The pirates had repeatedly crossed the line with the Uchiha and the others. This time, the pressure they applied was serious.
If Kenma hadn't stopped them in time, all the souls present, except for the three he had personally acknowledged, would have been crushed to death by their spiritual pressure.
The gap between a Shinigami and an ordinary soul was unimaginably large.
Whitebeard panted heavily.
He could naturally feel the goodwill of this Lord Enma before him. Otherwise, he was afraid he would never see these sons of his again.
And for the future of these sons, he didn't mind lowering his head.
"Hah, hah, I'm sorry. My sons were rude just now. I apologize on their behalf."
"And thank you for stopping them in time."
Kenma said, "Whitebeard, you should know who I'm doing this for, right?"
'Who else could it be for?'
'Wasn't it for him, Whitebeard, and Ace and Oz Jr.?'
The spiritual pressure applied to Whitebeard was not strong, far from the weight on these pirates. He quickly recovered after a few breaths.
"So you mean... you only plan to take the three of us, and as for these other people who died, both pirates and marines, you will ignore them."
"That's right," Kenma nodded.
After receiving confirmation, Whitebeard scanned his surroundings, taking in the familiar faces of his sons one by one.
Suddenly, his heart stirred. He noticed something strange in the other's words.
'If the targets are only the three of them, why bring all these other dead souls over for a meeting?'
'The few red-eyed Shinigami present were more than enough to suppress the entire group of souls.'
'But he had agreed to let the souls come over before...'
Whitebeard was not as simple-minded as his sons. On the contrary, he was very intelligent.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to match wits with the wise general Sengoku for so many years.
With just a moment's thought, he saw through the other's intentions.
It was a threat!
"Enma, to be frank, you plan to use my sons to threaten me, to force me to agree to your demands, right?"
"Whitebeard, some things are better left unsaid. If you say them out loud, it will make me feel awkward."
Kenma's face was expressionless, but there was not the slightest hint of embarrassment.
However, he did not deny Whitebeard's guess.
"You all are too free and undisciplined. This is just a measure to ensure my success."
He had never hidden his purpose and thoughts.
If there was a surprise, it was that he had not expected that the restraining measures he had hidden would be seen through so easily by Whitebeard.
He had thought it would take a little longer.
'This insight, as expected of Whitebeard.'
Although saying it so bluntly had somewhat disrupted Kenma's initial expectations, seeing Whitebeard so outstanding, Kenma's desire to have him became even more resolute.
But it wasn't difficult to get Whitebeard and the others to the Soul Society.
The difficult part was making Whitebeard willingly serve him.
He had no such strange fetish, and he didn't want his subordinates to resent him and be waiting for an opportunity to assassinate him.
'Yes, I'm talking about you, Aizen.'
Hearing Kenma's words, Whitebeard's eyes flickered, and he completely understood.
From the current situation, he was truly caught by the throat.
But the conversation between Whitebeard and Kenma set off a wave of noisy clamor among the pirates, who began to discuss animatedly.
Most of them couldn't understand the deeper meaning. They only heard from their Pops that they were being threatened, and a strong sense of dissatisfaction immediately erupted.
"To use us to threaten Pops, that's just too... whatever!"
"Although we don't know how they're threatening Pops, you don't have to worry about us, Pops. Just do what you think is right."
"Pops has shown us great kindness. We can't be a burden that holds him back."
"The world of pirates also values righteousness. Isn't that what you taught us, Pops? Now is the time for us to repay you."
This group of pirates, having been taught a lesson a few times by the Uchiha's spiritual pressure, had at least learned some restraint and did not speak so rudely.
Seeing the discussion on the field heating up, a sudden, sharp shout stopped the increasingly intense atmosphere.
"All of you, shut up for a moment!"
All the souls heard this familiar voice and turned in unison to look in that direction.
It was Ace.
At this moment, the tear stains on Ace's face had dried, and a trace of determination remained in his eyes.
Seeing Whitebeard and his comrades looking over, he said nothing, but his eyes were as firm as iron. He had clearly already made his decision.
"Ace, what are you trying to do..."
Whitebeard looked at Ace, a variety of feelings welling up in his heart, but he did not continue to stop him, and his voice gradually quieted.
Ace didn't answer Whitebeard, only gritting his teeth and taking a step forward.
This action naturally attracted Kenma's attention.
"Ace, it seems you've made up your mind?"
Ace asked, gritting his teeth, "King Enma, if you were to take all the souls present to this Soul Society you speak of, it shouldn't take too much effort, right?"
Seeing that the fish had finally taken the bait, Kenma was satisfied. His face showed no expression, but he just nodded and said softly, "That's right. It would be a piece of cake for me."
"If that's the case, then take them to the Soul Society too. In exchange, I will be your subordinate from now on and serve you loyally," Ace's expression became even more resolute.
It was because of him that his comrades had lost their lives.
If he didn't do something, he couldn't forgive himself.
What's more, to watch his comrades be ruthlessly abandoned, he couldn't do it no matter what.
At this moment, it was his chance to atone for his sins.
"Ace..."
Whitebeard was silent.
He knew very well what was in Ace's heart. In fact, he empathized with Ace's guilt and self-blame.
These sons who had died with him had, in the end, also died because of his decision.
Since they had died because of him, then he also had the responsibility to save them.
Shisui, who was guarding behind Kenma, looked at this young pirate named Ace and felt a sense of familiarity and recognition in his heart.
Back then, he had also pleaded with Lord Kenma in the same way. Fortunately, in the end, he had agreed, which was why the Uchiha had a relatively good outcome now.
Now that the scene was repeating itself, he thought that Lord Kenma would surely agree as well.
With this in mind, his gaze fell on Kenma in front of him, a look of gratitude and understanding in his eyes.
Seeing that things were finally on the right track, Kenma didn't pay any attention to Ace. His gaze instead fell on Whitebeard.
In the end, Whitebeard was the key.
"And you, Whitebeard?"
"After all, the pirate Whitebeard would never abandon his comrades."
Whitebeard sighed. He knew that he and his men had always been fish on the other's chopping block.
And as the stronger party, for the other to have such a polite attitude was already quite difficult.
The goodwill shown upon meeting was enough to show his respect for him.
"I can agree to your request and submit to you, but I also have a condition."
Whitebeard knew that his request at this moment was a bit presumptuous.
But for the sake of his sons, he had to put aside his pride.
"Speak!"
"I hope that after you take them to the Soul Society, you will not make things difficult for them. In any case, they are just small fries to you. Just let them be free."
Whitebeard's expression was incredibly solemn.
"As long as you agree to this request, I, Edward Newgate, will follow you from now on and will never betray you."
Hearing Whitebeard's resonant words, Kenma looked at the motley crew of pirates, stroked his chin, and after some thought, finally made a decision.
"Whitebeard, I can agree, but I also have conditions."
Hearing Kenma agree, a look of joy appeared on Whitebeard's face. "What conditions?"
Kenma held up two fingers.
"First, letting them be free is not a problem, but I will no longer be responsible for their food, clothing, and other needs."
"Second, after I take you there, I will have someone check your aptitude. If there are any with aptitude, I will still sign a contract with them and make them my subordinates."
"No problem with that, right?"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]