suddenly froze mid-air.

Inside the mothership—

The three top officers of the Dark Matter Thieves, wore an expression of disbelief.

"They... stopped?!"

Tatsumaki pointed upward with a single finger.

The shells reversed course and flew straight back at the mothership.

"Here, you can have these back."

BOOM—

The shells exploded on impact, ravaging the mothership. Unable to withstand the internal chaos, the gigantic ship began plumting to the earth.

In one of the gaping holes, Boros stood, peering down at the battlefield. He raised his hand, energy gathering in his palm.

ZING—

A beam of concentrated energy tore through the air, aid directly at Tatsumaki.

Every hair on her body stood on end—she didn’t even have ti to react.

The beam was already behind her.

There was no dodging it.

And then—a figure suddenly appeared at her side.

He placed a hand on her shoulder.

And vanished with her in an instant.

BOOM—

The energy beam struck the ground.

The earth shook violently.

When the dust cleared, there was a massive crater—hundreds of ters across and impossibly deep.

All the S-Class heroes looked on, chills running down their spines.

What kind of destructive power was that?!

This... this was what Mada Shibabawa had warned about in her final prophecy.

A threat powerful enough to destroy the world.

How were they supposed to defeat sothing like that?

Back on the ravaged battlefield—

Tatsumaki sat on the ground, stunned, staring up at Ron.

He glanced at her and said, "Guess you owe one now. Keep my identity to yourself."

With that, light flared in his Tenseigan.

And he vanished.

Tatsumaki sat there, dazed and speechless.

"...What the hell is with that guy..."