Almost no one knew Diarmuid had returned.
As he walked, the faces of those he encountered were filled with surprise, quickly followed by a touch of delight. Most officers, from Lieutenants to Captains, hastily offered salutes, and Diarmuid acknowledged each one with a friendly nod. He was exceptionally approachable.
Meanwhile, inside Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office.
Sengoku was alone, his braided beard neatly tied. He held a cup of tea in one hand and a document in the other. He was studying the file with extreme focus; it contained the Marine's latest financial statements—income and expenditure.
Normally, this document should have been in Diarmuid's keeping. Among the Admirals, he was the one who wielded power over the Navy's military budget, supplies, and fund allocation.
However, who told the man to go wandering off on vacation for nearly a year? He was away, but the affairs at Headquarters couldn't just grind to a halt. Consequently, Sengoku had taken these responsibilities back into his own hands.
As he read, the Fleet Admiral's satisfaction grew.
Since that day at Mariejois, when he had become completely disillusioned with the Gorosei, Sengoku's operational policies had undergone a subtle shift upon his return to Headquarters. Few people had noticed yet; even those who did simply thought he had become a bit more aggressive, nothing more.
But in reality, those who knew the truth, like Diarmuid, could see the change.
In the past, while Sengoku possessed "ideals and ambition" and was moving toward a specific goal, the overall feeling was that he was being pushed forward by the momentum of the Navy, its interests, and its morale. He had always kept alternative plans in reserve, hoping for a different kind of resolution at the end.
Now, however, the Fleet Admiral had scrapped all the contingency plans, preparations, and escape routes he had once meticulously laid out. He had rapidly executed several "irreversible" actions, effectively burning his bridges.
For instance, relocating the Special Science Group to the Calm Belt. It was actually quite close to G-7. Given the unique and complex nature of the SSG, there was a constant risk that the CP agents or Mariejois would discover the true situation in the Calm Belt and the inner workings of the Navy. Even with "Queen" Stussy covering their tracks, the risk was undeniably there.
It was as if Sengoku had handed over a "weakness" to ensure he could no longer look back or hesitate! Of course, this style was also quite "brazen."
When he compared the final total expenditure to the income, Sengoku's eyes narrowed slightly, and he set down his tea. To his surprise, the revenue and expenses for this quarter had essentially reached an equilibrium!
In other words, the Navy no longer required the military budget from Mariejois; they were finally self-sufficient. Furthermore, the Navy currently held a massive reserve of funds—accumulated over the years from the Mariejois budget that had never been fully spent. If they lived frugally, these "war chests" were enough to sustain the Navy for over two years.
Looking at the current balance sheet and the accumulated capital, it was clear that Marineford could sever ties with Mariejois at any moment!
This was faster than Sengoku had anticipated. He had originally thought it would take a year or two of the Gold City's operation to reach this stage. It seemed the hidden benefits brought by Smoker becoming a Yonko were far more substantial than he had imagined. Or perhaps, the overall feedback from the Warlords of the Sea organization had grown significantly more robust.
"The time has come... but how can we..." Sengoku thought about these intricate details.
Just then, there was a knock on his office door. Before he could respond, the door was pushed open.
A flash of surprise crossed Sengoku's mind, followed by a surge of irritation. Who was being so disrespectful? Was it that bastard Garp? If it were Garp... there wasn't much he could do. That fool had been breaking rules for years; no one could control him.
But in the next instant, his irritation vanished. He looked toward the door in shock, his expression shifting to one of genuine delight. "Diarmuid? You're back?"
"Hahahaha! Surprised? Caught you off guard, didn't I?" Diarmuid laughed loudly as he walked in.
Sengoku's delighted expression smoothed out, returning to his usual composed self. He nodded to Diarmuid. "I thought you'd be in Alabasta cleaning up the mess..."
Diarmuid walked over and plopped down on the sofa, shaking his head. "There's no cleaning up that mess in Alabasta. We Marines have no authority to interfere in their internal affairs anyway. Leaving Dalmatian there to maintain order and prevent the chaos from escalating further was already doing them a huge favor. The ultimate outcome depends on their own national strength."
Sengoku had only asked in passing and didn't dwell on the Alabasta incident. Instead, he looked at Diarmuid. "I heard from Gion earlier that you had some kind of 'qualitative breakthrough' in strength? Was this trip that fruitful?"
Diarmuid nodded. He was just about to start bragging about how his "divine technique" was complete, how he was invincible under heaven, the strongest dual-ability user in history, and how any troublesome matters should just be left to him...
But before he could open his mouth, Sengoku seemed to remember something official. He tossed the document he was holding toward Diarmuid. "Let's save that for later. Take a look at this."
He effectively cut off Diarmuid's bragging before it could even start.
Diarmuid felt incredibly stifled, but he had no choice but to pick up the document and scan it. Although he usually didn't handle administrative chores, focusing instead on the "big picture," he wasn't illiterate when it came to these files. In fact, he was even more professional than Sengoku. Within five minutes, he had grasped everything in the report.
His eyes lit up with a flash of surprise. "So, it's done?"
"What's done?" Sengoku asked tentatively.
"The timing is ripe. We can make any choice we want at any moment," Diarmuid said in a low, serious voice.
Sengoku nodded. "Exactly. From a financial perspective, income and expenditure, we have indeed met the conditions for independence. We've effectively unshackled our greatest chain. It's thanks to your hard work over all these years..."
Diarmuid waved it off. "It was nothing. We all worked together."
After a short pause, Diarmuid continued before Sengoku could speak. "Our Navy is, after all, an agency of Justice. We've been tied to Mariejois for centuries. Even though differences have arisen and we've moved onto this... inevitable path of separation, we still need to carefully consider how we split and what reason we use. We can't be too crude about it. I believe we should at least have a justifiable reason. Fleet Admiral, don't be too hasty..."
Sengoku shot Diarmuid a look. He had been worried that Diarmuid would be the one acting in haste, yet here the man was, advising him to be patient?
Still, Diarmuid had a point, and Sengoku agreed. Although it sounded incredibly hypocritical, making the actual choice but still wanting to put up a front, it was essentially a matter of "wanting to be a saint while acting like a sinner."
But the truth was, whether it was hypocritical or not, the process and the "face" of the matter were necessary. Throughout history and across worlds, if you were going to do something, especially something of this magnitude, you needed a proper reason, a legitimate stance, and the high ground of righteousness.
You didn't have to care what the people who knew the truth thought. When you did these things, you still had to occupy the moral high ground...
Sengoku pondered for a moment before asking, "What do you think we should do?"
Diarmuid fell silent, then shook his head. "I haven't actually thought it through. It's mostly because things moved a bit too fast. I thought it would take quite a bit longer to reach this point..."
Sengoku nodded. "Yes, it was a bit fast. Fast enough that even we are a little surprised, hahahaha."
Even though the timeline had been slightly disrupted, it was a good thing. Diarmuid laughed along with him.
"Forget it. I'll deliberate on this matter further and see if I can find a suitable entry point," Sengoku said, waving a hand to move on from the topic.
Diarmuid then asked, "Fleet Admiral, your recent actions have been a bit... brazen, haven't they? Your attitude has clearly changed. What happened? I was gone for a while, did Mariejois break your heart, old man?"
Hearing the half-joking inquiry, Sengoku glared at him. Then, with a look that was both melancholy and relieved, he said: "Sometimes you have to destroy to create... you have to destroy to create..."
After a short pause, Sengoku continued: "Mariejois is a ship that I can see is destined to sink. The helmsman might be a good one, but the ship itself is more than half-rotten. No matter how good the helmsman is, he can't save it. What's more... the helmsman isn't as good as I once imagined. Rather than waiting for the end, it's better to make the decision early and forcibly dismantle the ship. Perhaps we can save a few good pieces of timber to build a new vessel. Even if it's small, it can still save people!"
"Sigh..." Diarmuid sighed and shook his head, asking no more. He had been curious, but seeing the Fleet Admiral in this state, he didn't have the heart to pry further.
Sengoku didn't seem to want to dwell on the sentimentality either. Seeing Diarmuid drop the subject, he shifted the tone. "By the way, what were we talking about? A qualitative breakthrough in strength?"
"Now, if you're talking about that, I'm wide awake!" Diarmuid's energy returned instantly. Bragging was something he took very seriously.
He picked up his teacup, took a sip to wet his whistle, and said: "I, Diarmuid, am telling you clearly: my divine technique is complete. I am invincible under heaven. If I call myself the 'World's Strongest' right now, I'd like to see who dares to disagree!"
Sengoku looked at Diarmuid with a hint of surprise. "I thought you already considered yourself the World's Strongest after you defeated Newgate..."
"Not quite. There's a difference between one 'strongest' and another. Back then, Whitebeard's 'strongest' couldn't truly dominate the New World. But now, my 'strongest' means I could probably beat them all even if they teamed up," Diarmuid said with absolute confidence.
"Teamed up with whom?" Sengoku asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Whitebeard, Kaido, and Charlotte Linlin," Diarmuid grinned.
The moment the words left his mouth, Sengoku's expression turned to one of shock. "Are you sure you aren't talking in your sleep?"
"I'd say I have at least a seventy percent chance of winning," Diarmuid said, rubbing his chin.
With the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, in a first encounter before his information was leaked, the element of surprise should give him a high enough success rate to instantly take down someone like Whitebeard or Charlotte Linlin. Consequently, Diarmuid was indeed feeling a bit "inflated."
"Just what kind of breakthrough did you achieve to boast like this!?" Sengoku was now genuinely interested.
"It's nothing much," Diarmuid said, affecting an air of extreme nonchalance. "I've become a dual-ability user..."
Sengoku: "???"
A dual-what?
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]