Near an island in the South Calm Belt, two large warships were anchored. On the island, a group of Marines and geological experts were discussing something in front of a small hill.
Diarmuid stood in front of a small excavated cave, with several piles of dirt next to it. He picked up a piece of black ore from a pile and asked a man who looked like a scholar, "Is this iron ore?"
The man replied excitedly, "Yes, Vice Admiral! According to our exploration and data analysis, this island has a very high iron ore content, and the mining difficulty is low. There are even many open-pit mines…"
Diarmuid nodded, then threw the iron ore back onto the pile. He muttered, "Iron ore again…"
It was the middle of the year 1502. In almost two years of exploration in the Calm Belt, they had already found three other islands with decent iron ore content, and this was the fourth. To be honest, Diarmuid had been excited at first, but now he was starting to feel bored. Why the hell is it always iron ore?!
"It would be so great if it were a gold mine…" he grumbled.
The geological experts looked at him blankly. Are you kidding? If gold mines were so easy to find, gold would be worthless. It's expensive precisely because it's rare!
Diarmuid saw their expressions and chuckled, patting their shoulders. "Keep up the good work."
He knew he couldn't blame them. Finding anything was a matter of luck. Headquarters was already thrilled that he had found iron ore islands since they needed a large supply of iron ore to make cannons and guns.
Diarmuid had just learned some secrets. For one, Headquarters' military production had always been low. Their warships were mostly outsourced to Water 7, which he already knew, but he was surprised to learn that the Marines only produced a small number of cannons, fortress guns, and firearms. Most were provided by the World Government, who, to make matters worse, didn't make their own.
Due to rampant corruption, they had the manufacturing technology, but they preferred to buy from the black market, which was more profitable and allowed them to line their pockets.
Diarmuid knew that Doflamingo and Kaido would eventually become major black-market arms dealers and that the World Government would do business with them. He had assumed it was only a small part of their supply, but he never thought it was the majority.
It was no wonder the World Government panicked when Doflamingo was defeated.
What a mess! You're relying on others to make your weapons? Isn't that just leaving yourself at their mercy? Diarmuid wondered if the higher-ups in the World Government were out of their minds to do something so stupid.
But then he thought that the Gorosei must have foreseen the danger. They probably wanted to change things but couldn't. When a situation is so deeply ingrained, even those with foresight know it's wrong but can't change it. They are often too afraid to act, and by the time they are ready, it's too late.
He believed that as long as the Gorosei weren't idiots, they wanted the World Government to thrive for their rule to be stable. So they probably wanted to crack down on corruption and incompetent officials.
But it was difficult. The World Government was already in a precarious position due to the Great Pirate Era and could collapse at any moment.
For now, he had to focus on the Marines. There was a lot of corruption within the Marines, especially in the four seas, where almost every member was corrupt. Diarmuid himself had been a part of it.
In that environment, if you didn't go along with them, they would see you as self-righteous, become hostile, and try to get rid of you. As someone with few principles, Diarmuid went along with them.
But the situation was different at Headquarters, which was remarkably clean. He figured that most people who made it to Headquarters had a strong sense of justice, and the constant supervision prevented corruption.
He heard that Admiral Sengoku had secretly sent a supervisory team to various Marine bases and branches to investigate corruption. He was preparing to make an example of a few officials.
This was a good thing. On a macro level, the higher up the chain you went, the cleaner the officials were. Many had become corrupt to get to the top, only to become clean once they reached the highest positions. The reasons for this were many.
Of course, there would always be a few who were foolish enough to commit major acts of corruption.
The crackdown at Headquarters was a good thing, but it had little to do with Diarmuid. He wanted to create a self-sufficient system for the Marines to manufacture their own weapons and warships. Admiral Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong also supported this, but they didn't have enough money.
The discovery of iron ore had helped, and as the Calm Belt development started to show results, Sengoku and Kong became more invested. He heard they had secretly ordered Borsalino and Sakazuki to re-establish a logistics and arms manufacturing division.
If the project were to progress further and they were to find gold, the Marines would even start making their own warships.
He wandered around the island and sat on a rock. A Marine Lieutenant Commander handed him a water bottle. Diarmuid smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Vergo."
That's right, the Marine Lieutenant Commander was Vergo, one of the top executives of the Donquixote Family. Diarmuid was shocked that the bastard Doflamingo had the guts to send a spy to his base. But Diarmuid didn't expose him. Instead, he absorbed Vergo into his G-7 force.
He could use him as a chess piece to deal with Doflamingo in the future. Vergo was Doflamingo's confidant and had been groomed to be a spy. Since he had no reputation in the North Blue, Diarmuid wouldn't know who he was. This was why Doflamingo had sent him.
It was a coincidence that after becoming a pirate, Doflamingo had decided to send Vergo into the Marines, but he hadn't had the chance to do so. He was furious after being beaten and humiliated by Diarmuid in Jaya, but he couldn't do anything about it.
He had decided to let it go, but then he heard about the recruitment drive at G-7. He couldn't hold back anymore and ordered Vergo to enlist. With Vergo's potential, he could become Diarmuid's confidant, and Doflamingo could get his revenge on Diarmuid by working with Vergo from the inside.
Of course, Doflamingo wouldn't send a confidant like Vergo to G-7 just for revenge. As much as he hated Diarmuid, he knew that he was going to rise in the ranks of the Marines. Diarmuid was the only Admiral Candidate, and there was a vacant Admiral position. It was only a matter of time before he was promoted. The people around him would naturally benefit.
By sending Vergo to work with Diarmuid, he could become a high-ranking Marine and a direct subordinate of an Admiral, making it easier to gather information and gain power. It was much better than Vergo trying to make it on his own.
So, Doflamingo believed that it was the right move for both personal and professional reasons to send Vergo to Diarmuid.
"No need to thank me, Vice Admiral," Vergo said politely. He was a perfect example of a good Marine, and if Diarmuid hadn't known his true nature, he would have been fooled.
Diarmuid had been hesitant to keep Vergo, but he had ultimately decided to do so. G-7 was a top-secret project, and there was a chance that Vergo would leak information. However, only Gion and Doberman knew about the Calm Belt development plan.
Vergo was suspicious, but he only knew that Diarmuid was doing all this for his own selfish ambition, not for the Marines. As for a future leak, he would have to wait and see how he used Vergo. For now, he wasn't worried.
Besides, Doflamingo hated the World Government and the Celestial Dragons and wanted to drag them down. If he found out that the Marines were doing something that would harm the World Government, he might not only keep it a secret but also help them.
Of course, knowing Doflamingo, he would probably try to extort Diarmuid.
'That's even better,' Diarmuid thought. 'I was just looking for an excuse to take care of that guy.'
After taking a sip of water, Diarmuid touched the scabbard of his broken sword, Nagasone Kotetsu, and sighed. The scabbard was fine, but the sword inside was broken. It was hard to find a new famous sword. He had been waiting a year, and the Chief of Staff and Stussy still hadn't found one. As for Douglas Bullet, there was no news of him either.
He touched the scabbard again and said, "Oh, my poor Nagasone Kotetsu… I wonder when I'll get another famous sword…"
He took another sip of water. 'I'm hinting so obviously. Did you get it, kid? If you got it, go find Doflamingo and get a famous sword to bribe me. Do you want to get promoted under me? Do you even know how to play this game?'
Vergo thought to himself, 'It seems Vice Admiral Diarmuid really loves famous swords. He laments it in front of everyone. If I can get him a famous sword, he might trust and promote me... but even if I get one, how do I explain where I got it from?'
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