Naruto: The Legend of Red Haired Shanks

Under Shanks' influence, Zabuza's training had shifted. He was no longer just a typical ninja—he was turning into a Taijutsu specialist. 

And in just over a month, his progress had been astonishing. 

Using the "theories" Shanks shared, Zabuza had completely changed his fighting style. 

"As expected of the Marine elites… mastering Geppo and Tekkai in such a short time." 

To Shanks, the Marine Six Powers were no secret. Since Zabuza couldn't learn Haki yet, he had focused on mastering them instead. 

Zabuza's growth was impressive. Even though Akainu had let him escape back then, the fact that he survived still proved his strength. 

"Sigh… I was expecting too much. It's still just a test version. Back when Luffy first met Smoker, that guy was completely unstoppable. But after a few updates, he got reduced to a side character." 

Every new version brings new top fighters. 

Just look at Smoker in his early days compared to later—his whole role had changed. 

And then there was Crocodile. 

For a Warlord of the Sea, he got beaten way too easily. Just compare him to other Warlords—no need to bring up Mihawk, just looking at Luffy and Doflamingo shows how badly Crocodile got treated. He was practically the disgrace of the Warlords. 

Of course, an even worse case was Shiki the Golden Lion. 

Whitebeard, even in his old age, managed to go out in the Summit War. But Shiki—the man who once pushed Roger to the brink—ended up getting defeated by Luffy's crew over a pirate map. 

"Maybe I should delay setting sail for a bit? As ridiculous as Crocodile and Shiki's situations were, I think mine is even worse." 

Thinking about it, Shanks felt a little embarrassed. 

What was this about being the "Emperor of East Blue"? No, wait—"Ruler of East Blue, the Lord of the Near Sea"? 

He was one of the Four Emperors, yet he had his arm bitten off by a sea king. To this day, he still couldn't figure out how that even happened. 

"Ah!! You actually used Haki! Hahaha, this time, I win!"

At that moment, a bruised and battered Zabuza climbed out of the lake, a bright smile on his face. 

Being able to force Shanks to use his Haki—seemed like he had improved a lot. 

"That kind of slash is impossible to hit anyone with. Even without using Conqueror's infusion, just with Observation Haki alone, I could dodge it easily." 

"Not everyone has such ridiculous Observation Haki." 

Zabuza retorted stubbornly. But he wasn't just being stubborn—there really was no one else like Shanks in the entire ninja world. He had never heard of such a person, not even in all the intel he had gathered. 

"But can Observation Haki really let you see the future?" 

Zabuza found it hard to believe. If a sensing technique could do that, wouldn't that be way too overpowered? 

"In some cases, yes." 

Shanks smiled. 

In reality, he had already seen Zabuza's future—Zabuza, covered in blood, collapsing on the ice. 

Around him, chunks of ice kept forming, trying to protect him. 

Not far away on the frozen ground, a group of armed thugs stood, looking like a bunch of small-time pirates. 

"So, what did you see about me?" 

"Hah? How do you even know I looked into your future?" 

Shanks shot back. Wasn't this just baseless slander? Did he look like that kind of person? 

Zabuza glanced at Shanks, then pointed at himself. 

"There are only the two of us here. What do you think?" 

"Well, I still can't tell you. I'll say it when you're about to leave. After all, if I could see it, it's probably not something good." 

"How bad could it be?" 

Zabuza was sure his current situation was already bad enough. What could be worse than this? 

"People are going to die." 

Shanks could only give a helpless smile. 

Zabuza froze at his words. 

"I don't know exactly what's going to happen, but right now, you probably still have a lot of unfinished business. Your life is still important to you, right?" 

Shanks' words made Zabuza fall silent. 

After leaving Kirigakure, he had once felt completely hopeless. Everything he had sacrificed for had become meaningless. 

Shanks had helped him find a new path. It wasn't too late to change. 

But Zabuza still hadn't found his own way. He wasn't numb anymore, but the road ahead was still unclear. 

If Shanks hadn't appeared, Zabuza would have followed the same fate—hired by Gato, facing off against Kakashi's team, and in the end, choosing to end his own life after Haku's death. 

To be honest, only someone who had already lost all hope would do something like that. 

That version of Zabuza had already died long ago. 

Haku's death had only reminded him of the despair he once felt—the despair of losing everything. That was what truly killed Zabuza. 

Otherwise, why would someone like him take orders from Gato? A rogue ninja who could betray his own village—why wouldn't he betray Gato too? 

And really, who takes a security guard's pay and then risks their life like a bodyguard? Getting paid that little, and you're actually willing to die for it? 

But the Zabuza of today—would never end up like that.

One reason was Shanks' influence. As for the other, well, when you think you're already in a terrible situation, but then you see someone worse off than you, it doesn't feel so bad anymore. 

Shanks never compared hardships with Zabuza, but who didn't know about the Uzumaki clan? 

They were almost completely wiped out. 

Their home was gone, their family was gone, and even their closest allies betrayed them. 

Yet look at him—always smiling like nothing happened. 

And despite being from the Uzumaki clan, his biggest dream was to become the freest pirate on the sea?? 

That clan used to be one of the great ninja clans, and with his level of power, he chose to be a pirate? Is he out of his mind? 

"Could it be that because I'm not crazy, I can't be like Shanks? Hmm... now that I think about it, I've always been tied down by my past identity. But Shanks... he's completely different." 

Zabuza seemed to realize something. 

He had become a rogue ninja from Kirigakure. That meant he was no longer a Kirigakure ninja. 

In fact, he wasn't even a ninja anymore. 

So why couldn't he live like Shanks? 

"Shanks, what do you think? How about I become a pirate too?" 

Zabuza suddenly blurted out something shocking. 

"Huh? You... a pirate? But your past—" 

"That was the past. Right now, I suddenly feel like being a free pirate doesn't sound so bad." 

Despite his bruised and battered face, Zabuza smiled brightly. 

At that moment, Shanks laughed too. 

"Hahaha! Well then, I am Shanks, captain of the Red-Haired Pirates!" 

"And I am Zan, captain of the Blade-less Pirates!" 

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