When Ain heard Wang Shi say that he wanted her, she completely forgot what she had said before and almost started yelling at him.
As a result, Wang Shi immediately asked her to activate her ability on Wang Shi.
This made Ain's expression turn strange, and she forcibly swallowed back the curse she had just prepared.
"So I need to use my abilities on you?"
For some reason, Ain felt a little disappointed again.
She had almost thought that the Wang Shi wanted her, which made her both angry and expectant.
"Not bad. I've been researching Paramecia abilities lately. Let's see if my Haki can counter your Rewind ability."
Wang Shi gave a faint smile; he had also noticed Ain's unusual expression.
Was this girl about to yell at him?
But what does that slightly disappointed micro-expression mean?
It's because they were disappointed that they couldn't get the blame.
"Even Master Zephyr's Haki can dispel my abilities, so His Majesty's strength should be able to as well."
Ain quickly regained her composure and resumed her aloof expression.
At the same time, he began to explain to Wang Shi the various limitations of the Return-Return Fruit's ability.
In truth, she also longed to use the Return-Return Fruit's power to restore Zephyr's youth.
However, Devil Fruit abilities and Armament Haki are inherently antagonistic and hostile forces.
In particular, this kind of 'invading' Devil Fruit ability will definitely be worn down and countered by Haki.
Her Return-Return Fruit ability can indeed make Zephyr younger, but the ability will gradually disappear whenever Zephyr uses Haki.
Moreover, Zephyr's Armament Haki is so advanced that it instinctively resists external abilities.
After all, neither Ain's Return-Return Fruit ability nor Zephyr's Armament Haki are conscious, so they can't distinguish between friend and foe.
Zephyr's Armament Haki will not fail to eliminate the influence of external forces simply because of his disciple's abilities.
If Zephyr deliberately avoids using Haki, his Return-Return Fruit ability might indeed be able to continue indefinitely.
However, whenever Zephyr uses Haki in battle, his Haki will definitely prioritize dispelling the Return-Return Fruit's abilities.
Therefore, Zephyr cannot refrain from using Haki in order to maintain his youth.
This is very contradictory.
In fact, Ain's ability to rewind was originally designed to deal with enemies, rewinding the age of enemies without Haki until they become nothingness.
To defeat a powerful opponent with Haki, one must deplete the enemy's excess Haki and eliminate the Return-Return Fruit's power.
After all, the Return-Return Fruit's power can be stacked, allowing one to rewind 12 years at a time.
If you get it a few times, even middle-aged or elderly people could turn into children again.
In order to avoid becoming a child, one can only expend their Haki to counteract the ability to regress.
Therefore, using the Return-Return Fruit's power to keep Zephyr young and at his peak was originally not feasible.
This is also why Ain doesn't use the Return-Return Fruit ability to maintain her youthful state on Zephyr Binz, and Shuzo.
This will not only be unhelpful, but will also deplete your Haki.
This is also a major reason why Ain was able to defeat Shuzo, Armament Haki.
···
After hearing Ain's illogical explanation, Wang Shi was a little confused.
The Return-Return Fruit's power is an ability used against enemies; its Haki won't be diminished by allies on the same side.
Moreover, it's excessively Haki.
"You mean, if someone is hit by the Return-Return Fruit's power, not only will they regress in age, but it will also suppress and deplete their Haki? Indiscriminately, friend or foe?"
Wang Shi took a while to sort things out before slowly speaking.
"Yes, otherwise I would have made Professor Zephyr young again long ago."
"The teacher mainly fights using physical skills and Haki, so it's impossible for him not to use Haki. Therefore, he simply cannot maintain the effect of the Return-Return Fruit's power."
"As long as the teacher uses Haki, he will instinctively prioritize repelling any external recoil abilities. Plus, the teacher's Armament Haki is so advanced that my recoil ability won't last long at all."
Looking at Wang Shi and the Pink Dragon on Wang Shi shoulder, Ain didn't know why, but she very easily and casually told Wang Shi her secret.
"So that's why you haven't restored Zephyr's age..."
Wang Shi looked thoughtful, which seemed plausible.
Actually, there's another reason.
"Zephyr himself doesn't really like Devil Fruit abilities; he believes that physical skills and Haki are the true sources of power."
"Actually, it seems that the older generation, such as Zephyr, Mr. Garp, and Kong, all harbor a bit of prejudice against Devil Fruit..."
"Teacher Zephyr doesn't want to use his regressive abilities on himself."
"Also, the bastard who cut off Professor Zephyr's arm and massacred the recruits on the ship was a Devil Fruit User..."
Like a little girl, Ain leaned close to Wang Shi's ear and whispered something to Wang Shi, her voice tinged with complaints.
When Ain realized what was happening, she suddenly panicked and moved away from Wang Shi.
She couldn't understand why she had completely let her guard down around Wang Shi.
This made Ain instantly wary as she looked at Wang Shi and the people around her.
Could it be that Devil Fruit User is influencing her?
It made her feel relaxed and let her guard down...
"Are there any Devil Fruit users among you who possess mental abilities?"
Ain looked at Wang Shi with a hint of annoyance.
"No."
"Perhaps it is my innate sincerity that made your weary soul lower its guard."
"Don't worry, I'm not a bad person."
"I can see your tense nerves. I really wish you could live a carefree life like Tashigi..."
Wang Shi shrugged, indicating that he had no threatening or malicious intentions.
The Seven-Star Dragon Emperor, perched on Wang Shi's shoulder, lazily yawned and looked at Ain with a silly, adorable expression.
"Snort..."
Ain scoffed, indicating her disbelief.
However, Wang Shi's words, expressing his hope that she would be as carefree as Tashigi, touched her somewhat.
From the day she survived the recruit ship, she lived in the shadows and in the name of revenge.
The amputee teacher's drastic change in personality makes her and Binz want to shoulder more responsibilities.
Therefore, she and Binz trained diligently, just so as not to disappoint their teacher Zephyr.
The two of them not only put a lot of effort into physical skills and Haki, but also had to take extra time to develop their Devil Fruit abilities.
"I have prepared a nine-ship fleet of Seastone for you, along with various advanced weapons to equip two thousand people."
"This is for you, along with Zephyr's support."
Wang Shi looked at the wary Ain and chuckled softly.
"Come on, activate your Return-Return Fruit ability, let me study it."
Wang Shi considered this time-related ability, which had many limitations, to be practically a step below the Age-Age Fruit's power.
He was also rushing to study Foxy's Slow-Slow Fruit ability, which should be more worthy of study than the Rewind ability.
"Is it really just about studying my abilities?"
Ain still watched Wang Shi warily, somewhat incredulous that he had funded a Pirate Guerrilla fleet with a Seastone for such a trivial matter.
"Don't overthink it, it's that simple."
"I really wish you had Tashigi's sincerity."
Wang Shi looked at Ain, who resembled a wary kitten, and gave her a gentle smile.
"What's so special about my abilities? Do you think the Goa Emperor would want to deal with a nobody like me?"
A ball of pink energy appeared in Ain's hand, and she threw it towards Wang Shi.
This attack method is slightly better than Bonney's ability to activate through Age-Age Fruit, which requires her to touch the target.