Naruto: The Legend of Red Haired Shanks

Clang! 

The sound of metal striking rang out as sparks flew between Jigen's blade and Jiraiya's fist. The sand beneath them rippled outward in invisible shockwaves. 

Jigen's clothes billowed in the force, and Jiraiya's long hair was swept back by the wind. 

At that moment, their eyes locked. 

A strange feeling rose in both of them—almost as if they were always meant to meet like this. 

Even Jigen found this eerie. Not even when facing Shanks had he felt something like this. 

Jiraiya felt it too. 

Their Observation Haki flared up without them realizing it. In an instant, their instincts expanded, and everything within a hundred kilometers became clear in their minds. 

For just a split second, Jigen's left hand froze mid-motion, and the trembling dunes slowly settled. 

At the same time, Jiraiya loosened his hand seal. Without a word, both men took a step back. 

"Strange… what's going on with this man?" 

"The person in front of me… who is he, really?" 

Jigen felt uneasy. He hated situations he couldn't control, and this feeling of unpredictability gave him no sense of security. 

Jiraiya was equally wary. Even if Jigen hadn't awakened Conqueror's Haki, his sheer strength was not that of an ordinary pirate. 

No, Jigen was on the same level as someone like Orochimaru. A true monster. 

At this moment, the two were no longer alone. The last remnants of the Land of Wind's Dragon Vein energy had begun surging toward them. 

In the true history of the ninja world, the real Jiraiya and Jigen were never supposed to meet. 

Jiraiya had died early at the Akatsuki's headquarters, while Jigen only truly appeared nearly twenty years after the Fourth Great Ninja War had ended. 

Jigen, also known as Otsutsuki Isshiki, was another member of the Otsutsuki clan who arrived in the ninja world alongside Otsutsuki Kaguya. 

After Naruto's era came the era of Boruto. 

In that era, Jiraiya's clone, Kashin Koji, was Jigen's real opponent. 

It was a fateful encounter, like destiny itself, yet both of them had missed their true time. 

Jigen wasn't sent to the ninja world with Kaguya without reason. Though his status was higher than Kaguya's, he was definitely an odd one among the Otsutsuki clan. 

As for Kaguya, she was also an outcast—betraying Jigen, marrying a human, and having children. 

And Jigen? He had spent thousands of years simply watching, treating the ninja world like an amusement park, observing everything as if he were just a traveler passing through. 

But at this moment, Jigen felt something that seemed almost like fate in front of this "native" of the world. 

Jigen became more cautious than ever—Jiraiya was a major threat to him. 

"Impossible… this guy is just a mere native." 

That thought made Jigen furious. Jiraiya, a man who rose to fame decades ago as one of the Legendary Sannin… 

"Even if you managed to reach the level of the Sage of Six Paths through some trick, so what? I don't know what kind of methods you used, but…" 

Jigen steadied himself once more. He had never personally encountered the Sage of Six Paths, so he didn't truly understand what that level of power entailed. 

That's why his first instinct was to suspect Jiraiya. The only kind of power that could make him this cautious was something he had never dealt with before. 

But a trick like this? Jigen would never be afraid of something so trivial. 

"If you think such a petty trick can defeat me, then you're underestimating me, Jiraiya. 

In all the thousands of years of this ninja world, I have seen countless powerful warriors. The only man worthy of my full attention… is Shanks." 

The next moment, Jigen spread his left hand open again, and the sand dunes began shifting. 

"So don't fool yourself. Even if the Sage of Six Paths himself were here, I wouldn't lose! Hahaha!" 

"Oh yeah?" 

Jiraiya grinned, his fighting spirit rising even higher. 

"Looks like you know quite a bit about the Poneglyphs." 

Jiraiya didn't explain further, nor did he need to. His opponent's strength was undeniable—that was an unquestionable fact. 

And the power Jigen wielded clearly came from the pirate system that had emerged after Shanks appeared. With everything Jigen had said, Jiraiya naturally assumed Jigen was a pirate. 

Well, Jigen *was* a pirate. 

But his words also made it clear that he held Shanks in extremely high regard. 

"In that case, let me see for myself—just how strong is this great pirate who praises Shanks so much?" 

Jigen's words only made Jiraiya take him more seriously. 

Because in Jigen, Jiraiya saw the ambition and strength of this era. 

A mere "ordinary person" had already grown to this level. 

Someone who could stand against him on equal footing. 

"Great Sandstorm—Sand Lion's Roar!" 

The next moment, Jigen raised his left hand, clenching his fist tightly. The sand dunes beyond the battlefield surged and transformed, forming massive lion heads that lunged at Jiraiya.

At the same time, an invisible force exploded beneath Jigen's feet, and his figure vanished in an instant. 

"True Sage Art: Wild Lion's Mane!" 

Jiraiya also rushed toward Jigen, his white hair rapidly expanding and covering the entire battlefield. 

Jigen's attack from earlier was completely shattered by Jiraiya's Sage Art. 

It looked simple, but from the outside, the sight of those towering lion heads—each over a hundred meters tall—being instantly crushed by the white hair was beyond anyone's imagination. 

Both Jigen's attack and Jiraiya's "True Sage Art" were massive in scale—far beyond what ordinary people could interfere with. 

"Evacuate the battlefield!!" 

"Fall back!" 

"Killer Bee, guard the stern!" 

"Guy!" 

Without hesitation, Mui gave the order. This was no time to stand around and watch—it was a matter of life and death. 

Guy immediately jumped onto the last ship. With him and Killer Bee there, at least some people would be safe. 

From an outsider's perspective, this battle was already at the level of a natural disaster. But for Jigen and Jiraiya, it was just another test of each other's strength. 

The next exchange, however, would be far from just a test. 

"Jiraiya!" 

Jigen moved at incredible speed, his katana slicing through the air with a black flash, cutting apart the white hair blocking his path. 

At the same moment, Jiraiya appeared below him. 

"Sage Art: Senjutsu Rasengan!" 

A Rasengan infused with powerful natural energy formed in Jiraiya's hand. The moment it appeared, everything around it seemed to slow down. 

Everything except Jigen—his speed remained just as terrifying as before. 

"You think I'd give you a chance?" 

Jigen's blade was too far to retract in time, but in that instant, he lashed out with a lightning-fast kick. 

Whether it was swordsmanship, taijutsu, or ninjutsu, Jigen was among the best in the ninja world. After all, he carried the experience of countless years. 

Even though this body had given up the ability to use ninjutsu, he was still unbelievably strong. 

His kick shattered the Rasengan just as it formed, slamming Jiraiya downward with overwhelming force. 

This was a battle between true elites. Forget ninjutsu—at close range, you wouldn't even get a chance to use a technique like Rasengan, which required no hand seals. 

A wealth of combat experience left no room for wasted movement. 

"Swamp Bind Technique!" 

But Jiraiya wasn't slow either. Don't forget—he could weave seals with just one hand. 

You can block my Rasengan, but can you stop me from using my other hand? 

Just as Jigen shattered the Rasengan, Jiraiya grabbed him and yanked him down. 

At the same time, the Truth-Seeking Orbs behind Jiraiya shot toward Jigen. 

But in the next moment— 

"Boom!!!" 

It was as if some terrifying force had descended upon the battlefield. A massive pressure came crashing down from above, shaking the entire ground. 

The two Truth-Seeking Orbs suddenly stopped in front of Jigen, completely controlled by the power of his Devil Fruit. 

"You can actually do something like this?!" 

Jiraiya frowned and immediately sank into the swamp. In that instant, Jigen's katana slashed at the exact spot where Jiraiya had just been. 

Their clash lasted only a single breath, but in that short moment, some people would have already died multiple times. 

"This is just the beginning." 

Jigen raised his left hand and shot into the air, pulling the entire swamp up from the ground with his power. 

From a distance, the people on the ship could only see a massive chunk of swamp, as large as a small mountain, being lifted into the sky by Jigen. 

It was as if the ground itself had been torn away, soaring into the clouds. 

At that moment, towering sand pillars erupted from the desert, covering the entire battlefield and blocking out the sun. 

The swirling sand engulfed the broken white clouds, and beams of sunlight spilled through the shifting gaps between the sand and clouds. 

"This is what true pirate power looks like. 

This is my true strength. 

The era of ninjas is long over—the era of the Ninja Sect is finished!" 

Jigen glared at the massive swamp in the distance and roared. His power went far beyond this. 

But Jiraiya's power wasn't limited to just this either. 

"Show me the power of the new era, Jiraiya. 

If this is all you have, you're going to die." 

Jigen had no intention of ending the fight so quickly. 

After all, how else would these pirates witness his true strength? 

"You're right… this could be fatal. 

In every new era, there are sacrifices. 

I suppose a great pirate like you has already prepared for that." 

"Sage Art: Summoning Jutsu—Flaming Mountain!" 

Jiraiya's voice echoed from deep within the swamp. 

Jiraiya's eyes snapped open in the depths of the swamp, and the red marks beneath them suddenly turned into flames. 

Countless red runes spread across the surface of the swamp, and a terrifying force erupted from another space. 

The next moment, Jiraiya opened his mouth! 

Pure natural energy—an overwhelming surge of Sage Chakra—exploded from within the swamp. 

There was no massive shockwave, just layers of space shattering like glass, breaking apart into countless fragments. 

Flames erupted from Jiraiya's mouth, consuming everything outside in an instant. 

It was eerily silent—so silent that it was terrifying. 

On the ground, the sand melted into magma. 

In the sky, lava rained down, turning the once-white clouds into a deep red. 

The entire battlefield was plunged into darkness, with only the blazing flames from Jiraiya's mouth lighting up the scene. 

Danger. 

Extreme danger. 

That eerie silence sent chills down everyone's spine. 

For a moment, they even forgot to breathe, their skin prickling with goosebumps. 

"Now that's more like it!!" 

A flicker of excitement flashed in Jigen's eyes. 

Finally—this was true power! 

Jet-black Armament Haki burst out of him with reckless abandon. 

He didn't have much else, but his accumulated strength was immense. 

His entire body was covered in black Armament Haki, and the Haki on his katana extended outward, growing even sharper.

The clouds around him quickly solidified, now covered in Armament Haki. 

"Let me show you how a real Devil Fruit is used!" 

"Armament Haki: Cloud Roll!" 

Jigen charged straight at Jiraiya without hesitation. At the same time, the cloud beside him, fully reinforced with Armament Haki, slammed toward Jiraiya's attack. 

Jigen had his own pride. This was his way of showing respect for Shanks. He believed in the path Shanks had chosen, and he was convinced that the power of Armament Haki and Devil Fruits was the real deal. 

"That man is the strongest I've ever seen. Even I can't reach that level. 

So I know my path is right. Your flames can't overpower my will!" 

Jigen's voice echoed through the sky, filled with confidence—absolute confidence. Losing was not an option. 

"Boom!!!" 

Flames and clouds collided. The cloud layers shattered one by one, and the flames were extinguished in the impact. 

In the sky, the fire seemed to be swallowed by darkness. 

Jigen's Armament Haki was too strong. Who cared if he didn't have Conqueror's Haki? Just with Armament Haki alone, he had already reached the top of this world. 

Right now, he might not be able to defeat Shanks, but in the future… he was certain he would surpass Shanks, bring him to his knees, and make him submit! 

That was Jigen's confidence, his pride. 

He was a man of honor, nothing like Kaguya, that shameless and despicable being. 

"First Slash: True Strike!" 

With a swing of his katana, a massive black blade arc tore through the flames, cutting a clear path. The terrifying Armament Haki still clung to the surrounding fire. 

This strike was aimed straight at Jiraiya. 

It was also aimed at destiny itself. Jigen refused to accept the so-called fate others believed in. 

In this world, in this entire shinobi realm, in these thousands of years, the only person who caught his attention was Shanks. The only one worthy of being his enemy was Shanks. The only one who could be his friend was… also Shanks. 

That was why Jigen rejected fate! 

"Jiraiya, can you withstand the will of thousands of years?" 

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