Yukiko found Ren's words reasonable. It would be a waste to have eaten a Devil Fruit but still subconsciously only use blade attacks. It wasn't a matter of choosing between the Fruit's abilities and swordsmanship; if they could complement each other and compensate for their weaknesses, their strength could improve significantly in a short time.
"Yuki·Wolf Pack."
Yukiko's thoughts shifted, and the white snow beneath her feet seemed to come alive, condensing into one white wolf after another. The wolves lowered their front bodies before immediately charging toward Ren, like predators that had caught the scent of blood.
Ren met them head-on. These snow wolves were fast and their bodies were far stronger than real wolves. Their sharp claws and fangs could tear through steel.
"Genryū·Shakuhana!"
Ren swung his blade, and scorching sword energy shot out like a shotgun, piercing the chests of the charging wolves in an instant. The wolves' bodies instantly disintegrated, scattering into flying snow.
In truth, the snow wolves weren't living creatures to begin with. Even if their chests were pierced, they wouldn't have been destroyed. However, Ren's attack used internal destruction, completely shattering the snow wolves' entire structure in an instant.
"Genryū·Rei!" Ren followed up by thrusting his sword, Rindō Isshin, forward. A swift burst of sword energy erupted, emitting an eagle-like cry.
"Frost Barrier." Yukiko quickly compressed the ice and snow, forming a barrier. Though made of ice and snow, it possessed a hardness far exceeding that of steel. A swordsman who hadn't reached the level of being able to cut iron couldn't even leave a scratch on it.
However, Yukiko still felt uneasy and thickened the ice wall considerably. She was overthinking it, though. Ren was just letting her get accustomed to the power of the Yuki Yuki no Mi, not actually planning to compete with her.
The flying sword energy dissipated after penetrating nearly twenty centimeters of the ice wall.
"Not bad. Your Haki was already strong to begin with. Get familiar with it, and you'll soon master the power of the Yuki Yuki no Mi," Ren said. Yukiko had been training under him since he was in Hakumai, and aside from Shutenmaru, her strength was on par with anyone else.
Shutenmaru was different from Yukiko. He was a natural prodigy, born with physical capabilities far beyond ordinary people. Yukiko, on the other hand, had started as an ordinary person. The fact that she had come this far was testament to her efforts.
Now with the Yuki Yuki no Mi, that gap would gradually be closed. The Yuki Yuki no Mi didn't have the same offensive power as some other fruits, but it shared similar properties with the Hie Hie no Mi in many aspects.
Freezing itself was a form of power.
"So, Yukiko, how about becoming an officer in the Fools? The Third Seat Snow Woman... not a bad title, is it?" Ren suggested. The original Third Seat had been a young woman, but since they were in the pirate world now, there was no need to use the exact same titles as the real Fools.
Besides, Yukiko's strength was sufficient. Even without the Fruit, she could already match some of the weaker Marine vice admirals.
Hearing this, Yukiko nodded. She certainly wouldn't argue with Ren's decision.
"However, regarding the Treasury Commissioner..."
"Keiko has been doing a great job, so let her take the lead as the Kanjō Bugyō," Ren said.
Yukiko immediately smiled, as if relieved. "That's wonderful. I've wanted to hand over all the work to Keiko for a long time. Now I won't have to worry about those troublesome matters anymore."
Although she had done well in the Kanjō Bugyō, it was only because she deliberated over everything and did it all herself. She even had to personally handle matters like recruiting people from other villages, which was incredibly exhausting.
But Keiko was different. She was very capable in this regard and could often solve problems with ease.
Ren had actually planned to have Keiko directly take over the Kanjō Bugyō's affairs, so he had Kurozumi Semimaru pass the message along when he returned.
"Keiko will definitely complain that she has less time for reading," Yukiko said with a laugh, showing no sympathy on her face. "By the way, Ren-dono, I think we should let Miyako take the lead of the Tenryū Bugyō. She's much more diligent than Shutenmaru."
Yukiko remembered how much stricter Miyako had been during her training of Shichigatsu on the ship compared to herself. She was far better than the sloppy Shutenmaru.
"Hey, if you're going to badmouth me, at least wait until I'm gone," Shutenmaru said with a dark face. However, he didn't care about the position of Tenryū Bugyō. The job came with no salary and no drinking or fun—it was simply boring. Shutenmaru felt he had much more fun at sea during this time.
"Me? But I'm overseas now, so I can't handle matters in Kuri," Miyako said.
"The truth is, the Tenryū Bugyō has always been pretty idle, especially after those farming machines appeared. We're not even needed for agricultural work anymore," Shutenmaru scratched his head. Very few samurai remained in Kuri now; most had left with the fleet. The outside world was where military strength was needed.
"Shutenmaru should continue as a samurai of the Tenryū Bugyō. Miyako, you'll handle the training for the Hyakugai-gumi," Ren said. It would have been fine to let Kujō take the position of general of the Tenryū Bugyō, but it wasn't necessary.
Besides, Miyako had her own tasks to attend to.
Moreover, Shutenmaru was a straightforward samurai. He was training a group of elite Tenryū Bugyō soldiers—the Kaienbō.
Like the Hyakugai-gumi, becoming a member of the Kaienbō was no simple matter; one had to possess corresponding strength. And as the leader of the Kaienbō, Ren actually wanted to appoint Shutenmaru as the Fourth Seat—Captain—of the Fools' Brigade.
Although he had the Kaienbō, Ren didn't plan to create a Yabu-zō. The so-called yabu originally referred to bandits hiding in the mountains or beggars wandering the streets—not something presentable.
Just like that, Shutenmaru suddenly became a "Captain." Fortunately, it was just a title and wouldn't add to his workload.
"It's not as simple as just a title," Yukiko said dissatisfied with Shutenmaru's blank expression. "To become an officer of the Fools' Brigade, one must be among the eleven most valuable people in Ren-dono's eyes. If your strength falls behind in the future, you'll be replaced immediately!"
In Yukiko's view, becoming an officer itself represented honor and status. Shutenmaru realized this too.
"Not necessarily the most important, but only truly outstanding individuals can serve as officers."
"I see. I will never fail to live up to your expectations, Ren-dono!" Shutenmaru's somewhat comical sausage lips turned serious as he said this earnestly.
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