You can read ahead up to 15 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.p*treon.com/darkshadow6395
Several days later, in the Special Training Field at Zephyr Training Camp, Roy reflected, "Grandfather and grandson truly share the same lineage. Their vitality is simply absurd."
Having heard that Garp's battleship had returned to port and that the Vice Admiral had only needed a few bandages, Roy marveled at the news.
His encounter with Garp as Inoshi revealed to him the monstrous vitality and power of top-tier Sea powerhouses at the Admiral level. This encounter helped temper his somewhat inflated ego.
But just then...
Click.
The training room door suddenly swung open, and Binz strode in.
"Roy, you're here too, as expected! Huh? What happened here?"
He greeted Roy familiarly as he entered, but his expression quickly shifted as he took in the scene.
Halfway through his sentence, Binz froze abruptly.
He had finally noticed the state of the training field.
The floor, which was once smooth and indestructible, was now crisscrossed with massive, spiderweb-like cracks.
The walls were riddled with gaping holes revealing their thick metallic core.
"Oh, it's nothing," Roy said casually. "We've been busy preparing for the Three-Forces Military Exercise these past few days. I just happened to make some progress in my training, so I sparred with Zephyr-sensei."
"Sparred?" Binz's voice rose to a sharp, shrill pitch. "But Zephyr-sensei had the SSG reinforce this training room four times last month just for you!"
He vividly remembered that the SSG had confirmed Roy's strength with Zephyr back then, boasting that the room would remain indestructible for at least a year.
How long had it been?
"What exactly do you mean by 'a slight bit of progress'?"
Just as he couldn't resist asking this question...
"Binz? What's wrong?" A female voice called out.
Roy saw a tall, striking beauty enter the room. She had long, wavy, sea-blue hair; an X-shaped scar on her right leg; a pistol at her hip; and a blue cloak draped over her shoulders.
"Oh, I almost forgot."
Still dazed, Binz finally snapped out of his shock. He hastily turned to Roy and introduced him to the woman. "This is Roy Amos."
"Roy, she's..."
But the introduction was unnecessary. Roy already knew her identity.
[Devil Fruit user detected: Ain.]
[Devil Fruit confirmed: Paramecia-type Modo Modo no Mi (Return-Return Fruit). Data is being analyzed and stored in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.]
[Devil Fruit ability: Reverses the age of objects and living beings.]
[Ability Tiers:]
[LV3: Gain all Devil Fruit effects. Peach-colored flames can ignite from your hands; however, the flames possess no heat or destructive force. Anything touched by these flames will revert to its state from up to 15 years in the past.]
[Note: This ability can be deactivated by defeating the Devil Fruit user or depleting their stamina. Reverting stronger targets consumes more stamina. Eternal Unlock requires 20 billion.]
[LV4: Advanced Devil Fruit development. Peach-colored flames can spread to any part of your body and cause regression wherever they touch. Eternal Unlock requires 50 billion.]
[LV5: Devil Fruit Awakening — Regression Field. You can create a field with a maximum radius of 2,000 meters within which you can generate flames anywhere. This consumes a massive amount of stamina. Eternal Unlock requires 110 billion.]
[Devil Fruit Awakening: Unique — Time Field]
[This awakening evolves the user's field into a time field, which reverses the flow of time for all entities within the field, including the user. The effect lasts for five hours and requires 30 billion Beli to unlock.]
[Note: This ability can only be used once. It cannot be blocked, and the duration of the time reversal is completely random and uncontrollable.]
The information from the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia almost stunned Roy.
As he had previously surmised, Ain's Devil Fruit, the Modo Modo no Mi (Return-Return Fruit), was a highly unusual, time-based fruit.
But he had never imagined it would be this extraordinary.
"Unique," Roy muttered inwardly, staring at the unmistakable label in the encyclopedia.
He knew that some Devil Fruits had abilities that could only be used once. The most prominent example was Trafalgar Law's Operation-Operation Fruit.
The 'Perennial Youth Operation' of the Devil Fruit could only be used once, and it was rumored to require the user's life as payment.
This "Modo Modo no Mi" was only the second such Devil Fruit he knew of.
But...
"This ability..." Roy muttered, perplexed.
It could "rewind" everything within its surrounding Time Field. The duration of the rewind was completely random and impossible to resist.
At first, this ability seemed terrifying, a near-time reversal power that should have been impossible.
But the problem lay in...
The Devil Fruit user was included in the ability's range, and it was completely uncontrollable.
"Isn't this just playing with death?" Roy concluded.
He knew that the Return-Return Fruit's rewind ability could reduce things to nothingness.
For example, if 29-year-old Roy were to have 30 years of time reversed on him, he would simply vanish!
Even if the ability wore off five hours later, he could never return to existence.
Roy struggled to imagine any practical application for this ability.
'Spending 30 billion Beli to take out a nearby enemy in a suicidal attack?' He inwardly muttered.
But just then,
"Roy?" Ain approached and greeted him.
"Ain-senpai," Roy replied.
Upon hearing this, Roy put his thoughts about the Modo Modo no Mi (Return-Return Fruit) aside temporarily, allowing the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia to continue its analysis. He then turned his attention to Ain.
Ain shook her head. "Binz and I were never destined to inherit Zephyr-sensei's Black Body Style. We're not his true successors. Just call me Ain."
Roy readily complied, and the two quickly struck up a conversation.
Ain, clearly a serious and earnest person, soon steered the conversation toward her current mission.
"My mission was supposed to end a month ago, but I discovered something during the operation..."
As she spoke, Ain clenched her fist tightly.
Realizing she had digressed, she quickly asked, "Speaking of which, where's Zephyr-sensei?"
After their sparring session, Zephyr-sensei had gone upstairs, probably to question his life choices. Roy naturally couldn't say that aloud. Just as he was about to make up an excuse for Zephyr, a depressed voice cut through the air.
"I'm here."
The three of them watched Zephyr's figure slowly descend the stairs from the upper level of the Training Field.
"Zephyr-sensei, I have something to report!" Ain immediately snapped to attention and gave a crisp military salute.
"Not so fast," Zephyr replied, shaking his head. "Before you report, Roy, catch this."
As he spoke, the Admiral casually tossed something with his left arm. Only then did the trio notice that Zephyr had been holding something in his hand all along.
As he tossed it, it landed in Roy's hands.
Roy quickly glanced down and saw...
"Gauntlets?"
He stared at the pair of gauntlets, which had a faint obsidian sheen, in his hands. They were incredibly thin yet seemed remarkably resilient. Roy's expression turned somewhat bewildered.
Meanwhile, Binz and Ain's eyes widened in unison.
"T-this is..."
They both clearly recognized the gauntlets and turned incredulous gazes toward Zephyr. "Sensei, could these be yours?"
"Mm," Zephyr replied, his gaze lingering on the gauntlets in Roy's hands. "They're called 'Black Mane.' They were my weapon when I served as Admiral."
A hint of reminiscence flickered across his face.
"They're crafted from Adamantium Spun Silk and incorporate the SSG's Seastone forging techniques. They offer some resistance against Devil Fruit users while enhancing the flow and application of Armament Haki."
He grinned, showing his teeth.
Just as he had said earlier, during his youth when he was honing the Black Body Style, he had always favored fighting with his bare hands, earning him the title "Black Arm."
This pair of gauntlets had been his comrades in arms, helping him forge that very reputation.
"Since retiring as Admiral, I've rarely used these old partners," he said.
"As for now..."
He paused, a smile playing on his lips.
The three others present clearly understood his meaning—Zephyr, now missing a hand and growing frail with age, had no further use for the gauntlets.
At that moment, Zephyr's gaze turned to Roy.
In those aged yet still resolute eyes, satisfaction and anticipation gleamed. "I thought you'd need a few more years to be worthy of wielding them, but now they're yours."
"...!"
Roy was naturally stunned by Zephyr's words.
In his heart, Roy understood Zephyr's meaning perfectly—these gauntlets provided a significant boost to Armament Haki. While they had been useful to Roy before, he hadn't truly earned the right to wield them.
But now, having mastered Flowing Sakura, Roy had finally earned that right.
"Zephyr-sensei..."
As Roy looked at the elderly man before him, he began to speak softly.
But before he could finish his sentence, Zephyr burst into laughter and playfully punched him on the chest.
"Don't get the wrong idea, kid! This doesn't mean you've graduated! I'm giving them to you only because you're about to participate in the Three-Forces Military Exercise!"
He grinned at Roy, baring his teeth. "Don't disgrace them, boy."
Roy stared in stunned silence for a moment.
Then...
"...Naturally."
He smiled back.
(End Of This Chapter)