Swish! Swish!
Hundreds of rifles swung toward the One-Legged Bird. Once the Marines saw it clearly, they stared in surprise at its radiant, shimmering feathers. None had ever seen such a beautiful bird, and for a moment, they were entranced.
But they quickly snapped out of it. Looking at the man at the front in a Marine Justice Coat, they shouted, "Who are you? How dare you impersonate a Marine! Do you know that's a serious crime?"
"You think you can disguise yourselves to attack the Marine Base? You brazen, wicked pirates won't leave here alive!"
The base Marines' voices echoed through the air. Aboard the warship, the Marines who had apparently been mistaken for pirates looked stunned, and the man at their front seemed puzzled. The base's commanding officer covered his face with one hand. Right then, he wanted nothing more than to strangle whoever had spoken!
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze. The base Marines held their breath, waiting for their commander's order to attack, but no order came.
Some of the Marines aboard the warship still hadn't caught up. Pirates? What pirates? What was going on?
At last, the base's commanding officer took several deep breaths and barked at his Marines, "Lower your weapons! All of you!"
The base Marines looked at one another, unsure whether to obey.
"They're Marines."
At that, the base Marines put away their weapons. A huge question hung over them: what on earth was going on? They couldn't make sense of it either.
Ignoring those rather slow-witted men, the commander turned to the man in the Justice Coat at the front of the warship. With an embarrassed chuckle, he said, "So it's Commodore Wuli. Please forgive these men. What just happened was a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding."
Wuli smiled faintly. "You