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When Kazahana Koyuki came to, she found herself lying in the snow in an awkward position. The snow had soaked through her clothes and fallen over her body, making her shiver involuntarily as she hurriedly climbed to her feet.

Once she was up, she saw Kakashi wearing a dejected expression, tightly bound in steel wire that had been taken from his own ninja tool pouch.

As for the remaining Snow Ninja pursuers, they were still petrified, sending a chill through Kazahana Koyuki's heart.

"You're awake, little girl!"

At the sound of that gentle voice, Kazahana Koyuki turned her head and saw a handsome Blond Boy who was only a few years older than her.

"W-what happened here? What are they...?"

Hearing Kazahana Koyuki's timid question, Vegapunk shrugged. "Don't worry. It was just a little conflict. They can still change back. If you want, I can restore them right now."

"N-no need!" Kazahana Koyuki shook her head sharply, gritted her teeth, glanced at Vegapunk and the other two, then pleaded, "Big brother, can you and those two big sisters help me take back Snow Country?"

Humans were visual creatures, after all. Though Kazahana Koyuki could tell from the scene that Vegapunk's group was anything but ordinary, the three of them possessed looks and bearing far beyond normal people. She simply could not bring herself to be wary of them and even directly asked the three for help.

Kakashi, tied up nearby, rolled his eyes. He felt that Kazahana Koyuki was outrageously naive. Snow Country was remote and impoverished, while these people were all truly powerful and dangerous figures. How could they possibly...

"Sure! Drawing a sword to help when you see injustice is a chivalrous spirit passed down since ancient times!"

Uh... chivalrous spirit? Seeing himself tied up, Kakashi grumbled inwardly, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Vegapunk agreed to Kazahana Koyuki's request without hesitation. Having arrived here for no apparent reason, he was still thoroughly confused himself. More importantly, it was not just the three of them who had come here. The main Quantum Brain of Dream Star had come as well—the brain shell that had once belonged to Vegapunk.

The problem was that although the Quantum Brain had crossed over too, without the Nuclear Fusion Solar Chamber inside Dream Star to supply power, this so-called Quantum Brain was nothing more than a fragile, breakable object. Vegapunk now wanted to find a force capable of providing the Quantum Brain with some energy, so he could figure out what exactly had happened.

How had he somehow crossed into the Ninja World? Nico Robin and Hancock knew nothing either. They only knew that a burst of silver light had erupted during the final soul transfer, after which they had all arrived in this godforsaken frozen wasteland.

Vegapunk had some guesses about this. For example, how had he inexplicably crossed into the Pirate World in the first place? Since it had been a soul transmigration, the answer was likely hidden within his soul. Perhaps the soul transfer had stimulated that power, causing him to cross over once again.

But that was only a guess. He had no way to observe his own soul. Still, since the soul transfer had been guided by the Quantum Brain, that power would surely have been observed by it. Once he had enough energy to activate the Quantum Brain, he could investigate what had truly happened.

(Snow Country... This place is quite poor, but its technological level does not seem low. If I remember correctly, that geothermal generator should have already been developed, right?)

"That's wonderful!" Kazahana Koyuki said excitedly. "With your help, we'll definitely be able to defeat Kazahana Dōtō!"

Snow Country's Snow Ninja were not actually very strong. The ones sent to hunt Kazahana Koyuki accounted for at least a third of all their strength, which was precisely why she had such confidence in the three of them.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Nico Robin, who had kept a low profile until now, spoke up. "This awful weather is freezing!"

Compared to the other two, Nico Robin's constitution was much weaker. She was not immune to heat and cold, and dressed in a tropical little vest in this frozen landscape, Robin had long been close to freezing beyond endurance.

"Fine, then we'll set off now! Little girl, lead the way for us!"

Inside the capital palace of Snow Country, Kazahana Dōtō sat in the central seat, his face flushed an unnatural red.

Below him stood a sparse handful of ministers. The blood-scented palace seemed to tell the story of what had happened earlier.

"My elder brother passed away unexpectedly. Before his death, he entrusted Snow Country to me. Does anyone have any objections?"

The few ministers below exchanged glances, but none stepped forward to object. Though Snow Country was remote and impoverished, its territory was not small. It had at least several hundred thousand residents, and with such a population base, Snow Country had originally possessed twenty or thirty ministers.

The reason fewer than Double Digits remained was because all those who had objected had already been sent by Kazahana Dōtō to meet the previous Daimyo, Kazahana Sōsetsu!

Since the remaining ministers had not gone to meet the previous Daimyo, they were naturally the more spineless sort—though in truth, even those who had gone to meet the former ruler might not have had much backbone. It was simply that Kazahana Dōtō did not care much for following the rules.

Those ministers had originally thought they could still bargain with Kazahana Dōtō, but they had never expected that he simply did not understand their rules. He had truly taken them for loyal subjects of his elder brother.

After all, Kazahana Dōtō thought more like a Ninja. He was no good at the art of political compromise, so he chose a brutal, one-size-fits-all approach. And surprisingly enough, it worked quite well! Were not the remaining ministers much more obedient now?

A moment later, one minister stepped forward. "As a member of the royal family, Your Excellency has taken responsibility for the nation at such a perilous time. It is truly Snow Country's greatest fortune!"

As soon as that minister spoke, the others hurried to follow. "Indeed, indeed! Snow Country cannot do without Your Excellency!"

"Your Excellency is simply Snow Country's savior!"

After several rounds of flattery, Kazahana Dōtō's expression improved somewhat. Just as he was about to say something, a thunderous boom rang out and the palace doors were smashed open.

A straight, slender jade-like leg stepped inside first. Then, with her head held high, the proud Snake Princess entered the palace.

"Which one of you is Kazahana Dōtō? Come out and die at once! Do not waste my time!"

Hancock's words were utterly impolite. Kazahana Dōtō should have flown into a rage and struck down this person who dared offend his dignity, yet the great hall fell silent. Kazahana Dōtō and his ministers stared blankly at Hancock. Captivated by her beauty, they were unable to speak for a time.