Chapter 191: Bonds of Mischief

Ain slowly opened her eyes, feeling a sharp pain in her chest. It was from the wound left by Kyros; though it had been bandaged, it had yet to fully heal.

She turned her head and looked around, noticing her teacher, Zephyr, along with her other colleagues. Although most appeared weakened and wrapped in gauze, thankfully, none seemed to be in life-threatening condition.

Seeing this, Ain let out a long sigh of relief. She had feared opening her eyes to see corpses all around her, leaving her as the sole survivor. The tragedy she and Binz experienced years ago—being the only survivors after their boatload of fellow students was slaughtered—had haunted them deeply. It wasn't just Zephyr's nightmare; it was a scar in her heart too.

Just as Ain was catching her breath, footsteps sounded from the door. Soon after, Ulti strode in with a malicious grin.

"Hehe, stupid woman, look at you now!" Ulti sneered, staring at Ain through the bars. "Turning me into a child—your devil fruit is truly something."

Ain rolled her eyes and glared coldly at Ulti. "I wasn't beaten by you, so what are you so proud of?"

"Humph! If not for the boss's orders, I'd have killed you long ago," Ulti shot back, her expression twisting as she covered her blushing face, her excitement barely contained. "But your devil fruit is really useful! I've always wanted to see how little Page One looked when he was young. Hahaha!"

"What?" Ain exclaimed, suddenly realizing the implication. Her Sea Prism Stone cuffs no longer restricted her; she quickly deduced the reason. "You… you used my devil fruit!"

Ulti's face lit up triumphantly as she extended her hand, pink flames igniting in her palm. "Yes, your devil fruit is so handy! Though it can't compare to my Ancient Zoan fruit in battle, it's still pretty fun to have on hand occasionally."

With that, Ulti waved her hand, and the pink flames struck Ain. She watched as Ain's features subtly grew younger.

Due to her limited mastery over the Return-Return fruit, Ulti could only regress Ain's age by a few years at a time. She lacked the skill to revert Ain fully to childhood in one go.

"Damn!" Ain muttered as she glared at Ulti's smug expression, her chest visibly diminished in size—a consequence of her younger state. Sighing, she simply closed her eyes, turning her head away, unwilling to look at her captor any longer.

On the other side of the base, Shin, who was perusing some documents, suddenly heard light footsteps approaching. A little girl around Sugar's age, wearing a skirt, rushed into the room.

"Boss, help!"

The child's cheeks were flushed red, and her eyes were watery with humiliation. She rushed to Shin's side, crying out, "Please change me back to normal, or I'll go crazy!"

Shin paused, looking at the child in front of him with confusion and amusement. "Um… who are you?"

"I'm Page One! Page One!" The child shouted, a hint of desperation in her voice. "My sister used the Return-Return fruit on me and even dressed me in girls' clothes!"

Shin stifled a laugh, quickly piecing together what had happened. Though this world seemed notorious for its obliviousness, Shin could see clearly that Page One, now transformed, looked… quite fitting in his current attire.

Shin had anticipated that Ulti might use the Return-Return fruit to mess with her brother, but he hadn't expected her to go this far. She hadn't just reverted Page Oneto to his childhood but also dressed him in girls' clothing. He couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh at the sight.

"Boss! Why are you laughing at me?" Page One shouted in a mixture of embarrassment and frustration.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I don't usually laugh this hard… unless I just can't help it," Shin chuckled, though he tried to suppress his laughter.

"Boss, please be serious!" Page One nearly sobbed, his face red with shame.

Still chuckling, Shin finally dispelled the Return-Return Fruit effect, restoring Page One to his original state. Ulti had only acted on a whim, enjoying a bit of mischief. Her Ancient Zoan fruit was much more valuable for combat than the Return-Return Fruit, so she didn't intend to keep it.

Though the Return-Return fruit could theoretically regress a person into nothingness, developing that level of control would be almost impossible. The required mastery increased exponentially with each additional year reverted. Were it possible to quickly regress someone by a century or two, the power of this fruit would indeed be terrifying—enough to threaten even the mightiest pirates like Whitebeard or Kaido.

Despite the limited application of the Return-Return fruit in battle, Shin found its peculiar abilities intriguing. Unlike the straightforward powers of most Zoan or Logia fruits, the Paramecia fruits harbored unique and often unpredictable powers. These strange abilities held a potential that went far beyond mere combat power.

In particular, the Return-Return fruit was remarkable. Although reverting a person's age didn't mean true rejuvenation, as it couldn't stave off natural aging and death, it could still make a person appear younger. Shin even mused that one could run a thriving beauty business catering to the elderly with this fruit, attracting patrons willing to pay any price.

Meanwhile, Page One, back in his usual form, finally restored his calm, stoic appearance. But then, to his horror, he noticed that his sister had pulled a large stack of photos from her pocket—pictures of him wearing girls' clothes in his childhood. In an instant, his fury reignited. Finally snapping, he lunged at Ulti, and the siblings descended into a chaotic brawl.

Ignoring the sibling squabble unfolding before him, Shin returned to studying the documents in his hand. As for the Neo Marines, he was still undecided on how to handle them. Killing them all might be excessive, but letting them go would go against the pirate code.

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