But as time passed, Haibara Ai gradually began to feel some subtle changes occurring within her body—an unprecedented power was awakening inside her.
She took a deep breath, focused her mind, and tried to guide this newfound strength.
Suddenly, a crystalline snowball formed in her palm, radiating a faint chill. "This is incredible… So this is the Snow-Snow Fruit?"
Haibara Ai exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with surprise and curiosity.
In that moment, she seemed to possess the miraculous ability to control ice and snow.
"Ai, try to see what you can do now."
Roy said as he led Haibara Ai.
She nodded gently, a surge of unprecedented courage welling up inside her.
If she could truly obtain such great power, then she would no longer have to live under the shadow of the Black Organization.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to channel the new power within her.
Gradually, a chilling aura emanated from her body, as if even the surrounding air was frozen by the cold.
Then, clumps of snowballs began to form around her, like swirling snowflakes in winter, yet harder and denser than ordinary snow.
Roy looked at these snowballs, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
He reached out and gently touched one of them, feeling its solid texture, and nodded. "Quite hard. Not bad."
Encouraged, Haibara Ai felt a surge of even greater determination.
She decided to push the power of the Snow-Snow Fruit to its limit to test her true abilities.
With a soft cry from her, an intense wave of cold suddenly swept through the room, and then a small blizzard erupted within it.
But at that moment, Haibara Ai suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
She was shocked to find that as she pushed the Snow-Snow Fruit's power to its maximum, her body began to rapidly grow larger.
Her body seemed to be stretched by an invisible force, quickly reverting to her original Miyano Shiho form.
"Ahhh!" she cried out in surprise, looking at her suddenly grown body with a mix of shock and embarrassment.
Her formerly well-fitting clothes now felt tight, accentuating her graceful figure and making her blush crimson.
However, when she looked up and saw Roy's fascinated gaze, she felt both shy and somewhat proud.
Hastily, she covered the "great peaks" in front of her with ice and then searched the room for suitable clothes to change into.
After finally finding appropriate clothes and putting them on quickly, she noticed Roy still staring blankly in a certain direction.
She immediately understood what was on his mind, shot him a glance, and said with a hint of coquettishness, "Have you seen enough, Admiral?"
Although her words carried a teasing tone, combined with her now sexy, mature attire and slightly flirtatious eyes, they sounded more like a playful pout.
Roy snapped back to reality, gave an awkward smile, and quickly changed the subject. "Ahem… Ai, why did you suddenly change back?"
Haibara Ai looked at Roy's somewhat flustered expression and couldn't help but let out a giggle.
"It seems the mysterious power of the Devil Fruit can, to some extent, counteract and suppress the effects of APTX4869."
Haibara Ai had been immersed in study for a long time in the lab, surrounded by various test tubes and instruments.
Her eyes sparkled with the excitement of a discoverer exploring new territory.
At that moment, she seemed to have touched upon something crucial, her brow furrowed in concentration.
"The peculiar energy of the Devil Fruit continuously stimulates the body's potential, prompting subtle changes in the cells… Hmm…"
Haibara Ai sank into deep thought, her fingertips lightly tapping the lab bench, followed by a stream of specialized and complex jargon that left Roy, standing by, completely bewildered.
Roy asked expectantly, "Does that mean you can now control the changes in your body size at will?"
His eyes sparkled with delight.
"Not yet!" Haibara Ai gently shook her head, a hint of helplessness in her voice.
Before she finished speaking, she suddenly cried out again, her body miraculously reverting to its previous smaller form.
"Well, it seems that only when I push the Devil Fruit's ability to its peak can I briefly return to my original body."
Haibara Ai quickly changed into suitable clothes, then picked up her notebook and began meticulously documenting the process and sensations of this transformation.
Her heart surged with an indescribable excitement. Although she couldn't completely break free from APTX4869's constraints yet, being able to switch states freely without side effects in the future would already be tremendous progress.
"If that truly becomes possible, then many things that were previously out of reach might become achievable…"
Haibara Ai pondered to herself, suddenly thinking of something embarrassing. She inadvertently glanced at Roy's sharply defined face, and two rosy clouds rose on her cheeks.
She felt secretly pleased—if that happened, she might even have a chance to do some of those embarrassing things.
"Meeting you… I'm truly lucky," she murmured softly, her heart filled with gratitude.
Since meeting Roy, her world seemed to have been rekindled, everything quietly changing for the better.
Afterward, Roy took Haibara Ai to the seaside to further test how the Devil Fruit's ability would react upon contact with seawater.
Thanks to his own immense strength, combined with the seawater in Conan's world lacking a certain factor, it no longer had any effect on him.
However, for Haibara Ai, seawater still seemed to retain some suppressive effect.
As she cautiously stepped into the waves, she could clearly feel a subtle force surging within her, suppressing the Devil Fruit's energy.
"How peculiar."
Haibara Ai murmured softly, her gaze shimmering with curiosity about this unknown power.
So far, she still hadn't fully uncovered the effects of the Snow-Snow Fruit on her body and on APTX4869.
Carrying this unresolved mystery, the two soon returned to their residence.
Just as they stepped through the door, Dr. Agasa poked his head out from his workshop and greeted them warmly. "Hey, you're back! Hmm, strange, Ai, you seem a bit different."
The doctor's eyes held a hint of surprise and curiosity.
He noticed that Haibara Ai's demeanor seemed to have undergone a subtle change—an indescribable one.
This change wasn't just external; it was a temperament and aura radiating from within.
Roy stood aside, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He knew well that this change was because Haibara Ai had consumed the Snow-Snow Fruit, transforming both her body and spirit.
The Snow-Snow Fruit granted her the ability to control ice and snow, and at the same time, it seemed to have made her even more like an ice-cold beauty.
The only difference was when she was by his side.
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