"Take a look at your Zanpakuto release?"
Yoruichi's eyes narrowed slightly. Her peripheral vision swept over the sword at Kenma's side, and a bad feeling rose in her heart.
A Zanpakuto was a Shinigami's greatest trump card. Their abilities were often strange and unpredictable, impossible to guard against.
And the power released by a sword could turn the tide of a battle, its importance undeniable.
Now, for Kenma to suddenly say he wanted Suì-Fēng and Kisuke to see his Zanpakuto, such an action truly alarmed Yoruichi.
Her gaze swept over Kenma's face, trying to glean some information from it.
But there was nothing to be seen on Kenma's calm face.
"What evil scheme are you plotting now?"
It was useless to keep guessing. Yoruichi simply asked.
"Speaking of which, I still don't know what your Zanpakuto's ability is."
"Could it be the kind that can control a person's mind just by looking at it? After you control Suì-Fēng and Kisuke, are you going to do... things to them?"
A variety of complex emotions flashed across Yoruichi's face, a colorful and wonderful sight.
Seeing this, Kenma's face couldn't help but darken.
"Yoruichi, be serious. I'm not as bad as you think."
"And not everyone is as lewd and filthy as you. Please don't insult my character with your thoughts."
Hearing this, Yoruichi immediately became agitated. "What do you mean, lewd? And filthy? Is it appropriate for you to use such words to describe a delicate girl like me?"
"You and your character! What character do you have? Even if you did, it's probably been blackened by that black heart of yours long ago."
Kenma pursed his lips, at a loss for how to retort.
'A delicate girl?'
'Yoruichi, do you even hear what you're saying?'
'With the way you were just acting, what's wrong with calling you lewd and filthy?'
'Never mind delicate, what part of you is like a girl?'
In all his life, Kenma had never met such a thick-skinned person.
Yoruichi seemed to sense Kenma's thoughts and immediately slammed the table. "You're definitely slandering me in your mind! My feeling is never wrong."
"I am not," Kenma shook his head decisively.
"Stubborn."
Yoruichi didn't dwell on this trivial matter and once again asked the most crucial question.
"You insist on them seeing your Zanpakuto. What is its ability? Tell me so I can consider it."
She then added, "As your captain, I order you not to lie, fabricate, or conceal any information."
"It's no matter to tell you."
Kenma picked up the Zanpakuto beside him, slowly drew it, and held it horizontally in front of him.
The mirror-like, clear blade reflected Kenma's long, narrow phoenix eyes.
With a narrowing of his eyes, a grim, cold light glinted off the blade, enough to send a chill down one's spine.
"My Zanpakuto has two abilities: one is severance, the other is connection."
"Severance can cut through anything in the three thousand worlds; connection can link all things in a shared fate."
"What I want Urahara Kisuke and Hachi Shōryō to see is the power of connection. I want to form a link with them, so that from then on, we will share the same life and death, and they will be unable to harm me."
That's right, this was Kenma's most important intention.
To form a contract with Urahara Kisuke and Suì-Fēng.
These two were destined to be captain-level powerhouses in the future.
If Kenma could contract with them, it would be a significant boost to his own strength.
Especially Urahara Kisuke, whose scientific research abilities were unparalleled in the Seireitei.
Even the two great bosses, Aizen and Yhwach, acknowledged his abilities and were even wary of them.
It would be a great pity to kill such an outstanding individual. But if he let him go, Kenma would be even more uneasy.
It was better to make him his own.
Once the connection was made, these two would be no different from his slaves.
If they had any rebellious thoughts, Kenma could crush them with a single thought.
Keeping Urahara Kisuke under his own watch would also put Kenma more at ease, so that he wouldn't be backstabbed by him one day without even knowing it.
Moreover, after contracting with these two, they would become Kenma's tools to coerce Yoruichi in the future.
Killing several birds with one stone.
"Sharing the same life and death after connection?"
Yoruichi's face changed drastically. She stood up directly, pointing a trembling finger at Kenma.
"And you still say you have no evil intentions?"
"Once you are connected to them, won't you just be adding numerous restrictions on them for no reason? If you have any bad thoughts, they'll be completely finished."
"To put it more seriously, once they agree to the connection, they'll be no different from your slaves!"
Hearing this, Kenma frowned, as if displeased.
"Yoruichi, I've already said, it is your own mind that is dark, which is why you think so poorly of me. I am not as filthy as you think."
"After the connection, I can sense their condition, and they can naturally sense mine. Both sides are equal."
'It's just that, as the master of the Zanpakuto, he was more equal.'
But there was no need to go into detail about such a trivial matter.
"Really?"
Yoruichi was half-convinced.
"You're not lying to me? Do you dare to swear an oath?"
"Sigh, to think that in your heart, I am so despicable."
Kenma sighed, a hint of aggrieved helplessness on his calm face.
"I never lie. What's more, you and I are husband and wife. Naturally, I must be honest with you. I would never deceive you."
"To make you believe, it's no matter to swear an oath."
Seeing the expression on Kenma's face, Yoruichi's heart softened a little.
Hearing the sincerity in his words made Yoruichi feel even more self-reproachful.
'Could it be... that I really misunderstood him?'
Although her heart wavered, Yoruichi still didn't show it.
To ensure the safety of Suì-Fēng and Kisuke, she had to force herself to be ruthless.
She quietly waited for Kenma to make his oath.
"I swear to the heavens that what I have just said is not a lie, nor will I ever deceive Yoruichi. If I break this oath, may I explode and die, my body turning into a pile of minced meat on the spot."
Kenma's expression was incredibly sincere.
Seeing this, Yoruichi also breathed a sigh of relief.
Oaths were a matter of opinion. Some people valued them more than their own lives, while others treated them like farts, spouting them off without a second thought.
From what she knew of her husband, his character was very serious. He was definitely not one to make empty promises.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been chosen by her father, who had even gone against her wishes and forced her to marry him.
It was naturally because his character was solid and trustworthy.
Seeing Kenma finish his oath, Yoruichi relaxed and couldn't help but scratch the back of her head, a look of deep apology on her face.
"Sorry, I went too far... but I had no choice. I can't risk their lives."
"As long as you can believe me, that's enough," Kenma said.
'It was just an oath.'
'The sky of the Soul Society is the Soul King. Even if the Soul King really did cast his gaze down...'
'At worst, he would just discard this body. His consciousness could be transferred to another body, and he could be reborn through possession.'
'The number of contractors from the ninja world and the world of pirates combined was nearly six thousand spare bodies.'
'Enough for him to squander as he pleased.'
'But since nothing has happened yet, it means that the old man, the Soul King, is not paying attention to such a trivial matter.'
"Then... tomorrow, we will go to the Detention Unit and release Suì-Fēng and the others," Yoruichi said.
The two of them had been locked in there for so many days, and in solitary confinement at that. It was nothing major.
Waiting another day or half a day wouldn't make a difference.
Yoruichi suddenly remembered something. "By the way, whether they agree to connect with you is up to them. I won't force them."
By the end of her sentence, Yoruichi also felt a little embarrassed and added, "But I will help you persuade them. With my persuasion, I'm sure they will agree."
Kenma nodded. "Of course. This is their own business. Naturally, it must be their own decision."
As for future contractors, Kenma didn't want to be too forceful either.
It was best if they were willing.
With Yoruichi persuading them on the side, Suì-Fēng was at least a sure thing.
As for Urahara Kisuke, Kenma was also 70-80% confident.
'If any of them really don't know what's good for them...'
'Hmph, then they can't blame Kenma for playing rough.'
'His current spiritual pressure was more than enough to forcibly connect to them.'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]