In that moment, Shanks clearly saw the entire global situation. The moment the " World Government" was formed, all the scattered forces around the world had gathered under this one giant tree.
That's what sets Shanks apart from others.
From the start, Shisui, Amado, and Hakuhad never doubted Shanks. He really was someone who was better at seeing the big picture.
You could say it's what gives Shanks his strength—or call it his weakness.
If you put Shanks in a small village, he might miss all the local schemes and plots. But once the scope gets bigger, when others start losing sight of what's happening, things become much clearer to Shanks.
This kind of thinking isn't something only Shanks has. To be honest, people from the Flower Nation often have this kind of talent to some degree.
After all, with 5,000 years of history, the Flower Nation's past makes the ninja world look tame in comparison. From family-level schemes to full-on diplomacy between nations—what haven't they experienced?
This kind of strategic thinking feels almost like something passed down through the bloodline.
Even if Shanks seems carefree and casual, that image only makes sense when compared to others.
It's like throwing someone from the Flower Nation into some remote part of Africa, where tribes are still fighting over land. As long as that person has had a basic education and doesn't have strong moral limits, and isn't terribly unlucky—
In just two or three years, he could unite the nearby tribes, organize logistics, and build a working system.
He might even outplay and weaken all the other tribes using nothing but strategy.
And that's still considered a normal case. If it's someone really ruthless, they might go for a "use war to fuel war" strategy, or even turn enemies against each other.
No one could stop that.
If you think this comparison isn't fair, just take a look at modern history.
Take the "Principal" for example. He might look like he's on par with the Third Hokage, but in reality, he could actually fight and hold his own.
Say what you will, but just look at the kind of soldiers he trained—what kind of level they were at.
It's like using rookie troops to fight experienced veterans. Sure, he lost—but the fact he held out at all was already impressive.
And as for why he got crushed by the "Instructor"? Do you really think that guy was anywhere close to normal?
He was nowhere near a normal person.
That guy could take a bunch of untrained fighters and still beat up an entire regular army. And if you gave him trained soldiers, he'd probably raise the bar for what was possible in military history.
So, it wasn't that the Principal was weak—it was just that his opponent was beyond unfair.
Just like the gap between Shanks and Orochimaru.
And now, things were moving into the territory that Shanks—and people from the Flower Nation—were best at.
Seeing Shanks so focused, everyone else also sharpened up, even Amado.
"First, let's talk about the Uzumaki clan's status.
The Uzumaki and Uchiha clans both come from the sons of the Sage of Six Paths—Asura and Indra."
"From what we can tell, the World Nobles also belong to this same bloodline of the Sage. So the Uzumaki clan really are part of the World Nobles. And not just them—the Uchiha clan too."
"The real purpose behind the creation of the World Government is to protect the interests of the Sage's descendants—basically, to protect the rights of the World Nobles."
"As for why, I think everyone already understands."
Because of their earlier encounter with the sage, Shisui and the others knew how much the sage desired the Dragon Vein.
Naturally, they all nodded in agreement.
"That's why my identity is very important to the World Government. Because of who I am, it's hard for me to be the one charging forward.
I'm in the New World now, and the World Government also wants me to stay in the New World."
"Is the noble status just a way to hold us back?"
"To be precise, it's meant to hold me back. When needed, that identity can be used to keep me in check.
But from the beginning, I never planned to leave the New World anyway."
At this point, Shanks fully understood all the effects brought by the founding of the World Government. But those effects went both ways.
The World Government was using him and limiting him, but at the same time, the power structure in the ninja world could actually help move the New World forward in some ways.
"Shouldn't we try to stop it?"
Amado scratched his head.
"There's no need. The World Government will already be on guard against us. If we go, it might just make things worse."
Hakuthought for a moment.
"What we still don't know is what the World Government is really doing behind the scenes. And that unknown could be dangerous for us."
"What Hakusaid makes sense. But it also means we're now caught up in this whole World Government matter."
"The restoration of the Land of Whirlpools might not be a good thing for the other countries. You can tell just by how the other four great nations reacted.
This balance has to exist. It's only natural that Konohagakure gets pushed down a bit."
"Even though the ninja faith and the sages aren't on the same side, right now they still can't be separated. If anything shakes up Konohagakure, it'll be a big deal for the entire World Government."
Shanks started to see the bigger picture of the world more clearly in his mind.
Konohagakure itself wasn't the main point.
To be honest, it was just the only one of the five great ninja villages that could get involved right now.
Because Konohagakure was strong enough—and more importantly, it had the connection to the Three Great Sacred Grounds.
The sacred grounds were what really mattered. All their heirs were from Konohagakure, so the World Government couldn't ignore them even if it wanted to.
"What we need to do now is simply strengthen Konohagakure."
"Huh?"
"Is that... really okay?"
Hearing Shanks suddenly change the topic, Amado was caught off guard.
Could it really be that simple?
"What's the problem? The Land of Whirlpools originally belonged to Naruto. Now that Karin took it from him, it's only right to help him out a bit, don't you think?"
"Also, Shisui is like a big brother in the Uchiha clan. Helping Sasuke out a little makes sense too."
"Just relying on Naruto and Sasuke won't be enough though."
Shisui shook his head. Two people alone weren't enough to draw attention.
"Right. Naruto and Sasuke alone won't cut it, so of course we'll help whoever else we can.
Some clans in Konohagakure have already sent people into the New World. Most regular pirates might not know about it, but we all understand just how much ninjutsu the ninja clans of Konohagakure have in their hands."
Shanks scratched his head.
"The development of Devil Fruits hasn't reached its limit yet, but once the pirates get this information, everything changes.
Naruto and Sasuke aren't meant to attract other villages' attention—they're meant for Konohagakure."
"Later, when the pirates learn about the ninja clans, the pressure on Konohagakure in the New World will get even bigger. In that case…"
At this point, Hakusuddenly understood.
"That means Konohagakure will either have to send more people to the New World or pull back its forces there.
Konohagakure's size represents more than just itself—once it makes a move, other ninja villages will follow.
This will cause a power imbalance in the New World. The World Government won't be able to control the New World, which would make the World Government lose its purpose."
"But if Konohagakure sends more people to the New World, then the other villages will have to do the same. At that point, the World Government will also have to send more forces there, or else trust between the villages and the World Government will break down, and the World Government will fall apart too."
"But why do they need to help Naruto and Sasuke?"
"Because the pirates need a target."
Okay, Shanks admitted this might be a bit sneaky, but honestly, he wasn't doing anything really bad.
In fact, he was actually helping Naruto, Sasuke, and Konohagakure.
"Simply put, pirates can't take down Shanks, but can they take down Naruto? Naruto is from the Uzumaki clan.
With Naruto's identity and Konohagakure's ninja skills, the pirates will definitely want to get their hands on Konohagakure's ninjutsu, hoping to get stronger Devil Fruits from it."
"That way, we don't even need to leave the New World."
Shisui analyzed. Shanks' plan seemed harmless, but actually, this guy had a scary level of control over the world's balance.
The World Government, ninja villages, pirates… with just this simple plan, he could involve all of them.
"Besides, problems caused by this, like more ordinary pirates appearing and more people rushing to the New World, will make things harder for the World Government to keep order. The member countries will hold back the World Government's power."
"Overall, although we don't know what the Sages are doing, their plan is either to push through no matter what or to give up on the current plan,"
Shanks said.
If the Sages are really crazy enough to work for the ninja world's member countries, it's understandable that the nobles would benefit. But Shanks didn't believe in their ambition.
That's why Shanks wanted to force the Sages to go all the way, so even if they don't want to protect the member countries later, it won't be up to them.
When they'll realize this, Shanks wasn't sure, but his plan wasn't some secret scheme—it was an open, obvious strategy.
"I don't know what you're planning, but don't think you can stop what I'm doing.
This is a risk showdown—let's see who breaks first.
We just need to pull the World Government's forces here, whatever the World Government does, we don't need to care."
"What about the Revolutionary Army?" Shisui asked.
"The Revolutionary Army?"
Shanks thought for a moment—looks like they don't have a spot in this game.
"The Revolutionary Army is also on the member countries' side, used to keep the World Government's forces busy. Right now, the Revolutionary Army isn't strong enough to appear in the main battle.
But... in some time, who knows."
Shanks looked at the info he had on the Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts. The Fourth Great Ninja War—it seemed to be getting out of hand.
"But that's roughly the direction. As for the details... who among you can get in touch with the Three Great Holy Lands?"
Shanks looked at his group of companions. He didn't have the ability himself, but he believed someone could solve this problem.
Hakumet everyone's gaze.
"What are you looking at me for? I don't have any connections."
"The Uchiha clan has nothing to do with the Holy Lands."
"..."
Then, the eyes turned to Yan.
Yahiko shook his head. It's not that he couldn't do it, he just didn't want to.
Finally, their gazes shifted to Amado.
"..."
Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Amado's very serious face started to break into a cold sweat.
"Hahaha, how did you know I hid Slug Sage's clones?"
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