"We respectfully greet you, my lord."
The Uchiha clansmen, having been notified by Kenma in advance, were already waiting at the entrance to their territory.
Seeing Kenma's carriage arrive, the Uchiha, led by two elders, hurriedly bowed.
Kenma stopped the carriage but did not get down, still holding the reins.
He lifted his straw hat and looked at Setsuna and Kakkaku, who were standing at the very front.
"You two, come with me, and bring the clan's elders as well."
The two looked puzzled, not knowing what Kenma's purpose was.
They then looked at Shisui, who had already jumped down from the cart bed.
Shisui smiled. "Elders, please rest assured, it's a great thing. Lord Kenma has a reward for the clan's elderly."
"Let's go, Shisui."
Kenma called out, then flicked the reins in his hand, making a snapping sound.
The carriage began to move forward. The crowd at the gate quickly parted to form a wide path, watching respectfully as the carriage entered the clan's territory.
"Elders, please hurry and follow. You'll know when you get there."
After Shisui said this, he hurried after them.
The two elders exchanged a look, their faces showing confusion.
"What great thing is it that has Shisui acting so mysteriously?"
"We'll find out if we follow."
Naturally curious, the two of them hurried after, while also urging the younger clansmen around them.
"What are you standing around for? Hurry and follow Lord Kenma's orders and bring the elderly clansmen over."
"Those who are too old to get out of bed, and those with senile dementia, carry them over if you have to."
The two used Shunpo and quickly caught up with Kenma's carriage.
Kenma drove the carriage to a courtyard on the other side of the settlement. Before he even got close, he heard a noisy clamor.
The gate opened, and Kenma drove inside. What met his eyes was an extremely lively scene.
Several straw mats were spread on the ground in the courtyard, with a small amount of food and, more prominently, many bottles and jars laid out on them.
The air was filled with the aroma of alcohol.
A hundred or so people were sitting around, drinking, laughing, and talking freely, in high spirits.
"Oh, oh, Kenma's here! Over here, over here!"
The people in the courtyard also saw Kenma at the first moment.
Shimazu Toyohisa, who was sitting in the middle, immediately waved his arms upon seeing Kenma.
Nobunaga and Yoichi, sitting beside him, also brightened up when they saw Kenma.
And the person sitting opposite Shimazu Toyohisa was so large that even sitting on the ground, he was taller than a house. His head was wrapped in black silk, and his straight white mustache curled upwards like a white crescent moon on his face. It was Whitebeard.
Seeing Kenma's figure, a genuine smile appeared on Whitebeard's face.
"Gurararara, Boss Kenma, and Shisui, it's been a while."
Kenma drove the carriage up to the crowd, took off his straw hat, and got down. Seeing that the atmosphere between his grandfather and Whitebeard's group was quite harmonious, the expression on his face relaxed considerably.
"Grandfather, Newgate, it looks like you're getting along quite well."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Shimazu Toyohisa asked directly, "Kenma, what did you come to find us for this time?"
Kenma said, "I'm taking Shisui to the world of the living and wanted to drop some things off for you on the way."
'The world of the living… it's definitely not that simple,' everyone knew, and no one pressed the matter further.
Whitebeard took a sip of the wine in his bowl and asked curiously, "What is it you're bringing us?"
"Shisui."
At Kenma's signal, Shisui walked to the carriage, picked up the six or seven-meter-long wooden box, and placed it next to Whitebeard.
"This is?"
"Open it and see for yourself."
Hearing Kenma's words, Whitebeard's heart stirred. He reached out and, with brute force, pried open the tightly nailed wooden lid.
Inside the box, on a bed of bright yellow silk, lay a massive and imposing treasured blade. It was about seven meters long in total, with a long shaft wrapped in red and black. The blade glinted with a cold light, and a shimmer of light flashed across its edge, looking incomparably sharp yet serenely restrained.
It was, unmistakably, a guandao.
And the shape and decoration of the entire blade were almost identical to Whitebeard's beloved sword from his previous life, Murakumogiri.
Kenma said, "This is a Zanpakutō I specially commissioned from the relevant department in the Seireitei. Because it was a custom design, it took much longer."
"See if it feels right to you."
Whitebeard didn't waste any time. He reached out and easily lifted the giant guandao.
The moment he held it, Whitebeard's expression changed as if he had sensed something, a hint of surprise on his face.
He then had everyone clear a large open space. Whitebeard carried the blade to the open area and began to swing it.
His movements were not a continuous sequence of forms, but merely casual slashes, sweeps, and thrusts. Yet he wielded it with such imposing might and awe-inspiring presence.
From a distance, Kenma could feel gusts of wind rushing towards him.
Shimazu Toyohisa and the others at the side nodded frequently.
"Kenma, it seems you've found quite a remarkable individual."
Kenma nodded.
This was Whitebeard, of course he was extraordinary.
After a few simple swings, Whitebeard stopped, his face unable to hide his satisfaction and love for the blade.
"A good blade, truly a good blade!"
Whitebeard exclaimed repeatedly.
Just from those few swings, he could feel that the quality of this blade was extremely high, and the craftsmanship was excellent, in no way inferior to his Murakumogiri from his past life.
He looked at Kenma, a trace of gratitude in his eyes.
"Boss Kenma, thank you very much for this."
"I'm glad you're satisfied."
Kenma was also pleased.
With this weapon, Whitebeard's strength would naturally be greatly enhanced.
He glanced around but didn't see Ace, so he couldn't help but ask, "Where's Ace?"
"Ace was just here a moment ago!"
"Strange, how did he disappear in the blink of an eye?"
As everyone looked around, they saw Ace back on the original straw mat, holding a bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, his entire face already buried in the food in front of him.
Everyone was speechless.
"Unbelievable…"
"Ace, you fellow, you fell asleep again!"
"The old man was making such a racket, and it didn't even wake you up!"
Perhaps sensing everyone's gaze, Ace slowly raised his head, swallowed the piece of vegetable on his lips, and looked around at everyone with his dazed little eyes.
"Everyone, did something happen? Why is everyone looking at me?"
Everyone said in unison, "You fell asleep on your own again!"
Only then did Ace belatedly realize, "Oh no, I accidentally fell asleep again."
Hearing this, everyone collectively fell to the ground.
Seeing Ace's behavior again, Kenma couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head slightly.
'This is Ace.'
Yoichi laughed lightly. "Haha, Kenma, this group of people you've found is very interesting."
Nobunaga's eye twitched. "Rather than interesting, I'd say they have too much personality. Aren't they a bit too carefree?"
After everyone had fallen over, Ace also saw the very conspicuous Kenma and his group.
"Big Boss, when did you get here? Why didn't I see you just now?"
"Old man, when did you bring your Murakumogiri over!"
Ace walked over and immediately circled Whitebeard's blade twice, a look of surprise on his face.
Kenma's expression relaxed, and he waved his hand at Shisui.
Shisui immediately handed the short sword to Ace.
Ace took it and looked at it. Its shape was very similar to the short sword he had used in his previous life.
The feel of it in his hand was also excellent. Even a layman like him, who didn't know much about blades, could tell at a glance that it was a good sword.
Kenma said, "This is the Zanpakutō I had prepared for you. It was forged at the same time as Newgate's."
"Big Boss, this is really…"
Ace quickly stood at attention, bowed to Kenma, and performed a flawless, standard bow.
"For such a generous gift, I am truly grateful. Thank you, Big Boss."
"As long as you like it."
Kenma waved his hand.
After giving the sword to Ace, Shisui took out another wooden box from the cart, one with a Kidō seal inscribed on it.
Kenma explained, "This… is the main purpose of my trip. I think it should be of great help to you all."
Just then, a hustle and bustle came from the courtyard gate.
Everyone looked over and saw several elderly Uchiha clansmen, accompanied by many young people, walking into the courtyard.
"Just in time, the elders have arrived."
"You can all try it together and see how it works."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]