Apart from Diarmuid and a handful of other high-ranking officers, most of the Marine officers had no idea what was happening. Even those like Momonga were in the dark. However, they knew that given the presence of so many top brass at the meeting, something major must have occurred.
Fleet Admiral Kong didn't waste any time. He rapped on the table, drawing everyone's attention to his hand before speaking in a deep voice. "There are two things to discuss today. The first is that Crocodile, the 'Desert King,' ambushed the Whitebeard Pirates in the New World two days ago as they were returning. A major battle ensued."
Diarmuid, who was sipping his tea, nearly spat it out. He genuinely had no idea about this. Why was Crocodile so reckless? Had he always been this brazen? Had he seen the confrontation between Diarmuid and Whitebeard back on St. Poplar? If he had… could he not tell the difference in their power?
Douglas Bullet, who was an equal match for Crocodile, had been easily defeated by Diarmuid. Then Diarmuid, in turn, was defeated by Whitebeard, forcing him into a retreat. Following this simple logic, it should have been clear that Crocodile was no match for Whitebeard.
So why did he still go and attack?
Next to him, Gion immediately asked, "What was the outcome?"
But as she spoke, she couldn't help but chuckle. Many of the other Marine officers laughed as well.
"It was an ambush," Sengoku chuckled. "At first, Crocodile's subordinates had the upper hand, but as soon as Newgate stepped in, they were completely routed."
"In the end, Crocodile was even betrayed by his own subordinates. It was a complete and utter defeat, and it seems he even lost an arm," Kong said with a laugh. This was one of the best pieces of news he had heard in days.
Excellent! Let these pirate scoundrels fight amongst themselves; it would be best if they all just annihilated each other.
"After this battle, Crocodile has no place left in the New World. He will inevitably be forced to retreat, and our job as the Marines is to seize the opportunity to hunt him down and send him to Impel Down," Sengoku said, taking a sip of tea.
This concluded the discussion on the matter. There wasn't much more to say. The main point of bringing it up was to give everyone a good laugh before they heard the next piece of news, which wouldn't be nearly as pleasant.
Diarmuid remained quiet, silently sipping his tea. He was wondering if Gecko Moria would still go and challenge Kaido. He had completely vanished after entering the New World.
Many things had changed, and the world's course of development had already deviated. Diarmuid couldn't be sure if Crocodile's actions were a coincidence or an inevitability.
Just as Diarmuid was lost in thought, the beautiful female Marines from the Intelligence Division began handing out files to everyone in the conference room.
Diarmuid glanced down at the file on his desk. It was, as he expected, the ridiculous Warlords of the Sea proposal.
"Read through the documents first. The second matter is this Warlords of the Sea system. This is a very serious issue, and I hope you will all treat it with the seriousness it deserves," Kong said in a somber tone.
Although he already knew the contents, Diarmuid picked up the file and read it carefully. He was already mentally prepared, so he felt no anger. But as he read, he could hear the furious gasps and grumbles from many of the marines in the room. The previously jovial atmosphere had become deadly serious.
After a quick read-through, Diarmuid looked up at Sakazuki across from him. Sakazuki showed no change in expression, a rigid and unyielding block of a man.
As Diarmuid looked over, Sakazuki seemed to sense his gaze, and he looked back at Diarmuid without a word, his eyes clearly saying, 'I'll be watching your performance later.'
Next to Sakazuki, Kuzan's face was grim and cloudy. He didn't say anything either, but he was clearly furious. As for Borsalino, he had just finished reading the document. He casually tossed the file onto the table in front of him, pulled out a nail clipper, and began to trim his nails. It was as if the whole matter didn't concern him in the slightest.
While Borsalino always acted like a slacker, Diarmuid knew him well enough to know he had his own way of thinking. He was thoughtful and perceptive. He wasn't truly apathetic; he just had a strong sense of what was and wasn't worth his energy.
Diarmuid figured Borsalino must have realized that this was an unstoppable plan, so instead of getting angry, he was just calmly tending to his nails.
"What in the world is this? Legalizing pirates? Then what do we need the Marines for? In my opinion, we should fully support this. Let's report to the Gorosei that seven isn't enough and that we should create a 'Hundred Warlord of the Seas' plan, and not stop until we've recruited a hundred pirates. Then we can just disband the Marines and be done with it!" Vice Admiral Comil spat out, so angry he could barely hold his cigar.
Vice Admiral Jonathan silently lit a cigarette, puffing out a cloud of smoke and saying, "This is outrageous!"
After these two senior officers spoke, many of the elite Marine commodores and rear admirals began to curse and complain. Diarmuid looked around the room. Sure enough, on this issue, the Marines were completely united. They were all on the same page, presenting a united front.
"The World Government has gone too far!" Vice Admiral Onigumo slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
His fiery temper startled Diarmuid, who almost dropped his teacup. He quickly looked over at Sakazuki. After all, Onigumo was one of Sakazuki's trusted confidants, and he wondered if Sakazuki had orchestrated this outburst. But Sakazuki looked just as bewildered, his face showing surprise as he watched the enraged Onigumo.
'Wow, Onigumo is this intense? He's the first one to call out the World Government by name?' Diarmuid thought to himself. 'He's truly worthy of being the trusted subordinate of the future hard-headed Sakazuki; he's already mastered a third of his captain's temper.'
Before, Comil and Jonathan had only made sarcastic remarks. They hadn't gone so far as to directly curse the World Government. But Onigumo couldn't hold back his temper now.
"Which scumbag came up with this plan? Can't those useless bastards in the World Government see the trouble this will bring to the seas? And they have the nerve to send this document to Marine Headquarters!" Onigumo raged.
Sengoku was dumbfounded and was about to try and calm him down, telling him to stop cursing. It was one thing to say this in the conference room, but if it got out, Onigumo would be in deep trouble.
Fortunately, only the core elite of the Marines were present. While Onigumo was hot-headed, he wasn't stupid. He knew that no matter what he said here today, even if he pointed at a photo of the Gorosei and cursed them, there would be no repercussions.
First, the sentiment of the room was with him. His words might be crude, but no one would dare contradict him, because to do so would be seen as supporting the outrageous Warlord of the Sea system, and they would be deemed unfit to be a Marine. This was a political certainty within the Marines.
Second, anyone who dared to leak his words would be considered a traitor to the Marines and would never be able to show their face in Marineford again. So he knew he could curse and rage as much as he wanted without any worries.
However, before Sengoku could speak, Gion also stood up. Unlike Onigumo's angry expression, Gion looked bewildered as she stood up. She then abruptly looked down at Diarmuid, who hadn't moved an inch.
Gion was exasperated. She hadn't planned on saying anything, but she had suddenly felt a strange force and stood up. If this wasn't Diarmuid's doing, she'd eat her teacup.
"C'mon, curse them!" Diarmuid whispered without even looking up at her.
Today was a perfect opportunity to build a reputation. Whoever cursed the loudest would be seen as a true elite within the Marines and would gain a lot of respect and support. If Diarmuid were still a Rear Admiral, he wouldn't have let Onigumo speak first. He would have been the first to stand up and curse!
Hearing this, Gion finally understood. She clapped her hands together and said, "Yes, that's right! Onigumo is absolutely right! Which bastard came up with this plan? If he dares to come to Marineford, I'll slice him in two!"
As soon as Gion's words fell, Strawberry also slammed his hand on the table. "That's right! It's ridiculous! The people who created this plan deserve to die!"
After that, the curses were nonstop. Momonga, Yamakaji, Cancer, and Strawberry all joined in, and many other Marine vice admirals followed suit. Doberman was away at G-7 Base, but with his bulldog-like personality, he would have likely cursed the Gorosei's ancestors under this atmosphere.
Tokikake also cursed. He hadn't intended to, but since his goddess Gion had spoken, how could he, her loyal admirer, not follow suit?
Many of the top brass were stunned, while only Garp roared with laughter.
With the non-stop cursing and everyone denouncing the Warlord of the Sea system, Sengoku and Kong grew increasingly uncomfortable. If this continued and someone were to guide the conversation a certain way, it could very well turn into a military coup! That was unacceptable.
But given their positions, it was difficult for them to reprimand or stop everyone. If they spoke up now, it would look like they were opposing the collective outrage.
Just then, Diarmuid gave a look to Sakazuki, who nodded subtly in return. Then, Diarmuid slammed his hand on the table and roared, "What's all this noise? This is a meeting, not a public street! What are you all? You are soldiers, the elite of our Marines. You are here for a meeting, not to curse. All of you, shut your mouths and sit down! Listen to the opinions of the Fleet Admiral and the Admirals first!"
The Fleet Admiral and Admirals couldn't speak up, but Diarmuid, as an Admiral Candidate, had no such qualms. He could scold them all he wanted. As soon as Diarmuid "erupted" like this, Gion, Momonga, Yamakaji, and the other elites who clearly deferred to him immediately sat down, straight and obedient, without a word of protest.
Onigumo glanced at Sakazuki, and seeing Sakazuki place his teacup on the table, he understood his superior's intent. He, too, sat down quietly without another word.
With that, the members of the Marine Hawk faction also sat down. The remaining scattered Marine elites didn't have the right or the guts to defy Diarmuid, the "Ferocious Tiger of Marine Headquarters" who had once "punched a Fleet Admiral and slashed Garp." One by one, they all contained their anger and sat back down.
In a matter of moments, the rowdy and chaotic conference room was brought back to order by Diarmuid's single roar.
Kong gave Diarmuid a glare. He knew Diarmuid was putting on a show to establish his authority. But at the same time, it was clear that Diarmuid's authority in Marineford was already very solid.
The Fleet Admiral had no intention of interfering. He rapped on the table and said, "Mind your positions. What's the point of just cursing here? Sengoku, you speak first. But if you're just going to curse, you can stay silent."
Sengoku gave a helpless smile and said, "Then I'll keep it brief."
Diarmuid glanced at Sengoku. 'This is some classic bureaucracy,' he thought. ''I'll keep it brief'... He's already got the perfect leadership posture down.'
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