"Careful! That crate's full of glassware and porcelain!"
In a warehouse at the Headquarters Fortress, soldiers carried in deliveries under the direction of an officer. Even the job of moving everyday supplies was overseen by an officer. He was only a Major, but that alone showed how dramatically the Marines' mid-level strength had grown after the mass recruitment drive!
These days, the Marines looked down on every pirate force at sea except the Yonko. That confidence was well earned, but there was something tragic about it, too.
For all their strength, the Marines still had no confidence they could stand against "Ice Dragon" Loa, who had gravely wounded Sengoku and the others.
Courage wasn't the problem. Failing to see the gulf between their strengths would only make them a laughingstock.
All these newly recruited Marine fighters had fire in their bellies and nowhere to let it out. The Major's fierce expression did no good. It made the two men carrying a crate flinch, and when one missed a step, the crate lost its support and slammed to the floor.
Thud!
Clatter!
The two soldiers jumped and looked at their superior in alarm. "Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
"Wait. Something's wrong!"
The Major drew his sword. Ignoring the soldier's apology, he stared at the motionless crate. "That one's supposed to hold cups and teapots, right?"
What?!
The other soldiers froze, then caught on. They chambered their bullets with a series of clicks and aimed at the crate.
The markings on the outside said it held glass cups and ceramic teapots. After a fall like that, everything inside should have shattered with a crash.
But that clearly wasn't the sound they had heard.
This is bad. Bad in every possible way!
Since the fall, there hadn't been a sound outside.