"Oh my… looks like I really do have to step in."
Gin Ichimaru kept his eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable as ever. No one could tell what he was thinking.
"Who exactly are you?"
The Dark King, Rayleigh, stared at Gin with cold vigilance in his eyes.
He had noticed him the moment he came down from the upper floor.
Compared to Ren Kuro's straightforwardness—
Gin's smile was far more unsettling.
"Gin Ichimaru." Gin smiled with his usual fox-like expression, both hands tucked into his pockets. "And yes… I'm a Shinigami too."
"Shinigami…"
Rayleigh's voice turned colder.
"That's just a title, isn't it? What are your real identities?"
"Sorry." Gin's smile didn't change in the slightest. "No comment."
The smile looked harmless—
but beneath it lurked something dangerous.
Something sharp enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
"So you won't answer?"
Rayleigh's brows drew together.
The longer he looked at Gin, the stronger that sense of danger became.
His instincts screamed at him—
this man was more dangerous than anyone he had ever met.
Rayleigh drew his sword.
The moment the blade rose, an overwhelming aura burst from his body and filled the entire bar.
It was difficult to describe.
No movement.
No technique.
No need for words.
The pressure alone became something tangible, a force that struck directly at the soul.
Conqueror's Haki.
"Oh my, that's quite the overwhelming presence."
Standing right in front of it, Gin still wore that strange fox-like smile.
"You really are different, old man."
Rayleigh's pupils contracted sharply.
He was still smiling?
In this world of the seas, all humans possessed a hidden power that lay dormant within them. It was an ability as natural as instinct itself—something akin to presence, pressure, or sheer force of will.
But most people never awakened it.
Some never touched it even once in their entire lives.
That power—
was Haki.
And in the latter half of the Grand Line, in the New World, Haki was often even more important than Devil Fruit abilities.
Anyone who could stand in front of Conqueror's Haki and still smile—
was no ordinary opponent.
Gin slowly slipped one arm from his sleeve and rested his hand on the hilt of his Zanpakutō.
He smiled, almost wickedly.
"So, old man… do you have any other tricks?"
"If not…"
"I'm going to make my move."
"…This is bad."
At that moment, Rayleigh finally understood—
his instincts had been right all along.
Gin Ichimaru was a monster.
A terrifyingly powerful one.
After weighing things for an instant, Rayleigh decided not to wait any longer.
He attacked first.
Whoosh—
Despite his full head of white hair, Rayleigh's figure vanished in an instant.
"Fast, sure… but the power behind it is lacking."
Gin seemed to have already locked onto Rayleigh's movement.
Only when Rayleigh closed the distance did Gin calmly draw the blade at his waist.
Clang—!
The two swords collided, ringing out with a sharp metallic cry.
And that single exchange immediately revealed the difference between them.
Rayleigh had both hands on his hilt.
He was clearly going all out.
But Gin looked effortless.
He blocked Rayleigh's strike with casual ease, as though none of it required real effort.
"Getting impatient like that leaves you full of openings, you know…"
Gin suddenly reversed his grip and slashed.
The movement was so fast that even Rayleigh failed to react in time.
A streak of pale light flashed past—
and a cut appeared on Rayleigh's right shoulder.
The wound was shallow.
But only because Gin had held back.
He wasn't trying to kill Rayleigh.
Not yet.
He was testing him.
From that clash, Gin had already sensed more than just the Conqueror's Haki from before.
There was another force coating Rayleigh's otherwise ordinary sword.
Armament Haki.
A power that strengthened both offense and defense—
like invisible armor.
It could be used to reinforce attacks, contend with Devil Fruit users, and even strike the true bodies of Logia users.
It was known as the one reliable means of countering Logia abilities.
That was the power Gin had felt.
Armament Haki.
"How interesting."
Gin smiled faintly.
"Looks like this world isn't quite as simple as I thought."
There was something deeply unsettling about him.
At times he seemed like a cunning fox.
At others, like a cold venomous snake lurking in the shadows.
And the most frightening part was this—
you never knew when that snake would strike.
"How is that possible…?"
Rayleigh's heart trembled.
As a swordsman, he understood better than anyone what that last exchange meant.
He hadn't even been able to see Gin's blade clearly when it moved.
"…His swordsmanship is above mine."
Rayleigh reached that conclusion almost instantly.
"Rayleigh actually got hurt?!"
Shakky cried out in disbelief.
Who was Rayleigh?
The right hand of the Pirate King.
A legendary figure who had once stood at the summit of the world.
Even in this era, there were only a handful of people who could truly defeat him.
And yet the duel had barely begun—
and Rayleigh was already injured.
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Shakky never would have believed it.
"Oh my, old man… you seem distracted."
Gin still wore that same smiling face.
His words sounded almost modest—
but there was no fear in his eyes.
Only amusement.
It was obvious now.
Gin Ichimaru had never truly regarded Rayleigh as an equal threat.
"This man is impossible to read…"
Rayleigh's gaze flickered.
"When I cross blades with someone, I can usually sense something from their eyes. I may not be able to see through all their thoughts, but I can at least tell what kind of intent they carry when they swing a sword."
He paused.
Then his voice sank lower.
"But I have to admit…"
"I can't read you at all."
For one of the greatest powers of this era—
this was the first time Rayleigh had felt fear born from the unknown.
Gin Ichimaru's strength had truly made him wary.