Roran Ruins—
When Shanks opened his eyes again, the surrounding ruins had transformed into a grand palace.
Yet, he could still faintly sense the presence of the world's will watching him.
"Strange… My strength is completely restricted. Is it because the Dragon Vein can only handle so much power?"
Shanks checked his body and confirmed that his power had been limited.
However, his Haki and other abilities remained unaffected.
After all, Haki was beyond the constraints of this world. The vague world consciousness of the shinobi realm couldn't suppress Shanks' Haki.
"But it feels like if I go beyond the Dragon Vein's limit, I'll be forcibly kicked out."
Scratching his head, Shanks turned around.
Behind him, a tall woman stood frozen, staring at him in shock.
"Uh… Hey there!"
Shanks casually greeted the woman.
"Oh! Ah… Hello, hello…"
Hearing Shanks speak, the woman snapped back to reality.
But the next moment, she suddenly realized something.
"Hello? What do you mean, hello?! How did you suddenly appear here? This is my bedroom!"
The woman immediately shouted in anger. She was the queen of the ancient kingdom of Roran, and now, a man had suddenly appeared in her bedroom. If word got out, what would people think?
Not to mention, this guy in front of her looked rough and carefree, with an unshaven face. How had he even gotten here in the first place?
"Ah? Hahaha, sorry about that. I have no idea how I ended up here. I'll leave right away."
Shanks scratched his head awkwardly. A man and a woman alone in a bedroom—it wasn't a good look. Besides, he had no experience being alone with women.
"You're not going anywhere."
The Queen of Roran immediately stopped him.
If he walked out now, with so many people outside, what would happen to her reputation?
Besides, even though this Shanks guy looked rough with his unshaven face and carefree attitude, now that she looked closer, he wasn't bad-looking. He had a strong build.
And then there was the sword he carried. Thinking about the current situation in Roran, the queen decided to test the waters.
"Are you a warrior?"
"I'm a pirate."
"That doesn't matter. What matters is—how strong are you?"
The Queen of Roran waved her hand dismissively. She didn't care about titles. Even if Shanks was just a drunkard, that was fine—as long as he was strong enough.
"Strong… yeah, I'd say I'm very strong."
Shanks nodded confidently.
"Then let's make a deal."
The Queen of Roran stepped closer to Shanks and spoke bluntly. She took a sniff and frowned.
"You smell like the sea… So you really are a pirate."
Shanks found her behavior strange, but he shook his head and refused.
"If you need help with something, I'd be happy to lend a hand. But I'm not interested in making deals."
Helping and making deals were two very different things.
As far as Shanks was concerned, this Queen of Roran wasn't even qualified to negotiate with him. Forget her—Orochimaru himself had only managed to get that opportunity by using clever tricks.
"Help? That works too."
The Queen of Roran didn't argue or hesitate at all.
Looking at her, Shanks suddenly thought of someone else—Terumi Mei.
The Queen of Roran had a strange personality, but she had the same decisiveness and strong will as Terumi Mei. Not everyone had that kind of presence.
"Red hair, huh? You do look a little like me. But your hair color is darker than mine."
The Queen of Roran's hair was deep red, while Shanks' was more of a wine-red.
That was one of the reasons Uzumaki Clan hair was so recognizable. But not everyone with red hair was from the Uzumaki Clan.
"Tomorrow, an important guest will be arriving in Roran. I need you to be my bodyguard."
"After all… I don't have any strong fighters here, so I need you to step in and be the face of things. Of course, this is just a diplomatic matter—there shouldn't be any unexpected trouble."
"As for your identity…"
"A samurai?"
Shanks spoke up. The Queen of Roran in front of him was surprisingly straightforward—she actually trusted him this much.
But when he thought about it, if the Third Hokage had trusted the people in the village even half as much as this Queen trusted him, then Konohagakure would probably still be strong enough to dominate the other villages in the ninja world.
"Yeah, just say you're a wandering samurai from the Land of Iron."
The Queen of Roran nodded. A wandering samurai from the Land of Iron—this identity would work well.
"Even though you're here as a guard, I still need to brief you on tomorrow's events."
She continued speaking, then turned and walked into a room behind her.
This was her private chamber, but it also served as her office.
In this chaotic world, if you didn't have power, you had to rely on intelligence and decisiveness to survive.
As the Queen of Roran, she didn't have the strength to protect the Dragon Vein, but she did have the power to destroy it.
That was her bargaining chip.
It was also the reason Roran was able to hold its ground next to the Land of Wind.
If she had a choice, she wouldn't consider destroying the Dragon Vein.
But in times like these, she had no choice.
Even as a woman, she had to be stronger than the men around her.
"Tomorrow, we'll be meeting someone important—Reto, a ninja from the Land of Wind."
"He is one of the most well-known and capable ninjas in the Land of Wind.
For over a decade, he has been working between different tribes, mediating their conflicts."
"He's the person most likely to bring an end to the war in the Land of Wind."
The Queen of Roran explained.
Shanks listened carefully. Seeing his interest, the Queen went into even more detail.
Shanks already knew who Reto was.
He had studied the history of the Warring States period in the ninja world.
But hearing about it from people of this era was completely different from reading about it in the future.
Reto was the First Kazekage and one of the five Kage who would later participate in the Five Kage Summit.
There wasn't much about him in the history books of the ninja world, but among the Five Kage, he was definitely the most politically sharp.
During the summit, Hashirama distributed the Tailed Beasts to the other villages in exchange for money.
This idea actually came from Tobirama.
After all, Hashirama originally wanted to give them away for free, which fit his personality, but if he really did that, the other villages might start questioning his motives.
So Tobirama had to step in and convince his brother to charge them—turning it into more of a "forced deal."
At the Five Kage Summit, Reto didn't want a Tailed Beast.
He just wanted more funding and land where his people could survive.
And for that… the other Kage mocked him.
Of course, Reto didn't hold back—he fired right back at them.
In the end, thanks to his persistence, the Land of Wind gained some much-needed fertile land.
And now, Reto was still traveling across the Land of Wind, acting as a negotiator.
"I see."
After hearing the Queen's explanation, Shanks nodded.
"So Reto plans to form an alliance with Roran, then use Roran's resources to bring stability to the Land of Wind. At the same time, he wants to ensure that Roran isn't destroyed."
Shanks immediately figured out Reto's strategy.
Roran had to survive—this was the key to the Land of Wind's future.
Or rather, it was the most important piece in Reto's plan to end the war.
"Is that so?"
Hearing Shanks' words, Queen Roran was stunned for a moment. That wasn't what she had just said at all. How could Shanks be so sure about the other party's intentions?
But in the next second, she understood. Given Reto's determination and boldness, that was likely exactly what he had in mind.
But…
"How about this—you stop being my guard and do me another favor?"
The next moment, Queen Roran's eyes lit up as if she had discovered a treasure. She looked at Shanks with excitement.
"I refuse."
Shanks turned her down immediately. Even without using his observation skills, he could tell what she was thinking.
She wanted him to work for her? No way.
"You don't even know what I was going to say! How about becoming Roran's prime minister?"
Queen Roran went straight to offering him the second-highest position in the kingdom.
"I refuse!"
"If that doesn't work, I can give you my position instead."
"No."
Shanks rejected her outright. He still had to change the ninja world.
"…"
The next day, after changing into a different outfit, Shanks found himself with a new title—
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Outside the kingdom of Roran, Shanks stood with a group of people, waiting to welcome Reto and his men. Beside him was a man with bandages wrapped around his head.
This man was Roran's former head guard. As for his injuries? Naturally, he got them when he attacked Shanks.
"Shanks-sama, they're coming."
In the distance, a group of people appeared in sight.
Leading them was Reto, his slicked-back hair standing out. But in the Land of Wind, having hair blown back by the wind was pretty normal.
One other thing stood out—Reto might not have been overly muscular, but he was nearly two meters tall, making him look like a giant among the group.
"I'll go on my own. You guys stay here."
Shanks walked toward the approaching crowd alone.
Meanwhile, on the other side—
Reto and Shamon were sprinting across the desert.
"Damn it, nothing can go wrong! If those guys get their way, we're in trouble."
Reto gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected the information to leak. Given his identity, if the wrong people interfered, things would get really messy.
"Sir, we're almost there!"
Shamon spoke up. In the distance, the outline of the Roran Kingdom was already visible.
The next second, Reto, who was running beside Shamon, suddenly vanished, diving straight into the sand.
"Shamon, I'll be waiting ahead!"
Noticing the group in the distance, Shamon let out a breath of relief. Good, he had made it in time.
"Ninja Art: Ten Directions Earth—"
Just as Reto was about to finish his hand seals in the desert sand, a chilling presence spread from the distance.
For a brief moment, the wind within a ten-kilometer radius completely stopped.
Even the soft rustling of sand in the desert went silent.
Two terrifying sword slashes appeared, carving massive trenches into the desert.
"Boom!!!"
Towering clouds of sand, dozens of meters high, exploded from the trenches and shot into the sky.
Blinding white sword energy stretched across the ravines, extending hundreds of meters into the distance before finally fading from sight, leaving everyone watching in horror.
Shamon stared at the terrifying slash that had passed just over ten meters away from him. His bald head was covered in goosebumps.
If that attack had been aimed at him, there was no doubt—absolutely no doubt—he would have died on the spot.
"What… what the hell is this…?"
He looked down at his hands, only to realize they were trembling uncontrollably. His body, acting on pure instinct, had responded with fear.
Forcing himself to stay calm, Shamon quickly rushed toward the source of the attack.
Meanwhile, much closer to Shanks, Reto had seen everything clearly. His hands, frozen mid-seal, stopped in midair.
"There wasn't even a trace of chakra… Just pure swordsmanship. Such overwhelming swordsmanship!!"
As the dust and sand settled in the distance, a head of striking red hair emerged.
Then, a pair of eyes—cold, fierce, like those of an ancient beast—locked onto Reto.
At that moment, Reto felt his body tense up against his will.
"So strong!! This is an entirely different level."
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