He has even mastered Haki, and you say this is Naruto?

At this moment, Shanks was relying on the omnipresent natural energy to perceive his surroundings, directly linking his spiritual power to the natural energy.

This method, no matter how you looked at it, seemed like Sage Jutsu.

"Observation Haki—Senior Madara, do you know how I should train it?"

Upon hearing Madara's words, Shanks's eyes lit up. He had finally met someone who understood this path.

"I may not know the specifics, but I have a general direction,""Observation Haki isn't just about sensing people or hearing their inner voices, is it?"

Madara questioned. If Shanks was using natural energy, then clearly, he could perceive everything in nature through his Observation Haki.

Shanks was even more delighted upon hearing this.Indeed, this old man wasn't ordinary.

His old captain, Roger, could hear the voice of all things—so perhaps his own Observation Haki still had room to grow.

"Observation Haki can indeed hear the voice of all things. It's far more than just sensing enemies."

Shanks nodded, and Madara silently gave himself a thumbs-up in his heart.

Though he was old, he was still a genius.

Madara didn't feel like he was guiding Shanks—rather, they were exploring together, just like he had once done with Hashirama.

"In that case, start from trying to perceive all things. If you're on the right path, it should be achievable."

Shanks suddenly had an idea.

Madara was momentarily taken aback. That logic made sense… but how do you perceive everything? Could he understand what a stone was thinking?

"It can't be that simple. Can you see the shape of the wind?"

Madara shook his head—Shanks was oversimplifying things.

But Shanks, hearing Madara's words, suddenly understood something he had missed earlier.

"The shape of the wind? That's it!"

"Perceiving all things is hard, but if you know what they think, it becomes easier."

"Wind has no shape, but when it blows on a leaf, the leaf paints its form. Perceiving things isn't about direct sensing—I get it now!"

Shanks had a sudden epiphany.

Wait a minute... Am I actually the protagonist?Senior Madara only said a few words, and I understood everything!Could Madara be the cheat-code the heavens assigned me?

Madara was stunned too.

Wait a minute... Am I not the protagonist?How did Shanks grasp it all from just a few of my words?And what's more—he makes a lot of sense!

Was I stuck in the human world all this time... just for this moment?

Shanks really might be the one destined to usher in a new era—his talent was terrifying.

But it's fine. He may have awakened, but next comes my turn.I, Uchiha Madara, am going to live a second life—there's no way I'll be left behind by the times!

"Truly terrifying talent. Luckily, I'm not too bad either."

Watching Shanks rush off to train his Observation Haki, Madara muttered under his breath. Thankfully, he also had a solid understanding of Sage Mode.

He, too, could train in Observation Haki.

"So this is using the perception gained through Sage Mode, allowing one's chakra to connect to natural energy and then converting it into techniques?"

Shanks wasn't the only one training—Madara was also studying Shanks's methods.

Ordinary people couldn't understand how Shanks was cultivating. But think about Kakashi's title—"Copy Ninja." Do you even know how valuable that title is?

Though Madara wasn't a "copy ninja," that didn't mean he lacked that ability. In fact, he was even stronger—and with Hashirama's power fused within him, he could see more than most.

"Technique conversion… Turning something originally unique to the Uzumaki clan into something universal, without special bloodline requirements."

"But… using natural energy like this makes the conversion even harder than bloodline techniques. The only advantage is that it breaks the bloodline restrictions and gives everyone a chance to train in it."

Madara suddenly realized something. If this was true, then Shanks's true goal might indeed be to usher in a new era.

In that moment, Madara vaguely sensed Shanks's real plan.

"What? Just to become the most free pirate on the sea?"

Please. I, Uchiha Madara, am old—not brain-dead.

The Uzumaki clan was annihilated, betrayed by Konoha—the entire Whirlpool Nation was wiped out.

No need to guess—Shanks was carrying an immense burden.

Yet, Madara was sure: Shanks bore no hatred toward Konoha.

Geniuses like them could always see through appearances to the essence of things.

If Shanks's purpose was to shatter the monopoly of bloodline-limit powers, then he was directly challenging the Ninja Clans.

Most of the strongest ninjutsu, secret techniques, and kekkei genkai were hoarded by the big clans.

As a Uchiha, Madara understood this perfectly—and so did Shanks, who clearly came from a similar prestigious lineage.

"He's experimenting on himself… He touched Sage Mode but chose not to cultivate it, instead forging his own path."

"He used Sage Mode to erase every trace of his Uzumaki heritage, and then started training anew?"

"Such pride…"

Madara finally understood.

He could tell—Shanks had come into contact with Sage Mode but chose not to cultivate it.

Instead, he converted the Uzumaki's unique powers into techniques anyone could learn.

That was essentially erasing the Uzumaki clan's uniqueness.

Yet even so, Shanks stood at the top of the shinobi world.

"Even without Uzumaki blood, I am still powerful.""Even without kekkei genkai, I surpass all the elite of the ninja clans."

This deep, innate pride was something Madara knew well—it was the same pride that defined Uchiha Madara.

Even without being an Uchiha, Madara believed he could have risen to the top.

And now, both he and Shanks were walking similar paths. After all, Madara's power had vanished over a decade ago—he only retained some of Hashirama's abilities now.

Yet his strength hadn't faltered. His only limitation was age.

So he understood Shanks's pride completely.

Considering the fate of the Uzumaki and the Whirlpool Country, it became clear—

Shanks's goal was to break the monopoly of the ninja clans.

If ordinary ninja could train in this power, then the clans would be increasingly irrelevant.

Their secret techniques? Sure, powerful.

But unless they could rival Haki, they'd be rendered obsolete by the new era.

Shanks hadn't inherited hatred from the Uzumaki—he inherited a far greater mission:

To destroy the old ninja worldTo create a new eraTo build a New World

"The New World…"

Madara whispered to himself, recalling Shanks's grand dream.

Shanks, in training, paused.

"The New World? Senior Madara, did you return from the New World?"

"Makes sense—his strength is more than enough to survive there."

Shanks reflected. He'd fought Madara before, and even when using Conqueror's Haki, Madara wasn't much affected. That alone spoke volumes of his power.

"The New World… I'll explore it later. I can't just die on the road."

Shanks knew he wasn't weak.

But thinking of his position—as the future youngest Yonko—he was still too inexperienced.

If any random pirate mastered all three types of Haki and had great swordsmanship, that'd be absurd.

But he wasn't "just any pirate."

The straw hat in his room constantly reminded him: if he sailed with that hat, he'd face all the monsters of the old era—the ones worthy of being called sea emperors.

To face them, his current strength wasn't enough. As long as he could grow stronger, the time to set sail hadn't come.

Unbeknownst to Shanks, his "New World" and Madara's "New World" were two entirely different things.

But… somehow, it all still made perfect sense.

Madara also thought it made sense. After all, in just one day, he had touched upon the power of Observation Haki.

That's the difference between a genius and an ordinary person.

"By using omnipresent natural energy, one can perceive the surroundings. This perception is completely different from chakra-based sensing techniques."

"No wonder when Shanks sensed me before, I could only rely on instinct—his perception was beyond my comprehension."

"But cultivating this power is still incredibly difficult."

Madara sighed.

Though he had touched Observation Haki, with his vision, he instantly understood—

This power required immense talent. Without it, the only way to improve was through constant battle.

Battle was the best teacher—even for a genius like Madara.