The current objective for the Marines is to strengthen their control over the New World.
Fleet Admiral Kong's visit to the G-1 Marine Base was a way to boost the morale of the Marines on the front lines. It might seem unnecessary, but it was crucial. The Fleet Admiral's arrival represented the importance that Marine Headquarters placed on this area and on the New World, which could greatly increase the fighting spirit of the Marines there.
Morale is intangible and hard to pin down, but sometimes, it can play a crucial role.
"Ah, G-1… It's been a few years since I've been here," Kong said with a sigh of emotion as he looked at the magnificent G-1 Marine Base in the distance.
"Once we regain control of the New World, no one will say anything even if you move Marine Headquarters here, Fleet Admiral," Kuzan said with a laugh.
Diarmuid looked at Kuzan in surprise, thinking to himself, This guy is a real prophet. The Marine Headquarters really would be moved here, even if it wasn't by Fleet Admiral Kong.
"Nonsense. Marineford has been a three-in-one system for eight hundred years and has never moved," Kong said with a smile, waving his hand.
This "three-in-one system" was the key reason Marineford had remained standing in the first half of the Grand Line for eight hundred years.
This system was the "Trinity of Justice," built from the Marineford, the great deep-sea prison Impel Down, and the Never-Night Island, Enies Lobby.
These three strongholds were arranged in a triangle, with each at a corner. They were connected by the Gates of Justice, which used a vortex sea current to allow warships to travel at extreme speeds between them.
Diarmuid knew that it would take five days to travel from Marineford to Impel Down or Enies Lobby by normal routes, but using the sea current, it would only take half a day.
That's how fast it was!
The "Trinity" was a concept built on this foundation. If one of the three fortresses was in trouble, the other two could quickly send reinforcements. So, to attack one was to attack all three.
Throughout history, no one had ever been able to conquer all three fortresses. Therefore, they had remained standing for eight hundred years.
Until twenty years later, when the Straw Hat Pirates, who seemed to be cheating, wreaked havoc on all three.
Back then, Diarmuid didn't quite understand it, but now he could only lament that it was all a matter of timing and fate.
There was no need to say much about Enies Lobby. The Marines sent a Buster Call fleet, and if the Going Merry hadn't suddenly shown up and saved the Straw Hat Pirates, that would have been the end for them. What else could you call that but cheating?
Next, Impel Down was breached because Marineford was already too busy preparing for war, anticipating an attack from the World's Strongest Man, Edward Newgate. With the Warlord of the Sea, Marshall D. Teach, acting as a mole, the prison was finally broken into. At the same time, Enies Lobby had just been leveled and was being rebuilt, and Impel Down was dealing with its own jailbreak, so neither had the power to reinforce Marineford.
So, you could say that the Whitebeard Pirates took advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attack Marineford right when the "Trinity of Justice" was not at full power. Otherwise, Whitebeard would never have been able to chew through the three fortresses.
As Diarmuid thought about these random things, he looked at the distant G-1 Marine Base. As the battleship got closer, he suddenly noticed a small boat on the sea nearby. The boat was about the size of a Marine lifeboat and looked like a tiny skiff.
In an instant, Diarmuid thought of something and was secretly surprised. Mihawk?
After all, he could only think of one person who dared to sail the seas like that: the future World's Strongest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk. The one who travels the seas without oars, relying only on the waves.
Even though he would become the World's Strongest Swordsman someday, based on Diarmuid's intel, the current Mihawk was completely unknown. Diarmuid was surprised to run into him here.
Diarmuid's expression seemed to catch Kong and Kuzan's attention. They stopped their conversation and looked in the direction he was staring. Their expressions turned to surprise. This was the New World, after all. Someone traveling like that was bound to be an extraordinary person.
Kuzan didn't recognize the person, as the distance was too great to see clearly. But Kong's face changed as if he'd just realized something. "That method… it's that bastard!"
Mihawk shouldn't be a big deal yet, right? What's with the panicked look on your face, Fleet Admiral? Diarmuid thought to himself, completely baffled.
He couldn't believe that with himself, Kuzan, and the Fleet Admiral there, they couldn't handle a single Mihawk. If so, he wouldn't be the World's Strongest Swordsman; he'd be the World's Strongest Man!
But before Diarmuid could ask anything, Kong said in a grim tone, "Get the cannons ready!"
Kuzan was stunned for a moment, but he quickly relayed the Fleet Admiral's order. He then asked, "Fleet Admiral, who is this?"
"He's a troublesome enemy. Patrick Redfield… only he would travel the seas like this!" Kong said in a very serious voice.
As soon as he said that, both Diarmuid and Kuzan were dumbfounded.
Patrick Redfield. The name was both famous and unknown. Unknown because you rarely heard it as he wasn't very active, and few people knew or had seen him. But famous because he was extremely powerful.
Sengoku once said that Redfield stood on the same level as Roger, Shiki, and Newgate on his own. He was a truly formidable pirate.
Of course, Garp had also said that he wasn't worthy of leaving his name in history. This wasn't because he was weak or that Sengoku had overestimated him, but because of Redfield's solitary nature.
Patrick Redfield had no crew and was incredibly arrogant. Whatever he did, he did alone. But he was so powerful that few people could stop him, which made him a huge threat, as he was a strong and self-serving man.
In other words, he had a strong chaotic side, and you could never predict what he would do next or what kind of harm he would bring to the world.
And at that moment, Diarmuid finally remembered what he had missed!
This is the place where Fleet Admiral Kong was defeated!
In his memory, Kong had fought a great battle with Redfield before the start of the Great Pirate Era, and it ended in a mutual loss. But Redfield had a slight edge in stamina, and while he collapsed after Kong did, he was considered the winner. So, you could say he defeated a Marine Fleet Admiral.
How incredible was that?
Of course, after that, he was taken advantage of by Vice Admiral Garp, who had arrived on the scene and captured him without any effort. He was then sent to Impel Down for his "rehabilitation," where he stayed for more than twenty years until Marshall D. Teach caused a riot, allowing Redfield to escape.
Diarmuid wasn't sure what had happened in the original story, but he knew that his own butterfly effect had changed things. For example, Vice Admiral Garp, who should have been here, wasn't… instead, it was him and Kuzan!
"Fire the cannons! Sink him!" Kong ordered as soon as the cannons were ready.
At the same time, he turned to Kuzan and said, "Contact G-1! Have them block off the surrounding waters! We can't let that bastard get away! Since we ran into him, let's take him out!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!" Kuzan quickly pulled out his Den Den Mushi to respond.
At the same time, the cannons on the battleship roared, and a large number of cannonballs flew toward the tiny skiff.
Redfield truly lived up to his name, "Red the Aloof." Facing this situation, he had no intention of running away. It was almost as if he had been waiting for Kong to arrive. But that should be impossible. The Fleet Admiral's travel plans were a top-tier Marine secret…
As Diarmuid was thinking, he suddenly froze. No, it might be impossible for others, but Redfield might be able to do it.
Because he has the ability to listen to hearts!
"Fleet Admiral, we've lost contact with G-1!" Kuzan said, turning to look at Kong in surprise.
Diarmuid's face sank. He was now absolutely certain. Redfield was waiting for Kong right here. This guy was just too audacious. As expected, the more solitary these guys were, the harder it was to predict their actions. The future Mihawk was like this, and so was the current Redfield!
From the current situation, it could be inferred that Redfield had gone crazy and attacked the G-1 Marine Base. And in the process, he had used his ability to "listen to hearts" and learned that the G-1 base was waiting for Fleet Admiral Kong to arrive.
Then, this insanely audacious bastard might have thought he could take advantage of this opportunity to kill the Fleet Admiral… so he came here to ambush them!
In reality, this was a perfect opportunity. A Marine Fleet Admiral rarely left Marineford, and their travels were highly confidential. So, trying to kill a Marine Fleet Admiral was almost impossible outside of an attack on Marineford itself. But no one in the world was powerful enough to kill a Fleet Admiral inside Marineford!
So, for a ruthless man like Redfield, the Fleet Admiral appearing here was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill him!
Arrogant! He's too arrogant!
Thousands of thoughts ran through his mind, but in reality, only a moment had passed. The dense barrage of cannonballs was still flying. But before they could land on the little skiff, a single sword slash swept across, destroying all of them in mid-air.
At the same time, the slash didn't lose momentum and flew directly toward the battleship.
A gleam flashed in Diarmuid's eyes. While Redfield was confident, Diarmuid knew the outcome. Although Kong lost the battle, it was a Marine secret. From the final result, the Marines had won and captured Redfield.
If Vice Admiral Garp could get the credit, why can't I, Diarmuid?
Maybe this crisis is also a chance to make a name for myself.
With that thought, Diarmuid acted fast. Kuzan wasn't a swordsman, and neither was Kong. Besides them, Diarmuid was the strongest on the ship.
It was time to show off what he could do.
He stomped his foot, and his Geppo took him into the air. The Nagasone Kotetsu on his waist was already drawn. He had no intention of underestimating Redfield and went all out from the start.
He used both Armament Haki and his Gravity-Gravity Fruit power, covering the blade and slamming it against the incoming slash.
"Gravity Blade: Tiger Slayer!" Diarmuid roared.
——————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanFiction [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are over 100 advance chapters available for you!