"Mihawk?" Finn was stunned.
As one of the leadership in the Intelligence Department, Finn was in charge of higher-level intelligence. He'd been quite busy recently and hadn't really paid attention to emerging newcomers, so much so that he didn't even know Mihawk had started making a name for himself.
There was no such thing as the Seven Warlords of the Sea system nowadays.
And Mihawk naturally wasn't a Warlord.
To be exact, among the future Seven Warlords of the Sea, Finn only knew news about one person: Crocodile.
This guy had gone to sea early enough and was unstoppable along the way. He was extremely strong, fought his way into the New World, and became a famous pirate.
Not long ago, he'd engaged in a fierce battle at sea with Douglas Bullet, the former member of Roger's crew and Demon's Heir. The battle ended in a draw.
To be honest, Finn was genuinely confused about Crocodile's fighting ability.
This guy was simply the best in the pirate world at forcing fifty-fifty matches with anyone.
More than twenty years later, this veteran Warlord who'd challenged the strongest man in the world and fought Bullet to a draw was wiped out by the newly debuted Straw Hat Pirates.
It could be understood that after his defeat by Whitebeard, his strength declined rapidly while hiding in Alabasta.
But then during the Battle of Marineford, this guy became arrogant again, punching Doflamingo and kicking Sakazuki, looking very impressive.
Then he was smacked down hard by Diamond Jozu.
Finn really didn't know what was going on with his fighting ability. It fluctuated so dramatically.
He could genuinely force a fifty-fifty match with anyone!
Apart from Crocodile, the rest of the first generation Seven Warlords had hardly appeared.
Doflamingo was stirring up trouble in the underworld, living quite comfortably.
As for Sea Knight Jinbe, he was most likely still serving as Captain of the Guard in Ryugu Castle on Fish-Man Island, a contented civil servant.
Boa Hancock, judging by timing, should be just a little girl now, not yet caught by human traffickers.
Gecko Moria, another man whose fighting ability was a mystery, hadn't appeared at sea yet.
Bartholomew Kuma did have information on file; he was still king and hadn't been ousted by the World Government as a tyrant yet.
But now that Dragon had left the Marines, Bartholomew Kuma might be in trouble soon.
In addition to these, there was Mihawk, the future world's greatest swordsman.
Finn hadn't paid attention to him for a while. Had he already emerged?
"Well, do you know him?" Gion asked curiously.
"I don't know him. What's wrong with him? Why is he a lunatic?" Finn asked.
"Some say he is a lunatic. Well, that guy acts recklessly. He's a swordsman. Recently, he's been challenging sword masters all over the world and has never been defeated. I was ordered to contact him and see if we could recruit him into the Marines," Gion said first.
Finn nodded. Mihawk was definitely a swordsman. Now that such a promising talent had emerged, the Marines would naturally try to make contact.
"And then? Was it successful?" Finn asked with a smile.
"Of course not. He said joining the Marines would cause too many restrictions and would hinder his pursuit of the ultimate in swordsmanship, so he refused. Not only that, that bastard suddenly attacked me and we fought," Gion said with venom in her tone.
"It seems you lost?" Finn said with a smile.
Gion's expression showed slight unhappiness. "Yes, I lost. Though he is a lunatic, he's indeed very powerful in swordsmanship. I'm no match for him."
"You can't call him a lunatic just because you lost to him, right? Hahahaha..." Finn laughed.
"That's not it. You don't know what he did. He came to Hadley Island to challenge the swordsman of the Crescent Moon Kendo Gym. After being rejected, he actually forced a fight in the town. In the end, he fought with the Crescent Moon swordsman, causing the town to be destroyed and the kendo gym to be completely demolished. Many innocent people were killed and injured. Isn't this kind of person a lunatic?" Gion said angrily.
After hearing this, Finn finally understood why Mihawk was eventually identified as a pirate by the Marines.
After all, in his impression, Mihawk wasn't someone who liked to bully the weak or rob at sea.
On the contrary, compared with most pirates who made a living by plundering without working, he had no need to do such distasteful things.
He himself was born into a wealthy aristocratic family and should have certain assets. At the same time, he lived on the uninhabited island of Kuraigana and was completely self-sufficient. He did all the farming and cooking himself.
It didn't make sense that such a person would be identified as a pirate, right?
Now Finn knew this guy was too reckless when young. If he continued destroying towns after failed challenges, who knew how many would be demolished? The harm he'd cause would be no less than pirates.
It would be strange if the Marines didn't deal with him then.
"Who do you think is stronger, me or him?" Finn asked.
Gion paused momentarily, then said, "If we're talking about pure swordsmanship, you'll probably be beaten by him. But in terms of overall strength, you should be stronger."
Finn grinned. "I see."
He and Gion often fought and sparred with each other, so Gion knew Finn's strength very well.
This time, Gion had fought with Mihawk. Even though she wasn't as strong as Mihawk, she hadn't been crushed. Therefore, after the fight, she could make accurate judgments.
So Finn believed in Gion's assessment.
"If I have the chance to meet him, I'll definitely help you get revenge. Hahaha," Finn laughed and patted Gion's shoulder.
"If you always sit in the office, your strength will decline. You need to be more careful," Gion reminded.
"Yes, I understand," Finn nodded.
He actually wanted to go on field missions, but he hadn't had opportunities recently.
With his current status, when he went on field missions, he usually acted as military staff.
He wasn't yet qualified to lead forces independently.
For example, if Admiral Sengoku or veterans like Garp went on a mission requiring Intelligence Department support, Finn would be one of the supporters going along to act together.
During operations, he was responsible for intelligence analysis and a certain degree of staff support.
After thinking for a moment, he said to Gion, "Next time you carry out one of these field missions, request support from the Intelligence Department. Let's act together, shall we?"
Gion froze momentarily, looked at Finn carefully, then asked with some suspicion, "Finn, you're not trying to hit on me, are you? I've always considered you my good brother..."
Finn's face twitched slightly. "You're dreaming. I just want to go to sea for experience."
Though Gion was known as the Flower of the Marines, indeed beautiful with a great figure, not just a pretty face and with excellent abilities too.
In the Marines, she had many suitors. Among them, Tokikake, was even more persistent, often confessing his feelings.
But to be honest, Finn genuinely didn't have any romantic feelings for her. Or rather, he had no intention of falling in love with anyone at the moment.
"That's good. One Tokikake is already a headache for me. If you became like him, I really couldn't stand it," Gion breathed a sigh of relief.
But for some reason, seeing Finn's decisive denial, she felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Could it be her charm had decreased?
Without dwelling on it further, Gion continued, "I've discussed this with Chief of Staff Tsuru. Right now, she has too many things on her plate and can't spare you, so she's keeping you here. Once she's finished with current priorities, she'll let you out to gain experience."
Finn's eyes lit up. "That's great."
At that moment, a Marine Lieutenant approached and saluted. "Rear Admiral Finn, the Chief of Staff requests you come to her office."
Finn nodded. "Okay, I understand."
Then he turned to Gion. "The Chief of Staff wants to see me, so I'll be leaving first."
"Well, if you're not busy tonight, let's meet at the Marine Club. I've already invited Kuzan and the others to have drinks together," Gion said with a smile.
It had to be said, Gion was indeed quite bold and outgoing in character.
Finn smiled. "Okay, I'll definitely go when I have time."
After bidding farewell to Gion, Finn quickly arrived at Chief of Staff Tsuru's office.
Tsuru had just put down a document. After seeing Finn, she smiled. "Is the meeting over?"
"Yes, I've already explained my analysis in the conference room," Finn nodded.
"I trust you to handle things," Tsuru smiled, then continued, "I've already taken care of many matters, but I still need your input on forming the 'nonexistent organization.' Finn, please write me a report in the next few days, including your thoughts, suggestions, and even specific ideas. This matter cannot be known to anyone else. It must be kept confidential. Currently, this plan is only known to the Fleet Admiral, Sengoku, and the two of us. Do you understand?"
Finn nodded quickly. "Yes, I understand."
"Once this plan succeeds, I plan to let you be the top leader of this organization," Tsuru said again.
Finn's eyes lit up. Finally, a tangible reward.
Just as Borsalino controlled the Marines' Science Unit, many senior Marine officers controlled special forces.
If he could obtain command of this "nonexistent organization," it would undoubtedly increase Finn's actual authority. Moreover, in this regard, he'd only need to answer to the Chief of Staff, Fleet Admiral, and Admiral. His authority would be very high. This was excellent.
"Thank you very much, Chief of Staff. Hahahaha," Finn laughed.
His future was looking brighter by the day.