The Marines had never been particularly fond of Mariejois. As for Pask, the guy had been sitting in the position of Commander-in-Chief for so many years without a single friendly interaction with the Navy. The two sides had always been at odds.
In truth, the current poor relationship between the World Government and the Marines was partly due to Diarmuid pushing things along, but also because Mariejois had a Commander-in-Chief like Pask.
Now that his head had been directly severed by the Gorosei, the high-ranking Marines, of course, broke out into joyous laughter.
After their brief moment of cheer, Kong's expression turned serious. "This isn't about our personal futures anymore. That idiot Pask's death is no great loss, but we absolutely cannot allow the next Commander-in-Chief to be from the CP organization. This is a matter of great necessity for us, the Marines. So, regarding the issue with Fisher Tiger, you all need to take it seriously."
That made sense. From a personal perspective, Fleet Admiral Kong was on the cusp of a promotion and a new position. Diarmuid and the other Marine admirals who rose with him would naturally not stand in his way. On the contrary, if Kong moved up, Admiral Sengoku would also have room to advance. After a few more years, Diarmuid himself might even be able to take over the Fleet Admiral position. So, from a personal standpoint, this matter was crucial.
And from the perspective of the Marines' interests, having one of their own as Commander-in-Chief of the entire military force... did the benefits even need to be explained?
In any case, for both public and private reasons, this was a matter the Marines had to prioritize.
"Do we have any new intelligence?" Diarmuid asked.
Tsuru spoke up. "Yes. Fisher Tiger is now roaming the New World. He took some of the slaves liberated from Mariejois with him, most of whom are Fish-Men and Merfolk. He's recently raised a pirate flag, calling his crew the Sun Pirates. Their whereabouts are unpredictable, but we've found out he seems to be sending the liberated slaves back home to various places…"
When Tsuru finished speaking, a silence fell over the office.
After a long pause, Garp was the first to speak. "A man like that, it's one thing not to respect or protect him, but now we have to go kill him or capture him…"
Unexpectedly, Sakazuki also chimed in. "Even though he's flying a pirate flag, he hasn't done anything truly evil."
This surprised Diarmuid. Since when did Sakazuki start considering things like this?
"Right," Sengoku said with a hint of helplessness.
Deep down, all the Marine higher-ups felt a sense of solemn respect for Tiger. What he did, while it sounded villainous—like burning down Mariejois—could actually be defined as an act of 'justice.' Now, being asked to take him down, they all felt a certain internal conflict.
Even Kong, who had the most to gain from this, showed a look of regret.
"If we don't act, CP will eventually get their hands on him anyway. If we do it, we can at least give him a quick end. But if CP captures him, he'll be left in a state where he can neither live nor die," Tsuru said softly.
The others remained silent. Perhaps Tsuru's reason was valid, but they all knew it was just an excuse—a graceful way to mask a darker truth and make their actions seem more 'just.' In short, they were pretending to be 'doing it for Tiger's own good,' as if the Marines killing him now was an act of consideration.
At that moment, Sengoku waved a hand. "Alright, alright, enough with the excuses. Tiger is a good person, a great person, and he deserves our respect. However, for the sake of the Marines' interests, he must pay a price. Reality is just that cruel. We don't need to dress this up with righteousness or nobility, and we don't need excuses. Just savor this torment with a sense of guilt and self-interest… and then give him a quick death."
Diarmuid agreed. Why bother looking for some grand, righteous justification? If this were a public matter, they would have to spin it, but among themselves, they all knew the truth.
Seeing that Sengoku had spoken, the others stopped their internal struggle.
But just then, Diarmuid spoke. "Speaking of which, there's something else I need to inform you about."
"Does it have to do with this matter concerning Tiger?" Sengoku asked.
"Yes. You all know Jinbe, right?" Diarmuid asked.
"Of course," Sengoku and the others nodded.
"That guy, though he's still a Marine Captain, his identity is very special. He's a key liaison between Fish-Man Island and us. I was planning on training him for the future, but it just so happens that he's been cared for by someone since he was a child. He regards this person as his big brother and respects him immensely…" Diarmuid said quietly.
Kong's expression shifted slightly. "Don't tell me that 'big brother' is Fisher Tiger?"
"You're a clever one, Fleet Admiral," Diarmuid joked.
"This makes things difficult now…" Sengoku murmured.
As Diarmuid said, Jinbe's identity was unique. If he were a simple, low-ranking Marine Captain, they wouldn't need to consider his feelings. But here they were, just starting to build a relationship with Fish-Man Island, a relationship that relied on him to maintain. And then this happened.
"So, I'm thinking of changing my plan. I'm going to have Jinbe join the Warlords of the Sea…" Diarmuid suddenly said. Of course, this was a plan he had considered for a while now.
Everyone was stunned. "Your line of thought is a bit of a leap. Are we even talking about the same thing?"
"I'm Jinbe's superior. He's my direct subordinate. You guys don't know him, but I do. I can tell you plainly, that man is incredibly loyal. He always repays his debts. On the way here from the port, I already made some inquiries. He hasn't left the Marines yet, likely waiting for me. As soon as I get back to my office, he's sure to come and resign. After that, he will definitely join the Sun Pirates to follow Tiger," Diarmuid stated with absolute certainty.
"So?" Sengoku asked.
"You can't force a relationship that isn't there. We'll handle this. Anyway, I've always been in charge of the Warlords of the Sea, so I'm just giving you a heads-up to avoid any misunderstandings later. Also, regarding Fisher Tiger, how long can we let him live at most?" Diarmuid's gaze landed on Kong.
It was obvious. Tsuru had already found some clues. Tiger had no experience as a pirate, and his crew was a group of fellow Fish-Men who knew nothing about the situation on the seas, not to mention the slaves they had in tow. In that state, going up against the Marines was a death wish.
In the original timeline, it was unclear how he managed to last for over two years before the Marines took him down. But now, Diarmuid estimated that if the Marines got serious, they could find and kill him within six months.
That's why he asked the question. The issue wasn't how long Tiger could survive, but how long the Marines were willing to tolerate him surviving. In other words, how much time did Fleet Admiral Kong need to prepare for a stable transition of power to Admiral Sengoku before they could calmly dispose of Tiger and install him as Commander-in-Chief?
Kong fell silent for a moment, then said, "Initially, I intended to arrest him as soon as possible, or give him a quick death. But since you put it that way…" He paused for a moment and looked at Sengoku. "Actually, Sengoku is already familiar with most of the Fleet Admiral's duties. About six months should be enough for the Marines to have a smooth power transition. So, we can't give Tiger too much time. Diarmuid, a year and a half. I can give him a year and a half at most."
"But Diarmuid, the Marines can give him a year and a half, pretend to be looking for him, but CP might not," Sengoku said again.
"I'll handle CP. If all goes well, Stussy is due for a promotion, and I'll have her pay close attention to this. With her intelligence support and Jinbe acting as a go-between to pass messages to Tiger, he should have no problem evading CP for a year and a half," Diarmuid candidly revealed his relationship with Stussy.
Sengoku gave Diarmuid a strange look, and Kong seemed to want to say something but didn't.
Diarmuid waved his hand. "Alright, I know, I know. You guys don't think that woman is a good thing. Don't worry, I won't make any fundamental mistakes."
"So be it. You're an Admiral; you know what you're doing," Zephyr gave a slight smile.
"Then I'll leave this matter to you, Diarmuid. Whether it's Jinbe or Tiger… a year and a half. I hope you can handle everything beautifully," Kong said.
"Thank you, Fleet Admiral. Leave it to me," Diarmuid replied.
To accommodate Diarmuid's plan, the Fleet Admiral himself was willing to delay his promotion and new position for a year… It really showed how much Kong cared for the Marines!
"Oh, right. The Gorosei said they want to meet with you officially when you have time to return to Mariejois," Kong suddenly added.
Diarmuid was taken aback. What was this about?
"It looks like the Gorosei want to ease tensions with us, then?" Diarmuid asked with a chuckle.
"It seems so," Sengoku nodded, then asked, "Are you going?"
"Why would I not go? But not right now. Mariejois is being rebuilt, so they probably don't have time to meet me anyway. I'll arrange it according to the situation," Diarmuid said with a very casual air.
"When you go, you…" Kong was about to offer some advice but then smiled. "I guess there's nothing I need to tell you. You're a crafty one. Just handle it yourself."
"Understood, Fleet Admiral," Diarmuid said with a smile.
Now, the Fleet Admiral was on his way to become Commander-in-Chief, a matter that was essentially decided. Even if they didn't take down Fisher Tiger, after a certain amount of time, the World Government would still have to install Kong as Commander-in-Chief. They couldn't afford to put a special operations head in that position again; they had learned that lesson the hard way.
Therefore, with Fleet Admiral Kong going to Mariejois, the Marines would indeed have to engage in some diplomacy with the World Government for a while, and not go too far. Otherwise, the Fleet Admiral would be stuck in the middle, and it would be harder for him to secure benefits for the Marines. During this time, they needed to do things that would reassure the World Government and ease the tense relationship.
This was also why Diarmuid didn't refuse to meet the Gorosei.
Of course, Diarmuid didn't think the Gorosei would try to humiliate him either; if they did, they'd truly be sick and unworthy of their positions. At this stage, the World Government urgently needed to maintain a certain level of friendliness with the Marines. Why would they want to pointlessly humiliate Diarmuid, a Marine Admiral? It would be like shooting themselves in the foot.
So, he figured the meeting wouldn't be too awkward…
After this, they talked about various other issues, most of which were related to Mariejois. Diarmuid wasn't particularly interested. He wasn't in charge of that area, and the matter was clearly something for Mariejois and the Fleet Admiral to handle. Among the admirals, only Sengoku was qualified to participate; Diarmuid and Sakazuki had no room to get involved.
After chatting for a while, Diarmuid stood up. "I don't have a place in this conversation. I'm sure Jinbe is waiting anxiously. You guys keep talking. I support all of Admiral Sengoku's proposals. I'm going to head out now."
The others didn't stop him. After a brief farewell, Diarmuid turned and left the Fleet Admiral's office.
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