The Fourth Raikage's severe injury had a significant impact on Kumogakure.
At the very least, the Kumogakure Ninjas, who had been aggressive originally, quickly halted their invasion and shifted to a conservative defensive strategy.
The Konoha Ninjas, who were originally pinned down in their village, seized the opportunity to launch a major offensive, pushing the Cloud Ninjas back to the border of the Land of Fire step by step.
However, even with the Fourth Raikage injured, Kumogakure's basic combat power was still superior to Konohagakure's; with just 2,000 Ninjas, they forced Konoha to deploy 5,000 Ninjas to face them, including many clan-head-level elites.
As the strongest Ninja village, Konoha's past advantages weren't just its unrivaled Ninjutsu diversity and Kekkei Genkai ninjas; its lead in Elite Jonin was also significant.
Specifically, the heads of the Ninja clans were almost all considered strong even among Elite Jonin; some could even be seen as quasi-Kage, or were Kage-level themselves.
For instance, the Uchiha Clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, was close to Kage-level even without activating his Mangekyo. There were also the brothers Hyuga Hizashi and Hyuga Hiyori from the Hyuga Clan, both quasi-Kage-level experts. The Ino–Shika–Chō trio working together could also fight against a Kage-level opponent... These were Konoha's true foundation. It wasn't that they didn't act in this battle, but even so, they only managed to push the Cloud Ninjas back without gaining any real advantage.
The reason, naturally, was Kumogakure's Chakra Armor. This armor, which was almost like a miniature Susanoo, was astonishingly powerful. It increased defense and Taijutsu capabilities without affecting flexibility in the slightest and amplified Ninjutsu power... One could say that aside from consuming more Chakra, it had no flaws.
This time, Kumogakure deployed about half of its Jonin equipped with Chakra Armor—only eight Jonin in total—yet each of them displayed strength no less than that of those Ninja clan heads.
On the level of ordinary Ninjas, although Konoha had the advantage in numbers, they were actually at a slight disadvantage in overall combat power when facing the Cloud Ninjas, whose hardware had reached Chunin standards through Training Pod sessions.
Had it not been for the low morale caused by the Fourth Raikage's condition, along with Iwagakure's inclination to join the fray—deploying large numbers of troops along the borders of both countries—these Cloud Ninjas would never have retreated so easily.
The Three Great Ninja Villages were on guard in the small countries near their borders, each with their own concerns. The clouds of war momentarily loomed over the entire Naruto World.
And at this very moment, both Kumogakure and Iwagakure welcomed guests of their own.
"What do you mean? Technical support for us?"
Ōnoki looked at the Sunagakure Ninja before him with a strange expression.
"What? If the Tsuchikage is unwilling, then never mind!"
The expressionless Suna Ninja, face painted with greasepaint, spoke up and then stood up, seemingly preparing to leave immediately.
"Wait, wait!" Ōnoki quickly stopped him. He could see that the Suna Ninja before him was absolutely serious about leaving. This guy was likely the rigid type who followed orders to the letter, perhaps even from some brainwashed secret unit, and was not a negotiator at all.
However, there was one advantage to using someone like this for negotiations: there was no need for back-and-forth haggling. If you agreed, it was a success; if not, the deal was off. This completely thwarted Ōnoki's intention to fish for information.
Meanwhile, Kumogakure also welcomed an envoy from the Sea Country Alliance.
With the AB brothers, the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee, absent, the Ninja receiving the guest was Kumogakure's strategist, a Ninja named Dodai who wore a sealing charm over one eye.
Interestingly, the Sea Ninja Village envoy across from him was Ao, who also wore a sealing charm over his eye. Both shared similarities in appearance, age, and personality.
"Taking over Dr. Vegapunk's research?" Dodai frowned and looked at Ao. "Something like this isn't that simple, right? Does the Land of Sea have such brilliant researchers? You can't possibly have Vegapunk himself come here to conduct research!"
"Besides, what's in this for your Sea Ninja Village? You probably wish for the destruction of our Three Great Ninja Villages!"
"Don't overthink the technical level; what's being given to you is Dr. Vegapunk's research... Of course, personally, I think wiping out all the Ninja villages and ruling the continent would be the best way, but supporting you is Dr. Vegapunk's request... In our Ninja village, no one can refuse Dr. Vegapunk!"
"And..."
A look of near-contempt suddenly appeared on Ao's face. "Ever since that weapon was developed, the order of this world can no longer be shaken..."
"That weapon?" Dodai knew this must be vital intelligence. What kind of weapon could be powerful enough for a Ninja like Ao to believe it could determine the world's order?
"If you have the time, Kumogakure can also look into the islands near the coast... Perhaps you'll find some clues."
Seeing Dodai's contemplative expression, Ao said with a smile, "Perhaps once you've actually seen it, you won't think I'm exaggerating!"
...In the end, neither Kumogakure nor Iwagakure refused the technological aid from Vegapunk.
Similarly, intelligence that Vegapunk had invented some kind of superweapon gradually circulated among these great Ninja villages. To this, both the Land of Wind and the Land of Sea remained silent, which only strengthened its credibility.
While the other three Ninja villages urgently prepared for war, they also began researching Vegapunk's so-called superweapon. Ultimately, Konoha and Iwa discovered an abandoned desert testing ground in the transformed Land of Wind, while Kumogakure found the remains of what was once a rocky island at sea.
Based on the wreckage, both sides calculated an almost astronomical explosive yield—a massive blast capable of covering over a hundred kilometers, which easily destroyed that island made entirely of rock and left a giant crater at the desert base.
It wasn't some true sci-fi technology; in reality, Vegapunk had simply created a three-stage bomb.
This ultimate weapon of destruction, developed by real-world humans, has an almost inconceivable destructive power. With sufficient numbers, wiping out a planet's surface and destroying human civilization would be effortless. Most importantly, this weapon requires no Chakra; even ordinary people can manufacture it.
This rendered the Ninja villages' decapitation tactics completely ineffective. While a Tailed Beast's instantaneous destructive power might not match a nuclear weapon's, their overall destructive capacity and deterrent effect weren't necessarily much worse. However, Tailed Beasts could be defeated and sealed, and a Ninja village had two at most.
Nuclear weapons, on the other hand, could easily be manufactured by the hundreds or thousands if one were so inclined. Faced with such mass-produced, large-scale weaponry, no Ninja village had the capability to eliminate the threat.
As the Three Great Ninja Villages learned more about this weapon through intelligence infiltration, their hearts grew colder. This manifested as the originally tense atmosphere among the three parties gradually cooling down.
There was also another factor: after receiving Vegapunk's support, the remaining two Ninja villages began to develop rapidly. With the help of the Vegapunk Clone, Konohagakure also entered a state of rapid advancement. During this developmental phase, all three parties coincidentally chose a low-profile strategy.
However, at the same time, small-scale Ninja skirmishes began along the borders between the three parties, utilizing the latest technologies—or rather, experimental prototypes.
While it was said to be three parties, the Land of Wind and the Sea Country Alliance would occasionally send their own Ninjas to join in, also employing the latest technologies. One could say this battlefield had become a small-scale testing ground... "What a pain! The satellite launch failed!"
In the experimental base, Vegapunk looked irritated. "Those Ōtsutsuki on the moon must be out of their minds! Every time they see me launch a satellite, they shoot it down!"
"darling, do you need my help? With my current control over gravity, it wouldn't be hard to just pull the moon down!"
Hancock said to Vegapunk with a smile, looking eager to try.
"Pulling the moon down, huh..." Vegapunk rolled his eyes. "Forget it, the impact of that would be way too massive."
"It's a pity the Tenseigan has blocked space-time abilities, otherwise we could just go up directly..."
"But it's not a big deal... those Ōtsutsuki left a space-time passage after all. I'm close to finding its space-time node, and then we'll be able to teleport there directly!"
"Since they shot down the satellites I launched, I'll just use the entire moon as my satellite base!"
"By the way, any news from Obito? Sara has been dying to know your experimental results!"
Just then, Pakura, who was also in Vegapunk's lab, asked with a look of great interest.
As the Queen of Roran, Sara had always been on good terms with Pakura, the Fifth Kazekage. She had also been kept at the experimental base by Vegapunk as a research assistant. Because she was always helping to manipulate the Ryuryaku, she was very interested in experiments related to it.
"That guy... according to our contact, there were no issues with the time of his travel... However, signal contact won't be easy in the short term. I'll probably have to wait until the clone data packet I sent over finds a physical body before we can communicate normally."
"He won't just betray us, will he?" Pakura asked with some concern, gently pressing her hands against Vegapunk's head to soothe his irritation.
"Hmph, betraying me won't be easy. Space-time has a certain level of rejection. Even with the Kamui ability, Obito wouldn't be able to stay in that world for very long without my clone's help."
"If he truly wants to stay in that Parallel World, he'll eventually have to come to me for help!"
Vegapunk wasn't stupid; he had left a contingency plan to keep Obito in check long ago. If Obito really failed to find a body for his clone, he would eventually be bounced back by that world.
"Oh, found it! This is the space-time frequency; it should be the channel frequency from the moon to here!"
"Excellent. With this frequency, it looks like we can complete our moon landing mission tonight!"
Time quickly fast-forwarded to evening. When the news broke, not only Hancock and Pakura, but even Nico Robin, who had been busy with government affairs in the Land of Sea, rushed over using a long-range space-time teleportation array.
As an archaeologist, Nico Robin naturally couldn't restrain her archaeological spirit upon hearing about the moon and the families that had lived there for a millennium.
Although the Naruto World and the One Piece World were different, her curiosity hadn't diminished in the slightest. Given her hard work and contributions during this time, Vegapunk decided to take her along.
Fortunately, Robin the archaeologist wasn't like Lara Croft, the tomb raider. Vegapunk didn't have to worry that bringing her would cause the moon to fall, explode, or allow some sealed old grandmother to seize her body.
Instead of searching for that unknown Earth-Moon passage, Vegapunk used a machine to reopen a space-time gate along the frequency band he had found. Once opened, everyone could see the desolate ground on the other side.
Soon, Vegapunk, Hancock, Pakura, Nico Robin, and the others stepped onto the moon together. Compared to the real world, the moon in the Naruto World was much smaller—it might not even qualify as a planet, being more like a giant meteorite.
The gravity field and atmosphere here were likely created by the Ninjutsu Chibaku Tensei. Normally, a meteorite of this size couldn't possibly form an atmosphere; in outer space, the gravitational pull would be so weak that an ordinary person might drift away with just a small hop.
"Is there really anyone here?" Pakura asked, looking around doubtfully. After all, the moon didn't look inhabited at all. Even though there was air, there were no signs of plants or water. How could normal people live in a place like this?
"Of course there are, just not here. They should be inside the moon." Vegapunk recalled vaguely that the Ōtsutsuki were supposed to live in a separate space within the moon's interior, where the natural environment was supposedly quite good.
"Inside the moon..." Pakura looked at the giant stone sphere beneath her feet in disbelief. Nico Robin and Hancock, however, were unperturbed. Nico Robin spoke up, "Doctor, you must have a way in, right?"
"I've already calculated the frequency band, so entering the internal space is quite simple." Vegapunk shrugged, reached out to exercise his magnetic field manipulation ability, and a moment later, opened a space-time wormhole.
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