One Piece: With Sign-in System

Ron held his composure as Momonga looked at him with a complex expression and said, "Your talent and aptitude are more than adequate. You've even grasped the essence of sword intent. You're just missing the spirit needed to step into the realm of a Swordmaster."

"I was purposefully suppressing your emotions, letting them accumulate until they erupted. My goal was to let you feel firsthand what it means to be a Swordmaster and to grasp the Iron-Cutting Realm through that slash."

Momonga looked at Ron with a mixture of awe and surprise. "I didn't expect you to master it so quickly."

"Does this mean I've already reached the realm of a Swordmaster?"

Momonga shook his head. "Not so fast."

"The feeling only lasted a fleeting moment. You just touched the Iron-Cutting Realm temporarily. To truly…" He trailed off.

Just then, a slash passed right before him.

The cigarette hanging from his mouth split in two and fell, while a ten-meter-long crack formed in the ground in front of him.

"Like this?"

"...!"

Momonga's mouth dropped open, and his jaw almost hit the floor.

"Impossible!" Chaton, witnessing the scene, was wide-eyed, nearly popping out in disbelief.

Gion and Strawberry, though having seen it once, were still stunned beyond words.

"That kid...he's truly entered the realm of a Swordmaster."

Momonga was now entirely flabbergasted as he stared at Ron, his voice trembling.

"How… how did you do that?"

"Just like you said: remember that intense feeling, release it all in a single burst, and let it out through a slash." Ron tilted his head at him.

"No, that's impossible! The emotional outburst I suppressed for two months has already been unleashed. How could you summon it again?" Momonga was incredulous.

At his words, Ron grinned at him.

"If it's anger we're talking about, I can conjure as much as I want—especially whenever I see your face and that hairstyle of yours, Momonga! Just seeing you makes me… furious!"

Momonga's eyes widened slowly as he listened.

Under the dim moonlight, Ron stood there holding Raikiri, head tilted slightly, eyes glowing red, exuding a dark, crimson aura.

He grinned at Momonga.

"We've still got time. Let's practice a few more rounds, Momonga."

Seeing Ron's red-tinged eyes and his oddly unsettling smile sent a chill down Momonga's spine, leaving him goosebumps all over.

Could it be… his relentless two-month suppression had created some kind of monster?!

In a flash, Ron's form blurred as he appeared in front of Momonga, swinging his blade.

Though simple, the slash was crisp and decisive, devoid of any excess movement.

After all, over the past two months, Ron had practiced this basic slash no fewer than 100,000 times.

He'd realized something.

This simplest, most open slash allowed him to release his full aura and strength in one strike.

Reliance on elaborate sword techniques only steered him further from the core of swordsmanship, leading him down a path of superficiality.

Momonga's guidance over these past two months had realigned him, pointing him back to the true path of a Swordmaster.

Although Ron understood that Momonga had done him a great favor, he wasn't planning to let it go.

At the very least, he intended to make Momonga fall a few times too!

"Die!"

Raikiri cut a clean arc, a perfect slash that descended onto Momonga's raised blade.

Clang!

A crisp sound resonated from the clash of their blades.

The force of their clashing sword auras created a fierce wind that spread outward, scattering the dust on the ground.

Watching the two figures continuously flicker, exchanging blows on Dock No. 4, Chaton stood stunned, mouth agape.

"Am… I dreaming? That kid is keeping up with Momonga blow for blow?!"

Strawberry scratched his head with a wry smile.

"This is… truly astonishing."

The shock began to subside, and Gion's alluring eyes were fixed on Ron, who was darting around, recklessly attacking Momonga without any concern for defense, unleashing a storm of strikes.

As she saw Momonga becoming increasingly disheveled, forced on the defensive, Gion couldn't help but smile.

"Ron… what a surprising kid."

The duel continued for around ten minutes before Momonga seized an opportunity to use Shave and left, leaving only one parting remark.

"I have nothing more to teach you. Starting tomorrow, you don't need to come anymore."

"Huff, huff…"

Ron, with Raikiri in his right hand, lay spread on the battered ground of Dock No. 4, his small face alight with a satisfied grin.

"Hahaha."

"Finally managed to land a hit on that guy."

On the other side…

"Momonga, your hair… hahaha!" Chaton couldn't help but laugh when he saw that half of Momonga's mohawk had been cut off.