Soon, inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Spandine and Fleet Admiral Kong exchanged documents. There was no need for everyone to go together to get Kaido; the CP9 agents would retrieve him from the prison themselves later.
With Spandine's business concluded, Diarmuid and the others had no other matters to attend to and left the Fleet Admiral's office.
"What are you doing following me, you scoundrel? Aren't you supposed to be escorting Kaido?" Diarmuid said, amused, as he glanced at Spandine walking beside him.
Spandine smiled obsequiously. "It's just been a while since I've had the pleasure of hearing your wisdom, Admiral. You know I'm with the CP, and even though we in CP9 have a decent relationship with Marine Headquarters, I usually don't have a reason to come to Marineford. Now that I finally have an opportunity, of course, I want to get closer to you..."
"I have no wisdom to share. You're a despicable and shameless guy, but you're very good at what you do. You've got the cunning and the backbone. You've learned a lot from Stussy," Diarmuid said with a laugh.
Spandine didn't seem to mind being called "despicable and shameless" at all. He knew that was exactly who he was. Because of this, he knew that a man like him needed to rely on powerful forces to climb higher. At the same time, he needed a strong enough patron to stand on his own two feet. He didn't consider strength; he had no talent for it. After so many years of training, he was still just a weakling.
So the only thing he could rely on was his work ethic. As long as he was good at what he did, finding a powerful person to serve as his patron was the right path.
Before this, Spandine had been an underling of Stussy. Thanks to their "fake sibling" relationship, he had received a lot of favors. Now, he knew an even greater secret: his patron, Stussy, was currently relying on the youngest Admiral in Marine Headquarters.
In other words, Diarmuid was his boss's boss. Why wouldn't he latch on to him? He had never even considered betraying Stussy and revealing her connection to Diarmuid. That would be an idiotic move; even though Spandine wasn't a good person, he wasn't an idiot. He'd only been able to rise through the ranks of the CP because of Stussy. How could he betray her? He had no connection to any other big shots. CP9 was also an enterprise Stussy had left behind, just like how G-7 was for Diarmuid. He had Stussy's brand on him; betraying her wouldn't be in his best interest. On the contrary, the stronger Stussy became and the higher her status, the more benefits he would get.
Based on the fact that he was vaguely aware of the connection between Diarmuid and Stussy, there was no doubt that he was in Stussy's inner circle. That made betraying her even more impossible.
"You're right, Admiral. I've learned a lot from Stussy," Spandine said with a grin. He was subtly letting Diarmuid know he was a loyal subordinate of Stussy and that he could be trusted.
Diarmuid didn't confirm or deny it, just nodded casually. After a few more steps, he asked, "What's CP9 been up to lately?"
This was a sensitive question. Spandine would never tell anyone about this, especially not a Marine. But when Diarmuid asked, he didn't try to hide it at all. He looked around and saw that only Vice Admiral Gion was following them. He knew that Gion was absolutely loyal to Diarmuid, so there was no need to be secretive.
"If anyone else were to ask, I'd say 'no comment,' but since you're the one asking, Admiral..." Spandine paused for a moment before adding, "CP9 has been investigating the Ancient Weapons recently."
"Ancient Weapons?" Diarmuid raised an eyebrow. "Didn't that whole thing end with the destruction of Ohara?"
"It should have, but some unexpected things came up afterward. Since CP9 was in charge of the Ohara incident, the higher-ups decided to give me the task of handling the subsequent Ancient Weapon investigation," Spandine said with a smile.
"Tell me about it," Diarmuid said.
"You know about Water 7, right? Most of your battleships were built there," Spandine said.
"Yeah. You're looking for Pluton, right?" Diarmuid said, already figuring it out.
A look of surprise flashed in Spandine's eyes, but he quickly nodded. "That's right! I'm surprised you know about this, Admiral."
"The Marines' intelligence isn't as good as yours, but we're not completely clueless. Water 7 is rumored to be the birthplace of the Ancient Weapon Pluton. With Ohara destroyed, Water 7 is the island most likely to have the secret to an Ancient Weapon. The only thing you'd be looking for there is Pluton," Diarmuid said.
"You're absolutely right, Admiral," Spandine said, nodding without hesitation. After a little flattery, he continued, "The truth is, we're on the right track. The higher-ups' stance has changed since Ohara."
"What do you mean?" Diarmuid asked.
"Before Ohara, the higher-ups' intention was to conceal the existence of the Ancient Weapons. But now, with the Great Pirate Era making the situation worse, even though the Warlord system has made things a little better in the last two years, it's still not enough for them. They've always wanted to quell the chaos of this era as quickly as possible. In this environment, their stance has shifted from concealing the Ancient Weapons to..." Spandine said softly.
"To finding and controlling them, right? To use them to deter the Great Pirate Era, or even to suppress it entirely?" Diarmuid raised his eyebrows.
"Exactly. That's the main reason," Spandine nodded.
"The main reason?" Diarmuid smiled, with a strange glint in his eyes. "Does that mean there's a secondary reason?"
"Well..." Spandine hesitated. "I'm not sure I should say."
"Don't worry, I consider you a close confidant. Just speak your mind," Diarmuid said, patting Spandine on the shoulder.
Spandine still hesitated for a moment but finally whispered, "Based on our internal theories in the CP, part of the reason is that the higher-ups are worried that the Marines will become too powerful and difficult to control. So the Ancient Weapons aren't just a deterrent to external threats. Internally, they might also be meant to keep the Marines in line..."
"Heh..." Diarmuid chuckled. "That's not a surprise."
The World Government couldn't be oblivious to the shift in the Marines' attitude over the past two years. However, both sides were hesitant to make a move, and since they were technically on the same side, the tension wasn't that obvious. But Diarmuid would never believe for a second that the World Government completely trusted the Marines.
The Gorosei weren't incompetent. It was impossible for them to let the Marines run wild. But since the current situation prevented them from suppressing the Marines through other means, and doing so would harm the World Government's interests, how could they ensure their authority over the Marines wouldn't be compromised? The answer seemed obvious: by maintaining an advantage. They needed a way to control the Marines and a force to deter them.
Before, the CP was a weak version of that force, but now they seemed to have a better option. Ancient Weapons... Once they controlled the Ancient Weapons, it would definitely be an effective way to keep the Marines in check.
After a laugh, Diarmuid looked at Spandine. "That was a bold thing to say."
Spandine quickly replied, "Well, I'm firmly on your side, Admiral."
"Maybe," Diarmuid nodded.
Diarmuid didn't completely trust Spandine. Unlike Stussy, Stussy was now tied to him for life; their fates were intertwined. Spandine, on the other hand, was only on Stussy's side for the time being, which meant he was on Diarmuid's side. But if he had the opportunity to choose another path or if more benefits came his way, it was obvious what he would choose.
Diarmuid didn't spend much time thinking about Spandine's loyalty. After a moment of careful thought, he asked, "...Spandine, do you think the World Government has an Ancient Weapon?"
Spandine was stunned for a moment before saying, "It's hard to say."
"Hard to say, huh..." Diarmuid nodded, not surprised.
Poseidon, the Sea King, was a power passed down through the royal family of Fish-Man Island. Every few generations, a mermaid princess with the ability to control all Sea Kings in the world would be born. It had to be said that even though Sea Kings could be easily defeated, the ability to control all of them was a power that could destroy the world.
Diarmuid still couldn't understand how Fish-Man Island, with a clear racial advantage and a generations-old Ancient Weapon, managed to play their cards so poorly and end up in such a terrible state.
Leaving Poseidon aside, Pluton had been confirmed to be a massive, powerful ancient battleship. The only one that remained a mystery was Uranus. Because there was no information about it, Diarmuid had always been suspicious that the World Government was hiding the details because they had Uranus in their possession. And based on Spandine's answer, it wasn't just the Marines who had this theory; the CP had the same one. But they had no proof, and the World Government hadn't made any statements about it.
In the end, Diarmuid didn't dwell on it. "You said the Pluton blueprints are at Water 7?"
"That's right. We believe that Tom, the fish-man shipwright who built the Pirate King Roger's ship, might have the blueprints for the Ancient Weapon Pluton. While we can't find the real Pluton, which is currently dormant somewhere, getting the blueprints is clearly more in the World Government's best interest," Spandine said.
No one knew where the ship was, but to the World Government, finding it would just mean they found one ship. But if they could get their hands on the blueprints, that was an entirely different story. With the World Government's money and resources, they could probably build ten or eight of them... So, in the World Government's eyes, the blueprints might be more valuable than the ship itself!
Although Pluton was a ship that could "sink an island with one shot," it wasn't as terrifying as Poseidon's ability to control all Sea Kings instantly. But the thing was, Pluton was reproducible! Just imagine a whole fleet of Pluton. Would you be afraid of that?!
"The World Government's best interest, huh..." Diarmuid sighed, then looked at Spandine with a meaningful expression. "You'd better do a good job for the World Government, Spandine. As a member of the World Government, I'll be watching you closely."
Spandine gulped and gave a nervous smile. "Yes, of course."
"Now get out of my sight. Go do your own work," Diarmuid said, waving his hand without saying anything else.
Spandine smiled again and nodded. "Then I won't bother you anymore, Admiral." After that, Spandine nodded to Gion and then turned and left.
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