Naruto: The Legend of Red Haired Shanks

... 

Zabuza, Haku, and Jin boarded Shanks' ship. It had been a while since Zabuza and Shanks last met. 

Neither of them had fully recovered from their injuries. 

Among Shanks' crew, only Shisui was completely unscathed. On Zabuza's side, Haku was the only one without a single scratch. 

Zabuza glanced at Shanks and smirked to himself. 

"Hmph, he's one of the Four Emperors, but he doesn't care about his image at all. Looks like I win this time." 

The way Shanks looked right now, it would be a miracle if anyone even recognized him. 

Meanwhile, Zabuza—one of the great pirates of this era—had to maintain his style. 

Ever since becoming a pirate, Zabuza had changed a lot—even his fashion sense was different now. 

Seeing that Shanks was still the same as ever, Zabuza lifted his chin and casually took his seat. 

"This guy..." 

Shanks gritted his teeth. Seeing Zabuza's flashy coat and the smug look on his face, he immediately knew what was going on. 

"You actually went out of your way to get a new outfit just for this voyage?" 

"Not just one. Every member of my crew has a matching set." 

Zabuza waved his hand proudly. This was one of the few things he could beat Shanks at. 

"Doesn't matter. At least my bounty poster is in color. What a shame, Zabuza. You still have some catching up to do. 

If you don't step up your game, the younger generation might surpass you. That'd be embarrassing, wouldn't it?" 

Shanks casually pulled out his bounty poster. As a sign of respect for the Four Emperors, his was printed in full color.

The technology of this era is still far from fully developed, so using a color photo for a bounty poster is quite an expensive move. 

Hearing Shanks' words, Zabuza's face darkened with frustration. 

At the current rate of progress, it wouldn't be long before some of the younger talents caught up to his strength. 

Shanks, of course, knew Zabuza's situation. Forget the future—even right now, the person standing next to Zabuza, Haku, was probably already strong enough to overpower him completely. 

Since Zabuza clearly hadn't mastered Armament Haki, Haku could crush him without much effort. 

Unless Zabuza somehow became a Logia-type Devil Fruit user. But knowing Zabuza, Shanks was sure he would never eat a Devil Fruit. 

"Hmph, don't get ahead of yourself, Shanks." 

"With how fast technology is spreading, it won't be long before even us regular pirates can have color bounty posters." 

Zabuza spoke with confidence. 

Haku and Jin, standing beside him, covered their faces, feeling secondhand embarrassment. 

Saying something so weak in such a firm tone—only their captain could pull that off. 

"Yeah, it'll take at most a year," Amado added. 

Many of these technologies had actually existed in the ninja world for a long time, but due to the restrictions of the times, they hadn't been widely adopted. 

However, with the rise of the pirate era, merchants and common people had gained more influence, allowing these technologies to spread rapidly across the ninja world. 

Although most ordinary people were cursing the pirates right now, the truth was, in the past, civilians didn't even have the right to take part in war. 

Unlike now, where in the Land of Wind's recent conflict, tens of thousands of civilian soldiers had taken part. This had truly broken the monopoly on military power. 

Of course, not many people could see the significance of this. 

"A year, huh? That sounds about right." 

Shanks didn't say anything more. At the same time, Zabuza put away his grin. 

For Shanks to contact him directly at a time like this, it had to be something serious. 

"Alright, Shanks, if you have something to say, just say it. 

For you to take this so seriously, it must be something even bigger than that so-called 'accident' in the Land of Wind." 

Zabuza stared at Shanks. Whatever he was up to, it was no small matter—it might even cost them all their lives. 

But if Shanks wasn't afraid, why should he be? 

"The Land of Wind… an accident?" 

Shanks fell silent for a moment. 

"If that was just an accident, then what's coming next… will be an accident for the entire world." 

"Once the power of the Dragon Veins is unleashed, even we won't know what will happen. But it's something that has to be done." 

Hearing this, Zabuza also fell silent. 

"After what happened in the Land of Wind, you've all noticed changes in yourselves, haven't you?" 

Shanks changed the subject. 

"Yeah. Our physical abilities have improved a lot, and even our mental strength has grown stronger. 

It's not just me—my crew has experienced the same thing. Everyone has gotten much stronger." 

Zabuza nodded. As a ninja, he could clearly feel it. 

Haku and Jin, standing beside him, nodded as well. 

"So, I get what you're planning next. 

But can you tell me what kind of dangers we're looking at?" 

Zabuza's gaze was firm. He understood what Shanks was implying. 

Then, Shisui, who had been silent all this time, stepped forward and placed a scroll on the large table in the captain's quarters. 

The scroll was over five meters long and spread out across the table. 

"This is a rough map of the ninja world."

This is where the Five Great Nations are located, the main continent of the ninja world. Beyond this continent lie vast seas and smaller islands. 

"The ocean is also where most of the dragon veins are concentrated." 

Shanks spoke with a serious tone as Zabuza, Haku, and Jin turned their eyes to the map on the table. 

It was their first time seeing the entire ninja world. The Five Great Nations looked so small on this map. 

But what stood out even more were the many marked points scattered across it. 

"Opposite the Five Great Nations, across the sea, lies the main concentration of dragon veins. There are nearly a hundred of them in this region." 

"This is also the most dangerous sea. At the same time, anyone who manages to survive there will become one of the strongest in the ninja world." 

Shanks pointed to a specific area on the map. Bold letters marked that region— 

"New World!" 

Zabuza and the others stared in shock. 

That place— that's the true New World! 

Only the strongest of this era could reach the New World. The real elite. 

"If you can just stay alive in a place like that, you'll probably become a powerhouse, right?" 

Zabuza muttered. The power of over a hundred dragon veins combined… With that kind of energy, even a pig could fly. 

"No. In a place like this, the greatest enemy isn't other people— it's the brutally wild environment shaped by the dragon veins." 

"To survive in a place like that, you have to fight against everything around you." 

Haku stared at the map and added, "I understand how terrifying the power of dragon veins is… But even scarier than that, there's an even greater force at play." 

"To fight against this world… The New World doesn't just represent the dragon veins. It represents…" 

"The true New World!" 

Haku lifted his head. The gentle and youthful look on his face was replaced with a firm determination. His eyes gleamed as he stared at Shanks. 

Seeing this, Shisui and Amado, who were standing next to Shanks, looked surprised for a moment. Then, all three of them smiled. 

"Looks like you were right, Captain. The future of the ninja world truly belongs to the younger generation." 

Shisui grinned, clearly pleased, while Amado also looked at Haku with excitement. 

"I never expected to see a genius like this. Then again, in times like these, nothing should be surprising anymore." 

"…You guys…" 

Zabuza was completely confused by what was happening. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Let Haku explain it to you," Shanks said with a smile. It wasn't just Zabuza who was lost— Jin was equally clueless about what was going on. 

"…" 

Seeing Shanks and the others' reactions, Haku suddenly understood. It seemed like he was the only one who had sensed that power. 

"In the Land of Wind… Shanks— no, Captain Shanks' heartbeat echoed across the sky when he arrived. Back then, he told all of us to listen to the heartbeat of the world…" 

"I guess that's what he meant." 

Haku scratched his head. Back in the Land of Wind, he had indeed heard Shanks' heartbeat shaking the entire sky.

It was at that moment that Haku truly understood how strong the man before him was. 

Hearing Haku's words, Zabuza and Jin were completely stunned. 

Wait… is that true? 

No, why could Haku hear it, but they couldn't? 

"That's right. This was the last message I sent out to the world back when I borrowed the power of Roran's Dragon Vein." 

"But since I was only using the world's power temporarily, only a few people could hear it. Those people… are the ones blessed by this world." 

Shanks explained that what they called the "voice of the world" was actually just an effect of his power resonating with the strong warriors on the battlefield. 

After hearing Shanks' explanation, Haku nodded at Zabuza. 

"So for certain people, even without a pointer, they can follow the voice of the world and find the Dragon Vein. 

But since Captain Shanks specifically made a navigation pointer, that means… charging into the New World without it is a death sentence." 

 "Because that place isn't just where the Dragon Vein gathers—it's also where the will of the world itself converges. It's the real New World." 

As Haku spoke, cold sweat dripped down his forehead. Just thinking about it terrified him. 

The consequences of going there unprepared were too serious. People would die. 

Haku was only able to realize this because he was smart enough to figure it out from just a map. But in this world, not many people were as smart as him. 

And those people couldn't just be left to die in the New World. What Shanks was doing was making sure more people could survive, protecting them. 

But the more careful Shanks was, the more frightening it all seemed to Haku. 

"So… what exactly is in the New World that makes Shanks so cautious?" 

That was what truly worried Haku. If even Shanks wasn't sure about the "accidents" that could happen, then Haku had no way of knowing either. 

"Hmm, Haku is right." 

"Even without pirates entering that place, the Dragon Vein's power will still be activated." 

"Right now, all of you have already felt the effects of the Dragon Vein. But this effect doesn't just target one species—that's the first major danger of the New World." 

This time, Amado, who had been sitting nearby, took out a specimen—a scorpion about the size of a washbasin. 

"This was found near Roran after the Dragon Vein erupted. 

Its body grew more than five times its original size, and all of its physical abilities were enhanced. In the New World, this effect will be amplified a hundredfold." 

"A hundredfold? Something like this… can get a hundred times bigger?" 

Zabuza and Jin's jaws nearly hit the table. 

And this was just a scorpion. In the ocean, even an ordinary whale could be twenty or thirty meters long. 

A hundredfold increase… That would mean creatures thousands of meters long. Were they seriously saying these things actually existed? 

"And that's just the most common case. There could be some unique creatures that grow even bigger than we can imagine. 

After all, in the ninja world, there have always been massive creatures and summoned beasts." 

Amado continued explaining. 

This was what made the New World so terrifying. 

If it weren't for Shanks' warning, Amado wouldn't have even realized the full danger of it. 

That's why Shanks knew how horrifying that place was. 

In the pirate world, Sea Kings were just large creatures. But in the ninja world, size wasn't the only problem—there were far worse things to worry about. 

There are indeed some enormous creatures in the ninja world, like Manda or the Island Turtle from Kumogakure. Their size is unbelievably huge. 

But these are rare cases, and aside from its massive size, the Island Turtle doesn't have any particularly strong abilities. 

However, in the New World, what is rare in the ninja world becomes common. 

"Besides that, the Dragon Veins also have an impact on the environment. 

As for the exact effects, we're not entirely sure. The only confirmed one so far is how the power of the Greyle Stone in the Land of Wind has already created a floating island." 

"But in the New World, we might face even more complex environments." 

Amado spread his hands. This was exactly why he had joined Shanks' crew—he was genuinely curious about the New World. 

"Like what?" 

Even though he knew the answer might be unsettling, Zabuza couldn't help but ask. 

"For example, you might come across a stretch of ocean where the water temperature is 100 degrees." 

Shanks spoke, and in that moment, Zabuza regretted asking. He realized he probably wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. 

With so many Dragon Veins in play, even Shanks himself wasn't sure what was going on. All he knew was that even for him, that place required extreme caution. 

As for Zabuza? Well, if Shanks wasn't afraid, then why should he be? 

However, the one who seemed more hesitant was Haku. When Zabuza and Jin returned to the ship, Haku turned to look at Shanks. 

The man standing before him wasn't just powerful… 

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