Over the past two years, Diarmuid's physical limits have been constantly pushed. He was a bit surprised himself. He still hadn't figured out what the black core inside his body was, but he knew for sure that he was able to break his limits so many times because of it.
However, at this point, his progress has slowed. He has moved off the fast track and onto a steady path of ascent. This is completely normal. No one can maintain a rapid, consistent increase in strength forever.
At first, with a large potential base, your strength improves quickly. Once that potential is converted into power, without that large base, the speed of your progress naturally slows down.
According to Zephyr, when you reach their level, it's all a slow grind from there on out. Unless something unexpected happens, you just move forward step by step. There will be no more leaps and bounds, and you might even regress if you're not careful.
After learning this, Diarmuid wasn't bothered by his progress slowing down.
At the same time, he knew he had accumulated a lot of power and it was about time for him to undergo a true combat test.
Having strength alone is not enough. You must also have rich combat experience. Only by being forged in iron and blood can you truly become a powerhouse. Diarmuid never doubted this.
Over the past two years, he has mastered all of the Rokushiki, though he hasn't completely perfected them. According to his understanding and the information he got from Zephyr, the true essence of the Rokushiki lies in completely mastering every aspect of your own body. This mastery even allows you to control yourself and your injuries, a legendary technique known as Life Return.
Among the people he knows at his level, only Onigumo has mastered Life Return. He can freely control his hair with the Rokushiki and use Eight-Sword Style.
Aside from the Rokushiki, he has also gained proficiency in Armament Haki and has just started to get the hang of Observation Haki.
As for the rare Conqueror's Haki, he hasn't awakened it, and he's not even sure if he has it.
Haki also has different stages, from beginner to master, and then extends beyond that.
For example, the advanced stage of Armament Haki is the power known as Ryuo in Wano. It allows you to injure an enemy from a distance by striking them from the inside.
As for Observation Haki, there are richer extensions. Diarmuid knows of two. The first is like Charlotte Katakuri, who can see a short glimpse of the future.
The second is even rarer than seeing the future: the ability to listen to a person's heart.
Diarmuid has never seen this power in the Marines. He doesn't know if the top brass like Zephyr or Garp can use it.
However, he knows that in the future, Enel would achieve this ability by combining his Rumble-Rumble Fruit with "Mantra," which is what he called Observation Haki.
Currently, among pirates, only Patrick Redfield has this power, and he was born with it.
In addition, his swordsmanship has also improved significantly. He is no longer the half-assed swordsman who only knew the basics.
Although he still can't beat Gion, he is doing well.
One regret is that there aren't many schools of swordsmanship in the Marines, and they lack true top-tier swordsmen.
Even the talented mentor Zephyr can't offer much help in this area. Most of the Marine sword wielders rely on their own natural talent.
If someone like Gion could have been taught by a famous swordsman, her strength would probably be much greater than it is now.
So, to be honest, Diarmuid doesn't have high hopes for his own swordsmanship. As long as it's good enough, that's fine.
Furthermore, he has learned a fighting style from Zephyr, which is Zephyr's forte and his signature skill.
Because he was so fond of Diarmuid, he taught him everything without holding anything back.
He also told Diarmuid not to just imitate him. A fighting style, in particular, must be your own. The best fighting style is the one that suits you.
Finally, there's his Devil Fruit ability.
Unfortunately, up to this point, Diarmuid hasn't developed any game-breaking abilities.
He had promised Zephyr that he would improve in all aspects and try not to leave any weaknesses. Therefore, he didn't focus on his Devil Fruit just because of how powerful it was.
He has also adopted some of Zephyr's beliefs, which is that a Devil Fruit ability is just one of many tools to assist you. Your physical foundation must be solid. Only when the two complement each other can you become truly strong.
Perhaps influenced by his memory of Fujitora, Diarmuid subconsciously felt that he needed to master Observation Haki before he could fully utilize the Gravity-Gravity Fruit.
After all, his Observation Haki has only just started. Even if he wanted to pull down meteors from the sky like Fujitora, he couldn't do it.
Even if he could develop his ability to that level, it would be useless if he couldn't lock onto his targets with Observation Haki.
So, he hasn't bothered with any flashy moves for his ability development. He's just been using it to unleash raw power, like in the slash he used on Gion just now.
It's also worth mentioning that with the power of the Gravity-Gravity Fruit, he can constantly increase the gravity on himself. It's an excellent method for training that has greatly increased his physical strength.
So, for now, Diarmuid seems to be a bit of a jack-of-all-trades.
He seems to know everything, but he hasn't shown any outstanding performance in any one area.
This proves what Zephyr warned him about. The path he has chosen is much more difficult than the average person's.
Luckily, Diarmuid isn't in a hurry. Combat is the only way to test your strength. In his recent sparring sessions with his peers, he hasn't lost to anyone in his generation. Not Gion, not Tokikake.
This is only the beginning. Once he truly brings together and masters everything he has learned, he will definitely enter another stage of rapid growth.
Gion no longer cared about him "cheating." After all, she wasn't so obsessed with winning. She knew very well that in terms of overall strength, Diarmuid was stronger than her.
She quickly regained her composure. The two of them opened their water bottles and sat on a stone stool to drink.
"Did you hear?" Gion suddenly asked.
"Hear what?" Diarmuid responded blankly.
How am I supposed to answer when you just drop a line like that?
"Your easy days might be over," Gion said with a gleeful tone.
Diarmuid was a very special case, especially among the sixth Marine Officer Training Camp cadets.
For two years, he hadn't gone on a single field mission. He had practically been a fixture in the meeting rooms, making his contributions there.
Meanwhile, Gion and the others went about their business as usual, doing missions when assigned.
This was the main reason Diarmuid had so much time for training.
"Is that so?" Diarmuid replied calmly.
"You're not surprised at all?" Gion asked, looking a bit confused.
"No, I'm not. Before, the reason I could train at Headquarters was that I had earned major credit, so I didn't need any more for a while. On the other hand, since I was a student at the Marine Officer Training Camp, I had a good reason to stay. Now, our entire class has graduated. You guys all moved out a long time ago. Only I'm still stuck here, staying behind to occasionally mentor the younger cadets.
"But in the end, it's a bit messy. The fact that Sengoku-san has protected me for two whole years is more than enough consideration. The Marines aren't a place to coddle slackers. Now that I have a certain level of power to protect myself, it's only right that I do some real work for the Marines." Diarmuid said very seriously.
"It seems you've thought this through very clearly. Anyway, I heard from Tsuru-nee that you're probably going to be transferred soon," Gion said with a nod.
A hint of curiosity appeared in Diarmuid's eyes. He asked, "Did the Tsuru-san say who I might be assigned to?"
The Marines have a tradition of having veterans guide the new recruits, which is a common practice in most professional militaries.
For example, the current aide system. An Admiral has a Vice Admiral aide, a Vice Admiral has a Rear Admiral aide, and a Rear Admiral has a Commodore aide.
Of course, this isn't set in stone. Just as Kuzan once wanted to make Lieutenant Commander Diarmuid his aide, it's possible to skip ranks.
Therefore, even though Diarmuid is a Commodore, he doesn't necessarily have to follow a Rear Admiral.
"Garp said he wanted you to join him," Gion said with a smile.
Diarmuid's face darkened. He was clearly very displeased.
Garp is very strong, highly respected, and a Marine hero.
But while you can be his colleague or his friend, if you become his subordinate, you are truly playing with your life. Sometimes, you wouldn't even know what killed you.
Because when that guy gets an idea, he'll do anything.
Combined with his reckless nature, he brings in credit but also causes constant trouble.
So, if you become his subordinate, not only is your safety at risk, but you also have to be ready to take the fall for him at any moment!
Diarmuid now realized that the reason Kuzan hadn't been promoted to Vice Admiral in recent years might be because of his own personality, but it was more likely that he often had to take the fall for that guy, Garp.
So, Diarmuid was absolutely not willing to work under Garp!
"You don't seem happy about it?" Gion asked, amused, as she looked at Diarmuid.
Diarmuid gave Gion a look. "Isn't that obvious? If it were you, would you be happy?"
"Of course not," Gion said without hesitation.
Perhaps in the entire Marines, only Kuzan would be happy to be Garp's subordinate.
The two of them were completely repulsed by the idea of working for the great Marine hero.
"Don't worry," Gion said with a smile. "Tsuru told me that Sengoku-san immediately rejected Garp's idea."
"Hahahahaha, the Admiral is still looking out for me!" Diarmuid said, feeling relieved.
After a short pause, Gion whispered, "My guess is that you might become Admiral Sengoku's aide."
"Hm?" Diarmuid froze for a moment, then asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with Borsalino?"
Over the past two years, Borsalino's position had indeed shifted a bit. This was why Diarmuid suspected there might have been some disagreement between him and Admiral Sengoku.
Gion shook her head. "Nothing's wrong, but Borsalino is going to be put in charge of the Science Unit. He's going to lead his own force, so he can no longer be Sengoku-san's aide…"
"I see," Diarmuid said with a nod, now understanding.
He had heard about this a long time ago, so he wasn't surprised.
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