"Connect, Kiritsugu."
As the release command for the Zanpakuto was spoken, a clear light shone from the blade, transforming into countless threads that connected to the chests of the many souls.
With the connection established and the contract made, Kenma breathed a sigh of relief.
The souls he had contracted with, those whose bodies were dissipating, had stopped losing Reishi particles and were no longer fading away.
Moreover, some of the souls, with every breath they took, absorbed the Reishi in the air, and their previously transparent bodies gradually became more solid.
"I'm... alright!"
"It's true! That panicked feeling is finally gone."
"King Enma's kindness is immense. I can never repay it. From now on, my life is yours!"
"Pops, Ace, and Great Boss Kenma, thank you!"
After the souls realized they were alright, a wave of voices immediately rang out on the field.
The sounds of gratitude were endless.
Whitebeard, Ace, and the others looked at their comrades, who were gradually becoming boisterous, a gentle smile on their faces.
Then they looked at Kenma, their expressions sincere and moved.
"Boss Kenma, I am eternally grateful for you setting aside our previous disagreements and saving my sons."
Ace echoed his agreement at the side.
Seeing that Whitebeard and the others had been completely won over by his actions, Kenma also felt a sense of satisfaction.
This was what he wanted.
As he spoke, Whitebeard's expression gradually darkened.
"But Ace and I, although we have received such great kindness from you, we cannot become Shinigami. This matter... I'm truly sorry."
"It's nothing. To have gained your assistance on this trip is no small harvest for me."
Kenma waved his hand. Although his face was serious, his expression was not as downcast as Whitebeard had expected.
He asked with curiosity, "Boss Kenma, although it's very kind of you to think that way... from your appearance, you don't seem to care that much."
"Hmm, a little," Kenma said. "It would be best for me if you could become Shinigami. Even if you can't, I'm not that disappointed. It's still within an acceptable range."
"Hmm?"
Faced with Whitebeard's confusion, Kenma said, "I have other ways to strengthen your combat power, and even allow you to perfectly utilize the abilities of your Devil Fruits."
"What is it?" Ace asked with great interest.
Whitebeard, however, had a thoughtful look on his face. He looked at the thick eyebrows on Kenma's face and said slowly, "It's... the contract, isn't it?"
"That's right." Kenma didn't beat around the bush and admitted it directly. "After you connect with me, your fate is one with mine. I can obtain a portion of your abilities, and you can naturally obtain mine as well."
"For example, spiritual pressure."
Of course, the initiative in this matter was in Kenma's hands.
If Kenma disagreed, the contractor below him absolutely could not.
But if the contractor disagreed, Kenma could forcibly take it.
"Spiritual pressure is the power one has after becoming a Shinigami."
"It's easiest to understand if I demonstrate it for you."
"Ace, catch."
Kenma's call made Ace pause for a moment. He didn't see Kenma throw anything at him.
Then, Ace felt a magnificent will descend upon him.
'It's Kenma!'
Recalling Kenma's words, he nodded repeatedly in his heart.
In that instant, the will left, and an incredibly vast power, from an unknown source, welled up within his body.
It was endless and inexhaustible.
"This, this is..."
An incredibly powerful presence erupted from Ace, directly making it difficult for the surrounding souls to breathe.
Feeling this very familiar pressure, Whitebeard's eyes couldn't help but widen.
"The aura of a Shinigami!"
This pressure that seeped deep into the soul was exactly the same as the oppressive feeling that Fugaku and the others had released before.
"Ace, withdraw your spiritual pressure. If you keep releasing it, your comrades around you will start to dissipate again."
Kenma's words made Ace pause again, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"Great Boss, I don't know how to control it."
Hearing this, Kenma also realized.
'That's right. Spiritual pressure is indeed a foreign concept to Ace. It's normal that he can't control it.'
Kenma withdrew all the spiritual pressure he had projected, and the powerful aura disappeared from Ace.
The surrounding souls also couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
This pressure was truly too uncomfortable.
Kenma said, "Ace, spiritual pressure is the energy of a Shinigami, which supports them in battle. In the future, you will have to practice more to control it perfectly."
Ace nodded solemnly. "I will definitely become stronger."
Just like in this war, it was because of his weakness that he was captured by Blackbeard and handed over to the navy, which in turn led to this great war, and even implicated his Pops and all his comrades.
If he had been stronger then, the outcome would have been completely different.
"Newgate, you too."
Kenma naturally supported these people's training.
In the future, as Kenma contracted with more and more Shinigami, the spiritual pressure feedback he received would also increase, and one day it would reach its peak.
And the contractors would continue to provide a steady stream of spiritual pressure feedback.
It would be better to cultivate some individuals who could store spiritual pressure now. Entrusting it to them would not only effectively avoid waste, but also increase the combat power under his command, killing two birds with one stone.
At this thought, a strange feeling arose in Kenma's heart.
'Why does my ability feel more and more like Yhwach's?'
'To be able to both grant power and take it back at will, it's very similar...'
'If this continues, even Yhwach would have to call himself Little Kenma.'
"Newgate, Ace, there is one thing you must know. I can grant you power, and I can also take your abilities back."
"Like, this!"
As Kenma spoke, a will descended into the hearts of Whitebeard and Ace, making them feel an inexplicable sense of terror and intimacy.
They knew very well that this will came from the Kenma before them.
At the question posed by this will, the two of them nodded in their hearts.
As his voice fell, Kenma raised his hands and clenched his right fist.
Boom~
Scorching flames burned on it, a wave of heat washing over them. The firelight illuminated Kenma's expressionless face.
"That's... the ability of the Flame-Flame Fruit!"
Ace's eyes widened. He looked in disbelief at Kenma's burning right hand.
He subconsciously wanted to use his ability, but was surprised to find that he couldn't use his fruit's ability at all at this moment.
Seeing the expression on Ace's face, Kenma didn't need to ask to know.
"When I am using the ability, you cannot use it."
He paused and said to Shisui at his side, "Shisui, cut me with your sword."
"Huh?" Shisui was taken aback.
"Cut me!"
Kenma repeated, and Shisui immediately understood.
He then drew his own Zanpakuto and swung it fiercely at Kenma's neck.
A head flew into the air, but it did not fall. Instead, flames ignited below it, and it hovered in the air.
It was Kenma's head.
Setsuna and the others at the side were shocked, but Fugaku, beside them, was extremely calm and reassured the elder.
Having seen the world with Kenma, how could he not know what was happening?
"The unique ability of a Logia-type Devil Fruit, elementalization!"
Kenma's head hovered in the air for a while, then turned into a flame and landed on the normally standing, headless body on the ground.
The flame fell and eventually revealed Kenma's original appearance.
"So this is elementalization. It feels rather strange."
Especially at the moment when his head was separated from his body, he could watch his headless body on one side while still normally controlling it, and the sensations from his body were the same as usual.
Such a wondrous experience, an ordinary person could only experience it once.
"And not only that!"
In the shocked gazes of the crowd, while Kenma's right hand was burning with flames, his other left hand also clenched into a fist.
A white, transparent sphere appeared on his left hand!
The ability of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]