"Kiritsugu."
Ren's Zanpakuto glowed with a clear light, turning into two threads of silk that pierced the souls of Kaido and Big Mom before sinking into the charred, blurred corpses on the ground.
As Ren withdrew his blade, the phantoms of two distinct Devil Fruits were pulled from the corpses.
One had blue scales on its surface, while the other resembled a soul. Guided by the silken threads, the two fruits embedded themselves into Kaido's and Big Mom's bodies.
"This is—"
Kaido and Big Mom looked at the threads connecting them with surprise, their faces filled with suspicion.
"This is a contract!" Ren said in a low voice. "It links me to you. From now on, we are bound together by a common fate, living and dying together. If you ever betray me, you will face the judgment of my blade and die a violent death."
"A common fate?"
"Judgment of the blade?"
Kaido frowned, while Big Mom looked displeased.
"King of the Underworld, you never mentioned this to us before."
"Did I not?"
Ren furrowed his brow slightly. Beside him, Ace reminded him, "Big Boss, you really didn't. Once you saw Kaido and Big Mom agree, you just went ahead and linked them."
Recalling the process just now, Ren realized he indeed hadn't mentioned it.
He looked at Kaido and Big Mom and said softly, "My apologies. It seems it was indeed an oversight on my part."
Seeing the two of them instantly show dissatisfaction, Whitebeard's massive blade slammed into the ground, causing the roof to tremble slightly.
"Azure Dragon brat, and you too, Linlin. Is your magnanimity really this small? How pathetic."
"Old man Whitebeard, what did you say?"
"When was I ever small-minded? It was clearly this Shinigami who didn't explain things properly."
Both were furious; they didn't want to be looked down upon by Whitebeard like this.
Whitebeard snorted coldly.
"Neither of you are good people. Since you're going to work under Boss Ren, some constraints are only natural."
"You have to give something to gain something. Even a child understands that logic. You're not worse than children, are you?"
"Besides, it's not like the contract doesn't come with benefits. Feel it for yourselves—you've regained your Devil Fruit powers."
Kaido and Big Mom were still fuming at Whitebeard's words, but at the last sentence, they both suddenly looked at their bodies and activated their powers.
Azure dragon scales emerged on Kaido's arm, while Big Mom held a fragment of her own soul in her hand.
"I really still have my powers... my Azure Dragon fruit!"
"When I tried to use my powers earlier, I couldn't feel anything at all, but now the Soul-Soul Fruit is back!"
Their eyes widened, and joy spread across their faces.
They were well aware of the common knowledge that after a Devil Fruit user dies, the ability is reborn elsewhere.
When they first woke up, both had tried to use their abilities in secret, but no matter how hard they tried, nothing happened.
They thought they had lost their powers forever, but to their surprise, the abilities had returned to them in just a few moments.
And while they were still in soul form, no less.
Big Mom beamed instantly. As she looked at Ren, a smile spread across her old face, even smoothing out some of her wrinkles.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma! King of the Underworld, thank you for letting me have Mother's ability again. Truly, thank you."
"I may be a pirate, but there is still honor among pirates. If you need anything in the future, just ask. I will give it my all."
"With my strength, I definitely won't lose to an old geezer like Whitebeard."
"Linlin, you're just an old hag yourself." Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, looking annoyed. "Say what you want, but don't drag me into this."
Ren looked at Big Mom's sudden change in attitude, feeling somewhat surprised.
He had simply not wanted to waste the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit; he hadn't expected Big Mom to value it so much.
However, that wrinkled smile was truly hard to appreciate.
"—Once we return to the Underworld, I'll restore your youthful appearance."
Big Mom froze. She looked at Whitebeard's youthful form and his long, wavy hair, and immediately understood. She nodded vigorously at Ren.
"Yes, yes! Please!"
No matter what, she was still a woman; there was no way she could be indifferent to her looks.
Being able to regain her youth was naturally for the best.
Charlotte Linlin bent down and reached out her hand toward Ren.
"I truly owe you another great favor. From now on, you're my friend. Let's get along well."
Ren paused for a moment, then slowly reached out and placed his hand on Big Mom's finger.
He was about to speak, but Big Mom's next words nearly caught Ren completely off guard.
"I think you're quite handsome. Why don't you marry me and be my husband?"
"Cough—"
Ren looked up at the serious Big Mom, his eyelid twitching.
He remembered that Big Mom did indeed have a habit of taking husbands.
"No, thank you. I already have a wife."
"Is that so? What a pity."
Ren quickly withdrew his hand and instructed Shisui beside him, "Don't forget this."
"As you command."
Linlin stood up, glanced at Kaido to the side, and immediately threw a punch at him.
"Kaido, how much longer are you going to keep sulking!"
Bang!
Kaido caught Big Mom's punch steadily, his body not moving an inch.
"You damn hag, what the hell are you doing all of a sudden?"
"I should be the one saying that! Kaido, what are you still just standing there for?"
As she said this, Big Mom suddenly thought of something, and her expression turned fierce.
"Kaido, don't you forget—I'm the one who gave you that Fish-Fish Fruit. It's a life-long debt you can never repay."
"No, it's a debt you can't even repay in death!"
Kaido retorted, "That was ages ago, and it has nothing to do with now, does it?"
"How does it have nothing to do with it!"
Big Mom's voice was categorical.
"I've always treated you like a younger brother. I gave you that Fish-Fish Fruit, and now the King of the Underworld has returned its power to you!"
"That means you now owe the King of the Underworld one great favor and me two. That's an indisputable fact."
"You're not going to deny it, are you?"
Kaido froze and blinked, a look of sheer incomprehension on his face.
"Old hag, what on earth are you talking about?"
Not just Kaido, even Ren couldn't wrap his head around Big Mom's bizarre train of thought.
How did one thing leading to another suddenly turn into two favors?
Whitebeard shook his head and sighed. "Boss Ren, don't mind her. Linlin has always been this headstrong."
Even if he didn't understand it himself.
Kaido waved his hand, no longer paying attention to Big Mom's twisted logic.
He looked at Ren and nodded.
"I can't stand this hag, but you returning the Fish-Fish Fruit to me is indeed a massive favor."
"If you need help in the future, I'll be there. And I'll definitely be more useful than these two fossils, Whitebeard and Linlin."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]