Naruto: The Legend of Red Haired Shanks

To Dom, Shanks and his crew were like a beam of light shining into his ordinary world—a guiding lighthouse. 

Even though he was an important figure in the Peak family, it was obvious that in this era, merchants and common people belonged to the same class. 

The best example was back in the Land of Waves, where a big-shot like Gato could still have a personal grudge with a simple bridge builder like Tazuna. 

The two of them could even meet regularly. 

If this had been in Shanks' old world, would a poor architect—just some struggling old man—have any chance of meeting a high-ranking lord? 

No way. 

That's what people mean when they say, "A nobleman stays away from the kitchen." 

But in this era, Gato wasn't exactly a "nobleman." 

His hands were stained with blood, and he wasn't afraid to get them even dirtier. 

The common people of the Land of Waves might seem like they were on a different level than Gato, but if they had even a little courage, they could take him down at any moment. 

As for people of truly different classes? 

Forget killing them—ordinary folks couldn't even get a glimpse of them. 

For example, the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations. 

No commoner had ever seen what they looked like, and the same went for the true aristocrats of those nations. 

Whatever happened in the ninja world had nothing to do with these nobles. 

How the common people lived? That was none of their concern either. 

That was what a real class divide looked like. 

The same went for ninjas. 

What ninjas had wasn't something they shared with people of the same social class. 

If the Daimyo and nobles of the ninja world were the ruling class, then ninjas were aristocrats too. 

The only difference was that one side maintained power through politics and the law, while the other kept their position through sheer military strength. 

Back in the Land of Wind, Jiraiya had shown Naruto this reality. 

Naruto could stand in a hospital in Sunagakure and look out at the people struggling outside—that was the privilege of being part of the military elite. 

Even as an orphan, Naruto was still taken care of and raised within the system. 

How he turned out was another matter, but the point was clear: 

The ninja village system provided a structured way of life. 

Meanwhile, people like Dom and Gato, who lived outside that system, had no protection at all. 

An orphan outside the system? 

If they were lucky, they might scrape by at the bottom of society. 

If they were unlucky, they'd end up as nothing more than test subjects in Orochimaru's lab. 

That's how brutal it was. 

"The closest place to here is Star Island. 

That place is always covered in starlight, and there have been rumors about it for a long time. 

They say that if you wake up in the middle of the night there, it's easy to get lost on the island."

While Amado was preparing to modify the ship, Shanks, Zabuza, and the others gathered around the sea chart to study it. 

As captains, both Shanks and Zabuza were quite familiar with maps and could easily spot changes in ocean currents. 

"It looks like it's caused by the power of the Dragon Vein, though I'm not sure what exactly it does." 

Shanks looked over the information about Starlight Island. The island had no special resources, few inhabitants, and was basically isolated. 

That was just how things were in the seas beyond the ninja world. 

"Plus, because of the Dragon Vein's influence, ocean currents around the world have become more violent. It's said that southwest of the Land of Wind, a new Uzumaki Sea has formed, forcing many ships to change course. 

The same thing is happening southwest of the Land. The once-warm ocean current has become so fierce that ordinary ships can no longer pass through." 

Zabuza sighed. They were currently heading southwest of the Land, but they hadn't encountered that dangerous current yet. 

Luckily, their planned route didn't pass through that area. 

Shanks was also well aware of the situation. 

It wasn't just the Land of Wind and the Land that were affected. A strong ocean current had also formed between the Land of Thunder and the Land of Snow, cutting off passage. 

Beyond the ninja continent, three nearly impassable zones had appeared, dividing the surrounding seas into three large regions. 

And this was just the beginning. The more the Dragon Vein was activated, the harder it would be to travel through these areas. 

"The Uzumaki Belt southwest of the Land of Wind, the Storm Zone southwest of the Land, and the Ice Floe Zone between the Land of Thunder and the Land of Snow. 

If you want to travel between these three seas, you have to go by land. But if you sail further out, away from the ninja world, you won't have to deal with any of its forces." 

Shanks continued studying the map. 

These three zones would block most ordinary pirates, so anyone wanting to move between the three seas would have to travel over land. 

The coastline near the Land was still navigable, but the Land of Wind and the Land of Thunder were much harder to cross. And as for the Land of Snow? Ordinary ships wouldn't stand a chance. 

"Sailing beyond the ninja world is the easiest route—just keep heading south. But that's also the most dangerous place we'll be exploring next. 

The New World." 

Zabuza nodded. Shanks was right, but still… a place that dangerous wasn't suited for beginners. 

Just looking at the rookie pirates on this island, it was obvious—they wouldn't survive at sea without spending a few months training in the ninja world first. 

"Ordinary people really shouldn't rush into the New World. Even we have to be extremely careful." 

Shanks wasn't too optimistic about regular pirates. Their skills were far below those of the newly formed Allied Government forces. 

"In that case, the only real area for regular pirates to operate is the seas surrounding the ninja world." 

Shisui glanced at Shanks. 

Haku nodded in agreement. 

"No need to overthink it. That's just the reality. Right now, they can't set foot in the New World, but given the current situation, the waters around the ninja world are already a good place for them to explore." 

Hearing this, Zabuza was confused. Wasn't that obvious? Where else could they go? 

"Looks like we still have plenty of time." 

Shisui looked at Haku—the gentle-looking young man had an intelligence far beyond most people. 

Zabuza, on the other hand, was caught off guard. 

Wait a minute—were these two leaving something unsaid? Why did he suddenly feel like he couldn't keep up with the conversation? 

Could they just explain things clearly? 

Zabuza felt the frustration building. Back when he did intelligence work, he never felt this lost. But now? His brain just wasn't keeping up. 

"Shanks, are you guys planning something behind my back?" 

Zabuza rubbed his chin. He had a feeling there was some secret being kept from him. He was the captain, after all—how could they be making plans without telling him? 

"No, nothing like that. 

Looking at the current situation, the alliance of the Five Great Nations is already set in stone. Most pirates have fled from the center of the ninja world, so the pressure on each country has eased." 

"But it's not over yet. A new wave of pirates is now stuck roaming around the edges of the ninja world, which means the smaller countries will definitely turn to the bigger nations for help." 

"The thing is, these smaller countries don't have ninja villages. So when they ask for help, it's their lords or Daimyo reaching out to the Daimyo of another nation." 

"And since these pirates aren't that strong, the allied forces of the Five Great Nations will definitely step in. The nobles probably won't let the ninja villages get involved. 

On top of that, there are political deals between the big nations and the smaller ones, and that kind of thing takes time." 

"So we still have plenty of time." 

Shanks explained. Wasn't this something obvious to anyone paying attention? 

As for hiding things from Zabuza? There was really no need. 

At this moment, Zabuza truly felt the unfairness of the world. 

They had told him everything, yet somehow, he still couldn't fully understand what they were saying. 

No—this wasn't his fault. It was definitely these three guys who were the problem. 

Who the hell thinks about things like this in such a complicated way? 

"Political deals? Wouldn't it be easier to just leave that to merchants?" 

Haku thought for a moment. Based on what he knew about Gato, merchants seemed much better suited for this. If they just hired merchants to handle things, it would all be solved pretty easily. 

But looking at the situation in the Five Great Nations right now, it didn't seem like they were doing that. 

"There's probably more to it than just simple business deals. But that's not our problem—it's something for the Five Great Ninja Villages to worry about. 

What we need to focus on is what's happening with the Three Great Sacred Lands." 

Shanks figured the nobles and the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations weren't that simple. If money was the only issue, it would've been solved a long time ago. 

After all, nobles usually don't care about that stuff. 

Of course, neither did Shanks. 

Shanks knew exactly what role he played in all this. 

It might not be the best way to describe it, but right now, he was basically the ninja world's biggest troublemaker. 

If you wanted to put it nicely, you could say he was the bridge for breaking down social classes. 

Because of Shanks, the ninja world had actually achieved some level of class mobility. Normal people now had the power to take down both ninjas and nobles. 

As for why Shanks himself wasn't part of a new ruling class? 

Well, because no one was protecting his interests in the first place. 

Come on, I'm a pirate—do you even know what that means? 

At this point, Shanks had even been labeled as a world-class lunatic. He was blamed for a third of the destruction of the Land of Wind. 

The other two-thirds? That blame fell on Orochimaru and Dark. 

For most pirates, gaining power and influence would turn them into new nobles. 

But for these three lunatics who wanted to "destroy the world," that was never going to happen. 

Shanks could never be part of that system—he was simply too powerful. 

This world could handle the Five Great Nations. It could handle the Four Emperors. 

But it could never tolerate a "king." 

If Shanks were to become a noble, he wouldn't just be any noble—he'd be the highest of them all. 

As for the other two? Forget it. Even if they wanted that kind of power, it was already impossible now. 

After causing trouble in the Land of Wind, Dark disappeared without a trace. 

Orochimaru also vanished from the public eye. 

"The Three Great Sacred Lands?" 

"Yeah. Shanks, aren't you someone who could establish a fourth Sacred Land? That means we don't have to worry about them." 

Zabuza suddenly remembered that while the Three Great Sacred Lands were a huge threat to regular people, with Shanks around, that threat no longer mattered. 

Hearing Zabuza's words, Shanks got irritated. 

Back when he was training like crazy, why didn't this guy say anything? If Zabuza had just pointed it out, maybe he wouldn't have mistaken his training for Observation Haki. 

And the craziest part? When Zabuza realized that Shanks had entered Sage Mode and caught Jiraiya's attention, he ran straight over to stop Jiraiya. 

That led to Shanks entering Sage Mode and realizing… why did this power feel so different from Conqueror's Haki? No matter how he looked at it, this wasn't the kind of power that could knock out weaklings just by releasing it. 

And then… somehow, he ended up developing this weird reverse Sage Mode. 

As for "Divine Avoidance," it was the strongest move he could use in that state—a technique that could bypass willpower itself. 

"I may have the qualifications, but it's not something that can be done easily. 

First, you need to be capable of training in Sage Mode. Right now, most people don't have what it takes." 

"It might get better once the power of the Dragon Veins is more awakened. Right now, there aren't even that many people who can use Observation Haki. 

Let alone sensing natural energy through it and then overcoming their own instincts in reverse." 

Shanks knew how ridiculous his own training method was. If he hadn't been convinced from the start that this was the pirate world, there was no way he would have developed something like this. 

"That's true." 

Zabuza scratched his head. Thinking about it now, the Three Great Sacred Lands really were dangerous. 

Who knew how strong those people could get inside their sacred grounds? 

The ninja world still had deep foundations. Without Shanks, there was no way to break free from these chains. 

Meanwhile, at Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya still had his eyes closed. 

The Great Toad Sage and the White Snake Sage were staring at him intently. 

Even with his eyes shut, the pressure coming from Jiraiya was overwhelming. Above his head, a terrifying flame was burning. 

"Old Toad, is that… the True Samadhi Fire?" 

"Yeah." 

"Isn't that supposed to exist only in the legendary Fire Mountain?" 

"It is, but this is Jiraiya we're talking about." 

The Great Toad Sage wasn't surprised at all. If anyone could summon the True Samadhi Fire, it was Jiraiya. After all, he had managed to summon himself to Mount Myoboku purely by luck. 

"This Sage Mode… it's different from Mount Myoboku's." 

"Jiraiya has walked his own path. His Sage Mode has become more refined—he has taken it to the extreme. 

With the boost from natural energy and his own physical energy, his mental power has broken through and evolved once again. This is the true path of Sage Mode." 

The Toad Sage spoke. Shanks' path wasn't about the evolution of life itself, but Sage Mode followed the principle of life's transformation. 

This was what it truly meant to be a sage. 

"Incredible… someone with ordinary talent has reached the level of the Sage of Six Paths. 

The times have definitely changed."

---

You can read 50 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu