Naruto: The Legend of Red Haired Shanks

"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane!" 

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. He had never seen this kind of sword technique before. He couldn't take it lightly. 

His hair shot outward, growing longer and harder than steel, whipping toward Zabuza's attack. 

Boom!! 

The air shook again, water splashing everywhere. 

Jiraiya's expression finally turned serious. He had underestimated Zabuza's strength. More than that, he had underestimated his resolve. 

This Zabuza was no ordinary elite jonin. 

Jiraiya had fought countless battles, and he could clearly sense Zabuza's true power now. 

"What incredible strength. A slash with almost no chakra flow… Is this a form of Taijutsu?" 

Jiraiya's figure vanished from where he stood. 

He had encountered many Taijutsu users before, but only a handful in the entire ninja world could fight at this level. 

Using pure Taijutsu to launch an attack from a distance—this wasn't something an average Taijutsu fighter could do. 

The sound of something cutting through the air rang out again. 

Zabuza appeared behind Jiraiya. 

"Ninja Art: Yellow Spring Swamp!"

In the next moment, the ground beneath Zabuza's feet turned into a swamp, instantly interrupting his attack. 

At the same time, a water clone on the other side had just finished forming hand seals. 

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu!" 

As the jutsu was unleashed, water from the nearby river surged forward, forming a massive waterfall that crashed toward Jiraiya. 

Jiraiya immediately canceled the Rasengan in his right hand just as the waterfall came down on him. 

Boom! 

With a puff of white smoke, only a substitution log was left in his place. 

By now, thanks to the Great Waterfall Jutsu, Zabuza had successfully escaped the Yellow Spring Swamp. A thin layer of water now covered the swamp's surface as Zabuza stood up, balancing on the water. 

"Toad Flat Shadow Manipulation Technique." 

Jiraiya's voice came from behind him. 

Zabuza barely had time to react. 

Just as he moved his right hand to grip his sword, his entire body froze in place, completely restrained. 

"When did this happen?!" 

"When I swapped places with the substitution log." 

Jiraiya stood behind Zabuza, his voice calm. 

When he cast the Yellow Spring Swamp, he had hidden the log. In large-scale terrain-altering jutsu like this, it was nearly impossible for anyone to notice a substitution log. 

Zabuza was no exception. Because of this small mistake, he had lost. 

"You were too impatient. Your injuries forced you to go on the offensive, trying to end the fight quickly." 

Jiraiya smiled. 

"Haha, but losing to the great Toad Sage Jiraiya isn't such a big deal." 

"Jiraiya? You're one of the Legendary Sannin?" 

Zabuza asked in shock. No wonder he was so strong—it was Jiraiya. 

Losing to Jiraiya wasn't surprising. If anything, it would have been shocking if he had won. Being able to last this long against him was already impressive. 

"Ugh!" 

Zabuza's injuries finally caught up to him, and he coughed up blood. 

At the same time, his Kubikiribocho shattered into pieces. 

The sword could regenerate instantly, but it required both Zabuza's blood and chakra. 

Right now, his body couldn't take any more, and his energy was rapidly draining. 

As his vision darkened, a hand pressed against his chest. Chakra flowed from Jiraiya's fingers, sealing Zabuza's pressure points. 

"Just stay here for now. I'm going to check something out." 

Jiraiya placed Zabuza on the ground and stood up, walking in Shanks' direction. 

"That's where Shanks is training. He's from the Uzumaki Clan… Are you sure you want to go there?" 

Zabuza's weak voice drifted over. It was faint, but it was enough to make Jiraiya stop in his tracks. 

Uzumaki Clan. 

They were once allies of Konohagakure. But clearly, Konoha had failed in its duty as an ally. The destruction of the Land of Whirlpools was something Konoha bore responsibility for. 

Jiraiya couldn't help but pause.

"Shanks? Someone from the Uzumaki clan?" 

"Impossible. Even if he is from the Uzumaki clan, he shouldn't be able to tap into this natural energy." 

Jiraiya shook his head, dismissing Zabuza's statement. 

"Normally, that's true. But Shanks is different. What if he uses the massive chakra reserves of the Uzumaki clan purely for sensing?" 

"With that much chakra, aside from the Uzumaki clan, there really aren't any other possibilities." 

Zabuza smirked. 

For some reason, seeing Jiraiya's shocked expression gave him a sense of pride. 

That was Shanks, after all. A bit strange, sure, but the strongest genius Zabuza had ever seen. 

Of course, he hadn't realized that after spending so much time with this "strange" person, he had already come to see Shanks as a companion—something he had never truly had before. 

And in a way, he had become a little "strange" himself. 

"Besides, Shanks has been away from the shinobi world for a long time. He doesn't even know that the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, is dead. Or that the princess of the Land of Whirlpools also perished in that disaster ten years ago." 

The Nine-Tails incident in Konoha had been covered up, but for someone like Zabuza, who held a high position in Kirigakure, accessing classified information was easy. 

After saying this, Zabuza closed his eyes. 

If it were just Jiraiya from Konoha, it probably wouldn't affect Shanks too much. But right now, in Zabuza's eyes, the two of them shouldn't meet. 

"A friend of Minato's?" 

Jiraiya didn't recall anyone named "Shanks." 

But if he was from the Uzumaki clan and knew Minato, that wouldn't be surprising. After all, there was Kushina. 

Still, knowing that Shanks was unaware of everything that had happened, Jiraiya decided against looking for him. 

"Keep these medicines." 

Jiraiya turned and left, leaving behind some potions for Zabuza. 

"I found something in Kirigakure. The real mastermind behind the Bloody Mist may not be the Mizukage." 

With those words, Jiraiya disappeared into the forest. 

This was something he had come across while investigating that organization, but he hadn't looked deeper into it. 

After all, the whole situation made him feel like Orochimaru was using him as a pawn. 

And truthfully, that was exactly what was happening. Ever since Orochimaru defected from the Akatsuki, he had been hunted relentlessly. Using Jiraiya to occasionally disrupt the organization's plans was one of his survival tactics. 

But none of this mattered to Zabuza now. 

"A different mastermind, huh? Whatever, I'm not a Kirigakure shinobi anymore." 

"If there's someone else behind it, let Terumi Mei handle it. If Akainu, the one Shanks values, is anything like Kizaru or Namikaze Minato, then he'll probably end up as the next Mizukage."