Late at night.
Norris stood atop the tall building of the Marine branch, silently watching the figures below as they busily loaded supplies onto the warships.
Behind him, the base commander, Captain Archie, walked over.
He stopped beside Norris and offered him a cigarette. "What's wrong, Norris? Feels like your faith has been wavering lately."
Their faith, of course, was Sakazuki.
Norris smiled faintly. "How could that be? Don't slander me."
He took the cigarette, but the fingers holding it trembled slightly.
Noticing it himself, he fell quiet for a moment. "This is already the third batch this year…"
One familiar face after another was conscripted and sent into the New World's battlefield. One by one… no news ever came back.
Archie understood how Norris felt. They were all people of average talent who had been saved by Sakazuki and then trained and assigned to branches.
After twenty or thirty years together, they were like brothers. Yet the others had all been called up and sent into the New World, never to be heard from again. How could it not hurt?
Archie took a deep breath. "The war has only just begun, and casualties are unavoidable. It's too early to grieve. After all, no news might be the best news. The final victory will be ours. Have faith in Fleet Admiral Sakazuki."
He patted Norris on the shoulder. Not knowing how else to comfort him, and with his own emotions stirred, he turned and left.
Norris opened his mouth as if to say something. In the end, he only nodded silently.
* * *
New World, Dahra Island.
An outlying small island within the territory of one of the Four Emperors, Kaido. It had just been captured by an assault force of six warships.
Many soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield and counting the number of residents who had fled.
Inside a warship, Captain Bach, who had just survived a life-and-death battle, felt lingering fear. In the fight earlier, he had nearly lost his head.
After the battle ended, the fear caught up with him. Without realizing it, he walked into his room. He then picked up a pen and paper from the desk and slowly started to write. Ever since the brother who came with him died in battle, he had not known how to put things into words.
But after today's fight, he realized that if he did not report that he was safe… he might die someday without warning.
And they would wait for him in agony.
Time passed quietly. Before he knew it, night had fallen. Several pages were filled with writing. After thinking for a moment, he added one last line at the end.
"Everything is fine. Don't worry. – Bach."
He packed the letter away and stepped outside, only to realize it was already dark.
"So much time has passed…"
Shaking his head, he found the ship's clerk.
"Dick, help me mail this tomorrow."
The clerk named Dick took the envelope and smiled.
"Sure. Where to."
Bach smiled as he replied, "East Blue, Branch 117. To Archie and Norris."
Dick made an OK gesture and said nothing. This kind of thing was all too common.
It was not that they did not want to use a Den Den Mushi. It was that the moment the call connected, the tears would not stop. Anyone who had served would understand. After three months of recruit training, when calling home for the first time, it was impossible not to cry it all out.
Bach let go of his worries and smiled. "Thanks."
Dick waved his hand. "No need to thank me. Come on, let's get a drink."
What no one knew was that a powerful pirate ship was already heading toward this place.
* * *
The next day.
Late at night.
Led by a powerful Zoan-type user, the pirate ship circled around the back of the island and secretly slipped in.
"Damn Marines. How dare you attack my territory. You're tired of living."
The speaker was a lion beastman. To be cautious, he had activated his Devil Fruit ability before landing on the island.
After scouting around, he found that the highest-ranked officers were only rear admirals. That was when he relaxed.
Although he was not important under Kaido and did not control much territory, he had survived in the New World for many years. Against these rear admirals who came from who-knows-where, he was far stronger.
He licked his long fangs and revealed a cruel smile.
Boom!
Flames shot into the sky from one warship.
Led by the lion beastman pirate, a warship sank into the sea in just moments.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Dense footsteps rang out as gunfire and cannon fire echoed nonstop. Several rear admirals also rushed forward.
"Damn it. Where did this bastard come from."
"Has HQ been informed?"
"Yes, but reinforcements won't arrive until tomorrow morning."
"That's too late."
"We'll hold him off first. Karami, go retrieve that thing."
"Got it."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The rear admirals split up and charged toward the powerful pirate. The rear admiral named Karami ran off to retrieve that item.
On the flagship of every fleet, there was a specially made container holding an object that emitted a purple glow. Dyna Stone.
This special container, developed by the Marine science division, could only be opened by the fingerprint of someone registered in the database, or shattered by powerful Haki to trigger an explosion, all to prevent accidental damage.
Karami rushed to the lower deck of the flagship, found the carefully stored container, and placed his index finger on it.
The reinforced cylindrical container slowly split apart, revealing the Dyna Stone sealed inside. At the same time, a mechanical voice sounded.
"Thank you for your sacrifice for justice—"
Before the voice could finish, Karami grabbed the handle, lifted it out, and rushed away.
The inner container was not as sturdy as the outer protective layer. It could be detonated easily.
Just as he reached the cabin door.
Boom!
The shattered bodies of the rear admirals and several soldiers were blasted inside. Karami was forced to retreat while protecting the Dyna Stone.
Then a shadow flashed.
Rip!
The arm holding the Dyna Stone was torn off instantly. His chest caved in as he slammed into the wall and slid down.
A massive beast paw caught the Dyna Stone.
"Oh. Dyna Stone, huh. That's dangerous."
The lion beastman pirate's face darkened. Since the war began, pirates had suffered greatly from this thing. If they could not win, the Marines would just self-destruct. It was utterly shameless.
He gently set the Dyna Stone down and walked up to Karami, his voice cold. "You Marines really are disgusting. I killed the others too quickly just now. Slowly torturing to death would be better. But it's not too late."
He lifted his foot and stomped directly onto Karami's knee.
Crack!
It was crushed instantly.
Karami's eyes went wide. His teeth clenched tight. He did not make a sound.
A cruel smile flickered across the lion beastman's face as he grabbed Karami's remaining arm.
Bit by bit, he crushed it. The sickening sounds echoed through the cabin. Until the last bone in the arm was shattered.
Rip!
The arm was torn off and thrown aside.
The massive beast paw grabbed Karami by the throat, preparing to slowly crush it. But Karami, coughing blood and barely conscious, suddenly smiled strangely.
His body shook as he laughed, blood pouring from his mouth.
"Cough… cough…"
He struggled a few times, then died completely.
The lion beastman pirate's pupils shrank. As if he realized something, he slowly turned his head.
'Damn it. When did this happen?'
Focused on his slaughter, he had not noticed.
Among the marines who had been blasted inside, Bach, whose chest had been pierced clean through, was somehow not dead. He had regained consciousness. His palm pressed against the Dyna Stone container lying on the floor.
He wore the same faint smile as his hand tightened.
Crack!
Purple liquid flowed out, and Bach slowly lost all signs of life.
As his consciousness faded, scenes from his life flashed through his mind. The mountain village of his childhood. His kind parents. The pirates who ravaged the place and slaughtered everyone. Being saved by Sakazuki.
Joining the Marines. Training. Being assigned to the East Blue. Nearly twenty years of time. Then the war began, and he followed his brothers into the New World. Fighting until now.
His life had been full of hardship, but it had already been extremely fortunate.
Thinking this, Bach's smile grew a little wider.
Suddenly, he remembered something important.
'The letter… was it sent?'
Boom!
In the darkness of the night, it was as if a sun had risen.
**
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