The Ninjas under Vegapunk were all fast-tracked by him. While they might not lack frontal combat power, they have major deficiencies in auxiliary Ninjutsu such as various secret techniques, perception, reconnaissance, and concealment.
Furthermore, Orochimaru himself is an all-rounder among Kage-level experts, proficient in various secret techniques. No matter how one looks at it, it was impossible for the Ninjas under Vegapunk to truly monitor Orochimaru's movements unless Orochimaru did it on purpose.
Calculating the time, the current Orochimaru should have only recently defected from Konoha. The reason he came to the Land of Sea might be that he discovered the current chaos overseas and had the idea of avoiding Konoha to establish a secret base.
In the later stages, Orochimaru was able to take Kimimaro away so easily, which clearly had some intelligence support. It's likely that starting from now, Orochimaru has begun to infiltrate overseas.
Knowing that Vegapunk was going to meet another genius scientist, Hancock became a bit more well-behaved, while also feeling a sense of curiosity.
Having stayed with Vegapunk for a long time, Hancock knew Vegapunk's level best. Even if the Orochimaru Vegapunk spoke of had talent only equivalent to a Vegapunk without the bonus of Devil Fruit abilities, he would still be an extremely remarkable scientist.
Especially in this world, because of Chakra, the technology tree is very different from the One Piece World. Who knows what kind of black technology the other party would develop based on Chakra?
..."We've arrived, my lords. Ahead is where we discovered Orochimaru. There should be one of Orochimaru's secret bases there..."
Before the guiding Ninja could finish his sentence, Vegapunk waved his hand slightly: "You may step back now! It seems the other party already knows we've arrived and has even prepared a welcoming ceremony for us."
"Ah...?" The guiding Ninja was slightly stunned when a crash was heard. The dense jungle ahead suddenly collapsed, and a giant snake with three heads, three to four meters in diameter and at least dozens of meters long, suddenly lunged out. It then opened its mouth and bit down at Vegapunk's group.
Vegapunk reached out to stop Hancock beside him, drew a long sword from his waist, and casually swung it. Suddenly, a cold light dozens of meters long flashed, and the snake was instantly split into two.
Vegapunk's current new body uses Cavendish's genes as the primary component. This future Supernova of the One Piece World is also an absolute natural talent, except most of his talent was put into swordsmanship, so his physical fitness doesn't seem that terrifying.
In terms of swordsmanship alone, even without almost any training, Cavendish could be called a skilled master among Swordmasters. He also has an even more terrifying second personality, which makes him a top-tier swordsman close to the level of a Great Swordsman.
After Vegapunk's genetic modification, this new body has no tendency toward split personality. Instead, it merges all the talents of both personalities. Coupled with the enhancement of other excellent genes, his physical strength has increased several times over, allowing him to display his swordsmanship to the fullest.
Even now, Vegapunk's physical age is only around thirteen or fourteen, yet the combat power he displays has already slightly surpassed the original Cavendish in his prime.
This is only in terms of swordsmanship and Haki. If you include the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the Magnetism Fruit installed in him, the current Vegapunk's strength would only be greater. Even in a direct confrontation with Orochimaru, he would have an eighty to ninety percent chance of winning.
Of course, Orochimaru himself is not a frontal combatant. Forbidden techniques like Edo Tensei, Living Corpse Reincarnation, and the Cursed Seal of Heaven are his specialties. If he were to truly summon a few freaks, Vegapunk would have no choice but to flee in panic.
In fact, on this point, Vegapunk, as a scientist, is the same. If he were prepared and created powerful subordinates, their combat power would definitely be much stronger than his own.
However, in a supernatural world, without sufficient strength of one's own, one has no real say. Therefore, even as a scientist, Vegapunk would not neglect his own martial level. At the very least, he must have a level of self-preservation so as not to be easily taken out by decapitation tactics.
After the magnificent Flying Slash cut the giant snake into several segments, it still hadn't lost much momentum. The cold light swept through the forest, flying for hundreds of meters. The entire forest was carved with a path over ten meters wide amidst a rumbling sound. Everything in its path, whether trees or rocks, was sliced in half.
"Mr. Orochimaru, aren't you coming out yet?"
Sheathing his sword, Vegapunk stared intently at a patch of ground and spoke indifferently.
"Truly remarkable swordsmanship and terrifying perception! To think that a remote little country like the Land of Snow would produce a monster like you."
Following a sighing voice, a figure slowly emerged from the ground. Wearing pale yellow clothes with a thick purple Shimenawa around his waist, pupils like a cold-blooded animal, and a pale face—it was indeed one of the Sannin, Orochimaru.
"Those Ninjas are your subordinates, aren't they? To be able to train such cannon fodder so excellently, your wisdom is truly not to be underestimated."
"However, a place like the Land of Snow will only bury your talent. Why not come with me and see the most exciting side of this world?"
Vegapunk was slightly stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on his lips: "The most exciting side of this world? Sorry, the most exciting person in this world is me! If you want to see a grand spectacle, why not come and work under me instead?"
Having the same reaction as Vegapunk, Orochimaru was also slightly stunned. Isn't this young man before him a bit too arrogant?
In each other's eyes, the other party was just a newcomer. Both felt that the other had the potential to become their best assistant. However, Orochimaru was only guessing Vegapunk's age and strength from the surface, while Vegapunk truly knew Orochimaru's background.
"Hehe, interesting. You want to recruit me? This is the first time I've seen someone with such abundant confidence... especially a boy of only thirteen or fourteen."
Orochimaru's words were just short of pointing at Vegapunk's nose and calling him arrogant. After all, as a Ninja who came from the strongest hidden village, had experienced two Ninja World Wars, and had been a candidate for Hokage, he was at the very top of the entire Ninja World.
He personally invited a young Ninja from a remote place who had at most come up with some new gadgets, only to be told by that young Ninja that he could be his assistant?
Even if this young Ninja's talent was indeed high and his strength was great, in Orochimaru's eyes, this was nothing short of a provocation!
"Hehe, is the physical age you see my true age? How disappointing. To think you yourself are also developing similar types of Ninjutsu!"
Facing the thorns in Orochimaru's words, Vegapunk replied with a look of disappointment.