After his elbow strike sent Dragon flying, Diarmuid stretched his shoulder and said with a smile, "You should get serious, senpai."
"Is that so?" Dragon's voice came from behind Diarmuid.
A look of shock appeared in Diarmuid's eyes. His Observation Haki was on at all times, but Dragon was just too fast. Just a moment ago, he felt him in the rubble. How could he be behind him now?
He shouldn't be surprised, though. If Dragon didn't have this kind of evasive skill, the dogs of the CP agency would have hunted him down and killed him in the last twenty years in the original story. But he was alive and well, and still actively messing with the World Government.
A thousand thoughts raced through Diarmuid's mind in an instant. The moment Dragon's voice appeared, Diarmuid threw a punch behind him.
"Dragon's Breath," Dragon said in a low voice.
A powerful gust of wind erupted behind Diarmuid. Before he could react, he was hit by the wind pressure and was sent flying. As Dragon was about to follow up, the rubble around him began to move. The stones and dirt, with Dragon at the center, gathered around him at a tremendous speed.
"What is this?" Dragon was shocked, feeling his body becoming weightless. In the next moment, the rubble buried him, solidifying into a compacted sphere in mid-air.
"Planetary Devastation!" Diarmuid said, standing up. But his expression was calm. He wasn't looking at the sphere but at an empty space in the distance. And just as he expected, Dragon's figure slowly appeared there with a gentle breeze.
"That's an excellent technique, but I told you already, your power is useless against me," Dragon said with a laugh.
Diarmuid nodded. "True."
In the past two years, he had fought Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino. He had used his ultimate technique, Planetary Devastation, against them as well. The only one he could briefly trap was Kuzan.
Borsalino was too fast and could escape before the sphere could form. Sakazuki turned the sphere into a magma fireball and used it to launch a powerful counterattack.
Because of this, Diarmuid had learned a valuable lesson: his power was not very effective against Logia users. Gravity could affect elements, but it wasn't an absolute counter.
He recalled Fujitora's battle with Sabo in Dressrosa, and it seemed to be the same principle. A power, no matter how great, always had its shortcomings.
Seeing that Diarmuid was about to attack again, Dragon quickly said, "Hey, let's stop. We've had our greetings. If you want to get serious, this city can't handle it. Don't you have a mission to complete?"
Diarmuid frowned slightly. "I do have a mission to bring you back to Headquarters…"
"You know you can't catch me. I can leave whenever I want. If we keep fighting, the Marines will just look bad, and your political mission will fail," Dragon said.
Diarmuid knew he was right. Even if Diarmuid could beat him, it would be nearly impossible to capture Dragon. He had already proven that he had a way to escape.
If they fought a full-out battle and destroyed a large part of the town, only for him to get away, the Marines would be disgraced, especially since Dragon's defection had not yet been made public.
If a Marine Vice Admiral fought Dragon and caused so much destruction, the truth would surely get out. Dragon had a thick skin, but the Marines would be facing a huge scandal.
Although the matter would eventually be exposed, Diarmuid didn't want it to happen on his watch. Besides, he was just here to test Dragon. The Marines might want to capture him, but Diarmuid never planned to. Now that they had fought, he could go back and say he tried.
Thinking this, Diarmuid slowly sheathed his Nagasone Kotetsu. The killing intent and fighting spirit on his body receded.
Seeing that Diarmuid was "open to reason," Dragon was a little surprised, but it was a good thing. He smiled. "It seems you have a deep affection for the Marines. You don't want to see their reputation shamed?"
"I'm just repaying a kindness," Diarmuid said, playing along. After a slight pause, Diarmuid said, "Let's get back to the point, Dragon. You came to see me, and it wasn't just to talk about your ideals and convince me to join you, was it? If you wanted to do that, you could have done it earlier."
Dragon was silent for a moment before he spoke. "About Bartholomew Kuma… What are the Marines—no, the World Government, going to do with him? If it's possible, I hope you'll spare his life."
"That's quite a surprise. Telling me this means you're telling me that Bartholomew Kuma is connected to you, which exposes your relationship to the Marines… Is that really a good idea?" Diarmuid asked in surprise.
He genuinely hadn't expected Dragon to reveal his connection to Bartholomew Kuma. In the future, Bartholomew Kuma was supposed to pretend to be a pirate and become a Warlord of the Sea to infiltrate the Marines. If Dragon revealed their relationship now, how could Kuma operate? The Marines would always be wary of him.
"I wasn't planning on telling you. My original intention was to meet you and overpower you, and then let you focus your attention on me, but our fight showed that your strength has grown beyond my expectations, so that plan is no longer an option…" Dragon said calmly. After a pause, Dragon continued, "But Bartholomew Kuma is very important to me… I had no choice but to take the risk. Besides, even though you talk that way, I can feel that you don't really want to stop me or hinder me. Diarmuid, maybe you want to see if I can change the world? We're not enemies… I believe you'll help me."
Diarmuid stared at Dragon in silence for a long time before finally speaking. "Bartholomew Kuma is incredibly strong. I'm not even sure I could defeat him. So why do you think I'll definitely win?"
Dragon smiled. Although Diarmuid didn't directly answer his words, his question proved that Dragon's guess was right. He had made the right gamble!
In reality, Dragon had no idea that the World Government would create the Warlord of the Sea system, so he hadn't planned for Bartholomew Kuma to be an infiltrator. He had revealed their connection in the hopes that Diarmuid would keep it a secret. If he had known about the Warlord of the Sea system, he probably wouldn't have been so quick to expose his relationship with Bartholomew Kuma.
"You will win. Kuma may be very strong, but this is his country. He's a gentle person… I knew he was going to lose the moment you stepped on this island," Dragon said softly.
Diarmuid understood what he meant. Bartholomew Kuma was indeed strong, but here, in the Sorbet Kingdom, he had too many attachments and too many things to worry about. Therefore, he could not win, not even for the sake of his country.
"A person's attachments and bonds make them predictable, no matter how strong they are," Diarmuid said softly, his tone full of emotion.
It was true for his sensei Zephyr, and it was true for Bartholomew Kuma. Even Dragon himself was forced to appear before him because of his attachment to Bartholomew Kuma.
"Perhaps that's true, but Diarmuid, attachments and bonds are also why a person can become even stronger. It's because they have someone or something they want to protect and still have hope for the world, isn't it?" Dragon said with a smile.
Diarmuid was silent for a moment before nodding seriously. "You've taught me a lot."
"It's nothing, just some wisdom from a senpai," Dragon said, waving a hand. He looked up at the sky and smiled. "I wonder when we'll meet again. I hope that next time, we don't have to fight. And I still have high hopes for you, Diarmuid. Goodbye."
"I have a feeling it won't be long," Diarmuid said with a smile, looking at Dragon as he slowly faded into the air.
It wouldn't be long, because Diarmuid had two reasons for coming to the South Blue: one was for Bartholomew Kuma and Dragon, and the other was to "persuade" Roger to go to the gallows.
It was now the year 1500 of the Sea Calendar, and a new era would begin this year. Soon, Roger's body would no longer be able to hold on, and he would turn himself in to the Marines. And with that, the Great Pirate Era would begin.
In Diarmuid's opinion, it would be a shame for the great Pirate King to turn himself in. He should let Diarmuid capture him instead. That would give him enough merit to give him a big advantage over Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino in the future for a promotion to Admiral, and it would even help him in the race for Fleet Admiral.
After all, this was the biggest accomplishment a Marine could ever have: to capture Pirate King Gol D. Roger! It would shake the world!
As for Dragon, he would probably go to Loguetown to watch the execution. Diarmuid didn't want to miss Roger's execution, either, so he might see Dragon there again.
The fight was short, but it still destroyed the entire street. However, since the town was so desolate and this was a dark, impoverished area, no one noticed.
Diarmuid shook off his thoughts, turned, and walked away from the ruins, heading back to his warship to rest.
As for Bartholomew Kuma and Dragon's situation, he would keep it in mind. It might be a good way to control Dragon in the future.
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