The next morning, Diarmuid and the others set off for the large conference room. At the entrance, he saw Sakazuki leaning against the wall.
Gion and the others walked straight in without a word.
Diarmuid, however, stopped in his tracks, shifted his body slightly, and leaned against the wall next to Sakazuki. "So, you've heard the news?" he asked.
"Of course," Sakazuki replied in a stiff tone.
Before Diarmuid could speak, Sakazuki continued, his voice full of indignation, "It's outrageous! This is an insult to justice, an insult to us Marines!"
"Yeah, I agree..." Diarmuid nodded.
Sakazuki finally looked at Diarmuid. "You've always been clever. Do you have any good ideas?" he asked in a low voice.
"Good ideas?" Diarmuid shook his head. "I met with Zephyr-sensei yesterday. According to his and Vice Admiral Garp's deductions, this matter is already a fait accompli. We can't stop it. The Marines can only express our displeasure and try to make the situation look a little better..."
"We can't stop it?" Sakazuki's eyes flashed with anger.
But the anger quickly subsided, and he asked, "How can we stop it?"
"How do we stop it? By completely breaking with the World Government? By making things miserable for everyone? We could stop it that way, but the pirates would all be laughing their heads off. Sakazuki, how do I put it... this whole thing..." Diarmuid paused for a moment, trying to find the right words.
But Sakazuki's eyes already showed a flash of understanding. He sighed and said, "I see what you mean. From a certain point of view, this whole Warlords of the Sea thing is already something that will make those vile pirates laugh. But that's not the most serious part. If the Marines and the World Government completely fall out over this, that would be the biggest joke of all. The repercussions would be far more severe than the Warlords of the Sea. So, we have to choose the lesser of two evils... For the sake of the 'bigger picture,' we have to swallow our pride, right?"
Diarmuid nodded. "That's about right. To put it more bluntly, this whole thing depends on which side, the Marines or the World Government, has fewer scruples and is more shameless. The more shameless side wins. And it looks like we Marines still have too much integrity. The World Government is counting on us not turning on them completely over this, which is why they're being so brazen."
Compared to the World Government's shamelessness, the Marines still have some dignity. They don't want to make an already chaotic situation even worse over this. They don't want to let those damn pirates watch the Marines and the World Government fight it out, or they'd all die laughing on their pirate ships!
The World Government's shamelessness lies in the fact that they've calculated the Marines' bottom line, while they themselves have none.
It's a different kind of 'taking advantage of a gentleman's virtue.'
"This is disgusting!" Sakazuki spat out.
It was clear that Diarmuid's analysis had completely sickened him.
After a slight pause, Sakazuki asked again, "That being said, I don't think you're the type to just sit back and do nothing, are you? Do you have any good ideas?"
"I have a few ideas. In fact, I've told you before that I was waiting for an opportunity, and this is clearly it..." Diarmuid said in a low voice.
Sakazuki was stunned. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Not many people know about this yet, so you haven't felt the hidden undercurrents. But Sakazuki, you and I are completely disgusted by this. What about the others?" Diarmuid asked.
"Anyone with a sense of justice... no, anyone who can work at headquarters, will find this disgusting!" Sakazuki said without hesitation.
"Exactly. So in this situation, we'll all harbor great dissatisfaction and resentment toward the World Government, right?" Diarmuid asked again.
Sakazuki nodded. "Of course. If I didn't have to consider the 'bigger picture,' I'd burn that filthy 'holy land' of Mariejois down right now!"
Diarmuid was taken aback, then said thoughtfully, "There's no need to rush. Maybe someone will burn it for you one day..."
Sakazuki was confused. 'What are you talking about?'
Diarmuid didn't explain. Instead, he continued, "This is a perfect opportunity to use our troops' morale. I think I'm also starting to understand why the Fleet Admiral and Admiral didn't react at all when your promotion to Admiral candidate was stalled. They were probably waiting, waiting for a chance, or waiting for the World Government to do something even more outrageous. Now, that moment has come, and the timing is right. Before today, the World Government still had some authority within the Marines, but after this, there won't be a shred left!"
Sakazuki's eyes lit up. He looked around and said, "Are you going to rebel against the World Government?"
"Go to hell! Watch your words. We might be close, but if you go around spreading rumors like that, I'll sue you for defamation! You can go ahead and rebel; I'll cheer you on from the sidelines!" Diarmuid rolled his eyes and said with annoyance.
Sakazuki couldn't help but laugh. He was just joking, after all.
"If we're united, we can use this Warlords of the Sea issue to pressure the World Government into making concessions on other fronts. For example, my promotion to Admiral, or your recognition as an Admiral candidate. We can't let the World Government use these tactics to choke the Marines anymore. In addition, we should demand more military funding and get additional authority to further expand the Marines' independence..." Diarmuid said in a serious tone.
Sakazuki crossed his arms and nodded. "That makes sense. But are we really going to just give up on the Warlords of the Sea issue?"
"Of course not. Issuing the policy is one thing, but implementing it is another. Last night, I thought about it carefully, and I think we Marines should secure some crucial authority within this damned plan." Diarmuid said grimly.
"Give me an example," Sakazuki asked.
"For example, the selection process for the Warlords of the Sea. In other words, as the World Government's loyal and just organization, we can't let the World Government be fooled by those pirates who are all flash and no substance, right? We can't give the Warlord title to pirates who are utterly useless, right?" Diarmuid said with a cruel smile.
Sakazuki was first confused, but seeing the cruel smile on Diarmuid's lips, he suddenly understood and laughed out loud. "Hahahahaha, that makes sense!"
The words sounded nice on the surface, but Sakazuki had understood. It was one thing for the World Government to decide who becomes a Warlord of the Sea, and another thing entirely for the Marines to decide who gets to keep the position.
To put it simply, if the Marines felt that one of the World Government's appointees wasn't suitable, they could use the excuse of 'helping to verify' their qualifications and just go kill that pirate.
No matter how great the World Government is, they can't make a dead man a Warlord of the Sea, right?
This way, the Marines would have the chance to add their own influence to the Warlords of the Sea.
They could mess with the system, appointing some useless fellows to the position and thereby reducing the disgusting nature of this whole miserable plan to the greatest extent possible.
"I knew you'd understand," Diarmuid said with a smile.
After a slight pause, he continued, "I even have a more underhanded plan..."
"Oh? Is that right? I'm quite interested..."
Diarmuid grinned, about to speak, when he suddenly realized something. 'Wait, that's not Sakazuki's voice!'
He turned around and saw Admiral Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong standing right behind him. He and Sakazuki had gotten so caught up in their conversation that they hadn't noticed they had moved away from the wall.
Sakazuki had also just snapped out of it, looking at the Fleet Admiral and Admiral with a hint of surprise.
"Hehehe... Fleet Admiral, Admiral, you're here," Diarmuid said with an awkward laugh.
"You've got a lot of tricky ideas. I'll make sure to listen carefully to your 'underhanded plan' in the meeting. Stop standing around at the door; let's all go in together," Sengoku said with a smile.
Diarmuid scratched his head and nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. He and Sakazuki walked inside.
Sengoku shook his head at Kong, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "This kid..."
"Hahahaha, isn't that a good thing? This kid has always been clever. I want to hear his 'underhanded plan' myself," Kong laughed heartily before stepping into the conference room.
Inside the conference room, Diarmuid plopped down next to Gion. She looked at him strangely. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Diarmuid waved a hand, then picked up the teacup from the table and took a sip. "In a couple of days, you might just be a Vice Admiral..."
Gion, who had just turned her head away, whipped it back around to face Diarmuid. "Are you going to become an Admiral?"
"I should have been promoted to Admiral ages ago. My strength is undeniable, and I have more than enough achievements. Under my leadership, G-7 has developed rapidly and has even provided headquarters with a new way of thinking, which can help us break free from our chains. With an Admiral position vacant, who else would get it but me?" Diarmuid said without a shred of modesty.
"Vice Admiral Garp would!" Gion retorted, instantly shooting him down.
Diarmuid was speechless.
"Can you just have a normal conversation?" Diarmuid said, annoyed.
"Hahahaha, but didn't the higher-ups block that promotion?" Gion laughed, then asked.
"That's why I'm here. To open that door," Diarmuid said with a smile.
"That sounds exciting..." Gion replied. But soon, the smile on her face faded, and a slightly melancholic expression appeared.
Diarmuid noticed this and asked strangely, "What's wrong? You're getting a promotion. Why aren't you happy?"
Gion forced a smile. "I'm happy."
"Then what's that face for?" Diarmuid asked, confused.
"It's nothing. The meeting's starting. Stop talking and be quiet," Gion said with an impatient wave of her hand.
Diarmuid was completely baffled. 'Why did this woman suddenly get so moody?'
Meanwhile, Gion took a sip from her teacup and thought to herself with a hint of helplessness, 'When I get promoted to Vice Admiral, Diarmuid will surely have me take over G-7. But because of that, he'll become a Marine Admiral and be stationed permanently at Marineford... We won't get to see each other very often after that, will we?'
Just then, Fleet Admiral Kong tapped on the table. "Silence. The meeting is now in session."
As soon as he spoke, Diarmuid and the others fell silent.
Looking around, the conference room was filled with Admirals.
Kong, Sengoku, Zephyr, and Garp were all there, along with Tsuru, who had been stripped of her Chief of Staff title.
Even Borsalino had been called back, and so had Kuzan. And of course, Sakazuki was there.
Jonathan, Comil, and a whole host of other seasoned Vice Admirals were also present.
Momonga and the others were seated at the back. In short, almost all of the Marine's high-ranking officers and elite members were in attendance.
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