章 199: Breaking into the Treasure Vault

The land is scattered across the ocean in the form of islands of varying sizes and climates. It's no wonder ships have become the main mode of transportation.

The Kingdom of Lulusia is just a small country, but there are hundreds of ships docked at the harbor. Due to its geographical advantage close to Mary Geoise, not a single pirate ship is seen, making the country very prosperous because the economy runs smoothly despite the king taking a large portion of the profits.

"There are so many ships... This is troublesome, I don't know which ship is heading to the Sabaody Archipelago."

Standing amidst the bustling crowd at the harbor, Eiji, whose appearance is covered by a hooded cloak, stared at the hundreds of ships in confusion.

He now knows that this is the timeline two years after Luffy and his crew trained. After a simple investigation, old newspapers reported about the Straw Hat Pirates recently appearing at the Sabaody Archipelago after being inactive for two years.

Based on this data, Eiji estimated that Luffy was either at Fish-Man Island or Punk Hazard.

Doflamingo still ruled the Kingdom of Dressrosa, and there was no news of his Shichibukai status being revoked.

Thus, Eiji ensured that Rayleigh was at the Sabaody Archipelago after training Luffy.

"There's no use standing around, let's ask."

Next, Eiji asked many crew members about their ships' destinations.

It wasn't as easy as he imagined; they wouldn't disclose their voyage destinations. It seemed they were worried he had hidden motives that would endanger their voyage.

Faced with this situation, Eiji chose the quickest and most efficient way.

Bribery!

As long as a problem could be solved with money, he didn't mind paying any amount. For him, money was the least valuable thing compared to life.

Using gold coins he looted from the mansions of nobles in the world of Zero no Tsukaima, Eiji started bribing people who claimed to have high integrity.

Sometimes he encountered principled people who refused to divulge information and reject bribes.

In dealing with such people, his procedure didn't change; he just kept adding more gold coins to the point where greed surpassed loyalty.

By the 50th person, Eiji found a merchant ship destined to supply provisions to the Sabaody Archipelago.

"There are still three hours before the ship departs, let's check the palace treasure vault, there might be a Devil Fruit." Eiji said casually as if breaking into a country's palace was a trivial matter.

The distance between the harbor and the capital took two hours on foot. However, Eiji used the [Limitless Technique] to teleport as far as the eye could see. With the Six Eyes that could see several kilometers very clearly, he arrived in the capital after a few teleportations.

Standing in the air in invisible mode due to space manipulation, Eiji saw a medieval European-style castle, standing firmly in the middle of the capital.

"There are no strong people."

Through the observation of the Six Eyes, he didn't sense any individuals with spiritual energy worth noting, which he used to check someone's level of Haki mastery.

Only advanced Kenbunshoku Haki could detect his invisible mode.

"People who master advanced Kenbunshoku Haki wouldn't settle in a small country like the Kingdom of Lulusia."

Thinking this, Eiji no longer hesitated to walk into the palace.

The guards on duty or those patrolling didn't realize someone was blatantly infiltrating.

After exploring the palace for less than half an hour, Eiji found the treasure vault guarded by two seemingly strong guards.

Of course, they were considered strong in the eyes of ordinary people.

'Not a bad idea, the walls and even the door are made of Seastone. With this, there's no need to worry about Devil Fruit users secretly entering the treasure vault undetected.'

His Six Eyes could sense strange energy contained in the walls and door. At the harbor earlier, he happened to see people carrying cuffs with strange energy he had never seen before.

After asking, he learned that those were cuffs made of Seastone used to restrain Devil Fruit users.

It's common knowledge that Devil Fruit users have two fatal weaknesses: the sea itself and Seastone.

When Devil Fruit users fall into the sea, they can't use their Devil Fruit powers, and their bodies become very weak.

On the other hand, Seastone is a material that has waves like sea waves, making it seem like solidified seawater.

'Unfortunately, the effects of Seastone are useless against me.'

Eiji easily entered the treasure vault via teleportation.

In front of him, gold was piled up into small hills, gems neatly arranged in cabinets, dozens of chests filled with money, antiques, and many other valuable items.

'This is even richer than a noble's house.'

Seeing this wealth didn't stir his emotions; Eiji only glanced briefly, then started searching for Devil Fruits.

'There are indeed Devil Fruits! And not just one, but two!'

He recalled the Devil Fruit encyclopedia and knew the names and powers of the Devil Fruits in his hands.

In his right hand, he held the Nagi Nagi no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows the user to create soundproof fields and cancel all sounds, making the user a Silent Human.

In his left hand, he held the Sponge Sponge no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that can absorb many things, like absorbing shocks from strong punches.

'In total, I have nine Devil Fruits in my possession: five Paramecia, three Zoan, and one Logia.'

Storing the two new Devil Fruits in his storage ring, Eiji took all the chests filled with money, then left the palace and returned to the harbor.

He couldn't keep using gold coins as a transaction tool; besides attracting the evil intent of others wanting to rob him, he wanted to avoid being the center of attention.

Still maintaining his invisible mode, Eiji sat on the ship's sail while waiting for the ship to depart.

"It seems this is my first time boarding a ship. Hopefully, I don't get seasick."

Enjoying the refreshing sea breeze, he watched the people working on the ship's deck to pass the time.

A few hours later, the ship left the harbor and began sailing across the vast and dangerous sea.