The Holy Land of Mariejois, located on top of the Red Line, is the heart of the World Government and the political, cultural, and economic center of the entire world.
Its geographical location is excellent, situated at the border of the first half of the Grand Line and the New World. It not only connects the two but also radiates outwards, directly linking to the four seas. In short, it is an extremely important place.
At the very top of the World Government headquarters in Mariejois are the offices of the Gorosei.
The Gorosei are the five elders who act as the public leaders of the massive World Government organization. They are the highest-ranking Celestial Dragons. All major decisions of the World Government are made by the Gorosei. Every organization, from Marineford and CP to all other World Government agencies, reports to the Gorosei. You could say that they hold the most supreme power in the world.
Of course, this is only a public perception. In reality, behind the Gorosei stands the mysterious Imu. But normally, Imu doesn't get involved, and his identity has never been revealed. Only a select few know of his existence. So, in the eyes of the world, the Gorosei are the leaders of the World Government.
In the Gorosei's office, the five old men were discussing an opinion report the Marines had submitted recently. This report was Diarmuid's "Action Plan to Rescue the Verex Kingdom."
To be honest, the Gorosei couldn't care less if the Verex Kingdom lived or died, even if it was likely to be completely destroyed by the Big Mom Pirates.
This wasn't a unique case; many affiliate kingdoms vanished from the world every year. Some were destroyed by pirates, some had internal political turmoil, and some were even orchestrated by the World Government itself. But most were stripped of their affiliation and destroyed because they couldn't afford to pay the hefty annual tribute.
The World Government could always find new members to replace them. In fact, they deliberately kept the number of affiliate kingdoms at around 170. Most of the time, the number stayed within this range. It was a kind of balance.
Before this, the Gorosei had indeed received a request for asylum from the Verex royal family and were aware of what was happening there. At the time, they saw the kingdom as a lost cause. They weren't willing to put in the effort to solve the problem because it could escalate into a violent conflict with the Big Mom Pirates, further destabilizing the already chaotic situation.
If the Marines had a stronger grip on the New World, they might have ordered them to go and help, but there was no need for it now. They couldn't help even if they wanted to. The Gorosei were planning to just humor the request, grant the royal family asylum, and let the common rabble die.
But then the Marines submitted a proposal that offered a new solution to the problem. The Gorosei decided to take a look. If it could effectively solve the problem, that would be great. It would also prove to the other kingdoms in the New World that the World Government was still their true backer. This would help strengthen the fragile relationship between the World Government and its New World affiliates. It was a win-win.
"Rodriguez Diarmuid… a Marine Rear Admiral… his name sounds familiar," the blond Gorosei said after reading the report.
"Yes. He's the one who drafted the recent reports predicting Roger would become the Pirate King and that the Roger Pirates would disband. Kong said he's a promising young talent with the potential to become someone like Sengoku," the bald Gorosei replied, nodding.
"Is that so?" the blond Gorosei said, a look of appreciation in his eyes. "It's good that the Marines have such a talented young man."
"He's said to be very powerful as well. Not a kid who only uses his brain," the bearded Gorosei added.
It was clear that the old men were quite impressed with Diarmuid. However, their appreciation was different from Zephyr's and Sengoku's. Zephyr and Sengoku saw Diarmuid as a junior, a protégé. The Gorosei saw him as an underling. Today they might appreciate him, but if he made a mistake tomorrow, they would be disgusted with him.
"He accurately predicted the Roger Pirates' rise and then their disbandment, giving the Marines enough time to prepare and take countermeasures. His contributions are not insignificant. He's certainly a capable fellow," the Gorosei with the katana said, nodding.
"And his ulterior motive?" the blond Gorosei asked.
The Gorosei were too old and cynical to believe that Diarmuid had a sudden change of heart and wanted to save the Verex Kingdom out of the goodness of his heart.
"Kong says the kid wants to use this Katakuri fellow as his whetstone," the bald Gorosei chuckled.
"That's it?" the blond Gorosei asked, surprised.
"He's a young man. Did you think it was some conspiracy? He's only about twenty-two. He's young and full of spirit. Wanting to make a name for himself by beating someone is completely normal. I hear this Katakuri is very famous among the new generation of pirates and has never lost. It's a very reasonable reason to want to make a name for himself by taking him on," the bald Gorosei said calmly.
Fleet Admiral Kong knew that Diarmuid wanted to use Katakuri to test himself. But he couldn't possibly report such a ridiculous reason to the Gorosei, so he polished it up. He told them Diarmuid was young and ambitious and wanted to beat Katakuri to prove his strength. The Gorosei readily accepted this embellished explanation.
The blond Gorosei nodded and looked at the others. "What do you think?"
"There's no harm in trying," the katana-wielding Gorosei said after some thought. The others nodded in agreement.
If they didn't try, the Verex Kingdom would most likely be destroyed. But if they tried and actually captured Katakuri, things might turn around.
And if Big Mom refused to negotiate, the Marines would have already handed Katakuri over to CP. The Marines had an image to uphold, but CP didn't. They could handle it however they wanted.
Besides, the Gorosei thought there was a high chance the Big Mom Pirates would accept the negotiation, so there was no downside in trying. If it didn't work, they were no worse off. If it did, they stood to gain everything with no risk. Why hesitate?
"Then let's approve it," the blond Gorosei decided.
Soon after, Diarmuid's plan was approved by the World Government.
....
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In Admiral Sengoku's office, he hung up the Den Den Mushi after talking to the Gorosei and looked at Diarmuid, who had just walked in. "I told you to go find intel on Roger, but you can't sit still. Now you want to go after Katakuri… I don't even know what to say to you."
"There's nothing to find. The Roger Pirates have scattered and disappeared into the vast sea. Where am I supposed to look? You know what the Intelligence Division is like. Chief Tsuru just reorganized it, and it will take a few years or more to get results. I think we should leave this to CP. Their noses are much better at sniffing things out; they'll probably find Roger one of these days," Diarmuid said with a laugh.
He now spoke with Sengoku and the other high-ranking officials very casually, completely unlike his serious demeanor from before. In return, in less formal settings, Sengoku and the others enjoyed this relaxed side of him. It made them feel closer.
After a brief pause, Diarmuid continued, "So at this stage, I have nothing to do. It's the perfect time to test myself."
Sengoku looked at Diarmuid with a satisfied expression. He hadn't expected Diarmuid to discover his own problem so quickly and immediately seek a solution. But even though he was pleased, he still said, "Nothing to do? What do you mean? Tsuru said you're partially responsible for the 'non-existent agency' plan. How is that coming along?"
Diarmuid's face fell. "Chief Tsuru already used up the Intelligence Division's budget for the year. I can't just make something out of nothing, can I? We'll have to wait until next year's budget…"
"We can't wait that long," Sengoku said, waving a hand.
Diarmuid was startled. "Then what do we do?"
"How should I know? You came up with the plan. You figure out how to solve it. I want you to set up the framework as soon as possible and get some results." Sengoku stared at him.
For a moment, Diarmuid felt like Sengoku was being completely unreasonable. He gritted his teeth and said, "Admiral, if you're saying that, I'll take you seriously…"
Sengoku took a sip of tea from his cup and glanced at Diarmuid. "Just don't go too far. Otherwise, it will be hard to explain."
"Understood," Diarmuid said, nodding.
To put it simply, as long as he didn't do anything too extreme, Diarmuid could secretly acquire his own funds for the project. While Tsuru had said he was partially responsible for the plan, there wasn't much for him to do, other than offer some suggestions. Now, Sengoku was forcing him to take on the task of finding the money himself.
It was all because of the budget. If the Marines had more money, they wouldn't have to be so stingy. As for where to get the money? Diarmuid already had a few ideas.
First, he could go to the Kano Country in West Blue, to the Jewel Ice Sheet, and dig up all the Chinjao family's treasure. Chinjao couldn't break the ice anymore, but that didn't mean the Marines couldn't.
Not only did Diarmuid think his own powers might work, but Garp could certainly punch through the Jewel Ice Sheet. After all, he was the one who flattened Chinjao's head in the first place.
Besides that, he could use this as an excuse to take the Marines to Skypiea to find the City of Gold. That was a lot of money, and while he was there, he might even get the Rumble-Rumble Fruit…
Seeing Diarmuid agree so quickly, Sengoku felt a little uneasy. "Just be careful. Don't cause too much of a commotion. If something goes wrong, we'll both be in deep trouble."
"Don't worry, Admiral. You can trust me," Diarmuid said with a confident smile.
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