Deep inside Dream Star, in a metallic space roughly a hundred meters in diameter, a massive sphere of light flickered rhythmically at the center, as if breathing.
Countless streams of light flowed from the sphere to the floor, where lines of light resembling integrated circuits flashed across the metal. This was the location of Dream Star's most vital brain.
The flickering sphere of light was Vegapunk's original brain, and it was the very first device Vegapunk had successfully quantized.
Already possessing formidable processing power, the brain's computational capacity reached an inconceivable level after complete quantization; it could even perfectly predict the currents, magnetic fields, weather, and tectonic plate movements of the entire Pirate Planet.
Relying solely on calculation, Dream Star could utilize the butterfly effect to trigger various natural disasters across the Pirate Planet at will. Even if it wanted to submerge the entire world, it would only require a year or two of preparation.
As for destroying a specific island, it wouldn't even take a day—and that was only because the chain reaction caused by the butterfly effect needed sufficient time to ferment.
And now, this world-destroying weapon was exhausting all its computational power to ensure the success of Vegapunk's Soul Transfer Experiment.
Vegapunk and the manufactured physical body stood on the left and right sides of the sphere of light. A fantastical pillar of light descended from above, enveloping the two of them. Nico Robin stood before the sphere as a holographic light screen projected from the void, displaying various data points she was monitoring.
Although Nico Robin could be considered a genius and possessed a powerful research tool like a Biological Chip, acting as Vegapunk's assistant was still very taxing for her.
Fortunately, Vegapunk had performed the Soul Transfer Experiment many times using experimental subjects, so she was relatively familiar with the various data points; at the very least, she could understand some of what she was seeing.
Vegapunk didn't expect her to actually lead the experiment; he only wanted her to perform an emergency shutdown if she noticed something was wrong.
On the other side, Boa Hancock was pacing back and forth nervously. Though she had no role in the experiment, she had managed to convince Vegapunk to let her into the lab by acting spoiled and expressing concern for his well-being.
"Soul integrity normal!"
"Frequency bands perfectly aligned!"
"Memory module initiating!"
"Spiritual energy fully connected!"
"Soul detachment beginning!"
Nico Robin let out a long breath. Once the soul detachment began, the experiment became completely irreversible. In other words, there was no point in her watching it anymore.
However, as more and more of Vegapunk's soul was transferred into the new body, a dim glow within his soul gradually brightened. Finally, just as Vegapunk's soul was completely transferred to the new body, a powerful silver light suddenly erupted... White snow covered the land, and amidst the biting cold wind, several figures were engaged in a chase and battle.
Running at the very front was a white-haired youth who looked to be fourteen or fifteen years old. He had a cold expression, and his forehead protector was tilted, covering one eye. He carried an eight or nine-year-old girl on his back, moving through the snow at an unimaginably high speed.
Behind him were several fierce-looking men wearing strange armor, relentlessly pursuing the white-haired youth. From time to time, they threw hidden weapons like Kunai, but they were all blocked by the boy.
"Hmm... people ahead?"
The youth, moving at high speed, looked forward. Amidst the howling cold wind, three figures were vaguely visible.
What the hell? They're dressed like that in this snow?
Kakashi looked at the three people ahead. Two of them were women around twenty years old, tall with curvaceous figures—obviously great beauties. However, their clothes... one wore a thin qipao, revealing a pair of ivory-white long legs, looking quite relaxed as if the cold wind was nothing. The other simply wore tropical leather clothes and shorts, looking as if she treated this frozen world like a tropical island, though she was shivering slightly.
As for the last one, a youth who looked only twelve or thirteen years old, he was actually a bit taller than the current Kakashi. With golden hair and a handsome face, he gave off an elegant, prince-like vibe even in the middle of this icy wasteland.
However, this prince was also wearing thin clothes. Unlike the first woman, this youth didn't seem to be immune to the cold; he was jumping around and rubbing his arms.
Just then, the woman with the hime-cut and qipao looked up and saw Kakashi, her expression turning to one of pleasant surprise.
Similarly, when Kakashi got his first clear look at the woman's face, he was instantly stunned.
As a Ninja, Kakashi had started killing people on the battlefield at an age when kids on Blue Star would be graduating from kindergarten—or maybe hadn't even graduated yet. He had seen much over the years, and though he was only fourteen or fifteen, he felt he was sufficiently composed.
At the very least, he never thought he would be dazed just because a woman was too beautiful!
Yet, the moment he saw the qipao beauty's slightly arrogant features, he was truly dazed for an instant. He felt that the woman's beauty had surpassed the limits of human imagination, filled with a nearly demonic, aggressive power.
After that momentary pause, Kakashi pushed his forehead protector up as if facing a great enemy, revealing his Three-Tomoed Sharingan. A moment later, after confirming he wasn't under any Genjutsu, his face flushed slightly red.
"What a terrifying woman... to be comparable to Genjutsu based on looks alone..."
Despite the freezing climate, sweat dripped from Kakashi's forehead, showing how shaken he was.
However, in that same instant, Kakashi noticed the peerless beauty's silhouette vanish, only to reappear right in front of him. She tilted her head and asked:
"Hey, white-haired fellow, tell This Mistress where this place is!"
Arrogant, rude, looking down her nose at people, completely disregarding others... these were the impressions that flashed through Kakashi's mind, but she was just too beautiful!
Biting his lower lip, Kakashi finally snapped out of it, but he didn't answer immediately.
However, the young girl on his back, despite her grief, could not resist the qipao beauty's charm.
The girl's eyes turned into hearts as she blurted out, "Big sister, this is the Land of Snow! Those chasing us are the Snow Ninja rebels of the Land of Snow. They aren't good people, you should run away quickly!"