Although Uya does not possess the power to control time, his body is already beyond the constraints of time, transcending it. Time can hardly leave any trace on him, whether it accelerates or rewinds.
After his body instantly returned to normal, Uya fell into deep thought.
Experiencing the power of time firsthand finally allowed Uya to faintly touch the edge of the Arc of Time, but the feeling was like looking at flowers through the fog; he could only sense an outline and could not see it clearly at all.
The scene and the strange feeling kept replaying in Yu Ye's mind. After a while, Uya raised his head and looked at Ain beside him.
" Ain, use your power one more time."
Ain was still in shock and hadn't quite come to her senses. Hearing Uya's words, she was jolted awake and couldn't help but ask in astonishment, "Commander Uya, how did you do that...?"
"What do you mean?" Uya raised an eyebrow.
A look of disbelief still lingered in Ain's eyes as she said, "It seems that the power of my Return-Return Fruit has been completely neutralized by you..."
"Well, that's a bit complicated to explain. You can think of it as my body being unaffected by the passage of time, and equally unaffected by time reversal."
Uya originally wanted to say that time-manipulation abilities were ineffective against his body, but considering that time-stopping abilities were likely to be effective, he changed his statement.
Uya's vague explanation actually made Ain realize something. Uya's body had suddenly turned into points of light and then reformed, which was clearly a special ability, similar to Logia Devil Fruit.
In this world, there are many kinds of Devil Fruit unique abilities, so it's not surprising that one could ignore time reversal.
Thinking this way, the shock in Ain's heart gradually subsided.
Upon hearing Uya's command, she no longer hesitated or felt awkward, and immediately threw another ball of pink flame at Uya.
Buzz!!
Pink light spots reappeared on Uya's body, and then her body slowly shrank in the fluorescent light. However, before she could fully transform into a child's appearance, she vanished into nothingness and then reformed again.
Having experienced the ability to rewind time twice, Uya's perception of the Arc of Time became a little clearer. Although it was still like looking at flowers through a fog, the fog seemed to have thinned out somewhat.
The sensations from just now kept replaying in his mind. After a moment, Uya looked at Ain again and said, "One more time."
"Yes."
Ain nodded respectfully, and then used his ability once again.
The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time...
He repeated this countless times until Ain was nearly exhausted and her forehead was covered in sweat, before Uya finally stopped.
Paramecia Devil Fruit abilities generally consume stamina. For example, Trafalgar Law's Op-Op Fruit, which allows him to use space-time manipulation, consumes stamina.
"Call."
Once again restored to its original Uya, Yu Ye let out a breath, but a hint of unwillingness appeared in his eyes, because he had never been able to fully grasp the Arc of Time.
Through repeated experiences of time reversal, Uya's perception of the Arc of Time, or rather, the timeline, became incredibly clear. It was no longer like looking at flowers through a fog, but rather he could clearly observe the existence of the timeline.
The timeline is extremely ethereal. Although it is called a timeline, Uya doesn't actually know how to describe it. It's as if it's perfectly integrated with space and a strange power hidden deep within space.
This power is omnipresent and operates at all times.
Even the most powerful person can hardly escape the passage of time. They either need to control the power of time, or, like Uya, achieve physical godhood, becoming immortal and indestructible, capable of endless transformations.
Uya could clearly sense the existence of the power of time, but it was like a flower in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water—she could only see it but could not touch it.
After numerous attempts, none succeeded. It seems that acquiring time manipulation abilities without any effort is extremely difficult; a catalyst is still needed.
One breaks the mirror, the other makes the illusory moon in the water real, allowing Uya to truly touch the catalyst of the power of time.
And this trigger is undoubtedly the time-based Devil Fruit.
It doesn't need the legendary Time Fruit that's at the source; any time-related Devil Fruit will do, whether it's the Return-Return Fruit, the Slow-Slow Fruit, or the Speed-Speed Fruit!
For Uya, all he needed was guidance, a guide that would allow him to truly touch the power of time.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Seeing Ain standing beside him, drenched in sweat and looking exhausted, Uya stopped his attempt to control the power of time and smiled slightly at her.
"I'm your adjutant, this is what I should do."
Ain smiled gently, without any sign of dissatisfaction. To her, Uya was a much better superior than her previous one, Lieutenant General Onigumo.
Although he may occasionally exude an air of etherealness and remoteness, he is generally very kind and approachable.
Although she didn't know what Uya was researching, as his adjutant, she felt it was her duty to help Uya.
"Alright, go and rest first. Once you're rested, help me gather all the information about time-based Devil Fruit abilities." Uya nodded slightly to Ain.
He wasn't afraid of others knowing he was researching time manipulation abilities. Even if they did, so what? He wasn't the only one in the world interested in time manipulation, but probably no one had actually succeeded in researching it!
Otherwise, the world would have been in chaos long ago.
"Yes!"
After Ain nodded, she stepped aside and rested.
Seeing Ain sitting there resting, Uya stretched his body, then seemed to remember something. He suddenly walked to her side, extended a finger, and gently touched her brow.
Ain opened her eyes in surprise, but suddenly felt a strange energy enter her body instantly from between her eyebrows.
This energy, in an instant, caused a transformation in her body.
She could feel that both her strength and stamina had almost doubled. The energy flowed through her entire body in an instant, directly driving away all her fatigue.
This is of course Uya's Natural Energy, a transformation of her Sage Body. It can be used even in this world, and given Uya's current level, it easily helped her complete two stages of transformation.
"Alright, consider this a reward for you."
Uya smiled at Ain, then turned and left the room. (To be continued.)