At Marineford, in Sengoku's office, Diarmuid and Borsalino were sitting on the sofa. Sengoku was busy looking for a file. Diarmuid poured two cups of tea, sliding one over to Borsalino.
Borsalino, who was clipping his nails, said with a laugh, "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. What are a couple of pals for?" Diarmuid replied with a smile.
"Right," Borsalino agreed, then asked, "How have you been?"
"How have I been? I got robbed of over a trillion Berries by an old geezer. I should have been rich for life, and now I'm practically a pauper," Diarmuid said, rolling his eyes.
Borsalino chuckled. He had just seen the City of Gold for himself and knew exactly what Diarmuid was talking about. Sengoku, with his thick skin, pretended not to hear and kept looking for his file.
"What about you? How have things been? I haven't seen you at Headquarters in a while, and we didn't get to talk much at Loguetown," Diarmuid asked.
"I've been on Punk Hazard. The Science Unit is under my command, so things have been busy. Headquarters is planning to build a research base there. We had some funding issues, but now… thanks to you, I guess that won't be a problem anymore," Borsalino said, teasing him.
"Ah, the sacrifice of one to benefit the masses," Diarmuid said dramatically.
Punk Hazard was a special, unrecorded island. Just like the Revolutionary Army's future base, Baltigo, it had no magnetic field. Therefore, it couldn't be recorded by a Log Pose. To get there, you had to follow a specific route, making it incredibly well hidden, a perfect location for the Marine Science Unit.
As Borsalino and Diarmuid chatted, Sengoku finally found the file he was looking for and tossed it onto the coffee table in front of them. He then sat down and took a sip of his own tea. "This mission has to do with the Science Unit."
Diarmuid and Borsalino each picked up a copy and began to read. After a few moments, Borsalino spoke. "This certainly does concern us. I've heard of this genius's ambitions before… Vegapunk."
Borsalino's Science Unit had a large number of scientists, the head of which was M. Caesar Clown. Caesar had no humanity, but he was a top-tier scientist in the world, specializing in weapon manufacturing.
Borsalino had often heard the name Vegapunk from Caesar, but all he ever heard was how terrible Vegapunk was and how he wasn't a patch on Caesar. But Borsalino knew exactly what Caesar was like; he wasn't a good person. If he praised someone, it meant they were less talented than him. If he badmouthed them, it meant they were better than him. His constant insults proved just how strong Vegapunk's research abilities were.
"The brain said to be five hundred years ahead of humanity… Is he a Devil Fruit user?" Diarmuid asked, looking at the file.
The file contained some information about Dr. Vegapunk, but it wasn't very detailed. It seemed the Marines and the World Government didn't know much about him. The reason they were paying attention to him now was a new technology that the World Government was concerned about.
Dr. Vegapunk's civilian scientist group had successfully developed a technology called Lineage Factor. The application of this technology could change the world. Nowadays, strange things were starting to circulate in the underworld, like objects that had eaten Devil Fruits. The rumor was that Vegapunk had developed these things.
The Marines' Science Unit was desperate to find talent, and the World Government was also starting to pay attention to Vegapunk. Both the Marines and the World Government had their eyes on him, which led to this mission.
"An individual like him is extremely dangerous to be left out there. The doctor is not a Devil Fruit user, and his personal strength is not great. If he's taken hostage by a pirate like Charlotte Linlin or Kaido, the technology he has could threaten the safety of the world and even our basic Marine power. Therefore, under no circumstances can Dr. Vegapunk continue to be a civilian. We Marines have decided to conscript him into the Science Unit as an instructor," Sengoku said.
It sounded aggressive, but Diarmuid understood Sengoku's logic. Dr. Vegapunk was a walking "nuclear weapon." He might not be strong himself, but he could create things that were!
Just look at how much damage Vinsmoke Judge and Caesar, both of whom were inferior to Vegapunk, had caused. If the doctor were to be taken hostage by an evil person, it would be a disaster.
Diarmuid remembered that the Big Mom Pirates were big on scientific research, trying to annex Germa 66 and secretly supporting Caesar's development of mass-destruction weapons. If Charlotte Linlin got her hands on Vegapunk, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"This all sounds serious, but is it really necessary for Borsalino and me to go together?" Diarmuid asked.
"Yes," Sengoku nodded, then lowered his voice. "According to our Intelligence Division, the Big Mom Pirates might have already mobilized, so you have to move quickly. You might run into them during this mission. I don't feel comfortable sending just you or Borsalino alone, so you'll go together."
"The Big Mom Pirates… Is Charlotte Linlin herself going?" Diarmuid's eyes lit up.
"We haven't confirmed it. The Big Mom Pirates' intelligence is very strong, and it's hard for us to get accurate information about them, but we can't rule out the possibility," Sengoku shook his head.
Borsalino put the file back on the table. "With Vice Admiral Diarmuid helping me, even if Charlotte Linlin herself comes, there's nothing to be afraid of."
Diarmuid looked at Borsalino, surprised. That wasn't his style! 'Aren't you supposed to be saying, 'Oh, that's terrifying,' before kicking Charlotte Linlin's butt? You're acting so confident, it's making me nervous!'
Diarmuid didn't say anything, though. He just looked down at the file and muttered, "Hogley Island… the New World. It feels like it's been a long time since I was in the New World."
"It's a good opportunity to go back. You can gain more experience there," Sengoku said with a smile.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi on his desk rang. Sengoku looked at it. "It's Vice Admiral Saul."
He didn't avoid Diarmuid or Borsalino. These two were his most trusted confidants. Even though Borsalino would later side with the neutral faction, Sengoku still trusted him. That was an internal Marine issue. He would never believe that Borsalino or Diarmuid would betray the Marines.
"Hello? Saul? How did it go?" Sengoku asked after picking up the Den Den Mushi.
"I'm sorry, Admiral Sengoku. The mission failed again," Saul said in a muffled voice.
"Failed again? The same as last time?" Sengoku asked.
"Yes. When we surrounded them, the scholars all chose to take their own lives," Saul said, his voice filled with dejection. He felt like he was doing something unjust.
Sengoku sighed. There had been a group of scholars wandering the seas, trying to find and research Poneglyphs. It was very dangerous, and it had been going on for years. But the Marines and the World Government had never been able to identify who these scholars were or what organization was behind them.
What kind of group would dare to ignore the law and research the forbidden ancient language? Were they trying to revive an Ancient Weapon?
But the Marines had never made a breakthrough. They hadn't managed to capture a single person alive. The scholars were unyielding. Every time they were discovered, they would run. If they couldn't run, they would kill themselves on the spot, leaving the Marines frustrated.
"These people are researching Poneglyphs, likely to revive an Ancient Weapon. That's a threat to the entire world, Saul. We cannot ignore them. Keep investigating. We must find the organization behind them and take them out once and for all to maintain the peace and stability of the world!" Sengoku said sternly.
Saul seemed to take Sengoku's words to heart, and his dejected tone became a little more determined. 'That's right. These scholars are unarmed and courageous, and it's easy to admire them… But they're causing trouble! And they might be endangering the entire world. Why am I feeling sorry for them? I'm doing this for justice!'
"Yes, Admiral Sengoku!" Saul replied.
After giving him a few more instructions, Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi. Diarmuid gave a small smile and asked, "Troublesome?"
"Yeah. As you know, these people have been a pain for years, and we've made no progress. I'm honestly worried that one day I'll wake up to find someone has resurrected an Ancient Weapon," Sengoku sighed.
"Maybe they just want to unravel the mysteries of history? Like the Void Century?" Borsalino said nonchalantly.
"That's still against the law. The Void Century is a forbidden topic of research," Sengoku said sternly. After a brief pause, he continued, "If scholars really want to research it, they should follow proper procedure: gain public support, propose a motion at the Reverie, and change the law. They shouldn't just disregard the law as they are now. If everyone can trample on the law just because they think their actions are justified, what will the world become?"
Diarmuid nodded in agreement.
Laws can be flawed, that was normal.
From a historical perspective, laws change and improve with the times. But as Sengoku said, if you believe a law is unjust, you should follow the proper channels to change it. That's not a reason to break it.
If these scholars decide to break the law because they think it's wrong, then what's to stop Diarmuid from doing the same tomorrow with another law he disagrees with? If everyone did that, the world would fall into chaos. And who would suffer the most? The innocent people.
Borsalino had no rebuttal, as Sengoku was right.
"Alright, don't worry about those things. Focus on the Vegapunk situation. Act quickly, and under no circumstances can the doctor fall into the hands of a villain. Do you understand what I mean?" Sengoku ordered.
Diarmuid and Borsalino nodded together but remained silent. They understood perfectly. If all else fails, even if they had to kill Dr. Vegapunk, they could not allow his genius to be used by the enemy.
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