After Sakazuki left, Sengoku discussed the scholar situation with Kuzan and Saul again. Although a survivor had been captured, Nico Olvia hadn't spoken yet, so Ohara remained unexposed.
However, they had also seized a scholar's ship. There were likely some clues and evidence on it. After a brief discussion, the ship was sent to the Marine Intelligence Division for the Chief of Staff to arrange an investigation. The results might come soon.
....
G-7 Marine Base.
At the port, Diarmuid was holding a Den Den Mushi, squatting on one of the port's cannons. He looked a little unrefined and carefree.
Not far away, two warships were slowly pulling into the harbor. Behind them, they were escorting several captured pirate ships. Many Marines were approaching, ready to help unload the cargo. Doberman, meanwhile, was leading his men, waiting to put the captured pirates directly to work.
The construction at G-7 was now complete, and a large number of Marine soldiers were starting to invite their friends and relatives to live in the garrison town.
This wasn't a difficult task; with the current breakdown of order, the first half of the Grand Line was full of pirates and constant danger. Only under Marine rule could stability be maintained.
Now that the G-7 base, with its 50,000 Marines, was recruiting people for the garrison town, it was a benefit for the Marines, and naturally, people were moving here with their families as quickly as possible, knowing it was the safest place to live.
As a result, a large number of Impel Down prisoners had been sent to a few islands in the Calm Belt to mine. There were already more than 50,000 prisoners.
Diarmuid had started the project in the Calm Belt, and subsequent arrangements were gradual. He continued to survey the islands for resources and develop them, so he didn't need to be there every day.
Headquarters had sent Momonga to help with the arrangements in the Calm Belt. Momonga was Diarmuid's contemporary, and their relationship was already quite good. From a military standpoint, Momonga was also a direct subordinate of Diarmuid's.
Even though Diarmuid had been away from Headquarters for almost two years, Momonga had not been reassigned and still held the rank of Rear Admiral, under Diarmuid's command.
As for Yamakaji, after discussions between Tsuru and Diarmuid, he was transferred to the Intelligence Division and placed under the Chief of Staff.
This was normal. Diarmuid wasn't working at Headquarters anymore, and G-7 couldn't accommodate so many elite Rear Admirals. It wouldn't be right to hold Yamakaji back; it would ruin his future. There was no need for that.
Besides, Diarmuid had already made up his mind to compete for the position of Admiral in the next few years. He was just waiting for the World Government to launch the Seven Warlords of the Sea plan again, to put the Marines in a difficult spot. At that point, he could ride the momentum and use the popular sentiment within the Marines to lead a confrontation with the World Government and secure the Admiral position.
Once he became an Admiral, the Chief of Staff would technically be his subordinate. Why would he worry about Yamakaji leaving?
The two warships that had just returned were part of a group led by Gion. Their purpose was nominally for training, but in reality, they were cleaning out pirates.
The tide of the Great Pirate Era was constantly reaching the seas around G-7, which was located in the latter half of the first half of the Grand Line. A steady stream of pirates was continuously invading the nearby waters.
To Diarmuid, this was both good and bad. The bad part was obvious: pirates were destroyers of order. The good part was that he didn't need to bother going to Impel Down to get labor.
Diarmuid's forces were strong, so he could just catch pirates at sea, beat them up, and send them to the Calm Belt to mine on the spot.
Over the past six months, the process had been refined, and his men were incredibly skilled at it. If they took off their Marine uniforms and went out on a different ship, they would be indistinguishable from a professional slave trading and capturing crew.
If it weren't for the fact that it was too undignified and morally corrupt, Diarmuid might even have sold pirate captains and other pirate leaders to slave traders for a high price.
To avoid any problems, the labor pool of pirate prisoners was always made up of the weak ones. As for the captured captains and officers, if they could be executed after being judged at Enies Lobby, they were. If not, they were sent to Impel Down for imprisonment.
Thanks to Gion's leadership in these constant battles, the greenhorns in G-7 hadn't all become elite Marine soldiers, but they could definitely be called battle-hardened veterans who had seen blood.
G-7 wasn't short on money. The annual military budget from Headquarters came in on time, and Diarmuid had a huge sum of money on hand. In addition to the spoils from the pirates, a portion of the protection money from the three surrounding countries, and the protection of merchant fleets, it wasn't a one-way flow of money. The finances were very healthy.
Therefore, he never treated his Marine soldiers unfairly. As battles became more frequent, merits were constantly awarded. With Gion, the great swordsman and Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, leading the troops, they were basically victorious in every battle. The morale at G-7 was excellent.
From these perspectives alone, Diarmuid had completely proven his capabilities at G-7.
When he first arrived, G-7 had just over 10,000 Marines, the base was ordinary, and he had a little over 10 billion Berries left. It was completely unremarkable.
Now, in just two years, G-7 had 50,000 strong soldiers, the Calm Belt development was on track, the entire island had a garrison town, the population was growing, and the once-ordinary base was now a fortress.
With his powerful forces protecting the surrounding seas, they were winning every battle. He was handling both military and development with an iron fist, and it was working.
So, even if he were to return to Headquarters now and be promoted to Admiral, no one among the high-ranking officers would have a word to say against him. They would be completely convinced.
This was exactly what Diarmuid had been working for. He wanted to gather the will of the Marines to confront the World Government and compete for the Admiral position. The first thing he had to do was earn the respect of all the high-ranking officers within the Marines so they could unite as one.
And now, he was pretty much there.
"So, Sakazuki didn't get the Admiral Candidate position?" Diarmuid asked, puffing on a cigar while talking into the Den Den Mushi.
"Yeah, it was pretty unlucky," Kuzan's voice came through the receiver.
"That's a shame," Diarmuid responded.
He was lucky he acted fast. After Roger's capture and the start of the Great Pirate Era, he was quickly approved for the Admiral Candidate position and wasted no time in making it official. If he had delayed, and the political winds had shifted, he might have ended up like Sakazuki, suppressed.
Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder. If he had joined Dragon back then, he might not be in such a frustrating situation. Or if he had hardened his heart and gone out to sea, he might be a formidable pirate by now.
He could be drinking good booze, eating good meat, and wiping out anyone who annoyed him. He wouldn't have to be restrained by the Marines' rules and regulations, needing to use so-called "rules" to restrain himself.
But after a moment of calm reflection, he realized that if the era hadn't changed, it would be one thing. But now, with the world in upheaval, the Marines' opportunity lay in the next twenty years. If he could lead the Marines out of this predicament, he might become the most powerful person in the entire world.
What was it that Diarmuid truly sought?
Was it not status and power?
If he could become Fleet Admiral, commanding the world's military, with a single order, a million soldiers would follow, and thousands of heads would fall.
If he could remove the shackles on the Marines, what would the World Government be worth?
If the Gorosei were smart, they would let him continue. If they weren't and angered Diarmuid, couldn't he just replace them with Dragon?
This was a much more promising path than being a pirate.
So, he couldn't just chase temporary satisfaction. Besides, thinking about it, he hadn't really suffered in the Marines. The World Government's actions hadn't directly affected him; Sakazuki was the one who was taking the hit.
"I was just talking to Borsalino about this. After what happened in the New World, I thought that once Sakazuki became an Admiral Candidate, Borsalino would follow suit, and you, Kuzan, would too. I was even thinking of riding your momentum to try and get Gion that honor, too. But now, the moment Sakazuki started to rise, he was cut down. Now, no one can even think about it…" Diarmuid grumbled.
"Hahahaha. Well, Borsalino at least has the qualifications, but Gion? She's been a Rear Admiral for a few years now. How could she possibly get the title of Admiral Candidate? With that idea, you might as well go talk to the Admiral and ask for Gion to be promoted to Vice Admiral," Kuzan laughed.
Diarmuid looked at Gion in the distance. She was getting off a warship, looking dashing and beautiful, with a great figure, as she debriefed with Doberman. He smiled. "Just kidding. As for Gion's rank, I'm planning to hold it back a little longer."
He had indeed been holding Gion back for a long time. Tokikake, that guy, had become a Vice Admiral at Headquarters six months ago. Gion, on the other hand, was still a Rear Admiral under him. Looking at Doberman, he was probably close to being promoted to Vice Admiral. Momonga and Yamakaji were also close.
It must be tough for Gion. Doberman was from the 8th class, while she was the second-best from the 6th class. Now, even Doberman was about to catch up to her. He really had been holding her back.
But that was just how it looked from the outside. From Gion's perspective, she had never complained to Diarmuid about it. On the contrary, she felt quite content. She also had a vague feeling that Diarmuid was planning to entrust G-7 to her.
Hearing Diarmuid's words, Kuzan seemed to understand. "You can't bear to part with your G-7, huh?"
"Hahahaha, if you were in my shoes, would you be able to?" Diarmuid laughed loudly. He didn't try to hide anything.
He had built G-7 from the ground up, and it was also the starting point of his Calm Belt development plan. There was no way he was going to abandon it when he returned to Headquarters. He wanted to have a solid power base within the Marines, and he needed to establish his own faction and give his followers enough benefits.
G-7 was his most valuable asset, so he had to hold on to it. So Diarmuid was thinking that when he was about to be transferred, he would promote Gion's rank and make her the commander of the G-7 base. This would leave his mark on G-7.
When Gion eventually left, he would arrange for Doberman to be the next commander, leaving the marks of three generations of his followers.
From then on, anyone who was ever stationed at G-7 would owe him a favor, and through this, they would all become part of his faction.
"I wouldn't," Kuzan also said with a smile.
"Exactly," Diarmuid retorted playfully.
He paused for a moment, then changed the subject. "Anything else happening at Headquarters recently?"
"Nothing much. Oh, right, Saul is back. His mission is pretty much over. He said he wanted to get a drink with you, but you're not at Headquarters." Kuzan said with a chuckle.
Diarmuid's eyes lit up at the news. 'Saul's mission was over? That meant the big incident at Ohara was coming soon, didn't it?'
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