Following Borsalino into the warship's command room, Diarmuid immediately saw Admiral Sengoku standing over a sea chart, frowning in deep thought.
Only Sakazuki was seated in the room besides him.
No one else was physically present.
However, a visual Den Den Mushi had already been activated.
On the large screen were the images of Vice Admiral Garp and Chief Staff Officer Tsuru.
Behind them sat Kuzan and Gion.
Kuzan aside—
Gion was only a Marine Headquarters Colonel at this time.
If she could appear here, she was probably in the same situation as Diarmuid.
A little backdoor privilege.
When Sengoku heard the door open, he looked up.
Seeing Diarmuid behind Borsalino, he simply smiled.
There was no surprise in his expression, nor any intention of avoiding sensitive topics in front of him.
Diarmuid quickly nodded respectfully to Sengoku but remained silent.
Sakazuki glanced briefly at him as well.
He clearly noticed this unfamiliar young officer.
But Sakazuki wasn't the type to meddle in trivial matters like this.
He didn't show any dissatisfaction—though it was obvious he didn't care much about Diarmuid either.
Borsalino said nothing and sat down directly at the table.
There were no spare chairs.
So Diarmuid quietly stood beside the table.
In truth, both Borsalino and Sakazuki each commanded their own warships and fleets.
As Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals, they were fully capable of leading independent forces.
But this time they had boarded Sengoku's ship directly.
And the Marine force deployed for this operation was surprisingly small.
Only three warships.
Two sailed in the lead.
The third, commanded by Vice Admiral Saul, followed roughly half a day behind as backup.
The two leading ships belonged to Sengoku and Tsuru.
At first, Diarmuid hadn't understood.
For something this important, why didn't the Marines dispatch a larger fleet?
Even if not a Buster Call with ten warships, they should at least have seven or eight.
After all—
Shiki was known as the Admiral of the Flying Pirate Fleet.
He commanded dozens of pirate warships.
But after chatting with Borsalino earlier, Diarmuid understood the reasoning.
First—
Pirate forces in the New World were extremely strong.
Large-scale Marine fleets were actually dangerous targets here.
Second—
Too many ships would slow their travel speed, and this mission required urgency.
Finally—
At this level of conflict, the number of ships was no longer the decisive factor.
Top-tier combat power was what truly mattered.
So although the Marine fleet looked small, its combat strength was enough to confront any pirate crew head-on.
"Now that everyone is here," Sengoku said, sitting down,
"let's discuss the bad news we just received."
Garp spoke first.
"What bad news? Don't tell me they've decided not to fight."
Sengoku shook his head.
"That's not it."
"But all of our surveillance ships tracking Roger and Shiki have been lost."
Silence filled the room.
Everyone understood what that meant.
"So in other words…" Tsuru said quietly.
Sengoku nodded with a grave expression.
"Yes."
"We've completely lost track of both the Roger Pirates and Shiki."
Diarmuid was stunned.
He had commanded ships before when chasing pirates in the North Blue, but those were small-scale operations.
Now he finally realized just how weak Marine intelligence in the New World actually was.
So it wasn't that the Marines failed to reach the battle because it ended too quickly.
They had lost their targets before the battle even began.
Was this a joke?
Were they just touring the New World now?
"We should push the science division harder," Borsalino suddenly said.
"That submarine project they proposed earlier… I think we should support it."
"If they can develop a vessel like that, it would be extremely useful for surveillance."
Sengoku and the others nodded in agreement.
Of course, everyone knew Borsalino had a bit of personal interest in that suggestion.
Fleet Admiral Kong was already considering appointing him as the future commander of the Marine Science Unit.
So advocating for such projects now would help him establish authority later.
Still, this was perfectly normal political maneuvering within acceptable boundaries.
No one objected.
"Let's leave that aside for now," Sengoku said.
"I've been studying the sea chart."
"We've lost Roger and Shiki's positions, though nearby surveillance ships are searching."
"There's no guarantee they'll find them."
"So for now, we must rely on deduction."
He pushed the map forward and pointed with a thin stick.
"I've identified three sea regions where the battle is most likely to occur."
"Take a look."
"Where do you think we should head?"
On the screen, Tsuru and the others studied the chart carefully.
Borsalino and Sakazuki leaned forward.
Standing beside the table, Diarmuid also looked down.
Three regions were circled on the map:
Riswerson Sea
Chalanna Sea
Edd War Sea
Diarmuid nodded inwardly.
Sengoku truly deserved the title "The Buddha of Strategy."
Out of the entire vast New World—
He had narrowed the possibilities down to three locations.
And one of them was correct.
After everyone considered it for a while, Sengoku asked,
"Well?"
"Which location seems most likely?"
Tsuru immediately asked another question.
"Have we contacted Headquarters to obtain recent weather reports for these regions?"
"First eliminate areas with unstable weather."
"Shiki has several brilliant meteorologists among his crew."
"He knows his own weakness very well."
"He would never choose to fight Roger in a sea with dangerous weather conditions."
Sengoku nodded.
"We already sent the request."
Just then, a knock came from outside.
A Marine major entered and handed Sengoku a report.
After reading it, Sengoku frowned.
"Unfortunate."
"The reports say all three regions currently have clear skies."
Of course, weather in the New World could change instantly.
Predictions were never guaranteed.
For example—
Edd War itself was predicted to have clear weather.
And yet a massive storm suddenly appeared.
Still, any information was better than none.
"Which region was Roger closest to previously?" Garp suddenly asked.
Sengoku pointed at the map.
"Chalanna Sea."
"I see," Garp said thoughtfully.
"From what I know about Roger…"
"He behaves very differently toward Marines and pirates."
"When we chase him, he runs without hesitation."
"But when facing other pirates…"
"He charges straight at them."
"If that region is closest…"
"…he might head there."
Everyone understood.
Garp's suggestions rarely involved complicated strategy.
But he knew Roger better than almost anyone alive.
So even such simple observations had value.
Sengoku and Tsuru both considered the possibility.
The truth was—
This operation had begun far too hastily.
They lacked a huge amount of intelligence.
But there had been no time to prepare.
If the Marines didn't move immediately, they would miss the opportunity entirely.
That was why they now faced this dilemma.
With so much missing information, accurate prediction was nearly impossible.
Sakazuki and Borsalino were clearly thinking hard as well.
But neither offered a concrete proposal.
At that moment—
Sengoku noticed Diarmuid standing beside the table.
The young officer looked like he wanted to speak but was hesitating due to the situation.
Sengoku didn't expect much.
Still, he asked,
"Major Diarmuid."
"Do you have something you'd like to say?"
Diarmuid paused for a moment, then quickly composed himself.
"Yes, Admiral."
"If permitted… I do have a small idea."
"Speak freely," Sengoku said, waving his hand.
"The situation is already like this."
"Perhaps your idea will help."
"Yes, Admiral."
Diarmuid glanced at the map and spoke calmly.
"Although we currently don't know the exact situation between Shiki and Roger…"
"I heard that this battle was originally planned as an ambush."
"Meaning the Roger Pirates may not even realize that Shiki is preparing to surround them."
Sengoku nodded.
"That's correct."
"Our intelligence came from Shiki's side."
"He's planning an ambush against the Roger Pirates."
"As for Roger's crew…"
"They operate very independently."
"We have little intelligence on them."
"So we can't confirm whether they've discovered Shiki's plan."
Diarmuid thought for a moment before continuing.
"Shiki is a pirate overlord who always plans carefully before acting."
"The New World is his territory."
"And the Roger Pirates' independence—while it makes them difficult to track—also means they lack reliable intelligence networks."
"So based on these factors…"
"I believe it's reasonable to assume that the Roger Pirates haven't discovered Shiki's scheme."
Sengoku stroked his braided beard thoughtfully.
After a moment he looked toward Tsuru.
"Tsuru, what do you think?"
Tsuru smiled.
"I think this young major is correct."
"I agree," Sengoku said, nodding.
Then he looked back at Diarmuid.
"But how does that help our current situation?"
"It helps a lot," Diarmuid replied.
"If that assumption is correct…"
"…then we can begin predicting the Roger Pirates' movements from that perspective."
"Go on," Admiral Sengoku said. "Explain."
Diarmuid spoke calmly.
"Let's assume that the Roger Pirates know nothing about this ambush. If that's the case, then where were they originally planning to go? Which sea region was their intended destination?"
He tapped the map lightly.
"I believe that place would also be where Shiki intends to ambush them."
Sengoku paused for a moment.
Then he immediately picked up the Den Den Mushi.
"Send me all recent intelligence reports on the Roger Pirates. Immediately. I want them fast and accurate!"
"Yes, Admiral Sengoku!" the voice on the other end replied instantly.
Sengoku couldn't confirm whether Diarmuid's deduction was correct.
But at the very least—
Diarmuid had given them a new and workable line of reasoning.
And that alone was enough for Sengoku to take it seriously.
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