No wonder they had gotten lost.
Compared to the 16th Branch, which could be circled on foot in half an hour, Marineford was simply far too big.
Trees shaded the winding roads, and all kinds of buildings stood grand and magnificent. Elite Marines often ran past in large formations, shouting slogans, their expressions stern and their bearing imposing.
As they walked, the two country bumpkins who had barely seen the world were so awestruck their scalps tingled. They had no idea how many times they had stopped with their mouths hanging open to stare upward, never having felt so insignificant before.
The last time they snapped out of their daze, they had already completely fallen behind. All they could hear was the thunderous rumble of the Marine formation that had just passed them by, its footsteps kicking up clouds of dust.
Fortunately, an ordinary veteran wearing a dog-head cap happened to pass by. Seeing them standing there dumbly, he patiently and kindly explained the route to them. Afraid they would still take a wrong turn, he even drew them a rough map by hand.
However...
Clutching that route map, the two unlucky fools wandered around for ages, only to still fail to find the Recruit Camp. They ended up lost at a fork in the road.
"Left, right?"
Standing at the intersection with bags slung all over his back, Nezumi turned his head blankly toward Smoker. "...Uh, or the one in the middle?"
"How would I know?"
Smoker looked thoroughly annoyed. With a cigarette hanging from his lips, he rolled his eyes. "You can get lost even while holding a map? How did I not realize before that you had no sense of direction?"
"Then you do it!" Nezumi snapped, flinging the map into his face.
"Getting directions won't help