Wednesdays were basically the days when the senior Marine officers at Headquarters went to fixed meetings.
Most of the flag officers in Marineford who weren't on field duty would go to the large conference room for a meeting.
However, these meetings weren't that important. They usually just summarized the work progress and relayed the next steps and strategies.
This was also the type of Marine meeting that Diarmuid attended most often.
After getting up and getting ready in his dorm in the early morning, and eating breakfast, Diarmuid walked toward the conference room inside the Marine Headquarters.
Over the past two years, Diarmuid's appearance hadn't changed much. He still had neat, short black hair. His height had grown to about 6 feet 3 inches, which would be considered tall in his original world, but was quite normal here.
People like Kuzan were over 9 feet tall. Standing next to them put a lot of pressure on you.
Diarmuid's build was also more muscular. He wasn't overly bulky, but his body was very dense and solid, with excellent proportions.
He wore a pair of high-top combat boots and black, durable work pants. On his upper body was a plain white short-sleeved shirt. In short, Diarmuid was dressed very casually.
As a flag officer, there was no need to wear the standard Marine uniform all day. Most flag officers preferred to wear suits. Diarmuid also had a black suit that Zephyr gave him for his twentieth birthday, but he didn't usually wear it.
Of course, as a flag officer, even if you don't have to wear the standard Marine uniform all the time, you still have to wear the Coat of Justice.
So, Diarmuid also had a Coat of Justice draped over his shoulders. The word "Justice" was written on the back, and his Commodore rank was on his epaulets.
As he walked, many Marines saluted and greeted him. Diarmuid would also nod back kindly.
After entering the Marine Headquarters and walking through a few hallways, Diarmuid arrived at the conference room door. The door was open, and it was clear that not everyone had arrived yet.
He knew the way by heart and walked in naturally, as he was used to it by now.
However, he was a bit surprised after he entered. He knew people hadn't all arrived, but this was too few.
Only Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, Gion, and Tsuru were there.
Zephyr never participated in these routine meetings, so it was normal for him not to be there. Garp was a bit odd, though. His aide, Kuzan, was there, which meant Garp should be at Headquarters, yet he wasn't there?
Well, maybe he's on his way... Diarmuid thought.
Sengoku wasn't there either, so he was probably on his way, too.
But what about everyone else? Where were the other Marine Vice Admirals, Rear Admirals, and Commodores? Not a single one was present.
"Hurry up and come in. What are you doing standing at the door?" Sengoku's voice came from behind Diarmuid.
Diarmuid snapped out of his thoughts and said with a smile, "Yes, Admiral."
After Diarmuid came in and sat down in his seat, Sengoku also sat down at the head of the table. He looked at everyone and said, "Alright, everyone's here. Let's start today's discussion."
Diarmuid looked confused. What do you mean everyone's here?
Not even a third of the people are here!
But he turned to look at the others and saw they all had calm expressions on their faces. This made him even more confused.
It seems like I'm the only one who finds this strange.
Kuzan seemed to notice Diarmuid's confusion and said with a smile, "Didn't you pay attention when you got the notice? It's just us today."
"I didn't get a notice at all…" Diarmuid said helplessly.
Gion looked surprised and said, "Huh? Did I not tell you the day before yesterday?"
Diarmuid rolled his eyes. "Of course not. You just chatted for a bit after we finished sparring and then left…"
"Ah, I must have forgotten. Hahahaha." Gion scratched her head.
Fortunately, it wasn't a big deal. After a brief chat, the misunderstanding was cleared up.
Sengoku also smiled and tapped the table with his hand. "I called you here today because there are some matters that need to be discussed and resolved. Tsuru, start with the current situation in the New World."
Tsuru nodded when she heard this. Then she said, "The Golden Lion's great pirate fleet, which was destroyed in the Edd War Sea more than two years ago, has been rebuilt by Shiki. While it's certainly weaker compared to its former power, there's no doubt that Shiki is still the most significant threat we, the Marines, need to worry about."
Shiki escaped during the Battle of Edd War, and now he was rising again. This was a normal piece of news, and no one was surprised.
Tsuru continued, "Regarding the Poneglyphs, we can confirm that the Roger Pirates are indeed looking for them. And the guy on their ship named Kozuki Oden is from the Kozuki Clan of Wano. We have reason to believe that he can read the Ancient Language…"
Kozuki Oden was a person who joined the Roger Pirates about six months to a year ago. Before that, Marine intelligence had him on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship.
Later, it was said that the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates met on an island and fought for several days and nights. No one knew who won, but Kozuki Oden, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, inexplicably became a member of the Roger Pirates.
According to the intelligence the Marines received, Kozuki Oden was extremely powerful. His addition made the Roger Pirates even more formidable, filling the void left after Douglas Bullet left the crew.
The Marines had known about the Roger Pirates looking for the Poneglyphs for a long time, almost since the Battle of Edd War.
But because of their focus, the Marines also knew some of the inside story. For example, they knew that the Roger Pirates weren't trying to revive the Ancient Weapons. Instead, they were using the Poneglyphs to find an island that didn't exist.
It had to be said that this was very consistent with the Roger Pirates' usual style.
In reality, even though he was very worried, Sengoku didn't think the Roger Pirates had any intention of destroying the world.
But still, it's better to kill the wrong person than to let a threat go free.
Over the past two years, the Marines had indeed increased their efforts to wipe out the Roger Pirates. However, because of the unique nature of their crew, they were hard to find. And even if they were found, it was difficult to capture them, so there had been no results so far.
"Someone who might be able to read the Ancient Language?" Sengoku murmured. Then he looked at everyone and said, "I'm sure you're all aware that there have been some strange scholars on the seas recently. We don't know where they came from, but they seem to be obsessed with finding the Poneglyphs and studying the Ancient Language. The World Government has issued a new directive, asking us Marines to cooperate with Cipher Pol to investigate this matter as soon as possible and bring these law-breaking scholars to justice. We must ensure that the Ancient Weapons are not revived!"
Ohara… A glint appeared in Diarmuid's eyes. He thought to himself.
It was now the year 1498 in the pirate calendar, and from his memory, Ohara was officially discovered by the Marines in 1502. Sengoku personally signed the Buster Call order, completely destroying the island of knowledge known as the "Holy Land of Archeology."
The timing seemed about right. After all, before Ohara was destroyed, scholars like Nico Olvia had been searching for the Poneglyphs for several years and had been pursued by the Marines and Cipher Pol for several years before they were finally caught.
Diarmuid's feelings about Ohara were quite complex. After all, what happened at Ohara was not a matter of right or wrong. You could only say that their positions were different, and they had only themselves to blame.
As rulers, the World Government naturally didn't want the scholars to dig up their dark history and announce it to the world. It would severely damage the World Government's authority and could even cause large-scale chaos.
The Marines, on the other hand, were wary of the revival of the Ancient Weapons. This was an even more serious matter. The Ancient Weapons were said to be able to destroy the world. If there was even a hint of a threat, it should be nipped in the bud. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be about one island. The entire world would be in danger. If some ambitious people like Shiki were to use them, who knows how many people would die.
So, Sengoku was ruthless. Once he confirmed that Ohara was studying the Ancient Language and deciphering the Poneglyphs, which could leak or revive the Ancient Weapons, he immediately signed the Buster Call and destroyed Ohara.
As for the scholars, as historians, they had a legitimate reason to preserve the past, study history, and pursue the truth.
But their mistake was that they didn't have enough strength. They didn't have enough power to protect themselves and their research. Once information about the Ancient Language and Ancient Weapons leaked, even if the World Government didn't kill them, would ambitious people like Shiki let them go?
With their power, what could they protect?
They couldn't protect anything. They would either all be killed by ambitious pirates, or the Ancient Weapons would be unleashed, bringing an even greater disaster to the world. There were no other possibilities.
In addition, for eight hundred years, the World Government had expressly forbidden this, making it a major crime. The scholars, for the sake of their so-called "noble pursuit," knowingly broke the law and disregarded the safety of the world. Therefore, Diarmuid didn't feel any sympathy for them. In the end, they had only themselves to blame.
The only regret was for the innocent civilians who were senselessly killed at Ohara because of the scholars.
Oh, and of course, Nico Robin. Since she was one of the main characters in the story he watched, Diarmuid still had a good feeling about her.
But that slight good feeling wasn't enough to make Diarmuid sacrifice his future for Ohara. Would he be crazy to do that?
In Diarmuid's opinion, any scholar in this era who understood the significance of their actions but still stubbornly pursued the Poneglyphs and Ancient Language brought it on themselves. They deserved their fate.
But knowledge is innocent. The knowledge on the Tree of Knowledge and Ohara should be preserved. He'll see if he can make that happen. That would be his contribution to civilization.
As Diarmuid was thinking about this, Tsuru said, "After this, I will order my subordinates to cooperate. However, for now, it seems that Kozuki Oden of the Roger Pirates is not an ally of those strange scholars."
"We'll find out from further intelligence," Sengoku said with a nod.
For now, no one took those strange scholars seriously.
"Next topic: the matter of Fleet Admiral Kong inspecting the Marine G-1 Base in the New World…" Sengoku said softly.
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