Naruto: The Legend of Red Haired Shanks

Obito wasn't stupid, and neither was Black Zetsu. In fact, they understood things better than most. 

Maybe a few years ago, Obito was just a reckless fool, but not anymore. He had already realized that he was being used. 

But it was too late for him to turn back. From the moment he chose the wrong path, there was no way out. 

As a student of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, he had been the one who caused the Nine-Tails attack—the disaster that led to his teacher's death. 

Obito knew that no matter what, he was beyond redemption. Just what he had done to his own teacher was enough to cut off any chance of going back. 

But at this moment, the extreme nature of the Uchiha clan showed itself in him. Since there was no way back, he would simply carve out a new path forward. 

Even if he had made the wrong choice at the start, as long as he gained enough power, he could turn his mistake into the right path. 

This was the Uchiha mindset—an Uchiha, make a mistake? Impossible! 

"Looks like we misunderstood Nagato. He had already fallen into darkness long ago." 

"For him, this world was broken from the very start. Ever since he was born, this world had been sick. It's a world that devours people, where war never ends." 

A hint of satisfaction flashed across Obito's face as he glanced at Black Zetsu. 

Black Zetsu, on the other hand, was internally panicking—but he couldn't show it. 

Because the Obito standing before him was also one of his pawns. In fact, it was Black Zetsu who had orchestrated Obito's descent into darkness. 

But now, looking at the situation, Black Zetsu realized that he might have overdone it. 

Darkness was one thing, but this? This was full-on world destruction. 

Back then, when he encouraged them to embrace the darkness and spoke about destroying the world, it was just to manipulate them. He never expected them to take it literally. The original plan was just to shake things up a bit—destroy a few villages, weaken the ninja world. 

But now? Looking at the situation, Black Zetsu knew he had messed up. 

"This explosion affected over 300,000 people, with more than 2,000 confirmed dead. The Slug Sage of the Shikkotsu Forest has intervened, and sages from all three great sanctuaries have arrived in the Land of Wind. The five great nations have once again increased the bounties on the pirates." 

Black Zetsu stared at the newspaper. The number of people affected by this disaster was far greater than in any previous ninja war—300,000 people, and that was only because the Land of Wind didn't have a larger population. 

The newspaper didn't provide much detail, but the relatively low death toll had only one possible explanation—the sages from the three great sanctuaries had stepped in. 

The very idea of the three great sanctuaries getting directly involved was something Black Zetsu had never even dared to imagine before. 

Even when Kaguya was sealed away by the Sage of Six Paths, only Mount Myoboku had appeared—the other sanctuaries hadn't shown up at all. 

But looking at what these pirates were doing and comparing it to what his mother, Kaguya, had done in the past, Black Zetsu could understand why they had finally taken action. 

Thousands of years ago, when Kaguya consumed the Chakra Fruit from the God Tree, she became the true ruler of the ninja world.

At least under Kaguya's rule, there was still some order. But now, under Shanks' influence, the entire shinobi world had fallen into chaos. And with this latest event, things were heading straight toward the destruction of nations. 

"It looks like you don't even need the Tailed Beasts to destroy the world. Shanks' power is far beyond them. And considering his connection with Nagato..." 

Obito spoke from the side. They had originally planned to push Nagato further into darkness, but now, it seemed unnecessary. 

"Obito, don't forget—our goal isn't to destroy the world. Remember our real plan." 

Black Zetsu reminded him. Their plan was still to gather the Tailed Beasts' power and use them to bring Madara back to life. 

Of course, that was just the plan on the surface—the one Obito was aware of. 

"Fine, but don't forget, you're just Madara's will. I'm the one actually carrying out the plan. 

Black Zetsu, don't talk to me in that tone. You don't deserve to." 

Obito's voice was cold, his Uchiha arrogance showing clearly. Black Zetsu could only swallow his frustration. 

He had been deceiving Madara, Obito, and Nagato all at once. Around these people, he had to be extremely careful—he couldn't afford to slip up. 

"What do you think Nagato and Shanks are planning?" 

Black Zetsu changed the topic. The most important thing right now was figuring out what Nagato and Shanks were up to. 

People see things differently depending on where they stand. For Obito and Black Zetsu, this wasn't just some random coincidence. 

Nagato and Konan had traveled to the Land of Waves to meet with Shanks. Not long after that, Shanks arrived in the Land of Wind and carried out the largest terrorist attack in the history of the shinobi world. 

And you're telling me this has nothing to do with Nagato? Who would believe that? 

"I don't know. Getting more detailed intel is too risky—we'd have to expose ourselves." 

Obito shook his head. 

Hearing that, Black Zetsu felt frustrated as well. There was a lot they simply couldn't find out—it was too dangerous for them. 

"But..." 

Obito continued speaking right after. 

"Nagato and Shanks are both from the Uzumaki clan. Their clan was wiped out during the Second Shinobi War, betrayed by Konohagakure, and nearly all their people were killed. 

The darkness and hatred that Shanks and Nagato carry are enough to make them want to destroy the entire world." 

Obito said this with complete certainty. 

He wasn't making baseless guesses—this was something they could actually see happening. 

To most of the shinobi world, Shanks was the greatest criminal, the most terrifying one of all. 

Because of Shanks, in less than a year, the shinobi world was overrun with pirates. Many countries were in turmoil, and some smaller nations had completely collapsed into lawlessness. 

Whether they were samurai, civilians, or nobles, they all had the same opinion of Shanks—he needed to die. 

Only a few people, like Nara Shikaku and Jiraiya, could really see through his plan. As for everyone else, they simply trusted Jiraiya and Shikaku's judgment. 

But most people didn't know the full picture. As far as they were concerned, Shanks was still the source of all this chaos—and honestly, he really was. 

"If this keeps up, our entire plan will be thrown into disarray." 

Black Zetsu turned to look at Obito. 

"..." 

"I haven't fought Shanks before, but I've felt his power from the edge of the battlefield. If I actually went up against him, I'd be dead for sure." 

Obito spoke. Was Black Zetsu seriously considering sending him to fight Shanks one-on-one? 

What kind of lunatic would even think that was possible? 

After all these years, Obito had definitely improved. A fighter like Shanks had top-level battle instincts and intelligence. 

His abilities might not even work against someone like that. 

Just like when he fought Minato—Obito could use the "Kamui space" to dodge Minato's attacks, yet Minato still found an opening and landed a hit on his real body. 

And that was just Minato's Rasengan… 

Now imagine if it were Shanks. A single slash from his sword could unleash a terrifying blade of energy over a hundred meters long. 

If he actually took a direct hit, Obito wasn't even sure how he'd put his body back together. 

"But we can't change Nagato's mind." 

"There's another way…" 

Obito spoke. At that moment, Black Zetsu also had a sudden realization. 

They might not be able to change their ally's strategy, but they could change their enemy's. 

"Use the Ten-Tails?" 

"We just need to leak some information to Nagato, let him use the Ten-Tails to produce White Zetsu and send them into battle. That way, both ninjas and pirates could extract parts of the Divine Tree's tissue from the White Zetsu and gain the power of Devil Fruits." 

"With this, the ninja world would have enough strength to stand against both Shanks and Nagato." 

Obito laid out his plan. 

Deep down, he felt a bit bitter—he was all too familiar with this tactic. 

This was exactly what Uchiha Madara had done to him in the past. Sometimes, the best way to gain an advantage was by strengthening others. 

"The pirates' power will also increase significantly." 

"It's different. The pirates aren't under Shanks' control like the ninjas are. Plus, ninjas have mastery over Ninjutsu, something pirates can't compete with." 

Obito shook his head. 

Devil Fruits weren't that easy to obtain. After the great battle in the Land of Wind, the pirates had probably exhausted their supply of Devil Fruits. 

After all, the most powerful Ninjutsu was in the hands of the major ninja villages. 

So, if they couldn't change their ally's mind, the solution was simple—strengthen the enemy instead. 

Black Zetsu thought it over. At the very least, this would buy them some time. 

And while they stalled, they could gradually collect the Tailed Beasts. 

Meanwhile, back in the Land of the Sea, Shanks and Shisui were reading the latest news in the papers. 

"Captain of the Beasts Pirates, Orochimaru—bounty: 800 million!" 

Intel: Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit user—White Dragon Fruit. 

Can transform into a divine dragon, control lightning and fire, and fly. Has an enormous body with extreme durability—so much so that even Shanks can't kill him. Considered the strongest creature in the ninja world. 

Vice-Captain of the Beasts Pirates, Kimimaro—bounty: 100 million. 

Intel: Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruit user—Bone-Spike Dragon Fruit. 

Can transform into an ancient dinosaur, control bones, and has monstrous physical strength. His Taijutsu is incredibly powerful, and any Ninjutsu below S-rank is ineffective against him. 

Kidomaru… 

Zoan-type Ghost Spider Fruit user… 

…" 

"Captain of the Dark Pirates, Dark—bounty: 500 million…" 

As Shanks read the intel, he glanced at Shisui beside him. 

Not far away, a certain unlucky man sat in a wheelchair, covered head to toe in bandages—Amado. 

"Captain of the Red-Haired Pirates, Shanks. Bounty: 2 billion..." 

After reading it, Shanks let out a sigh. 

There was no escaping it—everyone involved in this incident had their bounties raised. 

But why did his bounty increase so much? It made him look like the mastermind. 

"This isn't fair. I'm the victim here. I'm innocent!" 

"Huh?" 

Hearing Shanks' words, Amado looked at him with a puzzled expression. 

What? 

Would you like to take a look at me first before saying that again?