New World —
On a ship, Ichiraku was lying on a deck chair, enjoying the sunshine and relaxing.
He didn't want to leave at all, but who would've thought he'd be caught by this crazy old man just after stepping out?
"Shanks, huh? Truly impressive. The strongest of the Uzumaki clan, inheritor of the Rikudou Sennin's sage body. It's not surprising that he can take Taijutsu to this level."
Next to him, Fukuda Seimei looked at the "Six Forms of the Pirate" training manual with gleaming eyes.
This Taijutsu had completely moved away from the traditional ninja Taijutsu, with no relation to chakra at all.
It could even be trained without chakra.
From Fukuda Seimei's perspective, this Taijutsu was entirely a style suited for sages.
It didn't need chakra; it was all about pushing the body to its absolute limits.
One could even say that this Taijutsu was ultimately leading to the "ascension" of the body.
Yes, for sages, "ascension" meant letting life transcend its original form and reach a higher level.
"The Six Forms of the Pirate really are different from regular Taijutsu, but from what I know, all the training methods for the six forms circulating in the ninja world are incomplete."
Ichiraku wasn't particularly interested, but he still shared his opinions from time to time.
Among the sages, there were two main factions: one focused on "sage power," and the other focused on the "sage body."
Of course, that's not to say there weren't sages who mastered both powers. Most sages had both abilities, but every sage had their own area of focus.
Ichiraku belonged to the "sage body" faction, focusing mainly on the body and Taijutsu, which was the same faction as Fukuda Seimei.
"No, no, no, quite the opposite."
Upon hearing Ichiraku's words, Fukuda Seimei shook his head.
"Shanks isn't unable to perfect this training method; he just chooses not to.
Because this basic foundation is enough. Everyone walks their own path. The Six Forms of the Pirate only give everyone a foundation. As for the path each person takes, that depends on their own ability and talent."
The gleam in Fukuda Seimei's eyes didn't fade at all.
A genius, pure genius!!
Shanks, that guy, truly deserves to be revered as the greatest pirate. Even Fukuda Seimei himself was in awe of him.
Compared to Shanks, Rikudou Sennin was nothing.
Sure, that guy was powerful enough, but the ninja way he created almost completely capped its potential and directly set its direction.
But Shanks is different. What he left behind was pure foundation. It was basic, but it clearly pointed the way without imposing any limits.
You have to know, once such a powerful person puts shackles on the ones who follow, it becomes incredibly hard for them to break through.
"Shanks' talent completely allows him to find the most effective and convenient training method. But if he did that, as the strongest, his identity would have locked the upper limit and path of the Six Forms of the Pirate.
That's the brilliance and boldness of Shanks. Even as such a strong figure, he still gave future generations the chance to challenge themselves."
Fukuda Seimei extended his right hand, which looked somewhat withered. The muscles on it began to move.
There were no signs of Senjutsu chakra, just extreme control over the body's limits.
"Seimei Kikan, the ultimate development of the body, even to the point of deceiving the body, keeping its strength in peak condition.
Until death, keeping your power at its highest."
"Are you sure Seimei Kikan is used this way?"
Teuchi looked at Fukuda Kiyomu's terrifying right hand, and even his usually squinting eyes widened.
"Is that kind of body development really normal? Only a freak like you could pull that off."
"Of course," Ichidai Kiyomu replied.
"Like I said, Shanks' version of the Six Powers is just the basic form.
How far you take it depends on the person."
The crazy look on Ichidai Kiyomu's face hadn't faded at all. He really made the right choice by coming here—someone like Shanks was definitely the hope of this era.
Those so-called sages spend all their time studying theories, while Shanks was already putting things into action.
Are theories useful? Not at all. In the end, what matters is what actually works.
Especially that old bastard Genichi—he cooked up some "Heavenly Immortal Nation" plan through the World Government,
trying to use the power of the world to ascend again. But even if it worked, so what?
A so-called sage, yet shameless enough to exploit regular people,
making commoners bear the cost—these sages have become real parasites.
They've completely forgotten what being a sage is supposed to mean.
They once had the guts to kill the mother of the Sage of Six Paths,
but now they only bully regular folks? What a bunch of useless cowards.
Seeing the look on Ichidai Kiyomu's face, Ichiraku quietly looked away.
This guy's clearly mentally unstable—better to be careful around him.
Who knows what this old lunatic is thinking?
"It's already been over a month. If we keep moving like this,
we probably won't be able to catch up to Shanks."
"Young man, what's the rush? I haven't even finished studying the Six Powers yet.
Don't forget, Shanks comes from the Sage of Six Paths' line."
"He might really be a born sage. Rushing into a fight with someone like him will cost you."
"Right now, who knows how many people are secretly hoping I show up,
just to watch me die at Shanks' hands."
Even if Ichidai Kiyomu was a bit crazy, his brain was sharp.
When it came to intelligence and understanding the big picture, he was one of the smartest among the sages.
The only other one who could match him was Genichi,
the mastermind behind the "Heavenly Immortal Nation."
At this point, Genichi had already prepared a role for Ichidai Kiyomu.
He was just waiting for him to go pick a fight with Shanks.
Some people live a long life for a reason—and Genichi was one of them.
Elsewhere, Shanks had stayed on the Flower Islands for a month and was now getting ready to leave.
As the power of the Dragon Veins started to fade faster,
the thunderclouds around the Flower Islands were slowly disappearing too.
Watching Shanks leave, Eric also got on his own ship and left the port.
Ripples formed behind the small boat, and flowers bloomed on the water as the waves spread.
Onboard, Eric turned around and waved goodbye to the people on the Flower Islands.
He was heading in a different direction from Shanks—he just wanted to go see the world for himself.
Back on Shanks' side, a few men were watching Eric from a distance,
all of them showing the same jealous look on their faces.
"That guy even needs special effects just to sail a boat? What a show-off."
Zabuza was grinding his back teeth hard enough to break them.
They thought they were all just regular guys,
but Eric's flashy effects were way too eye-catching.
Whether he was strong didn't matter—he wasn't stronger than Shanks anyway.
But being cool? That was something that lasted for life.
"What a waste. He's just a side character, and he's got all those fancy effects. Must be rich or something!!"
Even Shanks clenched his fists—who didn't want cool effects?
And besides, wasn't he supposed to be the only "SSR" limited card left in the ninja world?
Yet he didn't even get a single visual effect? That just felt like disrespect.
"But isn't this a bit too much? The World Government is really being generous."
Shanks pulled out his newest wanted poster.
It had a color photo, a shiny gold border, and a strong, confident face on it.
On the back, even his title was written in gold letters.
He glanced at everyone else's wanted posters—they were all plain black and white, cheap stuff. Well, considering his bounty, the fancy look didn't really matter anymore.
Zabuza seemed to notice Shanks looking and clenched his fists.
"So boring, hahaha!!
I don't care about that kind of fame."
With that, Zabuza turned and walked away without even looking back.
"Captain Zabuza, we still have things to discuss."
White called out from behind, but Zabuza waved his hand casually.
"I'm going back to sleep. You guys talk."
Back on his ship, he saw that all of his crew had a copy of Shanks' wanted poster. He was so annoyed he didn't say a word and just walked straight into the captain's quarters.
"What's wrong with Captain Zabuza?"
"No idea. But Lord Shanks' wanted poster sure looks cool."
"Yeah, way cooler than he actually is.
And the craziest thing? You can buy one of these awesome posters for just 1,000 ryō."
The pirates were all excited.
The wildest part about Shanks' wanted poster was that it wasn't even free.
No one knew which genius came up with the idea, but somehow these posters were being sold for 1,000 ryō each—and tons of pirates were buying them.
Just from selling Shanks' posters alone, the money made had already gone past a hundred million.
And to be fair, the poster really did look worth the price.
Meanwhile, back on Shanks' ship, after everyone had looked at the poster, they couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Shisui and White didn't understand what the World Government was up to.
"Wait, Shanks, are you really the ruler of the Land of Whirlpools and a World Noble?"
Shisui asked with a puzzled look. The official markings on the poster looked pretty legit.
"Ruler of the Land of Whirlpools? I don't even know where that place is."
Shanks raised both hands and shrugged. "Come on, does that place even exist in the pirate world?"
"But... the World Noble part, that one's actually true."
Everyone around him was stunned when they heard that.
They really hadn't known—Shanks was actually a World Noble?
"I didn't know before either. But now I get it.
The Uzumaki clan really is from the top bloodline of the World Nobles."
Shanks sat down.
On the table lay a big headline from the World Government—signaling the start of the ninja world's fightback.
But this wasn't just the ninja world's counterattack—this was also the sages' counterattack. Even Shanks, who rarely looked serious, had a stern look on his face.
"It's our turn to fight back too."
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