Replacement

However, although its permanent population was not especially large, the capital was quite lively.

Drum Kingdom was a renowned medical powerhouse throughout the surrounding seas. Though it was small and sparsely populated, its medical expertise was famous across nearby waters. Many wealthy and influential people who fell ill traveled thousands of miles to this island seeking treatment.

This greatly boosted the island's economy. The locals lived relatively well precisely because of these outsiders.

After all, in the One Piece World—especially somewhere like the Grand Line—those who could truly set sail were no ordinary commoners. Aside from pirates, the rest were at least fairly wealthy. When these people came to Drum Island, they naturally spent plenty of money. Even if the islanders only got a small share, it was enough to keep themselves fed and clothed.

As the capital of Drum Island, its medical technology was naturally the most advanced. It was also where those wealthy outsiders gathered, so it looked fairly prosperous.

However, Yota had not come here to study medicine. He looked toward the towering castle at the center, silently making calculations.

"A very distinctive medieval castle. It might stop ordinary civilians, but for a ninja like me, a castle with so many dark corners is basically defenseless."

Ninjas had always operated in the shadows. Although ninjas in the Naruto World placed greater emphasis on combat ability, the Ninja Academy had never neglected teachings on infiltration, eavesdropping, intelligence theft, stealing, espionage, and similar practices.

In the Pirate World, that amounted to an overwhelming advantage. Unless the other side had awakened Observation Haki, Yota was confident he could infiltrate the vast majority of places in this world.

The royal palace on Drum Island was clearly one of those places.

That night, Yota silently and covertly arrived behind the castle.

The tall walls might have stopped armies of hundreds or thousands, but they meant little to Yota, who had already learned to use Chakra to climb trees and walk on water.

He easily walked up the wall, found a square window, and climbed inside. Then, using the knowledge he had learned at the Ninja Academy, Yota determined the location of the castle's master bedroom and silently infiltrated his way there.

Whenever he saw guards or maids, he hid on the ceiling, outside the walls, or in blind spots they could not see. Whenever he heard movement around a corner, he either concealed himself or used the Transformation Technique to turn into another object. Along the way, Yota displayed infiltration skills that would have left even a 007 agent dumbfounded, easily reaching the door of a massive bedroom.

Two armored guards stood outside the bedroom. Yota frowned slightly. No matter how good his infiltration skills were, they were still ordinary infiltration skills. This was not the Transparency Technique or actual invisibility. With people watching the door, there was no way he could enter the bedroom without making a sound.

Still, he only frowned for a moment. Reaching into his Ninja Tool Pouch, he took out two Senbon and flicked his wrist, sending them into the guards' necks.

The two guards' eyes bulged slightly before they silently collapsed unconscious. Yota did not possess Haku's ability to strike acupuncture points with Senbon, but he had coated them in a neurotoxic anesthetic. These two guards were only a little stronger than ordinary people, so they naturally could not endure an anesthetic specially made for ninjas.

Seeing the guards about to fall to the floor, Yota flashed forward and appeared beside them, supporting them against the wall.

They were still wearing armor. If they fell, they would definitely make quite a bit of noise, and Yota did not want to alert anyone else.

He pushed open the door and walked in. In the center of the bedroom was a luxurious bed, upon which lay an old man who looked thoroughly sickly. A crown rested beside his pillow.

The old man was sleeping soundly. After examining him carefully for a moment, Yota cautiously took out some medicine from his clothes and gently fed it to him.

The old man woke briefly during the process, but the medicine quickly took effect, leaving him groggy once more.

"What a pity. I never learned much genjutsu, only some basic theory. Otherwise, it would have been much easier to hypnotize him directly," Yota muttered. Still, even though he had never actually learned genjutsu, he could use Chakra to produce some hypnotic effects.

After all, even if the Ninja Academy had not taught specific genjutsu, it had covered some theory and methods of dispelling genjutsu. With a bit of study, one could still use some genjutsu techniques.

Moreover, the medicine Yota had prepared already had hypnotic effects. Combined with his Chakra, dealing with an ordinary old man was effortless.

The King before him now had a vacant gaze. Yota nodded in satisfaction as faint Chakra fluctuations enveloped the old man's head. He asked, "Where is Drum Kingdom's treasury? And where is the Devil Fruit hidden?"

The old man shakily told him the treasury's location. Fortunately, the Devil Fruit had been stored in the treasury all along. However, the moment he finished speaking, his eyes rolled back, foam spilled from the corners of his mouth, and he died on the spot.

Yota was slightly surprised. He did not remember his medicine having any lethal effects. But after casually examining the King's body, he found that the old man had already been at death's door. Even though Yota's hypnotic medicine was not very stimulating, it had still drained the last of his vitality.

Scratching his head, Yota sighed. "I didn't do that on purpose."

Of course, considering the old man's condition, even without Yota's involvement, he would have died naturally within a couple of days.

Besides, he was only an ordinary King. Yota did not feel much guilt over it.

Moreover, the Old King's death was actually a good thing for Yota, as it would make his next actions go more smoothly.

He first examined the Old King's body, then directly placed the corpse into his Sealing Scroll. Afterward, Yota used the Transformation Technique to take on the Old King's appearance.

After coughing lightly a few times, Yota's voice became identical to the Old King's. He had to admit that although the voice-changing technique taught at the Ninja Academy was low-level and could only be considered a Chakra application technique rather than a true ninjutsu, it was incredibly convenient to use.

Opening the door, Yota first detoxified the two guards outside. Then, once they woke up, he harshly berated the two guards for "sleeping" while on watch.

Though the guards felt that something was off, seeing that nothing had happened, neither of them voiced their doubts and made fools of themselves.

Afterward, with the two guards in tow, the Old King swaggered toward his treasury.