"The Pirate King, huh? But Naruto probably wouldn't become a pirate. At most, he'd become the King of the Marines."
Shisui spoke up. He still thought highly of Naruto. Even though he looked careless, he was someone rough on the outside but careful on the inside, and his belief was strong.
"Why not Hokage?"
Jiraiya complained. No matter what, Naruto was his student. Becoming Hokage was much more fitting. Even though the next Hokage was already set as Kakashi, the one after that—Naruto still had a very good chance.
"But hearing it like this, I really feel the younger ones have great potential.
It won't be long before they can stand on their own. Honestly, it's a bit surprising."
Jiraiya sighed. He had seen Naruto's growth with his own eyes.
Not only Naruto, but also Killer Bee, Chojuro, and the others he had seen back in the holy land. On top of that, the younger generation in each clan was also growing at an amazing speed.
Shisui felt the same way about Jiraiya's words. Even though his strength was still very high, he thought it wouldn't be long before the younger ones caught up to him.
"After all, the young generation are the main characters of this era."
Shanks smiled. Seeing so many strong people appear made him happy too.
"You say that like you're old. No matter how I look at it, Shanks, you're still young. Even if the younger ones grow stronger, they'll still have to face your blows."
Jiraiya spoke with a tone of annoyance, as if Shanks had some twisted sense of fun in dealing with the younger ones.
Besides, to be honest, this guy was only about twenty years older than Naruto.
Forget this chaotic era—even in normal times, when life and death came down to luck, no one could say for sure who would go first.
But in this era, Shanks absolutely wouldn't die. He had already become a complete backdrop of this world. And not just anyone was qualified to be that.
Fine, the Sage of Six Paths had also once been a backdrop of this world, but since he had died long ago, people felt no pressure talking about him.
Shanks, though, was different.
Think about it: the younger generation going through countless battles, refining Ninjutsu, polishing Taijutsu, or pushing their Devil Fruit powers to the limit.
In the end, they become the strongest of their generation, carrying dreams and the faith of countless people as they step into the New World.
And then they face Shanks.
Forget whether they could block his sword—just Shanks' ridiculous Conqueror's Haki alone was enough to crush them. Whether they could even move under its pressure was another story.
Who else's Conqueror's Haki came with such insane physical destructive power?
Jiraiya thought about it, but he couldn't figure out how the younger ones could possibly deal with someone like Shanks.
"Hah? You're underestimating them too much. This is the result of thousands of years of buildup in the ninja world.
If they all came at me together, I couldn't handle it either."
Shanks immediately understood the look in Jiraiya's eyes.
Couldn't they stop having so much confidence in him?
Just imagine Naruto and Sasuke at their peak—and now they were even stronger versions of that.
And not only Naruto and Sasuke, but also the Konoha Twelve.
On top of that, strong people from other villages too—Killer Bee, Chojuro, Gaara, and so on.
With that many people, how could Shanks fight them all? There was no way.
But when Shanks said this, both Jiraiya and Shisui instantly had black lines on their foreheads.
They had thought Shanks was full of hope for the younger ones, but what he meant was that once they all grew strong, if they came at him together, he'd have to run far away.
Arrogant! Way too arrogant!
Who in the ninja world thought like this?
When people compared strength, they always compared one person to another. But with Shanks, it became one person against a whole group.
But then again, thinking about it carefully… maybe it wasn't wrong.
After all, even the extremely proud immortals naturally used a numbers tactic against Shanks.
Fukuda Kiyomu and Master Genichi faced Shanks together, yet Shanks still pushed them back. You could say everyone is already used to seeing Shanks being ganged up on—even Shanks himself is used to it.
It's just that Shanks' pride and arrogance have become so natural that you can't even tell it's arrogance anymore.
But with just a small comparison, you'll realize how ridiculous Shanks really is.
For example, in the Fourth Ninja War, Madara would look down on the Five Kage and then let them all attack him together.
After being mocked by Madara, the Five Kage's faces would stiffen, filled with tension, and then they would attack Madara together.
But Shanks wouldn't be like that. Shanks wouldn't show that kind of condescending look, and if the Five Kage really faced him, they wouldn't have time to put on that "we've just been mocked" expression either.
Most likely, the moment they saw Shanks, they would instantly unleash their full power, gang up on him right away, and even call for backup.
There's simply no time to show hurt pride. That's the difference in treatment—when it comes to Shanks, surrounding him is considered the most fair way to fight.
Honestly though, just being able to defeat Shanks through a group attack would already be an amazing achievement.
But the real problem is, Shanks isn't alone.
Do you understand what it means for the world's strongest man to also have a bunch of top fighters at his side? If you try to gang up, you might end up outnumbered instead.
"Looking at it this way, Shanks, don't you think about taking a student? Even just officially taking Haku as your disciple would be fine."
Jiraiya thought to himself. Haku's position was pretty awkward right now.
On the surface, he was Zabuza's pirate crew vice-captain, but in reality, Zabuza was more willing for Haku to stay with Shanks.
After seeing Haku's talent and determination, Zabuza realized he wasn't qualified to guide Haku.
Otherwise, he would ruin him.
Meanwhile, Shanks, Shisui, Amado, and the others cared a lot about Haku. After all, he was the youngest member of the group.
Among them, Haku was like the team's little favorite. Even though these men didn't really understand tenderness, only Shisui had a bit of "older brother" experience.
Still, their affection for Haku was real.
At the same time, the others could all feel how much Shanks recognized Haku.
"Disciple? Is that really important?"
Shanks didn't quite get it. In his view, Haku was already his disciple, since he never hid anything he could teach.
"Of course it's important. It's different…"
"It is different, but if it's you, Shanks, then either way is fine."
Shisui smiled too.
For them, the bond between a "disciple" and a "teacher" was something very special. But Shanks himself was different from them, so everyone just got used to how he did things.
Jiraiya and Shisui's words still gave Shanks something to think about.
But when he thought about what was coming, he hesitated.
"Let's wait until things settle down a bit. The situation isn't stable yet."
"Not just on our side—even the World Government is in complete chaos. Let's wait for Yahiko and the others to come back, then we'll see."
The Red Line was cut off from the outside world's information. Shanks had his own plan, but ever since meeting the Sage of Six Paths, he realized something was off.
It felt like he had done something huge.
And now in the ninja world, to be honest, after everyone's potential had been fully awakened, Shanks also felt uneasy.
Looking back at ninja history, no other era had so many strong people as this one.
This wasn't just because of Shanks.
But since he was already here, Shanks couldn't waste the chance.
Some things he saw made him realize he had to change. The main one was to preserve as much of the ninja world's strength as possible.
From his fight with Fukuda Kiyomu and Genichi, Shanks had also caught some hints about the Earthly Sage Kingdom.
The problems were big, but in the short term, the Earthly Sage Kingdom's system wouldn't collapse. As long as the outside pressure stayed, the whole kingdom would remain stable.
As for whether the stability of the Earthly Sage Kingdom and the World Government would threaten Shanks' plans?
Shanks could only scoff: you haven't even set foot on the Red Earth Continent yet, and you think you can threaten my plans? Keep dreaming.
Up until now, no one in the ninja world knows what's really behind the Red Earth Continent. Even Jiraiya and Shisui don't know.
The only ones who know the truth, besides Shanks, are probably just the Sage of Six Paths.
And that's exactly why Master Genichi was so on edge—because he had no clue what tricks Shanks had prepared.
Besides, Shanks was never a brainless man.
Though in practice, when it came to details, he really had no sense for them—sometimes he didn't even bother with details at all.
For example, he outright dismantled parts of the Sage of Six Paths' arrangements. That kind of thing, only Shanks would dare to do.
But even the Sage of Six Paths had to admit, while Shanks' methods were rough and reckless, they hadn't caused any major problems.
The biggest "problem" was just that he tore apart the Sage's hiding place.
Still, to avoid more small problems, Shanks needed a full grasp of the ninja world's situation.
So Yahiko was sent back through reverse summoning by Jiraiya.
Meanwhile, Konan, who was supposed to head for the East Blue battlefield to deliver a message, changed direction.
In the end, Konan met Yahiko in a forest.
The small wooden cabin where the three of them once lived was now just ruins, but Konan still found her way back. Yahiko stood beneath a large tree.
Under the moonlight, the cracks on Yahiko's face were clear, and his Edo Tensei body carried none of a living person's aura.
But at that moment, Konan felt a warmth she had never felt before.
"You… came back."
"Long time no see, Konan. Did you miss me?"
Yahiko greeted her, as if he had only taken a nap.
But for Konan, it wasn't the same.
"I missed you…"
"I missed you so much!"
Under the moonlight, the two figures held each other tightly.
By the pond not far away, Jusuke and Furido sensibly turned their backs to give them privacy.
The moonlight made even Yahiko's dead body feel warm. For him, it was as if he had only slept a little, yet it felt like so many years had passed.
That longing had been frozen for more than ten years.
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