Zabuza had worked in intelligence before—he had plenty of experience. Interrogating someone was no problem for him.
Plus, with Shisui and Haku keeping an eye on things, there wasn't much that could go wrong.
Sandai Tofu's recovery was ridiculously fast. His natural Sage Body let him heal even faster than Naruto.
With a recovery rate like that, dealing with him wasn't easy. Any damage they inflicted healed faster than they could keep up with—it was almost unfair.
Luckily, the people here weren't exactly normal by ninja world standards either. Their attack power and defense were way beyond the usual limits.
Later that night, Sandai Tofu finally woke up. By then, what had started as a three-person interrogation had turned into four.
Amado had joined in after hearing that Sandai Tofu was a natural-born sage. He was curious.
"Shanks said this guy isn't too bright and is probably being used by someone. Keep that in mind while questioning him."
Amado gave a reminder. Zabuza nodded. If the guy wasn't very smart, he'd have to be extra careful with how he phrased things.
"Let's begin."
Shisui nodded. While Sandai Tofu was still a bit groggy, he used a small Genjutsu to throw off his mental state.
Then, Zabuza started the interrogation. The timing of Sandai Tofu's arrival was suspicious—there were definitely people working against them behind the scenes.
Well, considering their current situation, it would be weird if no one was targeting them.
Meanwhile, Shanks had stayed up all night, going over everything he knew about the Naruto world.
Of course, all he could do was try to sort out the general direction of things. The entire power structure and tone of the Naruto world had shifted too much—following the original story was no longer an option.
Not that he had ever planned to rely on the storyline for his own benefit. From the start, he had gone in the completely wrong direction—following the classic "pirate king" path instead of the usual ninja way. Now, he was stuck in that style.
"Sages... In Naruto, only the Three Great Sage Lands pass down Sage Mode. But I can't get into any of them. Jiraiya could, but I can't reach him.
Maybe I could strike another deal with Orochimaru... but I don't have anything valuable to trade."
"Forget it. I should just organize all the useful information I have. If I had known this was the Naruto world, I would've studied Ninjutsu more seriously."
Shanks didn't know what to say. He had zero understanding of Ninjutsu, but he could see that it had a lot of advantages.
Not being able to learn or use Ninjutsu completely limited his development in certain areas.
He didn't think he could master everything he tried, but learning some basic Ninjutsu shouldn't be a problem.
From there, he could figure out the concepts behind other Ninjutsu too—it wouldn't be that hard.
But right now, he didn't have even a bit of chakra in his body, so he had no way to start.
Otherwise, he could reverse-engineer a lot of things using Ninjutsu. By working backward like this, he could piece together the entire system of the ninja world.
He was confident about that.
By analyzing how Ninjutsu evolved, he could fill in the gaps in ninja history and make things much simpler.
"If I can't use Ninjutsu, I'll have to rely on Shisui and Zabuza. But neither of them has any experience with Senjutsu."
With that thought, Shanks picked up his pen and continued adding details about the Sage of Six Paths.
The Sage of Six Paths was the only known Sage, and the one Shanks was most familiar with. After the new era began, a lot of information about him had been uncovered.
Since he was the founder of Ninshu, people still showed him the respect he deserved. Everything Shanks wrote down was already common knowledge.
This included things like the Sage's ninja tools.
But beyond that, Shanks added one detail that most people didn't know—the reincarnation cycle of the Sage's sons, Indra and Asura.
That was one of the biggest mysteries he hadn't figured out yet. If he could study Ninjutsu, he might be able to understand it.
But without being able to study Ninjutsu, he had no way of knowing how chakra reincarnation worked. He had a rough idea, but something this complex couldn't be explained with just a vague theory.
"I'll leave this to Shisui and Amado. If they can't figure it out, I'll go find Minato. He should know more about this."
"But speaking of that, what are Black Zetsu and Obito up to? It's like they disappeared completely—they're not even collecting the Tailed Beasts anymore."
"Are they planning something big?"
Shanks' thoughts drifted elsewhere. In the ninja world, the only real troublemakers had always been Obito and Black Zetsu. Now that they had suddenly gone silent, it felt even more suspicious.
To be honest, even if those two openly declared they were launching the Fourth Great Ninja War, it probably wouldn't get much attention.
Times had changed—who still cared about ninja wars?
Meanwhile, Zabuza and Shisui had finished interrogating Sandai Tofu. The guy answered every question without hesitation—he didn't really have any secrets to hide.
Simply put, he was ridiculously straightforward, with zero scheming or deception. He honestly seemed a little slow.
Of course, that was also because Sages had never been involved in political struggles. They had no reason to play mind games or get caught up in power struggles. Their status was so high that they didn't even interfere in the affairs of the ninja world.
If the Third Hokage's political skills were barely a one out of ten, then these Sages' political skills and cunning were practically below zero.
To Zabuza and the others, Sandai Tofu really seemed to have… certain intellectual shortcomings.
That actually made gathering information incredibly easy.
But once they got the intel, they ran into another problem—it seemed like the mastermind behind everything was actually Shanks.
And looking at how things had played out, it seemed like Shanks had planned this from the start.
"Hmm… So this whole thing was actually set up by Shanks?"
"Not exactly. Shanks had a plan in place early on, but he never expected a Sage to show up. That part was definitely unexpected."
Amado glanced at his equipment while also struggling to believe that the Sage standing before him was truly lacking in intelligence.
But based on what he had seen so far, the guy really wasn't the brightest.
Sandai Tofu's arrival was unusual—normally, no one would just show up like that.
"Looks like Shanks was right. This guy was just being used. Shanks doesn't actually care about him—what he's really interested in is that other Sage, Fukuda Kiyomu.
That's what Shanks is really paying attention to."
Zabuza wasn't surprised—Shanks' plan had been in motion for a while now, so this was expected.
"If Shanks didn't show up in person, it's probably because he wanted us to understand his plan.
From the very beginning, that guy's vision and ambition were far beyond this world. I may not be as smart as Shanks, but in this entire ninja world, no one understands him better than I do."
"Shanks has a deep sense of pride. If he decided from the start to create a new era, then no one would be able to escape his plans.
Besides, Shanks knows things that we don't. He's well aware that there are many sages in the ninja world."
Zabuza was sure of it. They had learned from Sandai Tsuchikata that there were far more sages in this world than they had ever imagined—even some who were born as sages.
But Shanks was different. He had already made it clear that even Orochimaru's subordinates had people like that.
What is a sage? A sage is the peak of the ninja world.
The only reason they weren't too shocked was that they had spent so much time around Shanks, which had sharpened their ability to accept new ideas. Otherwise, the information from Sandai Tsuchikata alone would have been enough to leave Zabuza and Shisui dumbfounded for years.
"So when Shanks decided to act, he had already planned to drag everyone into the game. From giving ordinary people the power of Devil Fruits to later working with Orochimaru to bring legendary creatures into the world."
"With that, even the once-untouchable sages would be forced to step in and get involved in the ninja world."
"That guy… he's really planning to turn the entire ninja world upside down!"
Zabuza couldn't help but admire him. The man he respected never changed—his vision, his ambition, all just as overwhelming as ever.
Hearing Zabuza's words, Haku nodded in agreement.
"Lord Shanks' plan will never have any flaws. No matter how wise someone is, they will always seem insignificant before him. This is the path of a true king."
"A real strategy is one that everyone can see, yet they have no choice but to step into it."
Haku sighed. When it came to understanding Shanks, Zabuza's intelligence was top-tier in the ninja world.
Zabuza knew Shanks too well. He didn't even need much information—he could already figure out the general direction of Shanks' grand plan.
That was Zabuza's talent!
At that moment, even Shisui was stunned by how well Zabuza understood Shanks. It felt like whenever Shanks made a move, Zabuza could instantly grasp his thought process. His ability to predict Shanks' overall strategy was almost terrifying.
"Sages have already been dragged into this by Shanks. That completely shatters the old structure of the ninja world."
"So… what will Shanks do next?"
Shisui asked. From Sandai Tsuchikata, they had learned a bit about the connection between sages and the ancient Ninja Sect.
But even though Sandai Tsuchikata didn't know much, he was aware of some long-standing, unwritten rules.
More importantly, the next step in Shanks' plan was what really mattered now.
Even though Shisui was one of Shanks' closest allies, learning about his full strategy still left him feeling powerless.
From the very beginning, Shanks had used the power of Devil Fruits to capture the attention of ordinary people. Then, he pulled the ninja villages into the New World, breaking down the barriers between nations.
Step by step, everything had been carefully planned.
He completely disrupted the original order of the ninja world.
That was already unbelievable enough. But now, they realized—Shanks' plan wasn't even finished yet.
When no one is able to stop a plan, it stops being just a plan—it turns into the unstoppable tide of an era, dragging everyone along with it.
The next step was working with Orochimaru to awaken the true power of the Dragon Vein, bringing these sages directly into the ninja world.
At that point, the ninja world's structure would be completely transformed, and every player would be forced into the game.
And standing at the center of it all, as the biggest gambler and the one controlling the entire board, was Shanks.
His level of control over the situation was terrifying.
The more Shisui understood Shanks, the more powerless he felt.
Overwhelming power, an unshakable strategy—this was Shanks' path. The path of a conqueror.
It's no surprise—he truly deserves the title of the man with the strongest Conqueror's Haki in the ninja world. His wisdom and presence are on a whole different level.
But as Shanks' teammate, Shisui suddenly felt immense pressure. Was he falling behind?
Zabuza, on the other hand, didn't overthink it. He might not be the smartest, but he knew Shanks well enough.
"Shanks' plan? It's pretty simple.
Now that the sages have stepped into the world, and Shanks wants to change it, he's definitely going to take control of how history unfolds."
"And among the sages, the strongest one…"
"You mean Rikudou Sennin?"
"That's right. Rikudou Sennin influenced the ninja world for thousands of years. If Shanks wants to create a new world, he'll have to take control of the wheel that steered history before.
These sages may be idiots, but they're not worth Shanks going this far. His real target is probably someone who's been dead for thousands of years…"
"Rikudou Sennin!!"
Zabuza's gaze was firm. This was the confidence he had in Shanks. It might not seem logical, but that was exactly why it made sense.
Because this was Shanks.
"You're saying Shanks is going to go all out against a dead man?"
Amado wasn't buying it, but Haku and Shisui seemed to be deep in thought.
Zabuza's words had completely opened their minds. Even though he wasn't the smartest, his way of thinking surprisingly aligned with Jiraiya's.
After learning all this, Jiraiya had a realization—he finally understood who Shanks was up against. That moment of clarity turned him into a top-tier sage.
Zabuza, however, didn't have the brains for that kind of insight. He wasn't strong enough yet either. But was his conclusion correct? That's all that mattered.
So, under Amado's doubtful gaze, the next day, Shanks casually tossed a pile of documents on Rikudou Sennin onto the table. It was time for his crew to do some work.
He'd been thinking all night and was done with that.
"Here, take a look at this."
At that moment, even Amado had to admit—Zabuza really had a unique kind of talent.
Seeing the documents, Zabuza struck a smug pose (the classic proud soldier expression from *Bright Sword*).
See? Didn't I say it? No one understands Shanks better than me.
"Shanks, leave it to us!"
Zabuza handed over last night's interrogation records to Shanks, patting his chest confidently.
Now it was their turn to step up. It was time for the world to witness their brilliance.
Shanks wasn't the only powerhouse in this era—the Four Emperors were surrounded by legends.
The sages of the ninja world were about to witness the true strength of the most powerful pirate crew of this era.
This era wasn't just about Shanks.
It was time for Zabuza to make his move!
---
You can read 50 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu