Age Spring Rope
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"A Gadget Master?"
Biscuit silently observed the items on the ground.
"Every one of these items has a strange effect. For example, this Cuckoo Bird Egg makes others see me as one of their family."
Morin held the Cuckoo Bird Egg up toward Biscuit.
A sweep of green light passed over her, and Biscuit immediately found Morin warm and familiar, as though he truly were family.
Once Morin put the Cuckoo Bird Egg away, Biscuit immediately regained her clarity.
"It affects a person's subconscious. Even Nen can't resist it?"
Biscuit looked shaken. "Good thing you didn't do anything to me. Otherwise, that would have been dangerous."
Morin: "..."
Wasn't she being a little too narcissistic?
Besides, if anything really happened, it wasn't certain who would be in danger.
"What a sly item."
As she spoke, Biscuit stared into Morin's eyes.
"Why didn't you use this item on me from the start? If I saw you as family, wouldn't I have easily taught you Nen abilities?"
"That would be true, but in my view, respect and sincerity have to be mutual."
Morin spoke with great earnestness.
Well, the main reason was that he could deceive her for a while, but not forever. The risks and consequences were too great, so after considering it, Morin gave up on the idea. Biscuit, meanwhile, was quite pleased with his answer.
She blinked and looked again at the items Morin had put away.
"So, your ability lets you materialize items with unusual effects?"
"That does fit your Specialist-type ability."
At that point, Biscuit seemed to recall something and asked excitedly,
"Do any of your items include beautiful gemstones?"
"Not at the moment."
Morin replied.
Among Doraemon's many gadgets, very few looked like gemstones, and even those mostly came with side effects like bad luck.
"None?"
Biscuit was not overly disappointed. "Then do you have any items related to skincare?"
She touched her cheek and sighed. "Once you get old, your skin just gets worse."
That youthful face she was maintaining was something countless—
!1!
—middle-aged women in their teens could only dream of having.
"I don't have any skincare-related items right now, but—"
Morin smiled and took out something else.
"I happen to have something related to age."
During these three days on the road, aside from the Treasure Map Paper he had signed in for, the other two items were also—
Things Morin had never expected. It was as if his luck had turned around; all of them were powerful, absurdly overpowered items.
"This is the Age Spring Rope."
A completely red rope appeared in Morin's hand.
At the plugs on both ends of the rope were a red button and a blue button.
Item: Age Spring Rope.
Effect: As long as the two ends of the Age Spring Rope are connected and buttons of different colors are pressed, water of different colors will flow from the loop of rope. Red and blue water will flow from the rope. Drinking a cup of red water increases one's age by one year; conversely, drinking a cup of blue water makes one year younger.
This was one of the two ridiculously overpowered items Morin had drawn!
It could freely alter the body's age, touching upon the laws of time and changing the state of the human body.
Morin still remembered how, as a child, he had hoped to drink red water and instantly become an adult, so he would not have to take exams, do homework, or be controlled by his parents.
But after growing up, he realized that childhood had actually been the most carefree and happiest time.
Older people surely all wished they could drink blue water and return to youth.
At least, after Morin explained the effect to Biscuit, the eyes of this older woman erupted with an unimaginable, brilliant light.
It was so dazzling that Morin and Pakunoda both took a step back.
"Drinking this spring water can really make someone younger?!!!"
She asked each word distinctly, her voice carrying something indescribable that made Pakunoda shudder for no apparent reason.
This was the resentment and deep yearning for youth harbored by a middle-aged woman in her forties!!
"Genuine goods, no deception."
Morin tossed out two idioms.
"Is the effect permanent, rather than temporary?"
Biscuit pressed.
The reason she could transform from a forty-
U!
-year-old monster of a muscular woman into the adorable little girl she currently appeared to be was because of the maintenance performed through her Nen ability,
Magical Beautician Miss Cookie.
This was not permanent either. It merely tidied up her appearance; beneath it, she still possessed the muscular physique she had trained for years.
Once she engaged in intense combat, she still had to return to her original state.
That was something she had always been unwilling to see, which was why she had fought less and less over the years.
It Really Works!
The Nen ability Biscuit had developed for the sake of her appearance, Magical Beautician Miss Cookie, had no combat power whatsoever and offered no help in battle.
This showed that Biscuit had been willing to give up combat-oriented abilities for the sake of her appearance.
Given that, it was not difficult to understand why she reacted this way upon learning that the Age Spring Rope had such an effect.
"Of course the effect is permanent."
Morin said seriously, "And it isn't like fighting or getting injured will revert you to your original form. As long as you drink the spring water, it takes effect immediately. There won't be any rebound."
"And most importantly, this spring water only reduces age. It does not reduce anything else!!"
"In other words, even if our age decreases, the Nen we have cultivated and our muscular strength will not change much!!"
In the original version, after Nobita and Shizuka drank this Age Spring Water, their ages did indeed advance to adulthood.
However, their intelligence, personalities, and even their bodily development all remained at the level of elementary school students.
Well, Shizuka's body made it clear enough. A body aged up by spring water was completely incomparable to one that had naturally developed through the passage of time.
Therefore, this spring water could only alter age. It would not affect Nen strength, aura reserves, or anything else.
It was precisely because of this that Morin considered it so terrifyingly overpowered.
Just imagine it: a master Nen user with profound Nen power, but already old and frail.
If they had this Age Spring Water to reduce their age... what terrifying power could they unleash?!
They could even become younger still, return to the age of twelve or thirteen, and train again.
Then, once they grew up once more, what terrifying power would they possess?!!
It was because the Age Spring Rope had such an effect that Morin had rubbed his eyes when he drew it, making sure he had not misread it.
"An item like this actually exists?"
Biscuit was delighted, but soon, a hint of wariness appeared in her eyes.
"There won't be any side effects after drinking this water, right?"
"Even if there aren't, materializing such an item must come with many conditions and restrictions, doesn't it?"
Nen abilities followed the principle of equivalent exchange; nothing was fairer.
Such a powerful effect made Biscuit wary of its conditions and restrictions.
"Of course there are conditions and restrictions."
Morin smiled, placed the Age Spring Rope on the table, and fastened its ends together.
"But they are still within what I can bear."
He pressed the blue button.
At once, deep-blue spring water bubbled up from the circle formed by the closed rope, covering the entire tabletop.
Morin used a clean cup to scoop up a cup of blue water and handed it to Biscuit.
Then he scooped up a cup for himself and gulped it down.
"Just one year, so the change isn't very obvious."
The Age Spring Water was rather sweet, and Morin wiped his mouth.
"No, I can sense the change!!"
Biscuit, who had been staring intently at Morin and observing him the whole time, spoke slowly.
Aging was most visible in a person's skin and body. With Biscuit's powers of observation, it was not difficult for her to notice the changes in Morin's body.
"So this spring water really works?"
Biscuit silently looked at the cup in her hand.
She wanted to imitate Morin and drink the spring water in one gulp.
But... what if?
What if this spring water had rules she did not know about, and drinking it meant falling under his control—
Just as Biscuit hesitated, she suddenly felt the weight in her hand lessen.
"Such magical spring water... I want to try it too."
Under the stunned gazes of both Biscuit and Morin, Pakunoda took the cup from Biscuit's hand, tipped back her head, and drank the spring water as well.
"It tastes pretty sweet."
As she said this, she smiled at Morin.
"I was just wondering whether I could become a year younger too."
Probably not merely one year younger, right?
Morin felt a faint warmth in his heart.
Pakunoda had done this more to reassure Biscuit that the spring water was safe.
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