" Ain, unleash the power you sensed on this tree, and let me see what abilities you've gained!" Vic encouraged, placing Ain at the foot of the tree.
"Okay, I got it, Vic!" Ain said seriously.
"You have to call him Vic, you can't just call him by his name, understand? Ain!" Rebecca spoke up before Vic could even reply. This little one actually wanted to address Vic as an equal; she's got quite a few tricks up her sleeve.
"Okay, Rebecca, right? We'll face this tree, right, Vic?"
Little Ain said she understood, but she didn't change her mind at all, and she even looked serious. Rebecca's mouth twitched a little, Vic was also full of black lines. Something's wrong with this girl!
The little girl stopped talking, closed her eyes, and carefully sensed the external force. Before long, she reached out her hand, and a peach-colored energy, like a flame, flew towards the tree trunk. After the peach-colored flame disappeared, the tree did not change significantly, but the little girl felt somewhat tired.
Vic didn't speak. He cut off another branch and looked at it. The tree rings had become fourteen, a year backward. Vic sheathed his long sword and picked up the swaying little girl.
"It seems that the fruit's ability is indeed related to development, and it's not the fixed 12 years as in the movie. It's still a pretty good fruit, quite useful in battle, but not as good as Barnett's Replenish-Replenish Fruit for support!" Vic thought to himself.
" Vic, what is Ain's Devil Fruit power? You seem to recognize this fruit?" Rebecca asked curiously.
"Ahem, well, I don't know either, I just have some guesses. This Devil Fruit should be related to time, so it could be called the Return-Return Fruit."
"Look at these two branches, aren't the growth rings different? This tree has been pushed back a year by Ain," Vic explained to Rebecca.
However, he couldn't explain why he knew what this ability was. After all, the two of them had lived together for a long time, and it couldn't possibly be someone sending him a dream. He could only give a vague answer.
"Oh, really, it's one ring less. But how can you be so sure that one ring less means going back a year?" Rebecca actually counted the two branches, though she didn't know that a tree's age could be measured by its annual rings.
"It's terrible to be uneducated! Rebecca, you'll have to spend more time reading books in the future. Every year a tree grows, it adds a dark brown ring to its trunk. These are called growth rings, and they show how many years the tree has grown!" Vic explained patiently.
" Vic, you're amazing! You know everything!" Little Ain praised, her spirits somewhat dampened.
" Ain, I already told you to call him Vic. This is very impolite!" Rebecca said, somewhat annoyed. She really didn't know what was going on in Ain's little head.
"Okay, I know, Sister Rebecca, Vic, let's go back quickly, I'm sleepy!" the little girl mumbled, looking very tired. Rebecca was completely defeated; she couldn't hit her or scold her, leaving her speechless.
"Okay, let's go back!" Vic didn't really care about calling her "brother." People in this world always have some unique quirks. He picked up the little girl and headed towards the hotel.
Soon the two adults and one child returned to the hotel, which had quieted down. The people who had been kidnapped by human traffickers had been picked up by Bastille himself.
This is a serious matter. There's a human trafficking organization operating right under the nose of Marine Base that's been around for over a decade. That's outrageous. There must be a mole within the base. This needs to be thoroughly investigated. We can't let these corrupt elements in the navy get away with it.
No one was waiting to greet Vic and Rebecca in front of the hotel. After dealing with the victim's case, everyone had gone to rest. Vic and Rebecca's rooms were both on the second floor, diagonally opposite each other, several rooms away. Vic went to Rebecca's room and put the little girl down.
" Ain, you can sleep with Rebecca tonight. Rebecca, take good care of Ain!" Vic said to the two of them before heading back to his room.
But when he turned around, he found that his cloak was being pulled by a force. This force was negligible to Vic, and he could certainly have used a little force to break free, but he did not.
Vic turned around and saw Ain clutching his cloak, pouting, looking like she was about to cry. Rebecca just stared blankly at her, her outstretched hand, which she was about to take Ain's hand, frozen in mid-air.
" Ain, what's wrong?" Vic crouched down and asked softly, he didn't know what was wrong with Ain either.
" Vic, I'm scared! I want to sleep with you!" The little girl said, and then tears started streaming down her face.
Vic fell silent. Ain's entire family had been murdered by human traffickers. They had been locked in a small room without food or water, and their bodies were covered in bruises, suggesting they had been beaten a lot. There was also a large X-shaped scar on her right thigh, which was definitely left by the traffickers. Ain must have been terrified during this time, living in constant fear.
"Okay, then you can sleep with me for now. You can sleep with Rebecca when you feel safer. Rebecca, that's fine. Ain is still a child and doesn't understand anything, so she can sleep with me for now. She'll sleep with you when we get on the ship. Go on in!"
Vic thought of Ain's tragic fate, which was even worse than the original owner's; at least the original owner wasn't captured.
"Okay!" Ain immediately beamed with joy and rushed towards Vic, hugging Vic neck. Vic picked her up and stood up.
"Are you sure this is really a child? I feel like she's precocious beyond belief. Even though she's just a tiny body and can't do anything, why do I still feel so annoyed?"
Rebecca was truly baffled by Ain's actions. Although Rebecca and Vic had shared a bed when they were little, they were both just kids back then and didn't understand anything.
"Goodnight, Rebecca!" Ain greeted Rebecca politely, but Rebecca saw it as a provocation, a provocation between women.
Vic didn't say anything. He didn't think as much as Rebecca did. What bad intentions could a five or six-year-old girl have? Rebecca could only helplessly open the door and go into the room.
Seeing that Rebecca had closed the door, Vic led Ain to his and Barnett's room. After opening the door, Vic saw that Barnett was still awake, dressed and sitting on the bed with his eyes closed in thought. Hearing the door open, he immediately opened his eyes.
"You're finally back. What have you been doing, hmm? Did you bring the child back?"
Barnett is still in good spirits. His Devil Fruit ability allows him to cheat, and he hasn't yet recognized that Ain is a little girl because Ain has short hair and is wearing boys' clothes. She's too young to tell the difference between male and female, and is rather androgynous.