Konoha: I Have Hidden Identity

Chapter 19.

The Drum Peak, the royal capital of the Drum Kingdom, over five thousand meters above sea level.

Suzuki followed Robbie, who was transporting food, to this place. He watched Robbie greet various guards and servants of the kingdom along the way.

Yes, Suzuki is currently an apple.

Long before, when he heard Robbie joking with a few people in the tavern, Suzuki had deduced that he was a greedy person.

After that, he watched Robbie buy food and also bought a type of food that Robbie had purchased—an apple.

Then he intentionally bumped into Robbie, and while he was distracted, he ran to the end of the corner and discarded the apple, transforming himself into an apple and staying put.

Though there was a threatening scene that he anticipated, he would not pay any money. If Robbie, fearing the food would get dirty and incurring the king's wrath, really went to buy it again, it would not be worth the trouble.

Suzuki had followed Robbie all the way to the warehouse next to Walpo's room.

As the crown prince of Drum Island, his safety was naturally a priority.

At this moment, there was a capable royal guard stationed in front of Walpo's room.

"Ah, Captain, hello, hello, I'm here to deliver food to the prince~" Robbie said with a courteous and flattering smile.

"Wait? Don't move! Let me take a look."

This is Althara Kolmi, the captain of the Royal Guard of the Drum Island Kingdom. He is a user of the Yuki-Yuki no mi, and his strength is quite impressive.

"Ah? Captain? Okay, okay."

Robbie stood at the door, somewhat at a loss.

Suzuki silently restrained his aura; someone of this caliber was still quite difficult for him to defeat, not to mention this was in the royal palace of Drum Island.

At this moment, Althara Kolmi felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint what it was.

So, he instructed Robbie to stay in place and stepped forward to carefully inspect Robbie and the food he brought, yet he found nothing abnormal.

Althara Kolmi furrowed his brow and scrutinized for about a minute, ultimately thinking he might be overthinking it. He waved his hand, allowing Robbie to take the food into the adjacent warehouse.

The reason Suzuki didn't transform into Robbie was just this.

The current Drum Island is different from over twenty years later; in terms of prosperity, military strength, and the intensity of powerhouses, it is stronger than during the Wapol era.

During the Wapol era, there were only three Devil Fruit users on Drum Island: one was Wapol's own Baku-Baku no mi, another was his cousin Murshuru's Noko-Noko no mi, and the last was the Royal Guard captain Dalton's Ushi-Ushi no mi: Model-Bison.

Now, during the father era, although there are only two Devil Fruit users, their strength is significantly greater than that of the Wapol era.

Whether it is the current Royal Guard captain Althara Kolmi or another much stronger user, both have a record of single-handedly defeating the thirty million Berry bounty pirate crew that attacked Drum Island.

After all, it is a kingdom, and a major medical power; with such strength, Suzuki was not surprised, even having anticipated it.

But ultimately, it is still the first half of the Grand Line; the Royal Guard captain, who doesn't even know Haki, sensed something but couldn't identify what was wrong.

Thus, Suzuki successfully infiltrated the royal capital, right next to Wapol.

However, he couldn't relax too much, as the warehouse and the Royal Guard captain outside were only separated by a wall; any unusual noise could lead him to burst in at any moment.

The outside of the warehouse was silent, and inside, Suzuki quietly maintained his transformation technique.

With his current chakra level, transforming into something like an apple doesn't consume much chakra, allowing him to maintain it for several hours.

Recalling what the innkeeper said about returning for dinner around seven, Suzuki silently estimated the time; it should be about an hour until seven.

Tick-tock~

Tick-tock~

Time passed slowly; Suzuki had been transformed into an apple for almost two hours. He transformed around six, and now it was already eight-thirty.

Finally, Suzuki heard some movement outside the door.

At this moment, the captain of the guard seemed to be talking to someone.

"Reed, you guys stand here for a while; I'm going to have a meal and will be back soon."

This was the voice of Captain Althara Kolmi.

"Okay, Captain!"

Several voices with different accents replied in unison.

Suzuki cautiously waited quietly for two or three minutes, and outside, only the sounds of a few different guards talking remained.

Just as Suzuki felt he could Undo the transformation and take a break, the large door of the warehouse suddenly opened!

Captain Althara Kolmi walked into the warehouse, frowning, his sharp gaze scanning the perpetually silent warehouse and the piles of food surrounding him, revealing a relaxed smile on his face:

"It seems I was indeed overthinking it."

Then, Captain Althara Kolmi exited the warehouse and closed the large door.

Outside, the sounds were once again reduced to just those few conversations with different accents.

Suzuki felt a bit surprised and somewhat appreciative; this captain of the Royal Guard of Drum Kingdom was indeed quite a remarkable figure.

However, regarding whether this departure was just another of his old tricks, Suzuki still had some speculations.

Some people might think they should definitely stay quiet, assuming that the captain might not have left yet.

Or perhaps some would think that the captain really had left, but he just wanted to scare away any potential anomalies.

But Suzuki knew that this captain not only hadn't left but hadn't even exited the warehouse!

Although he heard the sound of departing footsteps, the sound of the warehouse door closing, and even the increasingly loud laughter outside.

Although Suzuki had transformed into an apple and concealed his presence to the point of being invisible, he already had a character profile of the guard captain in his mind.

Considering the surrounding environment and the position of Althara Kolmi, the answer was actually quite obvious.

The guard captain's three meals a day were actually resolved in this warehouse filled with numerous food items; he would never go to a dining hall to eat!

Tick-tock...

Tick-tock...

Time continued to pass slowly, and nearly five minutes had gone by, yet the warehouse remained silent.

Suddenly—

"Crack"

"Mm~ this frozen melon is actually quite delicious."

The voice of guard captain Althara Kolmi echoed in the warehouse.

Then there was the sound of someone sitting on the ground, followed by a series of rapid chewing sounds. After a while, a satisfied burp was heard, followed by footsteps leaving, and finally, the large door of the warehouse creaked open again, then closed once more...