The forest constantly gave them a sense of danger, and as it turned out, it truly was dangerous. Far more dangerous than the Garden where Dorry and the others fought whenever they had nothing better to do!
The Marines had barely gone anywhere before a pack of tongue-lolling Raptors sent them scrambling. When they sat down to rest by a river, a Great Serpent as thick as a house emerged behind them. Even the ground they had safely walked across turned out, the very next moment, to be a massive Umber Beetle!
At this rate, there would be casualties. Kizaru ordered the soldiers to tighten their defensive formation and stay close together. They weren't going to find any more clues on their own anyway. They might as well head straight for their destination.
Whoever was behind this couldn't run forever. They would know if something was wrong once they got there.
Led by Fujitora and Kizaru, the Marines made it through the forest without serious trouble and reached the rocky mountain they had seen earlier. They soon found the sinister cave. After all, how could they miss it? This was a place where Giants had lived.
The cave stood over thirty meters high. The stone walls were covered in cuts and gouges, each several meters long, giving off a rugged, dangerous air. Someone had carved this enormous cave out of the mountain with tools!
"Find somewhere to hide outside and stay in contact at all times!" Standing before the cave, Kizaru had set aside his usual sleazy expression for once. He gave the soldiers their orders in a grave voice.
"Yes, sir!"
For some reason, the sight of the cave made the soldiers want to turn and run. Hearing they wouldn't have to go inside, they breathed a sigh of