While Ben Beckman was strategizing for the Straw Hat Pirates, preparing to use the chaos in the New World as a foundation for their rise, a few merchant ships were sailing on the sea not too far away, about a ten to fifteen-day journey.
These merchant ships were flying the Amway Company flag, and Diarmuid and his crew were on board. The Amway Company had contact with all sorts of characters in the New World; even Whitebeard often bought his liquor from them. The Amway Company's business policy was to never ask who you were. As long as you had the money, they would sell to you.
With the backing of Warlord of the Sea, "White Hunter" Smoker, and the help of the Pleasure District in the underworld, and now with the Donquixote Family as their partner, the Amway Company was growing larger and larger in the New World. Few people would dare to make trouble for them.
Diarmuid's group had been on the ships for a long time, sailing in the New World without any issues. Inside the cabin, Diarmuid stroked his chin with one hand and held a teacup with the other, his gaze fixed on a map of the New World on the table. The map was marked with many routes and intelligence codes.
Standing beside him were Marine Admiral Akainu and Admiral Candidate Gion. Behind Gion stood Momonga and Yamakaji, while behind Akainu was Onigumo.
"Look, Mihawk resupplied here yesterday. As usual, it's a five-day supply. In other words, he must reach the next island within five days. We've figured out his speed, so in five days, he can only reach these few islands..." Diarmuid said, pointing to a few islands on the map.
Akainu and the others nodded, listening in silence.
Diarmuid continued, "We've sent out two teams of Amway Company merchant ships. They haven't seen Mihawk on the routes to these islands..." Diarmuid pointed to a few more islands. Akainu and Gion remained silent, listening intently to Diarmuid's plan.
"While we can't be 100% certain, we can largely conclude that Mihawk has no intention of going to these islands. There's no need for us to bet on that possibility. Assuming he's not going there, we can rule out these islands. So that leaves these three islands..." Diarmuid pointed to three more islands on the map.
Akainu and Gion looked over. This time, Akainu spoke. "If it's those three islands, then we can be pretty sure that the Straw Hat Pirates are on one of them."
"Yes, unless they've left the New World," Gion said with a smile.
The three islands on the map were located right on the edge of the northern Calm Belt, in the northernmost part of the New World. There were no other islands to the south, east, or west. So, as Akainu and Gion said, if Mihawk was indeed looking for Shanks, then Shanks's Straw Hat Pirates were most likely on one of those three islands. Otherwise, they would have had to enter the northern Calm Belt and leave the New World.
But that was unlikely. They had just entered the New World. Why would they leave so soon? It didn't make sense.
"These two islands..." Diarmuid pointed to two of the three islands. "Are inhabited. I hear the smuggling business is thriving, since most islands near the Calm Belt rely on it. But that also makes it easier for us to gather information..."
After a chuckle, Diarmuid took out a Den Den Mushi, dialed a few numbers, and made a call.
"Hello? Is this Stussy-san?" Diarmuid asked cheerfully.
A voice on the other end responded, and the Queen of the Pleasure District asked with a smile, "Admiral Diarmuid, how can I help you?"
"No, I wouldn't dare instruct you. It's just that the Marines would like to conduct a joint operation with the CP organization, so I'm calling you for some information," Diarmuid said with a laugh. As an Admiral, he could initiate a joint operation himself without reporting it, so his casual remark gave Stussy a good reason to get involved.
"Since you put it that way, how can I refuse? Please go ahead," Stussy said with a smile.
Akainu, standing by, didn't react, thinking it was normal. He had already heard that Diarmuid was on good terms with Stussy of the CP organization, so there was nothing surprising about it.
Gion, however, looked a bit annoyed and glared at Diarmuid, but she didn't interfere.
Diarmuid shot a glance at Gion and then said, "Help me check if there's any intelligence on the movements of the Straw Hat Pirates on Korinth Island and Bynesse Island. And make it fast."
"No problem," Stussy replied, hanging up the Den Den Mushi without any unnecessary chatter.
Diarmuid put away his Den Den Mushi. "Now we just wait for her message. If Stussy rules out these two inhabited islands, we'll go straight to that uninhabited island. If we find Shanks on one of these two, we can go directly there, too..."
Akainu had no objections. He knew that in terms of strategy, Diarmuid was far more skilled than he was, after all, he was a professional from the Intelligence Division. Gion had no reason to object either, so they didn't dwell on the matter.
Akainu asked in a deep voice, "By the way, are we not going to do anything about Big Mom and Kaido?"
"Do what?" Diarmuid asked, taking a sip of tea with a laugh.
"Didn't the Fleet Admiral say we should stop their alliance if we get the chance?" Akainu frowned.
"We don't have a chance, do we?" Diarmuid said with a smile.
Akainu: ???
You haven't even tried, and you're already saying there's no chance?
Before he could say anything else, Diarmuid spoke up. "Don't worry, the Fleet Admiral just wants to see what those two are up to. As soon as we entered the New World, Charlotte Linlin started telling everyone that she was going to ally with Kaido. That's a statement in itself. Their alliance is aimed at Whitebeard."
"So we're not going to do anything?" Akainu asked with a touch of hesitation.
"We can't do anything for now. It's a good thing for us that they're allying to fight Whitebeard. If we intervene, it would be counterproductive. Let them fight like dogs. Akainu... until we're ready and have broken free of all the Marines' chains, we need to keep the pirates around. Otherwise, all our efforts will be for nothing. When the prey is gone, what reason does the World Government have to keep the hounds? When the birds are gone, the good bow is put away. Just follow the plan of Admiral Sengoku and the Fleet Admiral. For now, we just need to keep a firm grip on the gateway seas of the New World and prepare for our push. Once we've solved our internal problems, then we'll deal with these pirates," Diarmuid said softly.
Akainu let out a sigh. "I guess there's no other way." Although he was a bit unhappy, he understood the logic. If the Marines were to take out Whitebeard, Kaido, and Charlotte Linlin right now and clean up the pirates in the New World, would the World Government still give them so much funding every year? Would they still treat the Marines so well?
Impossible.
Without an external threat, the Marines would become a threat to the World Government, and they would definitely find a way to suppress them again.
This was not in the Marines' best interest, and the Marines were not in a position to cause another rift with the World Government. It was better to lie low for a while. Once they had control of the economic lifelines, set up the Warlord of the Sea system, and the Fleet Admiral became Commander-in-Chief of the Entire Military, all these internal issues would be resolved.
Only when the Marines could operate stably without the World Government's support and funding would it be time to truly begin their plan to clean up the pirates.
In fact, ever since the World Government went against the Marines' wishes and insisted on the Warlord of the Sea system, the high-ranking officials within the Marines had reached a consensus on this matter. Therefore, after the year 1502 of the Marine calendar, the Marines hadn't made any major moves. On the surface, it seemed as if maintaining the status quo of the ocean had exhausted the Marines and left them with no extra capacity to get involved. In reality, the high-level officials were focused on reorganizing internal Marine affairs.
In recent years, the pro-World Government faction among the lower and middle ranks of the Marines had a difficult time and had almost no chance of promotion. This was one sign of the change. As for the top brass? The Marine top brass currently had no one who was close to the World Government. This was Diarmuid's handiwork over the past ten years.
"Go after the smaller fish while leaving the big ones. We don't need to worry about the established top-tier pirate crews like Kaido, Whitebeard, and Big Mom for now. We'll use them as a front and take out potential up-and-comers like Shanks. This will prevent them from stirring up trouble when we decide to move on the pirates in the New World," Diarmuid said with a smile.
This was a policy the Fleet Admiral had been implementing for the past few years. The Marines had been specifically hunting and eliminating promising pirate organizations like the Straw Hat Pirates.
After a short pause, Diarmuid said gravely, "I don't care about anything else. Since the Fleet Admiral has given me this order, we will not let Shanks get away this time. We will either kill him outright or send him to Impel Down to rot in a cell. You all need to be on your guard and stop with the flashy nonsense. If Shanks gets away, I will hold you all responsible."
Gion, Momonga, Yamakaji, Onigumo, and the others immediately snapped to attention and saluted. "Yes, Admiral!"
Akainu didn't respond, as he was on the same rank as Diarmuid. But it was clear that he, too, was impressed by Diarmuid's presence. Diarmuid had been an Admiral for almost eight years, while Akainu had just been promoted. In terms of commanding presence, Diarmuid was definitely stronger. He could include Akainu in his command, but Akainu could never say something similar and include Diarmuid.
Right after Diarmuid finished speaking, the Den Den Mushi rang again. It was the Queen of the Pleasure District calling back.
"It seems the Queen is quite efficient," Diarmuid said with a smile.
He answered the Den Den Mushi. "So, what's the news? Did you find anything?"
Stussy didn't beat around the bush. "No, I didn't. Both of those islands have branches of my Pleasure District, and I've just checked the intel. There's no sign of the Straw Hat Pirates on either of them."
"I see. Thank you very much, Queen Stussy," Diarmuid said politely.
Without a moment's hesitation, Diarmuid hung up the Den Den Mushi and put it away. "Alright, we can now pinpoint the uninhabited island. Full speed ahead!"