Diarmuid slowly lit a cigar, exhaled a puff of smoke, and looked at the battle that had just concluded.
All things considered, it ended a bit too quickly. In hindsight, it was probably because the fight didn't take place on land. If they had fought on an island, even if Mihawk was slightly weaker than Gion, he wouldn't have lost so quickly. He wouldn't have had to endure so many of her attacks.
So, for a battle, the timing, location, and the people involved have a huge impact. It's like what Garp said before: if he and Whitebeard were to fight, it would all come down to luck.
Diarmuid was now thinking about what to do with Mihawk. Capturing him now would clearly be detrimental to the Warlord of the Sea plan, which was very important to the Marines. It wasn't easy to find someone with Mihawk's immense strength who didn't cause too much trouble and would be willing to take the position.
Just as Diarmuid was considering how to handle Mihawk, his Den Den Mushi rang. He snapped back to reality and took it out of his pocket. He was a little surprised to see who was calling: Sakazuki.
Although he and Sakazuki had a good relationship and had reached a certain understanding, they rarely contacted each other. It wasn't a matter of hiding their connection—there was no need for that—it was more that Sakazuki was just too dedicated. Diarmuid, as an Admiral, was more of a desk jockey, mostly signing documents. Sakazuki, the Admiral candidate, was far more active, either fighting pirates or on his way to fight them.
Sometimes Diarmuid wondered what it would be like if all Marines were as dedicated as Sakazuki… it would be terrifying.
A thousand thoughts ran through his mind, but only a moment passed in reality. Though he found it strange that Sakazuki was calling him, Diarmuid picked up the Den Den Mushi.
"Sakazuki? This is a rare occasion," Diarmuid said with a chuckle.
Sakazuki was silent for a moment before replying, "I apologize for disturbing your vacation, Diarmuid." He didn't use any formal titles like "Admiral," and Diarmuid didn't mind. Their relationship was good enough not to need that formality.
"Hahaha, it's nothing," Diarmuid laughed. He paused for a moment before asking, "What's the matter? You're not the type to just call me to catch up when you have nothing to do."
Sakazuki gave a stiff laugh over the Den Den Mushi and said, "I need your help with something."
"What is it?" Diarmuid asked directly.
"Since you're not at Headquarters, you might not have heard, but Zephyr-sensei submitted his retirement application two days ago," Sakazuki said.
Diarmuid was stunned. This wasn't the first time Zephyr had done this. If it were anyone else, constantly applying for retirement only to be rejected would seem like a bid for fame. But everyone in the Marines knew that Zephyr wasn't doing this for show. He genuinely wanted to step down from the Admiral position and make room for someone else. The only reason he hadn't been allowed to retire was that the higher-ups truly didn't want to let him go. There were no hidden motives.
"Sensei is just so…" Diarmuid said with a touch of emotion. Then he asked, "What about this time? Was he rejected again?"
"No. Before, Sensei wasn't approved because if he retired, it would leave only Admiral Sengoku, which was a bad look. But now, with you there to back him up, the Admiral banner won't fall. So the Fleet Admiral is starting to be a bit swayed. It's not right to keep rejecting Sensei, and now they don't have a good reason to," Sakazuki said softly.
A spark flashed in Diarmuid's eyes. He said, "That makes sense. So, there's a good chance that Sensei will successfully retire this time?"
"That's right," Sakazuki said with certainty.
"In other words, a vacant Admiral position, which didn't exist before, will open up? You're eyeing that spot and want me to help you, right, Sakazuki?" Diarmuid asked with a smile.
Like Diarmuid, Sakazuki had never hidden his ambition to become an Admiral and then Fleet Admiral. Why should he? It wasn't a dishonorable or shameful goal. So when Diarmuid asked, Sakazuki answered without hesitation. "Of course. I'm already one step behind you. Naturally, I want to catch up as soon as possible. You aren't worried I might become a threat to you and refuse to help, are you?" The second half of the sentence was clearly a joke.
Diarmuid, of course, didn't take it seriously. He laughed and said, "You underestimate me too much."
"Hehehe…" Sakazuki chuckled.
"So, what exactly do you need me to do? Nominate you?" Diarmuid asked.
"No need. I'm already an Admiral candidate, so I don't need a nomination," Sakazuki replied, shaking his head. He continued before Diarmuid could speak again. "The situation is like this: Borsalino and I both have the status of Admiral candidates. Once Sensei retires, an Admiral position will open up, and theoretically, both of us could become Admiral. So, we are competitors now."
"I wouldn't say that. That Borsalino guy is pretty lazy. If you talked to him, I bet he'd forfeit," Diarmuid said with a laugh.
Sakazuki fell silent. After a long pause, he said, "You're right. Borsalino and I have a good relationship. If I asked, knowing his personality, he might not compete with me for the position. But, Diarmuid…"
Diarmuid realized what he was getting at. He said softly, "My apologies."
"No… it's nothing. I know you meant well," Sakazuki said, surprised by Diarmuid's sudden apology. He quickly brushed it off. "I see you understand now. How could I, Sakazuki, possibly say such a thing to Borsalino?"
That's right. A shameless guy like Diarmuid wouldn't mind talking to Borsalino about it. But Sakazuki's character was different. He was proud and unyielding. What would it mean if he went to Borsalino and asked for this? It would mean that he, Sakazuki, lacked confidence. That he wasn't confident he could beat Borsalino. Rather than do that, Sakazuki would rather Borsalino compete with him so he could win honorably.
Of course, given Borsalino's lazy attitude, he might give up the position without Sakazuki even asking. But even that would be difficult for Sakazuki. It could lead to rumors that he got the position through favoritism. So no matter what Borsalino chose to do, Sakazuki had already decided to create a big spectacle to prove his worthiness to be an Admiral and claim the position honorably.
As for asking Diarmuid for help, there was no issue with that. The Marines were a collective organization, and there was no rivalry there. If Borsalino had asked, Diarmuid would have helped him too.
"So, what are you going to do?" Diarmuid asked.
"Are you interested in ambushing Kaido?" Sakazuki suddenly said.
Diarmuid was taken aback. "Kaido?" he asked, surprised. "Didn't the Fleet Admiral say not to cause any drastic changes in the New World for now?"
"Don't worry. From what I know, Kaido isn't in the New World right now, so we don't need to sail our fleet there," Sakazuki said with a laugh.
Is that what the Fleet Admiral meant? Did you misunderstand something?
"Also, Kaido hasn't made much of a move in the New World for the last few years, so his influence there isn't that great. Even if we capture him, it shouldn't cause a major upset in the New World," Sakazuki added.
Now he was finally making some sense. But Diarmuid still had some doubts. "Even if we capture him, we can't kill him, can we?"
Diarmuid remembered that Kaido had been captured by the Marines many times and sentenced to death, but he never died. There had to be a reason. The rumors about Kaido being immortal were nonsense. No matter how powerful he was, if they shackled him with Seastone and had Garp pummel him day and night, would he survive? If that didn't work, they could just force a Devil Fruit down his throat and blow him up. But Kaido was still out there. There was definitely something wrong. It wasn't about Kaido's body; it was a problem with the Marines!
As an Admiral, Diarmuid could get access to this information, but he hadn't paid much attention to Kaido, so he had forgotten. And now, since he was in the East Blue, he just asked Sakazuki directly.
Sakazuki actually knew a little. "There is a problem. That guy is a bit special… Normally, after we capture Kaido, we hand him over to the World Government. It seems that he knows a big secret, and the World Government really wants the answer from him…"
"Absurd," Diarmuid complained.
Sakazuki said calmly, "This isn't the first time they've been absurd, is it?"
"You seem a little off. Normally, you'd be the one who can't stand this kind of thing the most, right?" Diarmuid asked, still confused.
Sakazuki was silent for a moment. Then he said, "But what if Kaido really is hiding a secret that concerns the safety of the world's citizens? I can't just act rashly."
Wow, you're quite the patriot, Sakazuki. But then again, Sakazuki was always like this. In the original story, he was willing to commit mass murder at Ohara for the sake of global security.
"Then why are you going after him?" Diarmuid asked.
"While we can't kill him, if we get a chance to beat him up and show the power of the Marines without affecting the New World's balance, why not?" Sakazuki said, standing his ground. Before Diarmuid could reply, he added, "At the same time, I can use this to become an Admiral. It's killing two birds with one stone."
That actually makes a lot of sense. It was like Diarmuid's plan for Doflamingo: he couldn't kill him, but he could beat him up.
"So where is Kaido right now?" Diarmuid asked, seeing that Sakazuki had made up his mind.
Although he found Sakazuki's reasoning and motives a bit ridiculous, what did it matter to him? There might even be a personal angle for Sakazuki in this, but as long as it didn't conflict with the Marines' interests, it was fine.
Diarmuid had no intention of digging for a deeper reason. Everyone had their own thoughts, and there was no need to get to the bottom of it. If anything went wrong, Sakazuki would bear the consequences.
"He's on a Sky Island. That's why I need your help. Without you, I can't get up there," Sakazuki said.
"I thought you wanted me to help you beat him up," Diarmuid said with a laugh.
"That's a part of it too. After all, Kaido isn't easy to deal with," Sakazuki said solemnly.
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