Naruto: The Legend of Red Haired Shanks

"So in other words, just by existing, Shanks is breaking the norm—the very foundation of the ninja world. 

That's why we take this so seriously. Even we can't break these rules, so even if Shanks were to stand against us, he still wouldn't be our enemy." 

The White Snake Sage explained further. This was something she wanted Jiraiya to understand. 

Shanks' impact was huge, and the ones affected the most were the Three Sacred Lands. 

Looking at history, it was clear how much the Three Sacred Lands had been affected. Even in Rikudou Sennin's era, they only showed up briefly. 

But now, they were fully involved in the ninja world, actively taking part in its events. 

"Are these stone tablets all the records left by the Sacred Lands? The real Poneglyphs?" 

"Yes, but they mostly record events after the founding of the Ninja Sect. We didn't keep records of many human affairs before that." 

The White Snake Sage didn't know if the other Poneglyphs were real or fake, but the ones she had recorded herself were definitely the real thing. 

Of course, the White Snake Sage herself didn't even know what she had written. It was so long ago that she couldn't be bothered to study it in detail. This kind of thing was better left to Jiraiya. 

After giving some instructions, the White Snake Sage took off. She had only come here to avoid Orochimaru, not to do hard labor. She handed everything over to Jiraiya and went to rest. 

As for Jiraiya, he was quite interested in studying these stone inscriptions. 

Jiraiya wasn't exactly a smart guy, but luckily, he didn't need to be. Even if he didn't recognize the characters on the inscriptions, he could just ask the sages. 

It was all about different levels of knowledge. In the ninja world, there probably weren't many people who could read these ancient texts, but Jiraiya, despite not being a "scholar," had become very skilled at it. 

But the more Jiraiya read, the more he felt something was off. 

He realized that the way Rikudou Sennin founded the Ninja Sect was surprisingly similar to what Shanks was doing now. 

"After sealing Kaguya, Rikudou Sennin created the Ninja Sect, passing the power of chakra to more people, allowing them to use it to support themselves and build a better world." 

Jiraiya nodded at this part of the record. 

Yeah, right. 

He wasn't stupid. Sure, he wasn't the brightest guy, but his political instincts were far ahead of the other two. 

In fact, when it came to political awareness, Jiraiya was probably the sharpest in all of Konohagakure. 

Yes, the sharpest—even smarter than Shikaku. 

That's because Jiraiya wasn't just naturally gifted—he was experienced. He had seen more countries and factions than most people, and that gave him an edge. 

While he wasn't an expert in political details, he had a strong sense of the bigger picture. 

"Based on these records, back in Rikudou Sennin's time, the ninja world actually had quite a few countries. 

The way chakra was used and the descriptions of the Ninja Sect here suggest that it was meant to strengthen the lower class, allowing them to break free from the control of the nobles to some extent." 

"And with Rikudou Sennin around, the ancient nobles wouldn't dare interfere. The creation of the Ninja Sect wasn't just about improving society—it was also about protecting the common people." 

"But at the same time, helping the common people also meant pushing back against the ancient nobles." 

Without realizing it, Jiraiya's way of thinking had started to shift. He could now see the effects of a single issue from multiple perspectives. 

There was no other choice. Ever since Shanks showed up, anyone in the ninja world with a working brain had started to see things differently. 

As for those who hadn't changed, they might as well throw their brains away. 

Looking at things from only one angle was dangerous. 

Especially in this era. Even someone as powerful as Shanks would use the common people when necessary. 

If you weren't careful, you could easily fall behind and get left behind by the times. 

And the rise of pirates like Dark had been a wake-up call for the so-called "wise men" of this era. 

The people who stood at the top of this era weren't there because they were naturally superior, or because they had overwhelming talent, or even because they worked the hardest. 

Most of them had simply been lucky. 

Dark's appearance had shown everyone what real intelligence and strategy looked like. It made them realize that even at the very bottom of society, there were people with extraordinary wisdom and incredible talent. 

At first, people thought it was no big deal that a small-time pirate had failed in his attempt to take down Shanks. 

But later, when others in the ninja world saw Shanks' true strength, they realized just how ridiculous Dark's actions had been. 

At the same time, this also confirmed just how strong Shanks was. 

After all, only an idiot would fight someone at that level in a fair one-on-one battle. 

So when the truth behind the Land of Wind incident was revealed, no one thought Orochimaru was in the wrong for using dirty tactics against Shanks. 

And the fact that Dark had been involved didn't surprise anyone either—this wasn't the first time he had gone after Shanks. 

At this point, the ninja world had gotten used to these kinds of absurd situations. 

As for Jiraiya's "intellectual evolution," what was so strange about that? It was only natural. 

In this world, if you wanted to survive, you had to use your brain.

"But why suppress the ancient nobles?" 

Jiraiya immediately noticed something unusual about the Poneglyph. What Rikudou Sennin had done was a gentle way of keeping the ancient nobles in check. 

But at its core, it was no different from what Shanks was doing now—giving power to the lower classes who otherwise had no way to fight back. 

The only difference was that Rikudou Sennin didn't have the same boldness as Shanks. Shanks wasn't just encouraging people to rebel against the nobles or the ninja clans—he wanted them to one day be strong enough to challenge him. 

That was the key difference between Shanks and Rikudou Sennin. 

Rikudou Sennin had single-handedly dominated his era and then tried to reshape the ninja world from the top down. 

But Shanks? He was a complete revolutionary. What did that mean? It meant he even rebelled against himself. 

It was like God telling people that gods didn't exist. It sounded absurd, but in a strange way, it made perfect sense. 

As Jiraiya thought about Shanks, he started to see a pattern in his mind. 

"If Rikudou Sennin and Shanks came to the same conclusion, then it means the problems in both eras were the same." 

If Shanks had been there in person, he might've been just as surprised as everyone else. 

Because he had never actually thought that deeply about these things. His brain just didn't work that way. Right now, his biggest concern was the development of the New World. 

As for the Poneglyph? To be honest, the only thing Shanks could think of was Black Zetsu's schemes. 

Even if he knew more, he would naturally ignore some of it—his mind simply wasn't built to process so much at once. 

No matter how smart a person is, they can't think of everything. 

Now, Jiraiya was seeing the missing pieces of ninja history—hidden events that weren't recorded anywhere but were present everywhere. 

"What Shanks is doing is overturning the current ninja world, completely breaking the monopoly of power held by the ninja clans, and giving a new class the strength to fight back." 

Jiraiya didn't even need to think about it—he already understood exactly what Shanks was doing. 

"This new class is the Devil Fruit users. They can be pirates, commoners, nobles, or even ninjas. 

By using this power, he's completely reshuffling the ninja world's system." 

"Shanks' plan and intelligence are truly one of a kind, but everything he does is based on his understanding of the old ninja world." 

And that understanding was the same as every other ninja's. 

In the ninja world, the only rule that mattered was strength—every system and law crumbled in the face of absolute power. 

"If that's the case, then it means the ancient nobles didn't just oppress the commoners through political power, but through sheer strength." 

Jiraiya frowned. The ancient nobles had absolute power over the commoners? 

Something felt off—something was seriously wrong. Jiraiya couldn't figure out where this "stable power imbalance" was coming from. 

After traveling the ninja world for so long, he knew that the world's power system was complicated. Ninjas weren't the only source of strength. 

There were curses, yokai, and other supernatural forces, but those were more unpredictable than systematic. 

"Wait a minute!!" 

A sudden realization hit Jiraiya. 

"A stable power system... one that gives an absolute advantage over ordinary people?" 

"Ninjutsu was created by Rikudou Sennin, but he learned Sage Mode from the Great Toad Sage." 

Jiraiya furrowed his brows, as if something was starting to click. 

If he looked at it that way, everything made sense. 

Sage Mode existed even before Rikudou Sennin. And if Jiraiya wasn't mistaken, there were plenty of records in the ninja world about the 'Sage Body'." 

Some people are born with Senjutsu chakra and Senjutsu energy, and their bodies are completely different from ordinary people. 

At first, Jiraiya thought this was related to the Sage of Six Paths, but now… that idea was nonsense. 

The Sage of Six Paths didn't create the power of the sages—it had already existed in the ninja world before him. The so-called "Sage Body" had nothing to do with him at all. 

With that in mind, the creation of the Ninja Sect made perfect sense. 

"Could it be that Shanks has also uncovered this hidden part of ancient history? The so-called Poneglyphs must be the forgotten history that everyone has overlooked." 

At that moment, everything became clear to Jiraiya. 

The power of the ancient nobles must have been unbelievably strong. That was precisely why the Sage of Six Paths established the Ninja Sect—to suppress them. 

In the original structure of the ninja world, the existence of Sage Bodies was unstable. Perhaps, for some reason, they couldn't be produced in a stable way. 

After all, even raising a ninja required a lot of resources, let alone a sage. 

Compared to sages, the ninja clans within the Ninja Sect had a much steadier inheritance. That was the key difference between the bloodlines of ninja clans and the Sage Body. 

"The bloodlines of the ninja clans may not be as powerful, but they are extremely stable. Normally, they won't just disappear." 

Jiraiya roughly analyzed the situation. 

The bloodlines of the ninja clans weren't particularly strong or weak, but they couldn't compare to the legendary Sage Body. 

However, the advantage was that ninja bloodlines didn't require as many resources to maintain. 

As long as someone had the bloodline, their strength wouldn't be too weak. 

At that moment, Jiraiya's forehead was covered in cold sweat. 

The more he understood, the more terrifying the truth became. 

"The Sage of Six Paths single-handedly suppressed an entire era, ensuring that his name was the only one remembered as a sage while completely erasing the existence of other sages." 

"At the same time, by creating the Ninja Sect and leaving behind his own bloodline within it, he allowed the ninja clans to take root and grow in the ninja world. Over thousands of years, the ninja clans completely crushed the power of the ancient nobles." 

"What a terrifying plan. Even after his death, this grand strategy continued for a thousand years until the ancient nobles' power was completely erased." 

Thinking about this, Jiraiya felt an overwhelming sense of awe toward the legendary sage. 

He was truly the first and greatest sage of the ninja world. 

For over a thousand years, he had ruled over the ninja world from the shadows, and even in death, his influence remained. 

But it was precisely because he saw the power of the Sage of Six Paths that Jiraiya now understood how terrifying Shanks was. 

"To break free from a thousand years of control… As a member of the ninja clans, Shanks must have already understood the true purpose behind their existence in the ninja world. 

But someone that strong… there's no way he would willingly be a pawn of the Sage of Six Paths." 

At that moment, the chains binding Jiraiya's mind completely shattered. 

Without any conscious effort, the natural energy of Mount Myoboku surged toward him like a tidal wave. 

The sheer force of it startled the White Snake Sage, who had just left, and even woke up the Great Toad Sage from its sleep. 

Both sages looked in Jiraiya's direction, their eyes filled with shock. 

At that moment, Jiraiya's consciousness had reached another level. 

It was as if he had stepped outside the ninja world, gazing upon the long river of its history. 

In the blink of an eye, that river transformed into a massive chessboard. 

At the top of the board, seated high above the world, was the towering figure of the Sage of Six Paths. 

At the bottom, lazily sitting there as if he didn't care, was Shanks. 

Once just a pawn in the game, Shanks had now become the one holding the pieces. 

The board had shifted hands. 

And the Sage of Six Paths, once a ruler over history, was fading away. 

Shanks was now sitting right across from Jiraiya. 

"The fate of the ninja world… doesn't lie in the past, nor in the future… but in—" 

"The present!!" 

Jiraiya lifted his head. A red glow spread beneath his eyes as he locked gazes with Shanks. 

This game of chess—he was ready to play!

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