Mortals… how could they ever hope to gaze upon a god?
That was the only thought left in the minds of the two trembling villagers.
In their eyes—
Ryukawa was no longer human.
Scarlet sword aura coiled around his body, bathing him in a blinding halo of crimson light.
The suffocating pressure rolling off him bore down on their bodies like a divine decree.
At this moment—
If someone were to tell them that Ryukawa was a god who descended to the mortal realm…
They would believe it without hesitation.
As for every doubt they had earlier?
Gone.
Completely erased.
Before such overwhelming power—
Doubts had no place to exist.
A swordsman like this?
Forget killing a bandit troupe—
Sweeping the entire island clean would be child's play.
"We… we're saved! We're really saved!"
Tears welled up in the villagers' eyes as they stared worshipfully at Ryukawa's back.
He was their hope.
Their salvation.
"Senior Brother's swordsmanship… must already be on an unimaginable level."
Zoro whispered hoarsely.
He had always believed—
As long as he worked hard enough, he could surpass any genius.
He believed all talents could be overcome with effort.
But then…
He met Ryukawa.
And when he saw that terrifying wave of sword aura—
He finally understood just how vast the gulf between them truly was.
Externalized sword aura.
That was the dividing line.
A true swordsman—one who had stepped into the realm of masters—could release their sword aura outward, severing everything in their path.
Zoro couldn't do it.
Kuina couldn't do it.
But Ryukawa—
Ryukawa did it effortlessly.
And now…
It looked like he intended to cut down a mountain.
A mountain.
How could a person even think of that?
The very notion shattered the fragile worldview inside Zoro and Kuina's young hearts.
They tried picturing themselves doing the same.
Could they split a mountain?
The answer was obvious—
Impossible.
They couldn't even use a wooden sword to cut steel yet.
Never mind—
Using a wooden sword to split a mountain.
"Is something like this even humanly possible…?"
Zoro and Kuina looked forward, breath held.
Could Senior Brother really do it?
They didn't know.
But the answer would come soon enough.
There, before their widened eyes—
Ryukawa stood motionless, shrouded in crimson sword aura, his figure radiating an almost divine brilliance.
At this moment—
They could only look up at him.
And then—
The sword aura surged.
The crimson slash tore free from Ryukawa's wooden sword.
The terrifying blast cut through the sky, ripping apart the air itself as it shot forward like a roaring demon.
It struck the mountainside—
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
A deafening explosion tore through the valley.
It felt as if a meteor had collided with the earth.
The entire region trembled violently—
Soil cracked under their feet, stones jumped off the ground, the world shaking with a primal fury.
The bandits' mountain hideout…
Shuddered under the force of Ryukawa's attack.
RUMBLE!!
The enormous mountain quivered—
Stones broke loose and plummeted like torrential rain.
Some rocks shattered into dust mid-air.
The ground beneath them roared.
Zoro, Kuina, and the villagers felt their ears ringing violently—
Their minds blanked out from the shockwave.
CRACK—
A sharp sound echoed.
They snapped their gazes up toward the mountainside—
And their hearts stopped.
From the center of the towering mountain—
A massive, jagged crack had appeared.
Five meters long.
Dozens of centimeters wide.
But most astonishing of all—
It cut all the way through the mountain.
Through it, they could see sunlight and the scenery on the other side.
The mountain…
Had been split open.
Who could imagine such a thing?
Who would dare berryeve it?
Yet it was real—
One sword aura.
One slash.
And the mountain had been cleaved.
Silence.
The world fell utterly still.
Zoro and Kuina recovered from their shock only to stare blankly, mouths open, minds empty.
"It… it pierced through…"
"Senior Brother… really did it…"
"H-he split a mountain with one sword…"
Kuina's lips trembled.
Her young heart took a devastating blow.
Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine this was possible.
If she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes—
She would call it madness.
But it was real.
A mountain…
Split in half.
Zoro's face was pale.
"The power of a swordsman… can reach this level…?"
He couldn't believe it.
He didn't want to believe it.
But the truth was before him.
His Senior Brother—
The man who had toyed with him during their duel—
Had just displayed a strike capable of shaking heaven and earth.
This one feat alone…
Was enough to shatter the worldview the two had only just begun to form.
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