Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Diarmuid was in his office, working on the intelligence he'd gathered about the Roger Pirates. A knock sounded on his door, and before he could answer, Kuzan pushed it open and walked right in.
"Hey. With today's newspaper, the seas are definitely going to go wild…" Kuzan tossed a copy of the paper onto Diarmuid's desk.
Three days had passed. Since returning to Headquarters, Diarmuid had attended two meetings. As he expected, the Marines had no proactive strategy and couldn't come up with any solid plan. In the end, at the suggestion of Admiral Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral agreed to officially acknowledge Roger as the "Pirate King" and use it as a way to incite infighting among the pirates.
With that, Roger becoming the Pirate King was officially confirmed.
Diarmuid picked up the newspaper from his desk. The headline was about Roger's conquest of the Grand Line. He shook his head with a wry smile. "It was inevitable. You know, as one of the people who witnessed the birth of the first Pirate King, I can't help but feel a little moved."
"There's nothing to feel moved about, is there? If anything, it's the failure of justice," Kuzan said, glancing at Diarmuid before casually sitting down on the sofa.
"Don't talk as if it's all over. To me, this might be the real beginning," Diarmuid said with a smile. He didn't know how the Marines reacted to this news in the original story, but he assumed they were in a panic since it was so sudden.
This time, however, thanks to his intervention, the Marines had been warned. The high command was mentally prepared for the situation, so they were calmer and less flustered.
"The real beginning… huh?" Kuzan mumbled, not dwelling on it any further. What else could they do? They would just have to take it one step at a time.
"By the way, why are you so free? Didn't Vice Admiral Garp take you to hunt Roger?" Diarmuid asked with a smile.
Kuzan gave Diarmuid a look. "Don't forget, I'm Admiral Sengoku's aide now, not Garp's."
"Ah… I completely forgot," Diarmuid said, nodding.
"Garp has already left Headquarters for the New World. He asked me to tell you to finish your intelligence report on the Roger Pirates as soon as possible and provide him with effective support. Even though Roger is the Pirate King, if we can capture him quickly, we might be able to turn this bad situation into an advantage for us," Kuzan explained.
"It's going to be tough. There's something I haven't quite figured out yet…" Diarmuid said, shaking his head. After a moment, he looked at Kuzan with a serious expression. "Kuzan, what do you think Roger's next move is now that he's become the Pirate King? What's his new goal?"
"Well, of course, he's going to…" Kuzan began to say without hesitation, but he stopped halfway through.
He was about to say that Roger would try to conquer the New World and turn the world upside down. But he suddenly realized that the Roger Pirates were not a crew dedicated to dominating the seas.
As Garp's former subordinate, he had often come into contact with them and knew them quite well. Unlike ambitious pirates like Shiki, the Roger Pirates seemed to have no intention of ruling the world.
So what was their goal after becoming the Pirate King?
Diarmuid said calmly, "The more I analyze the intelligence on the Roger Pirates, the more I believe they aren't a crew with a goal of becoming Pirate King and building an empire. On the contrary, while they are criminals with countless sins, their actions are more like those of wild and reckless adventurers…"
Kuzan was silent for a while before nodding in agreement. "That's true. They don't seem to have any ambition."
"So, what do you think they'll do next?" Diarmuid asked again.
Kuzan thought for a moment and shook his head. "I have no idea. Why don't we have a meeting? We can discuss it with the Fleet Admiral and Sengoku."
"We definitely should, but I have two possibilities," Diarmuid said seriously.
"What are they?" Kuzan asked, intrigued.
"The first possibility, based on their current status, is that they've already conquered the entire Grand Line. Their first-stage goal has been achieved. If they maintain their current mindset and goals, they might become an even more adventurous pirate crew, dedicated to finding legendary treasures like the City of Gold, the Jewel Sea, the Emerald City, or Pure Gold," Diarmuid said softly. Of course, he knows where the City of Gold is, but no one knows that.
Kuzan's eyes lit up. "That makes sense. Given their personalities and actions, that's a very likely change…"
After a moment, he asked, "What's your second possibility?"
"The second…" Diarmuid pondered for a bit. "The Roger Pirates will disband."
"Impossible! They just conquered the Grand Line and became the Pirate King! Why would they suddenly disband?!" Kuzan immediately objected.
"They've already achieved fame, power, status, and wealth, which are what most pirates seek. The Grand Line has been conquered. If the Roger Pirates came together for a single common goal, and that goal has been achieved, it makes sense for them to disband. After all, they're not like ordinary pirates," Diarmuid said calmly.
"But that's… that's just unbelievable, isn't it?" Kuzan said, his mind slightly wavering.
Diarmuid smiled and looked at Kuzan. "The Roger Pirates like to do unbelievable things, don't they?"
Kuzan was stunned for a moment before nodding. "You're right."
"I've already prepared a detailed report on both possibilities. I'll submit it to Admiral Sengoku later. The big things are for the higher-ups to worry about. The tall ones will hold up the sky if it falls. It won't fall on me," Diarmuid said with a nonchalant smile.
Kuzan was silent for a while before suddenly asking, "Diarmuid, if the Roger Pirates really do disband… then what?"
Diarmuid looked at Kuzan. "What else? We find a way to dig them all out and hang them."
He said this, knowing that the reality would depend on whether they could be found and what the Marines would decide to do. He wasn't going to worry about it.
Changing the subject from their heavy conversation, Kuzan poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. "I heard you brought a recruit for Zephyr-sensei?"
"Yeah, Rob Lucci. A kid from the Orphanage. I had to fight CP9 Chief Stussy to get him," Diarmuid said casually, still organizing his documents.
"Stussy? I heard she's very talented. CP9 has done great work under her, and they've earned a lot of merits in the last two years… So, did you win?" Kuzan asked.
"Of course. She may be talented in other areas, but I'm much stronger than her in a head-to-head fight," Diarmuid said, nodding. He paused for a moment and then looked at Kuzan, his tone a little hesitant. "By the way, Kuzan, what do you think of my strength? What level am I at?"
"I haven't had a proper fight with you, so I'm not entirely sure. But Gion and I talk often. From what I can tell, even though she's a Commodore, her strength is already close to that of a typical Vice Admiral. And she says you practically overwhelm her… So, to compare, you're probably a bit stronger than the average Vice Admiral, but not quite on our level yet?" Kuzan said, thinking it over.
"Really? I don't feel that way," Diarmuid said, frowning slightly. Kuzan made him sound powerful, but he didn't feel it himself.
Kuzan looked at Diarmuid directly. "That's because you haven't had a real fight yet."
"Huh?" Diarmuid was startled, looking at Kuzan with confusion.
"You participated in the Edd War Sea battle and the operation to capture Redfield. On the surface, it looks impressive, but you've never had a truly all-out, full-power fight. You don't know what you're capable of yet, and that's your biggest weakness. Without a trial by iron and blood, you'll never truly know yourself," Kuzan said, getting to the core of the issue.
What Kuzan said was a revelation to Diarmuid. Although he had no proof, he felt that Kuzan was right. The reason he was unsure of his own strength was that he lacked a fight where he could truly understand himself.
"You've been too well-protected. You almost died fighting Redfield, but that was just an accident. From the very beginning, Sengoku-san has been too partial to you…" Kuzan paused for a moment, then added, "Or maybe Sengoku-san is waiting for you to realize this yourself? The fact that you asked me this question today proves that you've already noticed something is wrong… isn't that right?"
"You have a point," Diarmuid said, nodding seriously. He had thought he was fighting for his life, and he had, but from an outsider's perspective, it really was an accident. On the whole, he felt like Sengoku had been protecting him all along. Perhaps, just as Kuzan said, Sengoku was waiting for him to figure it out himself.
"If you ever have a tough field mission, please call me for backup," Diarmuid said, looking at Kuzan with a serious expression.
"Hahaha, don't worry, I'll take care of you," Kuzan laughed.
After organizing his documents, Diarmuid stood up. "I'm going to go to Sengoku-san's office to brief him on my analysis. Make yourself at home."
With that, he ignored Kuzan, who was still drinking tea, and left.
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