A calm, peaceful day had its silence shattered by battle cries and wails.
A seaside town on the Grand Line suddenly came under pirate attack.
The skull on their flag fluttered in the sea breeze. Their targets were the town's food, treasure, women, children, and anything else they could plunder.
In this world, such things were practically routine.
The townspeople panicked. The kingdom's troops stationed there offered only token resistance, firing three shots before collapsing at first contact and abandoning the civilians to flee.
Only the local sheriff and militia held out, barely, suffering heavy casualties.
Their only stroke of luck was a Navy patrol ship that happened to be docked in the harbor and immediately joined the fight.
"Big brother!!"
Amid the chaotic battlefield, a blond Marine in a sergeant's uniform shouted. He grabbed a black-haired corporal and pulled him to the ground.
"What are you doing..."
The black-haired corporal instinctively struggled to get up, then suddenly spotted a javelin-like "quill" shooting straight toward him from above.
"...!!"
Without even time to cry out, the two instinctively split apart and charged forward with all their strength.
A jumble of gunshots followed. Having ducked behind cover, the two fired around the corner before they could even catch their breath.
Accompanied by the crackle of burning air, the pirates began setting fires.
Their enemy this time was Porcupine Gra, a notorious pirate worth 43 million Beli. They, meanwhile, were just an ordinary patrol crew, and their commanding officer, Captain Rice, had already fallen.
The surviving Marines wanted to buy the residents time to escape, but they could only retreat into town, using street fighting to scrape together a little more time.
"Are reinforcements still not here!?"
"They're coming... but I don't think they'll make it..."
The blond sergeant had been shot