"By the way, is this so-called Current Propulsion Fist you developed actually reliable? Aren't you a scientist? Why have you started researching Ninjutsu?"
In the Kumogakure research base, the Fourth Raikage scratched his head and asked with a strange expression.
The Vegapunk Clone standing to the side rolled his eyes. "Scientific research, to put it bluntly, is simply using dialectical thinking to find the correct laws of how things operate! It's no different from Ninjutsu research. It's not like you're asking me to write an essay—why shouldn't I be able to achieve success in Ninjutsu research?"
"Not to mention, if I didn't have a profound understanding of the human body and deep research into the nature of Chakra, how could I have created the Training Pods in the first place?"
To gain the Fourth Raikage's trust and prove his capability as a scientist, the Vegapunk Clone immediately declared he would use his latest research to convince the Fourth Raikage once and for all.
The Current Propulsion he proposed was an enhanced version of Kumogakure's Lightning Release Armor, and it was the Ninjutsu that best suited the Fourth Raikage.
"Circulating lightning directly inside the body... will there really be no problems? It looks quite dangerous!"
The Fourth Raikage was a ruthless man; in the original story, during his fight with Uchiha Sasuke, his hand was burned by the Amaterasu black flames. Without so much as a blink, he cut off his own hand. Then, he indifferently kicked toward Uchiha Sasuke, who was using the black flames for protection. He was truly a ruthless man willing to trade a leg for an opponent's life.
But even a man that ruthless felt a lingering fear after seeing the Current Propulsion proposed by the Vegapunk Clone, remaining hesitant for a time.
"Rest assured, with your abilities, the experiment definitely won't go wrong. Besides, this isn't some unscientific thing like Magnetic Field Rotation. Don't tell me you can't understand my principles and experimental steps?"
The Vegapunk Clone looked at the Fourth Raikage with an excited face. The Fourth Raikage instinctively recoiled a bit, but secretly, he began to believe that this guy was indeed a high-level scientist—if he weren't, he wouldn't be crazy to this degree.
However, he then asked:
"What is Magnetic Field Rotation? There's nothing wrong with the principles of this Current Propulsion... but the requirements for lightning adaptation and Chakra control are a bit high, aren't they?"
The Vegapunk Clone replied with some impatience:
"Magnetic Field Rotation! It's a combat system that claims to require wisdom but actually requires going insane... Though I can't for the life of me figure out how to generate electricity through cell friction, nor do I understand what the 'horsepower' of Magnetic Field Rotation has to do with abilities like matter reorganization."
"Are you willing to do the experiment or not... ahem, I mean, cultivate the Current Propulsion I developed!"
The Fourth Raikage glanced sideways at the Vegapunk Clone. 'I heard that; you just said "test subject," didn't you? To use me, the Raikage, for an experiment—you certainly have guts. You truly are a Clone of Vegapunk!'
But looking at the Current Propulsion in his hand again... well, this kind of Ninjutsu really was too suitable for his combat system. If he were truly asked to give it up, he couldn't do it.
It was one thing if he hadn't seen it, but how could he refuse to cultivate it just because of the danger after seeing it? Not a single top-tier Ninjutsu in the Ninja World was easy to cultivate!
Cultivating the Flying Thunder God carried the risk of getting lost in space; the Spirit Transformation Technique could result in the soul leaving the body and never returning; Sage Mode could turn one into stone or an animal. Even his own Lightning Release Armor had turned countless predecessor Ninjas into charcoal before its difficulty was reduced to a B-rank Ninjutsu.
"Fine, I'll cooperate with the cultivation! But at least let's take it step by step; there's no need to be so aggressive!"
"I see that the first step of this Current Propulsion starts directly with the brain... that's a bit too dangerous!"
The initial cultivation method for the so-called Current Propulsion was not to stimulate cells, but to directly modify one's own neural conduction signals. It changed the original half-chemical, half-electrical conduction into purely electrical conduction, drastically enhancing a person's reaction speed.
Naturally, Vegapunk chose the brain as the first target for improvement. This was because Vegapunk had the most extensive experience in brain research; he could even create a quantum brain, so modifying the brain's neural reception system was naturally much easier.
Once the brain was modified by Chakra, modifying the nerves throughout the rest of the body would be much easier. He would only need to follow the neural network directly from the brain to perform the modifications.
"If you aren't afraid of your physical signals becoming disordered and becoming a partial cripple before the Current Propulsion is mastered, you can start the modification from somewhere else!"
The Vegapunk Clone rolled his eyes and spoke.
"Hmm? Why would that happen? Why would not starting with the brain lead to disordered physical signals?"
"It's not true signal disorder, but rather that the body's reception of signal commands would occur at different speeds!"
"For example, after the brain issues a command to run, telling both your legs to move at the same time, if your left leg has been modified, it will react one step faster while the right leg reacts slower. The result is a signal mismatch, and you'll just trip over yourself on flat ground."
"If you don't center the cultivation on the brain but instead on other nerve clusters, there's no way to accelerate the nerves as a whole. By my estimation, it will take three years to succeed, and this problem will haunt you throughout those three years!"
"Uh..." Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage immediately shook his head. "Forget it then, I'll just start cultivating directly from the brain!"
If the Fourth Raikage were just an ordinary Ninja, cultivating for three years would be fine; it wouldn't matter much. In fact, if one could master a Ninjutsu with power exceeding S-rank in three years, almost no Ninja could refuse.
But besides being a powerful Ninja, he was also the Raikage of Kumogakure. It was fine for an ordinary Ninja's combat power to have issues for a short time, but for a Raikage, the impact of three years would be far too great.
Forget three years—if something truly went wrong with a village's Kage, even six months would invite endless prying eyes, and who knows what kind of assassination plots would be arranged.
The Vegapunk Clone smirked slightly. He hadn't expected the Raikage to be so decisive. If it were the leader of any other Ninja village, they certainly wouldn't dare to easily cultivate the results of his research.
However, this was originally a technique that only the Fourth Raikage could master. Besides the Fourth Raikage, only Vegapunk's main body, who had eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, could use Current Propulsion to completely modify himself.
The reason Vegapunk was willing to hand over the research results to the Fourth Raikage was to further extrapolate data from the Fourth Raikage's cultivation process. This would ensure his own future modifications were flawless and give them a certain level of universal applicability.
As for the other Lightning Release Ninjas of Kumogakure... it wasn't that Vegapunk looked down on them, but even though he had simplified Current Propulsion significantly, it wasn't something these ordinary Ninjas could even hope to touch.
"There's no rush for now. I'll first set up some equipment to assist your cultivation. Unfortunately, I don't have the main body's ability to control magnetic fields, so the help from the equipment I build might not be that great."
The Vegapunk Clone truly hoped his currently only test subject... ahem, the Fourth Raikage, would succeed in his cultivation, so this time he really didn't have any malicious intentions.
"Very well! Leave whatever materials and equipment you need to me. Our Land of Lightning's technological level was once the absolute number one among the Five Great Nations!"
Of course, he didn't mention their current level, because after getting Vegapunk, the technology of the Land of Wind and the Sea Country Alliance had undergone a near-explosion. Both sides had almost pulled ahead by an entire era.
The Land of Lightning was still using technology, while the Land of Wind and the Land of Sea were moving into the realm of science fiction.
However, the Land of Lightning's industrial foundation was decent. For Vegapunk's Clone, although it was a bit of a stretch, it was at least sufficient when pieced together.
While the Vegapunk Clone was ordering equipment and creating blueprints, he wasn't stingy with his scientific knowledge. As time passed, the Land of Lightning's technology also showed signs of taking off.
Unlike in other countries, Vegapunk had not replaced the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning to seize power. However, the Land of Lightning had always maintained an encouraging attitude toward technological development, investing far more funding than the other nations. Therefore, in the initial stages, its technological development was not much worse than the other two countries had been at the start.
Various preparations, the construction of equipment, and the preparation of certain drugs took six months just before the Current Propulsion cultivation could even begin.
But these six months weren't wasted. Both Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning, having received casual guidance from the Vegapunk Clone, showed a posture of rapid progress.
In particular, the Land of Lightning's original industrial system was the best among the Five Great Nations. This kind of infrastructure was not something the Land of Sea or the Land of Wind could catch up to in just three or four years. After the technological explosion, its production value quickly approached that of the Land of Sea and the Land of Wind. It was only inferior in high-end technology and the average combat power of its Ninjas... On Kumogakure's side, because they had acquired Vegapunk—even if it was just a Clone—his research level far exceeded ordinary imagination, so they were quite satisfied with their actions.
However, the other two Ninja villages were in an uproar.
Konohagakure had nearly been reduced to ruins, and two or three hundred Ninjas had died. Vegapunk had been snatched away right then and there. Initially, they had also faced pressure from the Land of Wind and the Land of Sea, leaving them truly gnashing their teeth in hatred.
Fortunately, news later spread that the Vegapunk who had been snatched was merely a Clone, which made Konohagakure feel a bit better. Even so, it caused the entire Konohagakure to lose face and suffer a great loss of prestige.
By comparison, although the Land of Earth's Iwagakure suffered smaller losses, their reaction was even more intense. After all, it was a joint operation between Kumogakure and Iwagakure; in the end, Iwagakure only got losses, while Kumogakure snatched away the greatest spoils. It would be a wonder if the Iwagakure Ninjas were willing to accept that!
Ōnoki's personality was stubborn and cunning, far more aggressive than the Third Hokage. Without a word, he pushed his Ninja forces directly to the border, threatening to go to war with Kumogakure.
Of course, those barbarians from Kumogakure weren't pushovers either. If you want a war, let's have a war! Who's afraid of whom?
The two sides blustered at each other for a long time. The final result was that Kumogakure would share some of the Vegapunk Clone's technology with Iwagakure, while Iwagakure had to provide funds and their mineral resources.
Thus, both sides dispersed, appearing happy on the surface while harboring their own schemes. One could imagine that Iwagakure would surely have other little tricks up its sleeve, but Kumogakure's reputation for being barbarians meant they weren't as easy to provoke as Konoha. Ōnoki would likely have to think of another way.
"Is the news confirmed? That Clone also possesses a technological level no less than Vegapunk's?"
In the smoke-filled Hokage Office, the Third Hokage tapped his pipe and asked.
Opening his mouth to gently exhale a whirlwind that swept all the smoke in the Hokage Office out the window, Danzo spoke with a grim face: "Smoke a little less!"
"I can't tell if he has Vegapunk's level, but at the very least, he should possess Vegapunk's memories. Now Kumogakure's strength has grown quite a bit, clearly having received help from the Training Pods!"
"For us, is there any difference? Those barbarians in Kumogakure have never been well-behaved. You should know exactly what they'll do once their strength increases, right?"
"And then there's Iwagakure. Although their cooperative alliance is incredibly fragile and they might stab each other in the back at any moment, when it comes to dealing with Konoha, I believe they won't change this consensus in the short term!"
The Third Hokage sighed tiredly, feeling that the world was changing too fast. How had Konoha started falling behind the times in just a few years?
Moreover, the original situation of Konoha being surrounded by enemies had not changed; it was just that their opponents had all been strengthened by a round.
"In that case, the situation is even more unfavorable! In this current state, the other countries will likely instead unite to target our Konoha!"
If another Ninja World War were to occur, then before the fighting began, the consensus of all countries would likely be to first sweep the already-lagging Konoha out of the game.
"But there's no need to be so pessimistic... Compared to Konoha, the various Ninja villages probably harbor even stronger mutual suspicion toward one another!"
"Especially Kumogakure and Iwagakure. The link between these two villages lies in that Vegapunk Clone. But originally, both villages acted together, yet now Kumogakure is the one benefiting. If Iwagakure wants to obtain Vegapunk's technology, they still have to pay a massive price in resources, and the technology they receive is likely outdated!"
"Under these circumstances, Iwagakure is almost destined to fall behind Kumogakure. It would be a wonder if they could endure that!"
Danzo spoke with a cold face: "According to my investigation, Iwagakure has indeed sent out a large number of intelligence personnel to Kumogakure recently. Perhaps they still harbor thoughts of reclaiming that Vegapunk Clone."
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