After a brief exchange, a polite way of catching up, Diarmuid turned his attention to the man being beaten. Stussy took the cue. "Alright, that's enough. Take him away. We don't want to upset Vice Admiral Diarmuid."
"Yes," the two CP0 agents replied. They grabbed the unfortunate man's arms, dragging him away like a dead dog.
Diarmuid had no intention of getting involved in the CP0's messy business, so he ignored them and turned to Stussy. "Stussy-san, what's the situation? Can we confirm that Bartholomew Kuma is planning a rebellion against the World Government? Is he really trying to force the Sorbet Kingdom out of its status as a member nation?"
The current king of the Sorbet Kingdom was the man who would one day be the famous Warlord of the Sea, Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma. But Diarmuid knew very well that Kuma was no tyrant. In fact, he was a very gentle person.
The "Tyrant" name had been given to him by the World Government because he wanted to lead the Sorbet Kingdom out of its status as a member nation.
As for his reasons, Diarmuid wasn't entirely sure, but the mission documents suggested many, such as Kuma's distaste for his people having to pay the immense Heavenly Tribute every year or his disgust with the corruption of the World Government. Whatever his reasons, they were easy to find.
The problem was that the World Government caught wind of his intentions before he could act.
The World Government didn't lack member nations, nor did it care about losing one.
The only acceptable ways for a member nation to cease its status was to be destroyed by pirates, to be stripped of its title for failing to pay the Heavenly Tribute, or to collapse due to a self-inflicted political upheaval.
It could never, under any circumstances, choose to leave the World Government on its own, especially after making public statements against it! Doing so would damage the World Government's image and authority!
What kind of a market would the World Government be if you could just decide to leave whenever you wanted? They had a reputation to uphold. This was a precedent that could not be set. It would have a very bad effect on the other member nations.
Therefore, the World Government quickly began plotting against the Sorbet Kingdom. The CP agency was no stranger to dirty work; they sent in numerous agents to stir up political unrest and social crises, manipulating public opinion to shift all the blame onto Bartholomew Kuma.
Against these professional manipulators, Kuma was helpless. In less than a year, his reputation as a gentle ruler was ruined by the CP agency, and he became known as a tyrant in the eyes of his people.
As a result, most of the Sorbet Kingdom's citizens believed their country had fallen into chaos because Bartholomew Kuma was their king. They launched a movement to overthrow the monarchy, but it was quickly suppressed by the king's army, which only "confirmed" Bartholomew Kuma's tyrannical reputation.
Now, the time had come. The World Government had decided to use this as a pretext to depose Bartholomew Kuma as the king of the Sorbet Kingdom.
The World Government needed a reason, however flimsy, to depose a member nation's royalty. If they could simply replace a king on a whim, the other member nations would feel very insecure, so they still had to go through the motions.
However, because Bartholomew Kuma was so powerful, the World Government was afraid he might fight back. The CP agency alone might not be enough to handle the situation. So, the World Government gave the Marines a political assignment, ordering them to work with the CP agency to depose Bartholomew Kuma. Diarmuid was the one assigned to this mission.
As for whether the mission was just, it clearly wasn't, but he didn't care. While the Marines had some leverage against the World Government, there was no need to oppose them on every minor issue.
In the Marines' eyes, this was a minor issue. Replacing a king? What was the big deal?
At the same time, the Marine Intelligence Division had received a tip that the former Marine Vice Admiral Monkey D. Dragon, who had gone missing, had also appeared in the Sorbet Kingdom. So, Diarmuid also had a confidential mission: to find Dragon, figure out what he was up to, and, if possible, bring him back to Marineford.
"What you're saying is already 'confirmed' news, Vice Admiral Diarmuid," Stussy said with a laugh.
"'Confirmed,' you say? That's a very clever choice of words," Diarmuid said softly. He didn't know much about the Bartholomew Kuma situation, and he suspected that what little he did know was just a "truth" that had been made up for him. But he didn't care. It was the CP agency's dirty work, not the Marines', and he wasn't a Marine who had a lot of integrity or a strong sense of justice.
"Fine, I don't care about what has been confirmed. I'm just here to assist your CP agency. Just tell me what you need, Stussy-san." Diarmuid didn't dwell on it and got straight to the point.
"We really wanted to let Bartholomew Kuma have some dignity at the end. Three days ago, we sent a CP0 agent to the Sorbet Kingdom palace to meet with him, hoping he would listen to the World Government and voluntarily abdicate. But unfortunately…" Stussy said, shrugging her shoulders in resignation.
"What happened to the agent you sent? Did Kuma kill him?" Diarmuid asked, a smile on his face.
Stussy sighed. "No, he went missing… And Bartholomew Kuma told us that he went on vacation."
"Hahahahaha, then maybe he really did go on vacation, just like the truth was 'confirmed,' he was 'vacationed,'" Diarmuid laughed.
"You haven't changed, Vice Admiral. You've just gotten even worse over the past two years," Stussy said, a hint of complaint in her voice as she looked at the gleeful Diarmuid.
"Was my personality bad two years ago?" Diarmuid asked, puzzled.
You beat me until I threw up blood the first time we met. What do you mean you weren't bad? But Stussy clearly didn't want to get into that. She cleared her throat and said, "Ahem. Anyway, Bartholomew Kuma has rejected our good will, and he's incredibly powerful. I can't handle him by myself… So, we need your help, Vice Admiral Diarmuid. I'm sure the 'Ferocious Tiger of Marine Headquarters' can assist us CP0 agents in completing our objective?"
Diarmuid's smile faded. He looked at Stussy and asked softly, "Do you want me to kill him?"
Stussy smiled and shook her head. "No. The dead are forgotten, but the living serve as a warning to others."
"That's truly cruel…" Diarmuid sighed. The World Government didn't want to kill Bartholomew Kuma. They wanted to make him a "classic case" so the other member nations could see that if you dare to offend and defy the World Government, you can be a king and still live a life worse than death.
Diarmuid exhaled another puff of smoke, tossed the half-smoked cigar on the floor, and stood up. "When do we act? When do we force his abdication?"
"In two days. I will personally come to the warship to escort you, Vice Admiral Diarmuid," Stussy said with a smile. Although her rank was still slightly higher than his, her voice was full of respect and awe.
"Okay," Diarmuid nodded. He then stomped on the cigar and motioned for Doberman. "Let's go."
After they left the hotel, Doberman asked, "Vice Admiral Diarmuid, what do we do now?"
"You take the team back to the warship. I have something else to do. Don't go wandering around in this chaotic country for the next two days. As for the mission, just do what we're supposed to do. Don't worry about anything else," Diarmuid ordered.
"Yes, all for justice!" Doberman quickly replied.
Justice, huh? Diarmuid chuckled without answering. He turned at a crossroad and walked off on his own.
The Sorbet Kingdom's capital was also its port city. From the size of its buildings, it was clear that this country must have been very wealthy in the past. Otherwise, it wouldn't have had the money for all this construction.
The dense clusters of buildings also suggested it once had a large population. But now, it was completely desolate. It was very difficult to make a country prosperous, but the CP agency had managed to destroy this one in just about a year.
Diarmuid walked through the dark alleys, a place full of "stray dogs." He had been one of them back in North Blue. There were the disabled, the strong, the dead-eyed, and the hateful. The only thing they all had in common was an aura of sin.
People who ended up in this environment had a hard time staying good. Living was a luxury; who cared about morals and laws? As for justice, such a lofty ideal couldn't reach these dark and dirty gutters.
"Ah…" After walking for a while, Diarmuid stopped in an alley and stretched. Then, he said in a casual, nonchalant tone, "So, how much longer are you going to follow me?"
"Oh? You caught me already? I thought I was doing a good job," a voice that was both familiar and a little strange replied, echoing in the alley.
Diarmuid turned around, lit another cigar, and watched as a whirlwind of wind appeared next to a trash can. A figure slowly walked out of the storm. It was the long-lost former Marine Vice Admiral, Monkey D. Dragon.
"Over the past two years, I've been focusing more on my Observation Haki than my Armament Haki. So I have it on all the time. You were already watching me the moment I stepped off the ship, weren't you, you scoundrel?" Diarmuid said, puffing out smoke. He paused for a moment, then smiled, a brilliant light in his eyes. "It's been a while, Dragon."
Dragon looked at Diarmuid with a similar look of nostalgia. He finally smiled. "You've changed… completely. It's been a while, Diarmuid."
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