Power Comparison

As the latest version of the Geothermal Generator showed its power, the entire Snow Country erupted in celebration. Kazahana Koyuki, who had become the Daimyo of Snow Country at such a young age, and her father, Kazahana Sōsetsu, who had invented the Geothermal Generator, were both hailed as sage rulers for the ages.

Dr. Vegapunk's name was remembered by everyone in Snow Country. In this regard, Vegapunk had no intention of keeping anything secret. Even with neither Future Island nor Dream Star at his side, the strength of the three of them was more than enough to protect themselves.

After a period of research, especially with Kakashi Hatake—a character already famous in the original work for calculating Chakra—Vegapunk had gained a solid understanding of the Ninja World's power scale. He knew very well that none of them were people to be underestimated.

Comparing the strength of the Pirate World and the Ninja World, excluding the hidden figures of the Pirate World and the cosmic backdrop characters of the Ninja World, the two sides were actually more or less evenly matched.

However, the Ninja World had a massive power gap. Kaguya Otsutsuki was a top-tier expert even among those at the Six Paths Level. Even translated into the Pirate World's standards, she would be invincible. The other Six Paths experts below her were merely fleeting flashes, and most could not maintain their combat strength for long.

Below Kaguya Otsutsuki were Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. The two could be classified as Super-Kage Level, vastly stronger than the leaders of the normal Five Great Shinobi Villages.

In the Ninja World, combatants like Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju were rare sights even over several centuries. In the Pirate World, though, the two were probably around the level of the Four Emperors and Three Admirals.

Their destructive power might have exceeded that level by a fair margin, but due to their insufficient defense and endurance, they were broadly placed in the same tier.

At this level of power, the Pirate World had already gained an overwhelming advantage. After all, even without counting hidden figures, more than ten Emperor- and Admiral-level individuals had already appeared in the Pirate World.

Further down, among Kage-level fighters, the Pirate World held an absolute advantage. This tier roughly corresponded to veteran elite vice admirals, Pirate Supernovas, and the First Mates of the Four Emperors Pirates.

In the Pirate World, there were definitely more than a hundred such powerful people. In the Ninja World, however, this was already the level of a village's Kage.

Moreover, most village Kage were closer to the lower-middle end of this bracket, about as strong as the weaker Shichibukai. Those who could truly be considered First Mate level were few and far between, even counting the Kage of every generation.

Among the current Five Kage, even the strongest, the Third Tsuchikage and the Fourth Raikage, would likely struggle to reach First Mate level.

In contrast, among the three who had come to the Pirate World, Hancock had always possessed exceptional talent. After Vegapunk enhanced her, she had become far stronger than she was at the beginning of the story. After arriving in the Ninja World and awakening Chakra as well, she had improved even further.

By Vegapunk's estimate, Hancock's current strength had already reached a critical point. If she made another breakthrough—such as achieving Devil Fruit Awakening, learning Conqueror's Haki Infusion, or completely integrating Chakra into her combat system—she could probably become a Pirate Emperor herself.

With that kind of strength, she could sweep through the entire Ninja World. Of course, the Ninja World differed from the Pirate World. Unless one's own Chakra had reached the level of all things in creation, it was still easy to be killed by all manner of special ninjutsu. That was precisely why Vegapunk had not rushed into action.

But regardless, their strength was absolutely enough to protect their foundation. Besides, Snow Country was located in a remote region. Other than similarly maritime nations, hardly anyone paid it any attention.

In Snow Country, Vegapunk's laboratory had been built atop a snow mountain. Beneath the mountain lay a dormant volcano, rich in geothermal resources that could provide energy for the laboratory's operations.

The laboratory looked like a white hemisphere, almost like an eggshell. There was not a single visible sign of processing anywhere on its exterior.

In fact, the entire laboratory had been created using Vegapunk's Fruit ability. Otherwise, setting aside the time and effort required of ordinary labor, the construction standards alone could never have met Vegapunk's demands.

At that moment, several white shadows were wriggling through the snow outside the laboratory.

"That is the target of this operation. The legendary Scientist lives there."

One of the white figures rose, revealing a Kirigakure headband on his forehead. He spoke to the other Subordinates.

"They say that Scientist named Vegapunk is only in his teens. Can he really create inventions like this?"

One Kirigakure ninja asked doubtfully. The captain shook his head and replied coldly:

"That is not something we should concern ourselves with. Our mission is simply to capture him. Whether he is a front-facing figurehead or a true genius with real talent is for those above us to consider."

Kirigakure had always been known as a shinobi village with harsh rules and brutal demands on its ninjas. Few ninjas who failed their missions or knew too much met a good end.

Although this Kirigakure captain sounded cold, he was actually reminding his team. After the other three ninja Subordinates heard their captain's words, their expressions turned solemn, and they hurriedly nodded.

Seeing that his Subordinates were fairly obedient, the Kirigakure captain nodded inwardly. Ninja was already a profession with immense psychological pressure, let alone for Kirigakure, known as the Bloody Mist. In this era, eight out of every ten Kirigakure ninjas could be said to have psychological problems, with at least half developing severe mental illness.

Still, it seemed fine. The three Subordinates assigned to him this time showed no signs of an episode, at least on the surface. That gave them a few more chances of completing the mission...

Just as the Kirigakure captain was still thinking, a flash of electricity suddenly streaked across the hemispherical laboratory.

At the instant the lightning flashed, the Kirigakure ninjas felt their scalps tingle. Without hesitation, they tore away their disguises and leaped upward at top speed.

However, the laboratory's lightning was faster than they could have imagined—it was not Chakra-simulated lightning like Lightning Release, but real lightning from nature, traveling at a speed infinitely close to that of light!

The moment they saw the flash, they had already been hit. The few who leaped into the air felt their entire bodies go numb, then fell to the ground with a smack. Their hair stood on end, and after twitching a few times, they passed out.