Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside the Marine Officer Training Camp, Diarmuid and Gion were sparring.
Diarmuid looked much more mature now. Why? Because nearly two years had passed since he was promoted to Marine Headquarters Commodore.
It was the beginning of the year 1498 in the pirate calendar. Over the past two years, the world had been in a state of flux, with constant change and turmoil. But none of it had much to do with Diarmuid, who had been quietly focusing on his training in Marineford.
He would report to the weekly Marine strategic meetings at a fixed time to keep up with the current situation, like clocking in for work. The rest of the time, he was in the Marine Officer Training Camp, training with Zephyr.
The elites of the sixth Marine Officer Training Camp had all graduated not long ago.
Momonga, Yamakaji, and the others were all promoted to Marine Headquarters Captain immediately after graduation. It was said that they already had the qualifications for Commodore and only needed to earn enough credit to enter the flag officer ranks.
This showed the advantage of being a cadet at the Marine Officer Training Camp.
Anyone who received systematic training here would start with a much higher position than the average Marine. As long as you didn't do something reckless, you could usually advance to a flag officer.
This was only the beginning. In the future, the Marine Officer Training Camp's influence on Marine Headquarters would be immense. In about twenty years, almost all the elite flag and field officers would have come from here.
They were the ones who would support the future of the Marines.
Of course, there were also those who courted disaster, like Smoker. That guy originally had a bright future. As a Logia user, he received immediate attention and was sent to train under Zephyr. But because of his troublemaker personality, he was eventually sent to the East Blue to guard a backwater island not long after he graduated and left Headquarters.
Diarmuid might not have had an exceptionally amazing talent, but he was incredibly diligent. For two years, he never once relaxed his training, rain or shine.
Perhaps it was diligence making up for lack of talent, or perhaps his talent was quite good after all. Under Zephyr's guidance, his strength had undergone a massive transformation.
Gion, who was sparring with Diarmuid, could feel this change most clearly.
It was worth noting that Gion had also been promoted to Marine Headquarters Commodore not long ago.
For two years, they had sparred frequently.
In terms of pure swordsmanship, Gion had initially crushed Diarmuid. But six months ago, she had to start taking him seriously.
Now, Diarmuid wouldn't lose to her so easily. Even though he still lost more than he won, their bouts were always exciting.
And that was just with swordsmanship. Once Diarmuid used his ability, Gion was no match for him at all.
Nagasone Kotetsu, with a layer of Haki wrapped around it, slammed hard into Gion's Konpira. Since neither of them was an expert in Haki, their clash didn't create the violent shockwaves seen in the battles of true Haki masters.
After parrying Nagasone Kotetsu, Gion used a burst of force, and her figure vanished from Diarmuid's sight.
It was Soru, one of the Rokushiki!
At the same time, a flash of light appeared in Diarmuid's eyes. He swung Nagasone Kotetsu, performing a sharp, blind slash behind him.
Sure enough, in the next instant, the sharp Konpira collided with Nagasone Kotetsu.
"Your Observation Haki has gotten much better, too!" Gion said in admiration as she blocked the attack.
She considered herself to have excellent talent and an extremely fast growth rate, but she had to admit that Diarmuid was growing even faster.
But she wasn't jealous, because she knew that Diarmuid's effort was far greater than hers.
"It's getting there," Diarmuid said with a light chuckle.
As he spoke, his feet flickered, and his figure disappeared. He was also using Soru.
"Tekkai!" Gion shouted.
Her graceful figure became rigid, and at the same time, she quickly covered herself with a certain level of Haki.
Diarmuid's slash landed abruptly on her arm, but due to the combination of Tekkai and Haki, it failed to cause any significant damage.
"I heard you went drinking with Dragon yesterday?" Gion asked as she blocked the attack.
"Yeah, that guy has been acting strange lately. He seems to be in a bad mood, and Kuzan told me to go and talk to him if I had time," Diarmuid replied with a smile.
"I noticed he was in a bad mood, too. Ever since he came back from that escort mission for the Celestial Dragons, his normally cheerful personality has become a lot more somber. He even had a huge fight with Garp the other day," Gion said as she continued to spar with Diarmuid.
Monkey D. Dragon.
He was the biological son of Marine hero Monkey D. Garp. Among the new generation of Marines, he was considered a top-tier fighter and the one with the deepest background.
After all, Zephyr's son was already dead, Sengoku hadn't started a family, and Tsuru was also single. Therefore, Dragon was the top-tier "scion" in the Marines. Even Rosinante couldn't compare to him.
As the son of a hero, Dragon also received a lot of attention. He was groomed by various high-ranking officers since he was a child, and as a result, he was extremely powerful.
Kuzan had mentioned before that Sakazuki had sparred with Dragon several times and had been defeated more often than not. The few times Sakazuki did win were likely because Dragon was letting him win to save face.
Dragon was also an elite Vice Admiral at Marine Headquarters and had earned a lot of credit fighting for the Marines all over the world.
To Garp, Dragon was his pride. To the Marines, if Dragon continued to develop normally, the position of Admiral was practically guaranteed.
It wasn't even impossible for him to become Fleet Admiral in the future.
Originally, things should have developed that way.
Until not long ago, Dragon performed a political mission for the Marines: escorting a Celestial Dragon.
The mission was completed successfully, but when Dragon returned, he had changed a lot, and his emotions were very unstable.
Putting their ranks aside, Dragon and Diarmuid were also friends.
They had been in contact frequently over the past two years.
Since the day he officially became a Marine Headquarters Commodore in Admiral Sengoku's office, Diarmuid had truly felt how his life had changed.
Before, he had also received a lot of help from Sengoku and Zephyr.
But in essence, he was still a minor character. Even though he could follow Kuzan and Borsalino, he was still more like an errand boy. He wasn't on the same level as them.
But after becoming a Commodore, it was different. He no longer needed to rely on them to participate in many important Marine affairs.
He could participate in various meetings and offer his own thoughts and suggestions, gradually stepping onto the stage of Marine internal politics.
This was the same platform as them.
During this time, he met many members of Headquarters and became good friends with many of them due to his personality.
Even Sakazuki would greet Diarmuid and say hello when he saw him.
Now, all the Marine flag officers knew that Diarmuid was a Gravity-Gravity Fruit user, a genuine graduate of the sixth Marine Officer Training Camp, the favorite and most valued disciple of Zephyr, and a new-gen member of Admiral Sengoku's faction.
In addition to his famous diligence and hard work, his strength was also changing every day. No one doubted whether Diarmuid would shine in the future.
Because it was already a given. When his training was complete, he was sure to become one of the Marine elites!
"Is that so? He didn't tell me he had a fight with his dad," Diarmuid said with a smile.
He wasn't surprised by Dragon's change.
After all, from the first time he met Dragon, he knew that they couldn't be comrades forever.
Unlike him, a "pragmatist," Dragon was a "revolutionary" with grand ambitions.
Diarmuid didn't have such grand aspirations for his country, his people, or the world. He just wanted to get a foothold in the Marines, climb to the top, and preferably gain more power to become an Admiral or Fleet Admiral so he could live a better life and use his power and strength to influence the world. That was all.
As for the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, and whether they were corrupt or not, he didn't care about that right now. As long as it didn't endanger his own interests, he was indifferent.
But it was precisely because of this difference that Diarmuid understood that Dragon would leave the Marines sooner or later.
It was now the beginning of the year 1498 in the pirate calendar. From his memory, it was in this very year that Roger conquered the Grand Line and became the Pirate King.
He didn't know the exact time, but from the current situation in the New World, it was probably at the end of the year.
If that was the case, at most two years later, in the year 1500, Roger would be at the end of his life. When he was executed in Loguetown in the East Blue, Dragon would have already left the Marines and started his own thing.
So, he could deduce that Dragon would pack up and leave within two years at the latest.
At this time, no one in the Marines would ever think that such a thing would happen. No one would think that Dragon would abandon everything he had, even his bright and stable future, and betray the Marines!
Diarmuid didn't think about stopping Dragon, because he simply couldn't.
And there was no need to.
He didn't continue the conversation about Dragon. He parried Gion's attack with a single slash and said with a serious expression, "Be careful. I'm going to use my ability."
"Hey, you bastard, that's cheating!" Gion's face changed as she scolded him.
As soon as she said that, she heard Diarmuid say in a low voice, "Gravity Blade: Tiger's Bite!"
A strange force instantly spread out from Diarmuid's body and gathered on Nagasone Kotetsu. Nagasone Kotetsu, which was already covered in Haki, now had a faint purple aura around it.
As the aura wrapped around the blade, it transformed into the shape of a ferocious tiger, which charged at Gion with great force.
At the same time, Gion felt an immense pressure hit her. Since that bastard Diarmuid changed his move too quickly, she couldn't react in time. Her body couldn't resist the pressure, and she was sent flying backward, just like a tiger pouncing on its prey.
Diarmuid spun Nagasone Kotetsu in a graceful motion in the air. As he sheathed the blade, the invisible gravity on Gion also dissipated.
This saved the "Flower of the Marines" from landing in a disgraceful heap. She rolled a couple of times in the air and landed on her feet with a stumble.
"You bastard! We agreed not to use abilities!" Gion yelled as soon as she landed.
"Hahahaha, if I don't use my ability, I can't beat you with just swordsmanship!" Diarmuid said with a big laugh.
He wasn't ashamed of it at all. He was indeed not as good as Gion at swordsmanship, but so what? It's not like swordsmanship was the only thing he relied on!
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