Bestowing Blades

"What else?"

Kenma's eyes widened almost imperceptibly as he looked at the speaking Fugaku, his heart filled with shock.

Since entering the door, the Uchiha Clan had already given him more than enough surprises. Yet Fugaku was saying there was more?

Uchiha, what other surprises do you have that I don't know about?

"Please wait a moment, sir."

After giving a slight bow, Fugaku called toward the youths standing in formation, "Qi, come over and let sir take a look at you."

A child of seven or eight squeezed out from the crowd. He was handsome, with the Uchiha Clan's distinctive cool and aloof bearing.

After running over, he first gave Kenma a deep bow, then looked at Fugaku.

"Sir. Clan Head."

This boy named Qi behaved with great propriety. At a glance, it was clear he had received strict training, giving him an air of maturity beyond his years.

Kenma looked at Fugaku in confusion. "This child is?"

"Uchiha Qi, the youngest member of our Uchiha Clan to awaken his Sharingan." After introducing the child, Fugaku said, "Qi, open your Sharingan."

Upon hearing the command, the boy closed his eyes as though gathering his emotions. A moment later, he slowly opened them.

His originally pitch-black eyes had turned blood-red, exuding an ominous aura. A black Tomoe hung within them, slowly spinning before finally stopping at the lower right.

Seeing Kenma's confused expression, Uchiha Fugaku explained, "Before this child died... no, two days after arriving in the Soul Society, he had clearly not awakened his Sharingan. Yet a few days ago, after undergoing intense mental stimulation, he actually awakened it!"

The Uchiha Clan was a clan of love. Yet that love ran too deep, and once it erupted, it could have a tremendous effect on a person. The Sharingan was a power awakened through such stimulation.

Though Uchiha Qi was young, he already possessed a basic understanding of life and death.

Life in the Soul Society was almost no different from life before death. At first, he had not noticed anything and had merely assumed that the clan had moved.

Yet when he suddenly learned that he, his parents, family, friends, and even the entire clan had already died, the immense mental shock caused the young boy to open these cursed eyes on the spot.

After Fugaku's explanation, Kenma understood.

He nodded lightly, then realized something.

"If the Uchiha Clan can still awaken the Sharingan through Yin Release power after death, then the Sharingan can also evolve, can it not?"

Fugaku nodded solemnly. "That is correct."

Evolving to the Mangekyo required a certain amount of luck and talent, but if it was merely the Three Tomoe... the Uchiha Clan had been passed down for a thousand years, so naturally, they possessed methods for stimulating the mind.

The Uchiha Clan's cultivation speed was tied to the strength of their Sharingan. The more Tomoe they had, the better their talent.

Based on Kenma's assessment, Fugaku and Shisui alone possessed the talent to eventually attain Third-Class Spiritual Might.

That meant Captain-level strength.

Once the Three Tomoe members of the Uchiha Clan before him grew up, they would at the very least reach the level of vice-captains or Third Seats.

And the entire Uchiha Clan could support the full combat strength of at least two divisions of the Gotei 13.

Even the ancient Four Great Noble Clans were not so lavish.

How was this a burden? It was clearly a treasure trove waiting for Kenma to develop!

Fortunately, he had agreed to Shisui's request back then and brought the entire Uchiha Clan over. Otherwise, he would have regretted it to death, with nowhere to cry.

And one should not forget that Kenma's Zanpakuto ability could also share part of a Contractor's abilities and Spiritual Pressure.

No wonder he had felt his Spiritual Pressure condense much faster these past few days. At first, he had thought he was entering a period of rapid growth, never expecting that this was the reason.

These Uchiha had only just begun cultivating, and most of them had not even crossed the threshold yet. Once they formally embarked on Shinigami training—

The future was promising!

The future was truly promising!

With the support of these Uchiha clansmen, punching Aizen and kicking Yhwach would be easy. Even beating up the monk and Yamamoto would not be a problem.

At that thought, Kenma's worries about the future bosses Aizen and Yhwach instantly vanished. All he could see was a broad and open road ahead.

As he looked at the Uchiha before him, a strange light gleamed in Kenma's eyes, his delight impossible to conceal.

"Not bad. Truly not bad!"

At that moment, even someone as sinister as Kenma could not help feeling exhilarated.

Seeing Kenma's sincere delight and praise, Uchiha Fugaku and the others visibly relaxed.

Naturally, Fugaku had rehearsed these words beforehand. His purpose was to let Kenma, their new lord, see the Uchiha Clan's potential and advantages.

Judging by the results, the effect was outstanding. Kenma would surely value the Uchiha Clan even more in the future.

After gathering intelligence over the past few days, Fugaku had also learned that his clan possessed great potential, though he had not yet gained a clear understanding of just how great it was.

Now that he saw they were enough to move Kenma, he had roughly grasped the scale of it.

He felt quite proud as well.

"Our Uchiha Clan is exceptional. Even after dying and coming to another world, our talents still stand out!"

Kenma's gaze fell upon the Uchiha, and he nodded to himself. Then his expression suddenly stiffened, and his thoughts came to a halt.

"Damn it, I didn't bring enough Zanpakuto."

The most important supplies he had brought from the Shikokuin Family were Zanpakuto.

According to his original estimate, it would have been impressive enough if four or five Uchiha clansmen possessed Shinigami talent.

To be safe, he had brought more than ten extra blades. Yet he had never expected the Uchiha to have so many promising members.

It left him in an awkward spot.

Forget it. If there were too few, there were too few. He would muddle through today first.

Kenma sat cross-legged on the wooden corridor while the Uchiha moved over the things he had brought.

His index finger lightly tapped the wooden chest beside him. His gaze swept over the crowd before finally settling on Fugaku.

"Fugaku, aside from coming to see how your clan has been doing, I also brought you some things."

"Open them."

Upon receiving the order, Fugaku adopted an extremely solemn expression and carefully opened the first long wooden chest.

As the lid was lifted, the first thing they saw was a layer of straw and wood shavings, with three wakizashi-style short blades resting atop it.

Fugaku froze for a moment before realizing what they were. A trace of astonishment appeared on his usually stern face.

"S-sir, could these be...?"

"Looks like you guessed it."

Before Fugaku and the nearby Uchiha clansmen, who had also revealed looks of surprise upon seeing the short blades, Kenma wore a faint smile.

"Just as you guessed, this chest contains the more than ten Zanpakuto I brought with me. Today, I bestow them upon you."

After receiving Kenma's confirmation, the Uchiha could no longer suppress the astonishment on their faces.

One after another, they stared at the short blades in the chest in shock and disbelief. Some secretly glanced at Kenma seated above them, only to immediately avert their eyes and return their gazes to the blades.

"So this is... a Zanpakuto!"

"The symbol of a Shinigami!"

"They've been bestowed upon us..."