Today, Admiral Sengoku seemed to be in a particularly good mood.
When Diermude and the others arrived at his office, Sengoku was sitting comfortably by the tea table, happily sipping tea.
"You're here," Sengoku greeted them with a smile.
Garp didn't respond at all. He casually sat down on the sofa, grabbed the teapot, and poured himself a cup of tea.
Zephyr, on the other hand, asked calmly, "What's the matter?"
"I have some good news for you," Sengoku replied with a smile.
Then he picked up a document from the table and waved it slightly.
"Major Diermude—congratulations."
Diermude froze for a moment before excitement flashed across his face. He stepped forward and asked,
"Admiral… don't tell me I'm getting promoted?"
"Our Navy has always rewarded merit and punished wrongdoing clearly," Sengoku nodded.
"In the Battle of Edd War, you deserve the greatest credit."
Hearing this, Diermude's heart burned with excitement.
Here it comes.
My first mission since arriving at Headquarters, and I'm already getting promoted!
At the same time, he silently praised his own foresight.
Saving Rosinante back on Minion Island, even at the risk of his life, had clearly been the right move.
It was precisely from that moment that he had truly entered Sengoku's field of vision and gradually gained his attention.
Otherwise, how could he possibly have had the chance to follow Sengoku and participate in the chaos of the Edd War battle?
And without that opportunity, he wouldn't have found the Gravity Fruit, nor earned such merit.
Thinking of this, Diermude strengthened his resolve.
He absolutely had to hold tightly onto this powerful backing.
Who knew—maybe in the future he might even inherit the position of Fleet Admiral?
After all, Sengoku himself had once said:
A Marine who doesn't want to become Fleet Admiral isn't a good Marine.
Watching Diermude's excited expression, Sengoku seemed to recall what he himself had been like when he was younger and had just received a promotion.
He too had been full of ambition.
After years of struggling and climbing step by step in the Navy, he had reached the rank of Admiral.
But his ambitions hadn't stopped there.
He still wanted to become Fleet Admiral, and even dreamed of becoming Commander-in-Chief of the entire military.
So when he saw Diermude's undisguised ambition, he didn't dislike it at all.
As a Marine, what was wrong with pursuing higher status, greater strength, and even more authority?
Nothing.
As long as one could uphold the bottom line of justice while pursuing those things, it was acceptable.
From certain angles, Sengoku felt that Diermude resembled his younger self.
"Effective immediately, Major Diermude is promoted to Commodore of Marine Headquarters," Sengoku announced with a smile.
He then handed the document to Diermude.
"Yes! Everything for Justice!" Diermude snapped to attention and saluted.
Only after that did he accept the promotion document.
Commodore.
He had skipped directly over the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel in one leap.
To be honest, Diermude had already suspected something like this might happen.
He had changed the outcome of the Edd War battle, allowing the Navy to reap enormous benefits.
Combined with his recent close relationship with the Navy's top brass, there was a high chance he would be promoted.
However, in his original expectations, becoming a Marine Headquarters Colonel would already have been excellent.
After all, officers like Momonga were still only Lieutenant Colonels, and they had arrived at Headquarters several years earlier than him.
Yet Sengoku had gone even further.
He had elevated Diermude directly from a field-grade officer into the general-grade ranks.
Even if it was the lowest rank among Marine Headquarters generals—
Commodore.
It was still enough to make Diermude extremely excited.
He felt deep gratitude.
He wasn't even twenty years old yet.
He had been at Headquarters for less than half a year, and he had already risen from a North Blue branch Colonel to a Headquarters Commodore.
At this rate—
Would the rank of Admiral really be that far away?
In fact, when Sengoku originally allowed Borsalino to bring Diermude along on the mission, he had already intended to cultivate him.
His initial thought had been that if the opportunity arose, he could at least promote Diermude to Lieutenant Colonel afterward.
Even though Sengoku had the authority to directly promote someone, he still preferred to maintain the appearance of fairness.
So Diermude needed to accumulate some merits first.
But Diermude's performance had been far too outstanding.
If it had merely been excellent performance, Sengoku would probably have raised him one step higher and made him a Headquarters Colonel.
That would have been the most reasonable promotion.
However, because of the Gravity Fruit, Diermude had suddenly become a young Marine with immense potential.
After careful consideration, Sengoku finally decided to push him directly into the general ranks.
Although the terms "general officers" and "field officers" were often spoken together in the Navy—
The difference between them was enormous.
Anyone who wore a general's insignia at Headquarters could already be considered one of the Navy's central pillars.
At the same time, once someone entered the general ranks—even as the lowest Commodore—they gained the qualification to participate in high-level Navy meetings.
In other words—
If another major event like the Edd War battle occurred, Diermude would no longer need Sengoku or Borsalino to bring him along.
He would have the right to attend strategic meetings on his own.
That was the biggest difference between general officers and field officers.
Decision-makers vs. executors.
"Ara ara… when I joined the Navy, it still took me over a year to become a general officer," Kuzan said with a grin.
"I didn't expect you to surpass me so quickly."
Kuzan had joined the Navy already possessing his Devil Fruit ability.
In fact, Sakazuki and Borsalino had been the same.
Because of their powerful abilities, they were heavily valued and trained by the Navy after joining, earning the reputation of 'monster rookies'.
Even so, Kuzan had still taken more than a year to reach the general ranks.
Meanwhile, Diermude had jumped straight to Commodore.
"Hahaha," Diermude laughed.
"That's why I told you sticking with you had no future."
"When we were hospitalized together, I said it wouldn't be long before I caught up to you."
"And now? I'm only one step away, aren't I—Major General Kuzan?"
At that moment, Zephyr gently placed a hand on Diermude's shoulder and smiled at Kuzan.
"That's different."
"If you count properly, Diermude has been in the Navy for almost eight years. You can't just count from when he arrived at Marineford."
Only then did everyone suddenly realize.
They had been so focused on how quickly Diermude rose after arriving at Headquarters that they almost forgot—
This kid had joined the Navy at twelve years old.
He had served nearly eight years, climbing step by step from a menial helper to where he stood now.
In that sense, he was actually a veteran Marine.
Thinking about it that way, the promotion suddenly seemed more reasonable.
After finishing discussions about Diermude's promotion, Sengoku finalized the merits of Kuzan, Borsalino, and the others for their roles in the operation.
Although they didn't receive promotions like Diermude, they still received significant commendations.
Diermude had originally thought Kuzan might take the opportunity to become a Vice Admiral, since both Sakazuki and Borsalino already held that rank.
But that didn't happen.
Later, Diermude learned the reason.
It was largely due to age and experience.
At Marineford, becoming a Rear Admiral wasn't particularly difficult.
But advancing further required substantial seniority and operational experience.
After all, Vice Admirals were among the Navy's true elite leadership.
If someone lacking experience made mistakes during major operations, the consequences would be severe.
Therefore, unless someone achieved extraordinary merit, they had to spend time building experience after reaching Rear Admiral before being promoted further.
As for Sakazuki and Borsalino—
They had joined the Navy two or three years earlier than Kuzan.
Sakazuki had performed great military feats, while Borsalino had accumulated extensive experience under Sengoku's command.
They had only recently become Vice Admirals a few months before Diermude arrived at Marineford.
So Kuzan still needed more time.
After the rewards and promotions were settled, Sengoku turned to Diermude.
"Diermude, you're probably the youngest Commodore at Marine Headquarters in recent years."
"Thank you for the guidance and support, seniors," Diermude replied sincerely.
"That's only natural," Sengoku said calmly.
"You've demonstrated that you're worth cultivating."
He paused briefly before speaking in a serious tone.
"So I'm going to give you a warning in advance."
Diermude nodded.
"Yes."
"For the foreseeable future, don't think about promotions," Sengoku said.
Originally, because of the Rosinante incident, Sengoku had planned to remove many barriers for Diermude's advancement.
But Diermude had become a Commodore far too quickly.
If Sengoku didn't slow things down now, it wouldn't help him—it would harm him.
While saying this, Sengoku quietly observed Diermude's reaction.
After hearing it, Diermude showed no dissatisfaction, surprise, or disappointment.
Sengoku nodded inwardly.
Good.
He continued:
"You're only nineteen, not even twenty yet."
"Although you've served in the Navy for many years, you haven't received systematic training or education. Your strength also hasn't fully converted your potential into real power."
"This promotion to Commodore is already quite exceptional."
"So for the next period of time, I hope you suppress your desire for status and authority."
"Focus entirely on improving your strength and military knowledge."
"Do you understand?"
Although Sengoku was clearly putting a brake on Diermude's promotion path, Diermude wasn't foolish.
He could hear the care and protection hidden in Sengoku's words.
It was true.
Even though he had been in the Navy for years, he lacked systematic education and military knowledge.
As for strength—
He now had the foundation to become powerful, but that potential hadn't yet turned into real power.
Those were his shortcomings.
A pirate only needed strength to fight and plunder.
But a Marine also needed military capability and strategic understanding.
"Yes, Admiral!" Diermude declared firmly.
"I won't disappoint your expectations!"
Sengoku nodded with satisfaction.
Then he looked at Zephyr.
"I'll leave this kid to you. Make sure he becomes a real talent."
"Perfect," Zephyr grinned.
"That's exactly what I'm good at."
Sengoku nodded before turning back to Diermude.
"That said, the reason I promoted you to Commodore is so you can legitimately participate in high-level meetings."
"So unless something unexpected happens, you won't need to go on field missions for a while."
"Focus on training, studying, attending meetings, and quickly familiarizing yourself with Marineford's operations."
"Use your intelligence to contribute to the Navy."
"Yes!"
Diermude responded immediately.
"Everything for Justice!"
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