On the other side, Breach's battle had already begun.
His opponent was Ain, and things weren't looking good for him.
Ain had the powers of the Return-Return Fruit, which let her conjure purple flames that, when they made contact with a person or object, would revert them to their state from several years ago. It was an incredibly broken Paramecia-type Devil Fruit—and it was a natural counter to someone like Breach, who relied heavily on close-quarters combat.
Luckily for him, Ain hadn't yet reached the level of mastery she would later display in the movie timeline. At present, she couldn't fire off her purple flames from a distance. And even when hit, the effect only reverted the target back by five years.
Breach had already been hit once at the start of the fight, reverting his body to its 17-year-old state. While not a huge setback, it made him cautious. He had now retreated to the edge of the ring, searching for an opening.
Ain stood across from him, holding a ball of purple flame in each hand, staying just as wary of Breach. Her shoulder had been grazed by him during their earlier exchange—if she let her guard down even a little, Breach's attack would land again.
But this kind of drawn-out battle actually put Ain at a disadvantage. Physically and in terms of hand-to-hand combat, she was no match for Breach. Her only hope was to find the perfect moment to end it with a well-placed use of her Devil Fruit. Breach had already been hit once—if he got hit again, he'd revert to a 12-year-old boy. No matter how strong his physical stats were, at that age, there was no way he could pose a serious threat.
Breach was starting to get impatient. He activated his Hook-Hook Fruit again—his right hand transformed into a curved hook and shot forward at high speed toward Ain. Ain didn't dare block it head-on and instantly used Soru to dodge.
Breach was a master of the Six Styles, especially Shigan, the one that suited him best. His flying hook could carry the same piercing power as a Shigan. If Ain tried to counter it with her Return-Return powers, she'd definitely suffer a serious injury—possibly even be taken out of the fight entirely.
Ain reappeared at another spot in the ring, but Breach's attack followed close behind. This time, he was going all in. Even if it meant getting hit with another time-reversal, he was determined to end the battle here and now.
But repeated use of Soru drained stamina fast. Ain barely dodged another claw swipe, stumbling and nearly collapsing. Gasping for breath, she stared at the approaching hook—and as if coming to a decision, she didn't dodge this time. Instead, she suddenly lunged forward with her shoulder.
Shhk!
Blood sprayed everywhere. The hook pierced through Ain's shoulder and locked her in place. Her other hand clutched the embedded hook tightly. With a pained grunt, she lowered her head, seemingly passing out.
Breach was caught off guard. He didn't expect Ain—just a girl, after all—to take his attack head-on like that. But there was no room for hesitation in battle, and certainly not on the battlefield of the future. No one would go easy on you just because your opponent was a woman.
From his perspective, Ain had just taken a devastating hit. She could barely move, let alone activate her Devil Fruit powers. So Breach tightened his grip, and the hook began pulling her body toward him. Once she was close, he was confident he could finish this with a single blow.
But things didn't go the way Breach expected.
Just as Ain was being dragged forward, she suddenly stopped moving. Then, nearly unconscious, she lifted her head. The hand clutching the hook ignited with purple flame—Return-Return Fruit activated. The fire surged instantly from her hand, traveling up the hook and into Breach's arm, engulfing his entire body.
"Crap!!!"
Breach tried to cancel his power the moment he saw the purple flames, but it was too late. His body shimmered with violet light, and after a few distorted screams, he shrank into a chubby, blond-haired little boy.
His eyes—smaller than before—stared hard at Ain. Even in this 12-year-old body, he didn't think he'd lost yet. After all, Ain wasn't looking too great either.
But then came the moment that made him despair.
Ain seemed to read his thoughts. Despite her pale face, she gave a faint smile and shakily raised her uninjured arm. A faint purple flame appeared—noticeably smaller than before—and she pressed it to her own body. Within seconds, the bloody hole in her shoulder was gone. Her body's shape and appearance didn't change much, but she was completely healed.
Although Ain couldn't extend the number of years she could reverse, she could reduce it. When used on herself, that meant she could revert to an uninjured state. Truly fitting for a Paramecia-type linked to time.
Breach looked at her—now fully recovered—and then down at himself, only reaching her waist in height. He let out a bitter laugh.
Yeah, he'd lost this one.
He'd made two critical mistakes: underestimating Ain's resolve because of her gender, and failing to fully analyze her Devil Fruit. No excuses—it was a clean loss.
Honestly, he didn't care about the tournament prize as much as others. He'd already eaten a Devil Fruit and wasn't a swordsman anyway. What he really wanted was to run into Glefos during the tournament and beat the crap out of him—then walk away with a whole year's worth of cigars as a prize. Watching that bastard call him "boss" with a constipated face while lighting his cigar—that would've been perfect.
Now, it was just a pipe dream.
Breach sighed, shook his head, and raised his hand in surrender.
Seeing him yield, Ain canceled her power. Breach returned to his original form.
...
Back in the rest area, Ain collapsed into a chair. From the moment her shoulder had been pierced to now, she had completely drained both her stamina and physical strength.
Just then, a dorm mate who had just finished her own match came back. She immediately rushed over when she saw the state Ain was in.
Up close, she could see Ain's face was deathly pale. Sweat dripped from her forehead. Her shoulder was bleeding again—she had run out of strength, and her Devil Fruit's effect had automatically deactivated.
The dorm mate quickly called the medical staff and turned back to Ain, speaking with concern:
"It's just a tournament match… was it really worth pushing yourself this far?"
Ain forced herself to stay conscious. A tall, slender figure flashed through her mind. In a daze, she muttered softly:
"If I can't even handle this much… how could I ever hope to stand by his side?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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