A dull voice sounded, instantly attracting the attention of the many souls.
The souls looked up at the few dark figures standing in mid-air.
The one in the lead had a tight-lipped mouth and a furrowed brow, his face possessing a certain majesty.
The most impressive feature was the man's pair of crimson eyes, which seemed to be emitting a dim light, exuding an ominous aura.
The five or six people behind him also had crimson eyes, their faces as cold as frost, completely devoid of any excess emotion.
"Who are you?"
"Marines? Or some other pirate crew?"
"Floating in mid-air, is that some kind of special ability?"
"It seems you've been waiting up there for a while. What is your purpose?"
Seeing the souls below looking up, the few black figures in mid-air began to slowly descend.
They stopped about ten meters in front of Whitebeard, their bodies still floating in the air, their gaze level with Whitebeard's massive height.
A red light flared in the leader's eyes, and an invisible pressure suddenly descended upon the many souls.
Boom!
The sudden, immense pressure immediately forced the souls on the field to their knees.
'What... what is happening?'
'Conqueror's Haki? No, it's not Haki!'
'Who are these people... are they even human?'
The faces of the souls turned crimson. They felt as if they were carrying a weight of tens of thousands of pounds, completely unable to make a single move.
They couldn't even speak, let alone move.
The air seemed to have been filled with lead, incredibly heavy. Every breath required all their strength.
Some unruly individuals tried to get up and resist, only to be forced back to the ground by the pressure, bleeding from all seven orifices.
On the entire field, only a few people, with their firm willpower, were not sprawled on the ground in a sorry state.
Among them were the center of attention, Whitebeard, and Ace, who was gritting his teeth and holding on beside him.
A solemn and grand voice echoed across the field, accurately and clearly reaching the ears of every soul present.
"My name is Uchiha Fugaku. I am, for the time being, a Shinigami."
"I have appeared before you all today because of my master's benevolence, to give you souls a chance."
"To let you live again in another world for a thousand years. If you agree, you will sign a contract. If you refuse, then you will dissipate here and now!"
As his voice fell, Fugaku's gaze fell on the towering Whitebeard, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
Although he was holding back and not using his full spiritual pressure, to be able to withstand it in such a weak state was enough to show his firm will.
Fugaku relaxed his spiritual pressure slightly, giving these people some breathing room.
The pressure on their bodies suddenly disappeared, and all the souls felt a lightness, an unprecedented sense of relief as they greedily breathed in the fresh air.
Their chests heaved violently, and the field was filled with the sound of heavy panting.
"Hah, hah, it's actually... the legendary Shinigami?"
"With such power, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them gods."
"Who is this 'master' you speak of? And what do you mean by 'live again in another world'?"
"Explain it clearly! What is this contract? If we don't agree, are you going to kill us?"
Fugaku ignored these messy questions and instead stared straight at the thoughtful-looking Whitebeard.
Whitebeard's sons might not be smart, but Whitebeard was not. On the contrary, he was very wise.
Fugaku had watched the entire war at the summit and had a certain understanding of the agility and intelligence of this famous "World's Strongest Man."
"Whitebeard, what will you choose?"
Fugaku knew that Whitebeard's prestige was the highest, and his opinion was basically equivalent to the opinion of this group of pirates.
And his own master valued Whitebeard so much that they might become colleagues in the future.
With this in mind, he softened his attitude slightly.
"I can give you time to consider, but not too much. I hope you will make a decision soon."
Whitebeard looked at Ace in front of him, then glanced at the sons surrounding him. After a moment of thought, he neither agreed nor refused, but instead asked Fugaku, who was standing in mid-air, "Shinigami, can I meet this master you speak of?"
Fugaku nodded. "Naturally. My master intended to meet you anyway."
With that, Fugaku turned and led the way.
Just as Whitebeard was about to take a step, two shouts sounded at the same time.
"Wait, Pops!"
"Wait, Shinigami!"
Fugaku turned slightly, his gaze sweeping over, and found the people who had spoken.
One was a marine admiral surrounded by his men, and the other was the fuse of this war, Ace.
"What is it?"
Under Fugaku's oppressive Sharingan, Ace took a few steps forward and stood protectively in front of Whitebeard.
"Pops, and Shinigami, please take me with you. I also want to meet your master."
The marine admiral said, "Shinigami, I have the same request."
After these two stepped forward, the other souls below, both pirates and marines, also called out to Fugaku with requests.
"Shinigami, let us go too! We can't trust you with just Pops."
"That's right! What if you try to harm Pops? You're not trustworthy."
"Hmph, even if we are dead, we cannot allow the pirates to make a single move."
"It's not just the pirates. We are also worried about the safety of the Vice Admiral, especially you Shinigami who are preparing to collude with pirates."
Faced with the clamoring souls, their tones full of arrogance and self-importance, Fugaku's mood was not entirely one of anger.
Although he was very angry, in addition to his anger, he found the arrogance of this group of souls hard to understand.
Whether pirates or marines, why was everyone so arrogant!
They spoke without thinking at all.
They had just experienced being pressed to the ground by his spiritual pressure. How could they forget so quickly?
'Are normal people really this brave when faced with an unknown powerhouse?'
"Quiet!"
Boom!
Fugaku's spiritual pressure erupted again, even stronger than before, directly pressing everyone firmly to the ground.
Some with weaker wills had already fainted under the pressure.
He looked at Whitebeard, who was bleeding from all seven orifices and almost unable to hold on. For some reason, he felt a trace of recognition in his heart.
'Having such brainless fools who can't see the situation clearly as subordinates must be very difficult to handle.'
However, to be on the safe side, he still reported the current situation to Kenma.
After waiting for a while, Kenma's voice sounded in Fugaku's mind.
"They'll have to meet sooner or later anyway, so just let them come."
After receiving permission, Fugaku withdrew his spiritual pressure.
The many souls once again panted heavily, and a hint of fear and obedience appeared in their eyes as they looked at Fugaku.
"My master has granted you an audience, but you must maintain order. My master dislikes chaos."
"Follow me."
Fugaku led the way.
"Thank you."
Whitebeard caught his breath and followed.
"Damn it..."
Ace had just wanted to take the opportunity to resist the pressure, but he had momentarily forgotten that he was dead and couldn't use his abilities. He could only watch helplessly as his Pops suffered.
Now, seeing that his Pops was going, he gritted his teeth and followed.
"Wait for me, Pops."
He wanted to see who this mysterious master of the Shinigami was, to dare to put on such a grand display.
After the two of them moved, the other pirates and marines who could still move also followed behind the few Shinigami.
Looking at Fugaku leading the way, Whitebeard asked cautiously, "This Shinigami, who is this 'master' you speak of, and how should we address him?"
Seeing that his attitude was decent, Fugaku said kindly, "My master's status is noble, and his name is not to be spoken lightly. You need only address him as 'Lord Kenma'."
"Lord... Enma?!"
Whitebeard was shocked.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]