On the other side, Bridge's battle had also begun.
His opponent was Ain, and his situation was looking grim.
Ain was a Reverse-Reverse Fruit user, capable of generating purple flames to attack. Any living creature or object touched by these flames would revert to a state from several years ago. It was an extremely overpowered Paramecia Devil Fruit, possessing a natural counter to Bridge's close-combat fighting style.
Fortunately, Ain had not yet developed her Devil Fruit abilities to the extent seen in the later movie. She couldn't yet launch purple flames from a distance, and even if hit, one would only revert five years.
At the start of the battle, Bridge accidentally took a hit, and his physical age regressed to 17. The impact wasn't significant, but he no longer dared to attack rashly. He retreated to a corner of the arena, searching for an opening.
Ain stood opposite Bridge, each hand cradling a ball of purple flame, also wary of Bridge's attack. During their earlier exchange, Bridge had touched her shoulder. If she relaxed her guard even slightly, Bridge's attack would land.
This prolonged stalemate was actually very disadvantageous for Ain. She was inferior to Bridge in both physical prowess and martial arts. She could only rely on her Devil Fruit ability to find the right moment for a decisive blow. Bridge had already been hit once by the regression. If he took another hit, he would revert to the state of a 12-year-old boy. No matter how strong his physique, he wouldn't be able to make any waves at that age.
Bridge grew a little impatient and once again activated his Hook-Hook Fruit ability. His right hand transformed into a hook, extending towards Ain at an incredibly fast speed. Ain didn't dare to meet it head-on and quickly used Soru to dodge.
Bridge was proficient in Shigan, one of the Six Powers, and it was the most suitable technique for him. The flying hook could carry the effect of Shigan. If Ain were to touch it with her Reverse-Reverse Fruit ability at this moment, she would undoubtedly suffer severe damage, perhaps even losing her combat ability.
Ain reappeared on another part of the arena, with Bridge's attack following closely. This time, Bridge decided to go all out, willing to take another regression hit to end the battle.
Repeated use of Soru consumed a tremendous amount of stamina. After narrowly dodging another hook claw, Ain stumbled, almost falling to the ground. She panted as she watched the hook claw coming at her again. As if making a decision, Ain didn't dodge this time. She thrust her shoulder forward.
Pfft, blood splattered. Ain's shoulder was pierced by the hook and locked in place. Her other hand pressed down on the hook in her shoulder, and with a pained grunt, she lowered her head, seemingly having fainted.
Bridge hadn't expected Ain, as a woman, to possess such courage, taking his attack head-on with her shoulder. However, he couldn't hesitate in battle. On future battlefields, no one would show mercy just because their opponent was a woman.
In his opinion, Ain, having suffered such a severe injury, would find it difficult to even move, let alone activate her Devil Fruit ability. So, he exerted force with his right hand, the hook dragging Ain's body closer to him. Once she was dragged over, Bridge believed he could end the battle with a single blow.
However, things clearly didn't go as smoothly as Bridge had imagined. Ain, who should have been dragged over by the hook, stopped moving after being pulled for a short distance. The almost unconscious Ain suddenly lifted her head. A ball of purple flame ignited in the hand resting on the hook. The Reverse-Reverse Fruit ability activated, and the purple flame instantly spread from Bridge's hooked hand to his entire body.
"Damn it!!!"
Bridge immediately tried to deactivate his ability the moment he saw the purple flames, but it was too late. His entire body glowed purple, and after a few awkward screeches, he transformed into a chubby little boy with yellow hair.
Bridge stared at Ain with eyes even smaller than before. Even though his body had reverted to its twelve-year-old state, he didn't believe he had lost. After all, Ain's condition wasn't great either.
But the next scene filled him with despair. Ain saw through Bridge's thoughts and forced a smile onto her pale face. She tremblingly raised her uninjured arm, and a light purple, noticeably smaller flame appeared. Ain pressed it against her body. In a few seconds, the bloody hole in her shoulder vanished, and her own appearance and physique didn't change much.
Although Ain couldn't increase the years of regression, she could decrease them. Using it on herself allowed her to recover from injuries. It truly lived up to its name as a time-related Paramecia Devil Fruit.
Bridge saw that Ain was now as good as new, then looked at his own height, which barely reached Ain's waist. He gave a bitter laugh. He understood that he had lost this time. The key point was that he had underestimated Ain's willpower due to her gender, and he hadn't thoroughly analyzed her Devil Fruit ability. In short, he lost fair and square.
Actually, he wasn't as obsessed with the competition's reward as others. He had already eaten a Devil Fruit and wasn't a swordsman. What he most looked forward to was encountering Graves in the competition, giving that guy a good beating, openly claiming a year's worth of cigar enjoyment, and then watching that guy make a constipated face while calling him 'bro' and lighting his cigarettes!
Now, it could only remain a regret. Bridge shook his head and then, quite frankly, raised his hand to surrender. Seeing his surrender, Ain deactivated her Devil Fruit ability, and Bridge returned to his original form.
Back in the lounge, Ain collapsed into a chair. From the moment the hook pierced her shoulder until now, both her stamina and physical condition were exhausted. At this moment, a roommate who had just finished her match also returned to the lounge and, seeing Ain in this state, rushed to her side.
The roommate got closer and saw that Ain's face was pale, sweat constantly beaded on her forehead, and there was still a bloody hole in her shoulder, continuously bleeding. That was because Ain's stamina was depleted, and her Devil Fruit ability had automatically deactivated.
The roommate quickly called for medical personnel, then turned to Ain and said with concern,
"It's just a match, is it worth fighting so hard?"
Ain forced herself to cling to the last shred of consciousness. A tall figure appeared in her mind, and she murmured somewhat distractedly,
"If I can't even do this much, how can I stand by his side?"
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