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"To put it more rigorously," Haibara said coolly, eyes still fixed on the screen, "the cultivation systems you see in those novels and manga might very well be ironclad scientific laws in another dimension."
She paused, then added without mercy, "Kudo, you can't just dismiss something outright because it goes beyond your narrow range of understanding."
Conan's mouth twitched stiffly. He turned to look at her, helpless.
Of course he knew about the theoretical possibility of a multiverse. He'd read enough to accept that idea in principle. But watching power on this level, power that bordered on creation itself, almost kicked down the door of his rational mind.
This was ridiculous.
What kind of human could fly freely like Superman and casually fire off planet-destroying energy waves?
"Kudo, the way you're reacting right now," Haibara continued, her voice sharp as frost, "is no different from those self-proclaimed 'folk scientists' who live at the bottom of a well."
Her gaze was icy, and every word pierced straight into his chest.
"Just because your knowledge is limited, you instinctively reject and deny anything that surpasses it. It's as laughable as those arrogant people who fantasize about overturning the entire physical framework built by Newton and Galileo."
Conan felt his chest tighten with frustration. He wanted to argue back. He couldn't.
In a debate about scientific logic, he was no match for a real genius researcher like her.
"Fine," Conan said, forcing himself to pivot to familiar territory, crisis analysis. "But if something like that humanoid terrorist actually came through a space-time rift into our world, wouldn't we be facing total annihilation?"
Haibara barely reacted. She was still immersed in analyzing the combat data from the video.
"According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, time travel and space-time traversal are theoretically possible," she replied calmly. "But with our current technology? We can't even handle an electromagnetic railgun properly. Crossing dimensions is completely out of reach."
She finally looked at him.
"If beings from another world can tear open the fabric of space-time and descend here, then even if the world is destroyed… what could we possibly do about it?"
She didn't blink.
"With the gap between just this one dimension, the technological and power levels of the two worlds aren't even on the same plane."
A faint smirk curved her lips.
"Great detective, instead of worrying about unsolvable cosmic dilemmas, why don't you think about whether your mountain of homework is ready for school tomorrow?"
Conan felt like someone had stuffed a rock down his throat.
Haibara's habit of crushing him with indisputable scientific reasoning every single time was infuriating. He prided himself on being knowledgeable, but when she attacked from her field of expertise, he had absolutely no defense.
The World of One Piece
At the Revolutionary Army's military stronghold—
Sabo's pupils shrank to pinpoints as he stared at the apocalyptic destruction Cell created with casual ease.
In his world, top-tier fighters like Marine Admirals, the Four Emperors, or even his mysterious father could destroy an island. That wasn't what shocked him.
It was the gap.
Cell caused devastation on that scale while looking bored. Like he was brushing dust off his shoulder.
That meant the power shown in the video wasn't even serious effort. It was a warm-up. A careless strike. As effortless as Sabo throwing out a Dragon Claw Fist without thinking.
That was what made his soul tremble.
If this was casual power, then Cell's true strength had to be dozens, maybe hundreds of times more terrifying than what they were seeing.
"Sabo, what's your evaluation?" asked Monkey D. Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army, his deep eyes narrowing slightly.
"The power system in that world is extremely advanced," Sabo replied, his tone steady despite the storm in his heart. "They don't rely on Devil Fruits or Haki like we do. But their training methods and energy manipulation seem far more refined. More… evolved."
As Chief of Staff, Sabo's insight was razor sharp.
Dragon nodded. "Agreed. It's clear their power scale isn't competing with ours on the same dimensional level."
"I've never heard of anyone developing Devil Fruit abilities or Haki to the point of shattering meteors."
Sabo nodded. The gap was undeniable. But even so, he had found something invaluable in this battle between Son Goku and Cell.
Close-combat fundamentals.
Instinct under extreme pressure.
Combat awareness honed at the edge of death.
"I propose that all Revolutionary Army soldiers systematically study the techniques displayed in the video," Sabo said, already scribbling symbols rapidly in his tactical notebook. "If our troops can grasp even a fraction of those higher-dimensional combat principles, then against ordinary Marines, the balance of victory will shift decisively in our favor."
Dragon looked at him with unconcealed admiration.
The child he had once rescued from the Celestial Dragons had grown into a commander capable of carrying the revolution itself.
Even if something happened to him one day, Dragon believed Sabo could shoulder the banner of rebellion and carry it to the end.
A soft light flickered in his eyes.
Sabo was the sworn brother of his son Luffy, and of Whitebeard's subordinate Ace.
Those three boys… none of them were ordinary.
When the time came, they would shake the world.
Dragon was certain of it.
The video suddenly accelerated.
High above, Cell hovered like an emperor. He raised one hand, and terrifying energy particles gathered in his palm, condensing into homing ki blasts that rained downward like a storm.
Below, Goku moved like a streak of gold, skimming the air at low altitude, pushed completely onto the defensive. Cell's barrage left no opening for counterattack.
The attacks seemed endless. As if Cell had infinite energy.
Goku knew he had to draw the battlefield away from Krillin and the others.
Once he judged the distance safe enough, he acted.
Midair, he executed an impossible halt, then erupted upward in a blaze of golden aura, charging straight into the cascading torrent of energy blasts.
Cell's eyes narrowed slightly.
He was curious. But utterly confident.
Even a Super Saiyan would pay dearly if grazed.
Goku knew that too.
His movements in the sky could no longer be described as agile. They blurred between real and illusion, leaving afterimages everywhere.
In less than a heartbeat, Cell couldn't tell which of the hundreds of Gokus was real.
That tiny hesitation—barely a fraction of a second—was enough.
Goku appeared in front of him as if teleporting.
He stopped instantly in midair, no deceleration, and raised his hands.
Dozens of hyper-compressed miniature Kamehamehas erupted like shotgun blasts toward Cell's face.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosions roared like chained thunder. The sky lost its color in the blinding light.
Their dense ki blasts collided within a meter of each other. The resulting shockwave flattened an already-damaged mountain peak into dust.
Flocks of flying creatures scattered in terror, shrieking.
The impact felt like it would rip through the screen itself. Beings across countless worlds watching the video felt as if they were standing at ground zero.
They were just watching through a projection.
So why did the tremors feel real? Why did the heat of the energy storm seem to scorch their skin?
"Terrifying… That shockwave is beyond limits!" Krillin gasped. Every single explosion in the footage was several times stronger than his full-powered Destructo Disc.
The gap in power left him shaken and powerless.
Far away in the depths of space, another Saiyan was shaking too.
Vegeta, the proud prince of the Saiyans.
He would rather die than bow his head. Even under Frieza's oppression, he never forgot his royal blood.
And yet—
A Super Saiyan had appeared in the video.
And it wasn't him.
It was that low-class warrior. Raditz's useless little brother.
Kakarot.
The humiliation burned into his bones.
Yes, he saw himself in the video as well.
But that only made it worse.
If he was present, then why wasn't he the one fighting Cell?
Why was he standing outside the decisive battle?
The answer was brutal.
Because he wasn't strong enough.
That was what shattered his pride.
The prince of all Saiyans… surpassed by a discarded low-class soldier.
His mind flashed back to the command he had already given Raditz. Go to Earth. Find Kakarot.
The order had been simple.
Kill him.
Vegeta would not tolerate the existence of a Saiyan stronger than himself. Especially not one deemed inferior at birth.
His eyes burned as he stared at his on-screen counterpart.
Why?
Why did that so-called trash possess power beyond his own?
The battle surged again.
Goku and Cell burst through the smoke and clashed at point-blank range.
Punch. Kick. No restraint. Every strike carried their full power.
Suddenly, they seized each other's wrists.
Like two blazing golden war gods, they strained against one another, veins bulging, faces twisted with primal ferocity.
Ki exploded from their bodies in torrents. Golden flames wrapped around them, expanding outward in violent waves.
The sheer force of their stalemate made the earth tremble.
Not a minor quake.
Beyond their immediate battlefield, the ground began to split. Massive fissures tore through the land as if the planet itself could no longer bear the collision of these two extremes of power.
Cracks spread like spiderwebs near and far.
Every viewer felt their heart squeezed by an invisible hand. Cold sweat soaked their backs.
What stunned them most—
Goku and Cell weren't just equal in speed.
They were perfectly balanced in raw destructive force.
A flawless unity of velocity and power, neither yielding an inch.
How many lifetimes of burning training would it take to reach such a realm?
How much life had to be risked to touch the domain of gods?
"....."