"My lord, Uchiha Fugaku and his wife have come for an audience."
Kenma was in his office in Squad 2, dealing with the squad duties that had piled up during his leave.
Now that he had been promoted to the third seat of Squad 2 and was in charge of both the Patrol and Detention Corps, he had much more to deal with than before.
Fortunately, his long-awaited assistant had finally arrived.
Under Kenma's orders, Uchiha Fugaku and his wife, Mikoto, had arrived today.
After arriving at Squad 2, they had come to Kenma's office to report at the first opportunity.
Kenma looked up and saw the two of them kneeling on one knee, their heads bowed low, their posture respectful.
"There is no need for such formalities. Rise and take a seat."
With a virtual lift of his pen-holding hand, Kenma lowered his head and continued to write swiftly on the documents on his desk.
"Wait a moment. There's tea over there. You can make it yourselves. I'll be with you after I finish what I'm doing."
A moment later, a cup of hot tea was placed on an empty spot on the desk.
At this point, the matters Kenma had to deal with had temporarily come to an end.
He glanced over and saw Uchiha Mikoto holding a tea tray, with Fugaku standing respectfully at the side of the desk. The couple looked like a guard and an attendant who had worked together for many years.
"Just sit down. Don't mind me."
Kenma put down his pen and pointed to the chairs on the side of the room.
Although his face still wore its usual serious expression, he was inwardly pleased with Fugaku and his wife's respectful attitude.
As a leader, what he wanted was his subordinates' attitude.
Putting aside everything else, just in terms of the skill and sensibility of a subordinate, Fugaku was definitely qualified.
"As you command."
Only then did the two of them sit down, though their posture was still quite reserved.
Kenma held the hot tea, blew on it, took a light sip, and said casually, "Not bad."
It was unclear whether he was referring to the tea or the attitude of Fugaku and his wife.
"I am unworthy of your praise, my lord. It is enough to satisfy you," Fugaku quickly responded.
Kenma nodded slightly and asked, "How is the Uchiha clan doing recently? Have there been any major problems with that group of pirates and marines?"
"Thank you for your concern, my lord. The Uchiha clan has been doing well recently. The clansmen are also training very hard and will soon form a sufficient fighting force to serve you."
"As for those new souls..."
Fugaku paused, a faint, wry smile on his face.
"Those people are too energetic. The marines are better off. They received disciplinary training in their past lives and are relatively stable under the leadership of their generals."
"But those pirates are a bit too boisterous. They gather together, and their influence quickly spreads to the surrounding areas. There are occasional minor frictions."
"Fortunately, Whitebeard's prestige is sufficient to keep them in check, and with the protection of the Shihoin clan, no trouble has arisen."
"It's just that there have been some unexpected situations with the two people you've been paying close attention to, Whitebeard and Ace, as well as the other ability users..."
At this point, Fugaku's lips pursed, and a look of difficulty appeared on his face.
Kenma's brow furrowed. "What's wrong with Whitebeard and Ace? Is there a problem?"
Fugaku quickly waved his hands and said, "There have been some accidents with them, but it's not the bad news you're worried about, my lord. It should be a good thing for them."
"A good thing?" Kenma was puzzled and asked, "Tell me in detail. What exactly is going on?"
"My lord, it's like this."
Fugaku recalled the abnormality he and the others had observed before and spoke in a well-organized manner.
"Since you left, they have been training their abilities. But as their training deepened, those who did not have the aptitude to become Shinigami actually started to feel hungry!"
"After our investigation, we found that the more diligently a person trained, the more they could feel hunger."
"I was going to inform you of this matter at the first opportunity, but then your transfer order arrived, so I took the opportunity to report it to you at the same time."
As Fugaku spoke, the expression on Kenma's face grew more and more solemn.
"The more they train their abilities, the more they feel hungry..."
He thought for a moment and came up with two theories.
One, the Devil Fruit abilities of those people had undergone a mutation after adapting to the Soul Society, which in turn caused some changes in their bodies.
Two, it was his connection ability.
The training of these people naturally required borrowing his spiritual pressure.
The greater the intensity of the training, the more they borrowed, and the spiritual pressure also took the opportunity to temper their soul bodies, thus causing a gradual positive change in their bodies.
It was like a balloon. Every time you blew air into it, the balloon itself stretched.
These people trained frequently, which was like pouring spiritual pressure into their bodies, gradually expanding their spiritual pressure capacity.
The Reishi that could be satisfied by just breathing and drinking water for daily activities began to be insufficient, and they started to crave food for replenishment.
But...
The bodies of these people were not as malleable as balloons. Every time they expanded their capacity, cracks would appear inside their bodies.
How did they manage to hold on without their bodies collapsing?
Kenma's gaze slowly fell on his own Zanpakuto.
'Could it be because of the connection ability?'
'Their bodies are already connected to mine. As long as I'm fine, they won't shatter, which is how they've barely managed to maintain their forms.'
'And with the timely replenishment of Reishi from eating, the cracks in their bodies have been repaired, allowing them to survive and even grow stronger?'
Compared to the first theory, the second one was much more likely... Kenma was also more inclined towards the second one.
He looked at Fugaku and immediately asked, "Have you done a control experiment?"
"I came in a hurry and haven't had time to do it yet," Fugaku said with his head bowed. "I wonder what kind of control you would like, my lord?"
"Find some ordinary people with no abilities, let them also borrow my spiritual pressure to train, and then compare them with Whitebeard and the others to see if they get hungry."
After speaking, Kenma added another instruction.
"Report to me immediately once you have the results."
"As you command."
"Is there anything else on your end?"
Fugaku quickly replied, "No, whether it's the Uchiha clan or those pirates and marines, everything is stable."
"That's good."
Kenma relaxed, then said, "This time, I've called you over, taken you away from the Uchiha clan, and assigned you to a post in Squad 2. Do you have any doubts?"
"I do have some doubts."
Fugaku did not dare to hide anything.
"At first, I thought you were dissatisfied with my governance of the Uchiha clan, which was why you removed me from the clan."
"But on second thought, if you were dissatisfied, you would have just reprimanded me directly. This time, however, you've assigned me to Squad 2, which is undoubtedly a promotion. So I no longer have my previous thoughts."
"At this moment, I am actually grateful for your action."
Kenma asked with curiosity, "Grateful for what? For letting you into Squad 2?"
Although it was a fourth seat position from the start, which for an ordinary person was a step to the heavens.
But Fugaku was different.
In essence, he was Kenma's private soldier.
No matter how high a position he obtained in the Seireitei, it was not as important as increasing his trust in Kenma's heart.
Fugaku naturally understood this.
A bitter look appeared on his face.
"Your regard is naturally a great honor for me."
"But what I am even more grateful for is that you have allowed me to leave the Uchiha clan."
Kenma was taken aback. "What? Could it be that the position of the head of the great Uchiha clan is a fiery pit?"
"I dare not hide it from you, my lord. If it were ordinary times, it would be fine, but for me, it is indeed as you say."
Fugaku gave a bitter smile.
"In the end, it's all because of my son's evil deeds."
Hearing this, Kenma immediately understood.
Although the Uchiha clan had come to the Soul Society, and their way of life was basically the same as before, the matter of Uchiha Itachi had ultimately left a thorn in the hearts of the Uchiha clansmen.
When they first came to the Soul Society, the high-level power of the clan could not be changed too much, and with Kenma's orders, the Uchiha had endured it.
But as time went on, everyone's emotions gradually accumulated, and undercurrents were already surging within the clan.
If it weren't for Kenma's orders, these Uchiha would probably have long since carried out a coup and deposed Fugaku from his position as clan head.
Fugaku could naturally sense it.
Therefore, after receiving Kenma's order, he had immediately handed over the clan's affairs and then came to the Seireitei with his wife to avoid the trouble.
Kenma asked, "You were suddenly transferred by me. Have you made arrangements for the clan's affairs?"
"My lord, with the elders there, they are more than capable of handling everything in the clan."
Fugaku sighed inwardly.
His departure would at most just cause the elderly elders to spend more energy on miscellaneous affairs.
Anyway, they were all dead. It didn't matter if they were a little busier.
"That's good."
Kenma nodded in satisfaction.
The Uchiha clan was of the utmost importance, and was even related to the future of his small force. As long as it could be kept stable, it was fine.
He believed that Fugaku could handle all the handover matters.
"Fugaku, do you know why I transferred you to my side?"
"Your decision must have its reasons, my lord. To be able to serve you is naturally my honor," Fugaku said respectfully, taking the opportunity to express his loyalty again.
Kenma didn't waste any words and directly stated his recent major event.
"In a few days, I'm getting married."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]