When the Marine fleet finally arrived at the Edd War Sea—
No one looked pleased.
Admiral Sengoku stared at the dark, storm-filled sky.
He felt as if fate itself was mocking him.
"We chose the wrong place…" Sengoku said quietly on the deck.
There was regret in his voice.
Borsalino and Sakazuki wore similar expressions.
Only Borsalino seemed relatively indifferent.
Diarmuid, however, was confused.
What did Sengoku mean?
"Admiral," Diarmuid said cautiously,
"maybe we're not wrong."
"The Edd War Sea is huge."
"Should we search the area?"
Sengoku sighed.
"Shiki is a cautious man."
"And he has the best meteorologists in the world under his command."
"In terms of weather intelligence…"
"…the Marines actually can't compare to him."
He looked up at the stormy sky.
"We might misjudge the weather."
"But Shiki wouldn't."
Then Sengoku noticed Diarmuid's shocked expression.
He smiled faintly and patted his shoulder.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Diarmuid."
"If there's a mistake here…"
"…then it's mine."
"I was careless."
After all, he had been the one who circled those three possible sea regions.
Diarmuid had merely selected the most likely one among them.
If anyone was responsible—
It was Sengoku himself for trusting the weather reports too much.
Now Diarmuid finally understood.
But inside he was screaming.
We're not wrong!
If they rushed in now—
They might still make it!
Even if Roger escaped, Shiki might already have that rudder stuck in his head.
It was the perfect chance to capture him!
Judging from the sky, the storm had clearly been raging for days.
But in reality—
The massive storm had only recently formed and swept across the sea.
And that was precisely why Sengoku believed they had misjudged the weather.
From Sengoku's perspective, the logic was simple.
Even if Roger had chosen to pass through this area—
Shiki would never risk his entire fleet by ambushing him in such conditions.
That wouldn't be attacking Roger.
That would be suicide.
"Admiral!" Diarmuid quickly said.
"I think we should still try!"
Originally, Sengoku and the others had been preparing to turn the fleet around and head toward the Chalanna Sea or Riswerson Sea.
It would be a gamble—
But maybe they could still arrive in time.
However, Sengoku had already lost most of his hope.
After all the back-and-forth travel, even with fast warships, they likely wouldn't make it.
From his perspective—
The mission was basically already a failure.
Still, he wasn't devastated.
The Marines had never expected guaranteed success.
This was simply an opportunity worth pursuing.
Even if they failed, there was no real loss.
In fact—
They might still benefit.
Because regardless of the outcome—
Shiki and Roger were about to fight.
And whichever pirate lost…
…it would still be a victory for the Marines.
After all, Sengoku quickly adjusted his emotions.
As a commander, he couldn't afford to dwell on frustration.
Hearing Diarmuid persist so stubbornly, Sengoku smiled faintly and said,
"Diarmuid, you're still young. You don't truly understand these pirates."
"Golden Lion Shiki… is ambitious. He's powerful and ruthless, but more importantly, he's extremely calculating."
"For many years now, he's been well aware of his own weaknesses."
"And he has never once made a mistake regarding them."
"So…"
"In weather like this, Shiki would never appear."
Sengoku's evaluation of Shiki was very fair.
As Shiki's longtime rival, he had every right to judge him that way.
Shiki's ambition and strength were obvious.
As for being meticulous…
Although Diarmuid often felt that the Shiki he remembered seemed a little reckless—
For example, charging directly into Marineford Headquarters alone—
He still had to admit that under normal circumstances, Shiki really was a meticulous man.
Someone without careful planning couldn't possibly orchestrate a scheme that lasted over twenty years.
If he truly lacked that ability, he would have long since been eliminated by the Marines or rival pirates.
How could he have become the current pirate overlord?
So when Diarmuid heard Sengoku's reasoning, it sounded convincing.
For a moment, he almost wavered.
Maybe Shiki really wasn't inside the storm.
But he quickly pushed that thought aside.
Because there was one critical factor that no one here had realized.
That was—
Roger.
Roger was the kind of man who brought disaster to everyone connected to him.
Even worse than Rosinante in some ways.
Rosinante caused trouble in his own way.
But Roger felt like the child of destiny.
And strangely enough—
Anyone connected to him usually ended up with a terrible fate.
Look at Rocks D. Xebec.
A powerful pirate ruler who was just about to conquer the world with his terrifying crew.
Then Roger appeared.
Not long after Roger started his career as a pirate—
The God Valley Incident happened.
And Rocks was completely crushed.
The Rocks Pirates collapsed overnight, their members scattering in all directions.
That event reshaped the entire pirate power structure of the New World.
Then there was Whitebeard.
Although it hadn't happened yet—
In the future, Roger's own son would become the trigger that led to the destruction of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Wasn't that another disaster?
And Garp as well.
Because he promised Roger to take care of his child—
He would later watch that very child die before him.
Half of his life would be filled with grief.
As for Shiki…
He was perhaps the one most deeply affected by Roger.
He went from a dominant pirate emperor—
To a tragic old man whose power declined drastically.
All because of Roger.
No one had noticed this strange phenomenon surrounding Roger yet.
But Diarmuid knew one thing very clearly.
Shiki was inside the storm.
"Admiral!!!"
Diarmuid suddenly shouted.
His expression was firm and resolute.
"If we don't go in, what will we do next?"
"Head for the Chalanna Sea?"
"Or the Riswerson Sea?"
"Judging by the time it would take…"
"We won't make it in time anyway, right?"
"So in practical terms…"
"Hasn't this mission already failed?"
Sengoku was slightly startled by Diarmuid's sudden shout.
He looked at him with surprise.
Up until now, Diarmuid had always appeared calm and sensible.
Who would have expected him to suddenly shout like this?
But after hearing the question, Sengoku hesitated.
Then he nodded.
"You're right."
"So are we just going to give up like this?"
Diarmuid said passionately.
"Are the Marines really a justice organization without perseverance?"
"Edd War is right in front of us."
"Are we really going to abandon the mission one step before the finish line?"
To be honest—
Diarmuid now looked exactly like a hot-blooded idiot.
The things he said sounded like the lines of a shōnen manga protagonist.
But strangely enough—
Those words actually moved Sengoku a little.
Looking at Diarmuid's determination, Sengoku was reminded of his own youth.
Back then, he had also been passionate and unwavering.
And this was Diarmuid's first major mission after arriving at Headquarters.
He had already performed well.
Perhaps unlike the seasoned officers here—
Diarmuid simply couldn't accept failure so easily.
Sengoku turned to look at the raging sea ahead.
Dark clouds rolled across the sky.
In truth, Sengoku had another reason for not wanting to enter the storm.
The unstable weather could cause unnecessary losses.
Even if his fleet was full of elite fighters—
They were still human.
And humans couldn't fight against nature.
Charging a fleet into a storm when Shiki was almost certainly not inside…
That would simply be foolish.
As a strategist, Sengoku wouldn't normally make such a decision.
But looking at Diarmuid now—
His resolve wavered.
Sengoku chuckled.
"Fine."
"Let's treat this as an investment in the future of the Marines."
"Diarmuid…"
"I'll take you through this storm."
In truth, Sengoku had always appreciated Diarmuid.
Now, seeing the young officer's passion reminded him of his younger self.
So Sengoku made a decision.
He would teach Diarmuid a lesson.
Passion wasn't wrong.
Determination wasn't wrong either.
But if you continued forward in the wrong direction, persistence would only take you further astray.
Ignoring Diarmuid, Sengoku raised his hand.
"Transmit the order."
"Enter the Edd War Sea."
A Marine colonel nearby immediately responded.
"Yes, Admiral!"
Soon—
The warships, which had slowed earlier, accelerated once again.
They headed straight into the storm-covered Edd War Sea.
Sakazuki, who had mostly ignored Diarmuid until now, looked at him thoughtfully.
He hadn't expected Sengoku to treat this young officer with such consideration.
Charging into a storm just because of him?
Not to mention—
There were three Devil Fruit users aboard this ship.
If the warship capsized, they'd all be finished.
Of course, that was just a passing thought.
A Marine battleship wasn't so easy to overturn.
Still—
This incident made Sakazuki pay more attention to Diarmuid.
Perhaps this young man would soon become someone Sengoku personally cultivated.
Could Diarmuid…
…become a comrade who shared his ideals?
Sakazuki said nothing.
After glancing at the raging sea, he quietly turned and left.
Borsalino, on the other hand, laughed softly.
"Diarmuid… Admiral Sengoku really does take good care of you."
Diarmuid smiled.
"Vice Admiral Borsalino… what if Shiki really is in the Edd War Sea?"
Borsalino looked at the storm and thought,
How could that be possible?
But he still replied casually,
"Well… let's hope so."
Watching Borsalino's expression, Diarmuid sighed inwardly.
As expected—
No one believed Shiki would appear in weather like this.
Yet the truth was—
He was there.
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