After Benimaru left his study, Erza came knocking on the door.
"Onii-chan, you called for me? Is there something that you need?"
Shanks looked toward Erza and nodded slightly. "As I said, I am going to establish the Shadow Guards, so a new base needs to be established for them from where they would operate. Preferably, we should keep it close to our Uzumaki clan compound so that, in any kind of emergency, they can immediately come to support the Uzumaki clan."
His tone was calm but deliberate. The placement of such a force was not a minor matter.
As soon as Erza heard this, she straightened slightly and replied, "I will immediately make a list of a few of the best locations for the base of the Shadow Guards and will inform you about it."
Shanks gave a brief nod after hearing Erza's words. There was no need for further explanation; she understood.
Then, Erza took her leave, the soft sound of the door closing echoing faintly in the quiet room.
After Erza left, Shanks continued doing the paperwork on his table. Sheets of parchment were stacked neatly on one side, while completed documents formed an orderly pile on the other. The scratching sound of his pen against paper filled the study. After almost an hour of continuous work, Shanks finally completed all the paperwork in front of him.
He leaned back slightly in his chair.
Just as he had finished, a thought crossed his mind.
"Raphael," Shanks said internally, "if I look at anything, due to your presence, I will have a photographic memory, right?"
Raphael replied within his mind in a composed tone, "Yes."
After getting this reply, Shanks nodded faintly.
"Then from today onwards, I will have your assistance in completing my paperwork. How I envy the ability of Rimuru. He can just swallow all the paperwork at once, immediately analyze everything, and then spit out all the documents in an organized manner with all the work done."
There was a hint of amusement in his voice. What a convenient ability that is.
At that moment, Raphael gave a suggestion.
"Master, how about you use your God's View ability, modifying it slightly? I have created another skill: 'Thunder Eye.'"
Immediately, information about a new skill appeared in Shanks's mind, along with the complete method of how to use it. The understanding was instantaneous.
Shanks grasped the working of this skill at once. Within the range of his God's View, he could create lightning eyes in thin air and share the perspective of those lightning eyes. If he wanted to, he could create thousands of them.
For a brief second, he was silent.
Shanks was surprised and delighted at the same time because a new, very useful ability had just been added to his arsenal. Now, using this lightning-eye ability, he could share the perspective of multiple lightning eyes simultaneously.
Without hesitation, Shanks immediately used the ability.
In his study, four eyes—completely made of crackling lightning—appeared in midair, each one positioned in a different direction. Faint arcs of electricity danced around them, illuminating the room with a subtle blue glow.
Shanks was able to see everything in all directions at once.
Not only could he see from his own two eyes, but at the same time, he received information from the four lightning eyes. In a sense, he was getting a 360-degree view of everything in his surroundings, just like the Byakugan. Every corner of the study, every document on the desk, every slight movement in the air—nothing escaped him.
He adjusted his focus slightly, and the perspectives aligned seamlessly in his mind without confusion. Raphael handled the flow of information perfectly.
Shanks immediately chuckled, impressed.
With a snap of his fingers, all those lightning eyes dispersed into faint sparks and disappeared from the room.
While smiling, Shanks said, "With my ability of lightning eyes and combining it with my Shadow Clone technique, I can look at different documents and also scan them completely. And with the help of Raphael, I can get all the information into my brain, analyse it completely, and refine it."
He leaned forward slightly, eyes gleaming with interest.
"And then I will be able to complete my paperwork within minutes—if not seconds."
The idea clearly pleased him.
Now that Shanks had completed his paperwork and had also found a method to finish it very easily in a short amount of time, he immediately stood up. He remembered that he had one more thing to do today.
Shanks walked out of his study. He was currently wearing his usual clothes—a simple kimono with a haori draped over it. The fabric moved lightly with his steps as he made his way toward the guest house area.
Reaching the gate of the house, Shanks knocked.
Soon, the door slid open, and in his view appeared a little girl who looked around fourteen years old. In the Naruto world, girls often had different growth rates. Although this girl looked to be around fourteen, she was actually only twelve years old.
Shanks looked toward her calmly and said, "I am Shanks Uzumaki, the clan head of the Uzumaki clan. I would like to talk to you and your father about something."
As soon as Kurenai heard that the young man standing in front of her was Shanks Uzumaki, she was startled. Her eyes widened slightly, and she immediately opened the door further.
"Welcome," she said, stepping aside respectfully.
By this time, Kurenai's father, Shinku, had also appeared from inside. When his eyes fell upon Shanks, he immediately bowed and said, "It is nice meeting you, Lord Uzukage. Please have a seat."
Shanks gave a slight nod after hearing Shinku's greeting and stepped inside, taking a seat. The interior was modest but clean. A low table stood between the futons.
Shanks gestured toward both of them to sit as well. Shinku and Kurenai quietly took their seats on the futon opposite him. Kurenai's posture was straight, but her fingers were lightly gripping the edge of her sleeve.
After both of them were seated, Shanks looked at them and began speaking in a composed tone.
"I know that what happened to both of you is quite unfortunate. Benimaru told me everything."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"And I assure you that it was due to his playfulness. Not to mention, he thought that your daughter was fourteen years old—just four years younger than him—and in this world, that age difference is quite acceptable. He fell in love with your daughter."
Kurenai's gaze lowered slightly.
"Due to his wilfulness, you and your daughter were labelled as traitors of your village. I know that it is a really bad feeling to be called traitors for no reason whatsoever."
The air in the room felt slightly heavier.
"But I assure you that it was not intentional on Benimaru's part. He genuinely fell in love with your daughter at first sight. Although their age difference is six years, that is not considered very big in this world."
Shanks's voice remained steady and neutral.
"I just came here to talk to you about a few things. I know that you have your suspicions—that all the things that happened to you and your daughter were a premeditated plan by Benimaru—but I assure you that it is not."
Shinku remained silent, his expression restrained.
"Benimaru believes in strength. He believes in winning everything by strength. If he truly wanted your daughter—" Shanks paused briefly, choosing his words carefully. "—I mean, if he was lustful toward her, then he would have acted differently. But his ethics—and my ethics, which I have taught to all my clan brothers and sisters—would never allow such a thing."
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"And if they did, they would be heavily punished by me. Benimaru is not a pervert or anything like that."
Kurenai looked up at him for a moment, then lowered her gaze again.
"He is a reserved person. So when I first heard that he stayed in the Land of Rain just because of a girl, I was kind of startled and shocked. That is not in his nature."
Shanks exhaled softly.
"But what happened has happened."
He straightened slightly.
"I came here to offer you a job. You are a Jonin—or were a Jonin—of Konoha. Even if your status as a Konoha Jonin has been stripped away, you still possess that strength. You are a Jonin after all."
Shinku's expression shifted subtly at those words.
"So I am here to offer you a position at the Ninja Academy. A house will be given to you, and your daughter can also join any force if she wishes. You can join any force as well—whether it is the Uzumaki Police Force or the Army of Uzushiogakure."
He added calmly, "Of course, you both will not be immediately given authority. You will start with minimal authority. After all, you are not originally from Uzushiogakure."
The terms were clear and straightforward.
"As for the matter between the children—Benimaru and Kurenai—leave it to them. They cannot marry until Kurenai is above eighteen or so. Let her grow. Let her decide for herself whether Benimaru was truly behind some scheme, or whether that is only a suspicion formed in your mind."
Silence lingered in the room after his words.
After saying this, Shanks stood up smoothly.
"Think about it," he said. "You can tell me your decision by tomorrow regarding what you want to do in the future."
Without adding anything further, Shanks turned and walked out, the soft sound of his footsteps fading as the door slid closed behind him.
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