Chapter 7 : Substitute

However, although the permanent population is not too large, this capital appears quite lively.

Because the Magnetic Drum Country is a well-known medical powerhouse far and wide, although its area is not large and its population is not large, its medical technology is renowned in the surrounding seas. Therefore, many ailing dignitaries from afar come to this island seeking medical treatment.

This has greatly boosted the island's economy, and the reason why the people here live relatively affluent lives is because of these foreign visitors.

After all, in the world of One Piece, especially in locations like the Grand Line, those who can truly sail the seas are not ordinary commoners. Apart from pirates, the rest are at least somewhat wealthy people. These people who come to Magnetic Drum Island naturally spend a lot of money, and even if the islanders just have a little soup, they can still make ends meet.

Especially as the capital of Magnetic Drum Island, the medical technology here is naturally the most advanced and is also where those wealthy foreigners gather, so it still looks relatively bustling.

But this time, Youta did not come here to study medicine. His gaze looked towards the tall castle in the middle, and he was secretly calculating in his heart.

"The features of a clearly medieval castle. It can deter some ordinary commoners, but for a ninja like me, this kind of castle with many dark corners is basically equivalent to having no defense."

Ninjas are inherently a profession of shadows. Even though ninjas in the world of Naruto require more combat power, the teaching in ninja schools has never been short of lessons on infiltration, eavesdropping, intelligence gathering, theft, espionage, and other activities.

And translated into the world of One Piece, this is completely a downgrading, unless the opponent awakens Observation Haki, otherwise, Youta is confident he can infiltrate most places in this world.

The palace of Magnetic Drum Island is obviously one of these places.

...

At night, Youta silently arrived at the back of the castle.

The tall walls might be able to deter hundreds or even thousands of troops, but for Youta, who had already learned to use chakra to climb trees and walk on water, the height of the castle walls was of little significance.

He easily climbed up along the wall, found a square window, and slipped in. Then, according to the knowledge he had learned in the ninja school, he judged where the master bedroom of this castle was and silently lurked past.

Seeing guards or maids, he hid in the ceiling, outside the walls, or in blind spots where they couldn't see. When he heard movement at the corner, he either concealed himself directly or used the Transformation Technique to turn into other objects. Along the way, Youta displayed infiltration skills that would make even James Bond marvel, and easily arrived outside the door of a huge bedroom.

Outside the bedroom door stood two armored guards. Youta furrowed his brows slightly. Even though his infiltration skills were not bad, he still belonged to the general category of infiltration. He was not invisible like the Body Flicker Technique. Under the gaze of others, it was impossible for him to enter the bedroom silently.

However, he just furrowed his brows slightly. He reached into his ninja tool pouch and took out two senbon needles. With a slight flick of his hand, they pierced into the necks of the two guards.

The two guards' eyes bulged slightly, then they silently passed out—although Youta did not have the ability to strike acupuncture points like the Hyuga clan, he had coated the senbon needles with a neurotoxin. These two guards were at most a little stronger than ordinary people and naturally couldn't withstand this specially made neurotoxin targeting ninjas.

Eyewitnessing the guards about to fall to the ground, Youta swiftly appeared by their side, supporting them against the wall.

These two were still clad in armor; if they were to fall to the ground, it would surely make quite a noise. Youta didn't want to alert others.

Pushing open the door, he entered. In the center of the bedroom was a luxurious bed, and on it lay an old man who seemed to be in poor health, with a crown placed by his pillow.

The old man was deeply asleep. Youta examined him carefully and, cautiously, took out some liquid from his pocket, gently pouring it down the old man's throat.

In the midst of this, the old man briefly woke up but quickly succumbed to the effects of the potion, slipping back into a dazed state.

"Too bad I haven't learned many illusions. Only know some basic theories; otherwise, direct hypnosis would be much easier," muttered Youta. Although he hadn't actually studied illusions, he could use chakra to produce hypnotic effects.

After all, even if the ninja school didn't explicitly teach specific illusions, they discussed theories and methods to break illusions. With some research, one could employ certain illusion techniques.

Moreover, the concoction Youta prepared had hypnotic effects. Combined, dealing with an ordinary old man was a piece of cake.

The king before him already had a vacant look. Youta nodded in satisfaction, and a subtle chakra fluctuation enveloped the old man's head. Youta asked, "Where is the treasury of the Drum Magnetic Country? And where is the Devil Fruit hidden?"

The old man trembled as he revealed the location of the treasury, conveniently where the Devil Fruit was stored. However, as soon as he finished speaking, his eyes rolled back, and froth formed at his mouth. He promptly breathed his last.

Youta was mildly surprised; he didn't recall his potion having lethal effects. Nonetheless, he checked the king's body and found that the old man was already on his last legs. Even though Youta's hypnotic potion wasn't potent, it depleted his remaining vitality.

Scratching his head, Youta sighed, "That wasn't intentional."

Of course, considering the old man's health, even without Youta's intervention, he would have naturally passed away in a couple of days. Moreover, being just an ordinary king, Youta felt no guilt.

In fact, the sudden demise of the old king was advantageous for Youta, making his actions smoother.

First, he examined the king's body, then directly sealed the king's corpse into his scroll. Afterward, Youta cast a transformation jutsu, assuming the appearance of the old king.

With a light cough, Youta's voice became identical to the old king's. Admittedly, the basic voice-changing technique taught at the ninja school might be low-tier, merely a chakra application skill, not a true ninja art, but it was undeniably convenient in practice.

Opening the door, Youta first cured the poison on the two guards at the entrance. When the guards regained consciousness, he scolded the two who had been "sleeping" while on duty.

Although the guards felt something was off, they witnessed nothing unusual. They naturally didn't voice their suspicions, choosing to remain oblivious.

Subsequently, accompanied by the two guards, the pseudo-king confidently walked toward his treasury.