Chapter 50: Drum Island - A Town in Turmoil

The world of One Piece is divided into four seas—East, West, North, and South—by the Red Line, with the Grand Line being the most perilous and mysterious sea route that intersects it.

Takumi's next stop for his sign-in task was Drum Island, which lies within the Grand Line.

For anyone from the four seas to enter the Grand Line, they either have to navigate through Reverse Mountain or cross the Calm Belt.

Reverse Mountain, also known as Twin Cape, has five waterways forming an X-shape. Four of these streams flow upward, connecting the East, South, West, and North seas, and the last stream flows down into the Grand Line.

Navigating through Reverse Mountain is treacherous. The water currents are violent, and many ships don't make it through. Even if they reach the summit, one wrong move can send them plummeting off the mountain instead of flowing into the Grand Line.

Given the small boat Takumi was using, there was no chance of safely navigating through Reverse Mountain.

So, his only option was to cross the Calm Belt to reach the Grand Line.

The Calm Belt is an area of the sea where there's no wind and no currents, making it eerily calm. Once a ship enters, it becomes stranded. On top of that, the Calm Belt is teeming with massive Sea Kings.

Knowing this, Takumi specifically purchased a small rowboat without a sail when he left Loguetown.

Following the system's guidance, Takumi sailed through the East Blue for three days before entering the Calm Belt. As soon as he did, two large Sea Kings tried to attack him.

Not wanting to waste time, Takumi simply glared at them, using his Conqueror's Haki to scare off all the Sea Kings that dared to approach him.

After nearly five days of rowing through the Calm Belt, Takumi finally entered the Grand Line.

At first, the weather was sunny, but within the blink of an eye, dark clouds rolled in, and a fierce thunderstorm broke out.

The weather on the Grand Line is unpredictable, defying all logic.

The sea currents are chaotic too. Even when sailing in a straight line, you can find yourself drifting off course without even realizing it.

Despite having the system's navigation, Takumi found himself constantly adjusting to stay on course.

After nearly a month of navigating the treacherous waters of the Grand Line—and with his alcohol supply running low—Takumi finally spotted a winter island with a few drum-shaped peaks.

As he got closer, the temperature dropped significantly.

Takumi quickly pulled out the winter clothes he had stashed in his system's storage and bundled up.

The small boat drifted toward the snow-covered shores of Drum Island.

At the same time, a fleet of ships was rapidly leaving the island.

As Takumi's boat passed by some of these ships, he noticed that many of the people onboard were wiping away tears, their faces filled with sorrow.

Most of them were dressed in the white protective gear typical of doctors.

From what Takumi remembered, Drum Island was still a renowned medical kingdom at this point.

But it was destined to decline under the tyrannical rule of Wapol, who would eventually exile or hunt down all the doctors on the island, keeping only twenty for himself.

The once-proud medical kingdom would soon crumble.

Judging by the situation, it seemed that Takumi had arrived just as Wapol was beginning his brutal hunt and exile of the island's doctors.

"Hey, look! There's a kid over there."

"How could a child be sailing the Grand Line alone? Did he survive a shipwreck?"

"Kid, you shouldn't head to Drum Kingdom. It's too dangerous now. Get on our ship, and we'll take you with us."

People on the deck of the nearest ship called out to Takumi, their voices full of concern.

But Takumi simply shook his head and said, "Thanks, but no need."

With that, he continued steering his small boat toward Drum Island.

Despite the many warnings, Takumi ignored them all.

Soon, his boat touched the snow-covered shore of Drum Island.

As soon as he stepped off the boat onto the island, the system's announcement echoed in his mind.

["Ding! Congratulations, you've reached the sign-in location, Drum Island. Progress +10%. Current total progress: 10%. Reward: Beginner-level Mystical Palm Technique."]

In an instant, knowledge of the Mystical Palm Technique flooded Takumi's mind.

This medical ninjutsu from Naruto was capable of healing both internal and external injuries at an impressive rate by channeling chakra.

It didn't even require close contact; it could heal from a meter away.

All in all, it was an incredibly useful skill.

Pulling his coat tighter around him, Takumi set off into the island.

As he walked, he passed many people hurrying in the opposite direction, carrying heavy luggage.

Takumi didn't need to ask for directions; he simply followed the flow of people for about half an hour until he arrived in a small town filled with one-story brick houses.

The town was in chaos. The residents were in a panic, fleeing in every direction.

Takumi had planned to find a tavern and have a drink.

But after wandering around the town, the only tavern he found was closed...

Even the town's two inns had their doors shut, refusing to take in guests.

Standing in the cold wind, surrounded by the chaotic streets, Takumi felt the cold biting through his heavy coat.

Even wrapped up as he was, the chill was hard to endure after being outside for too long.

Especially for someone like Takumi, who had never experienced such cold before.

Just then, a squad of the Drum Kingdom's guard unit—a group of men dressed in matching black coats and armed with rifles—rushed into the town.

Each of them carried a stack of papers with photos and names of all the doctors on Drum Island. They began searching the panicked crowd for their targets.

Whenever they found a doctor, they would immediately apprehend them. Those who resisted were shot on the spot.

This was the doctor-hunting policy decreed by the current ruler of the Drum Kingdom, Wapol.

Soon, the sound of gunfire echoed through the town.

One of the guards chased a target in Takumi's direction.

The terrified person being chased ran past Takumi.

Seeing Takumi in the way, the guard shouted, "Get out of the way, kid!"

Takumi didn't budge, turning a cold gaze toward the rapidly approaching guard.

With no alcohol to drink and no warm inn to stay in, Takumi was not in the mood to be messed with.

"Hey, I said move! Don't you understand?" the guard snarled, reaching out to shove Takumi aside.

But Takumi sidestepped, avoiding the guard's hand.

As the guard rushed past him, Takumi calmly raised his hand and delivered a swift, precise blow to the guard's back, knocking him face-first into the snow.

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