It was mid-year 1509 of the Pirate Era.
On a Marine warship in the East Blue, Vice Admiral Momonga was bored, yawning as he leaned against the mast. Not far away, the Marine hero Garp was fishing, and although he hadn't caught a single one, he seemed to be in high spirits.
Garp hadn't visited the East Blue as frequently since Ace and Luffy moved to Marineford. He hadn't returned in two years, and now he had finally found an opportunity.
"Vice Admiral Garp, what do you think Admiral Diarmuid is up to? Why did he suddenly launch another anti-corruption campaign? This one seems to be a big one," Momonga asked, walking up to Garp after his yawn.
Two months ago, Admiral Diarmuid held a meeting at Headquarters in his name, with most of the Marine elites attending. During the meeting, Diarmuid fiercely criticized the corruption within the Marines, emphasizing that the organization was a force for justice, not a lawless group. The Marines' duty was to protect the people, not to oppress them. The funds the Marines allocated to their bases each year were meant for better operations and security, not for shameless scoundrels to pocket through embezzlement and corruption.
The anti-corruption effort had to be ongoing and carried out with great force! In the meeting room, Diarmuid spoke with great passion, and a new anti-corruption campaign began from Marine Headquarters.
This wasn't an overreach of his authority. Currently, the three Admirals each had their own focus. Sakazuki was in charge of the war in the New World. Sengoku oversaw the big picture and had already taken on some of the Fleet Admiral's responsibilities. And Diarmuid had a firm grip on the Marines' internal finances and development. From this perspective, as one of the three Admirals, Diarmuid had the right to launch a legitimate anti-corruption campaign. After all, he was in charge of the economy.
Following this, Diarmuid seemed determined to fight the corrupt Marines to the very end. He sent Garp to the East Blue, with Momonga and others assisting him, Gion to the West Blue, and Tokikake to the South Blue. Each of them was accompanied by several elite Marine officers. Even Diarmuid himself went to the North Blue, the sea with the most severe corruption issues in Marine history.
With Kuzan and Borsalino already stationed in the New World, along with their subordinates, Marineford was practically "emptied" by Diarmuid.
Chief of Staff Tsuru remained, as she was in charge of the intelligence department, so she couldn't be sent on an anti-corruption mission.
Sengoku had also gone to the New World to handle important strategic arrangements, as the gateway to the New World was always in a state of low-level, continuous conflict between pirates and the Marines.
Sakazuki was still a bit green in terms of overall strategy, so Sengoku had gone to help.
So, for now, the only high-ranking figures left in Headquarters were Sakazuki and Fleet Admiral Kong. This might seem like a weakness, but in reality, Kong, Sakazuki, and Tsuru were all incredibly strong. Additionally, there was the retired Admiral Zephyr living in Marineford.
Theoretically, Marineford had enough power to defend itself. With Sengoku, Kuzan, Borsalino, and other elites in the New World, major pirates had no chance of getting through their defenses to cause trouble in Marineford. It was very safe.
But this kind of security would make Mariejois vulnerable. No one had noticed this hidden situation yet. If something happened in Mariejois, the Marines wouldn't have enough key personnel to provide support.
The Fleet Admiral couldn't act on a whim. Of the three Admirals, one was fighting corruption in the North Blue, another was fighting pirates in the New World, and only Sakazuki was in Headquarters. But his power was too wild. If Mariejois was set on fire, Sakazuki would probably only make things worse. He might even completely burn down things that would have otherwise survived.
This was all part of Diarmuid's plan. Marineford was safe, but as for providing support... Sorry, if you dare to use Sakazuki, go ahead.
"Hahahaha, didn't he tell you?" Garp laughed.
"No, I just came back from the New World and was assigned this by the Admiral," Momonga said, shaking his head.
"Diarmuid is in charge of finances and development. After the last big war in the New World, our military funds were running low. Sakazuki wanted to conquer the New World quickly and asked Diarmuid for funding to expand G-1 and three other Marine bases in the New World. They had a huge argument in the meeting room and almost came to blows. But in the end, Diarmuid approved half of Sakazuki's request, which made Headquarters' finances even tighter. He couldn't come up with a good way to raise money quickly, so he focused on the corruption problem..." Garp explained with a chuckle.
This was the excuse Diarmuid had given the Marine higher-ups, and it sounded perfectly reasonable.
Momonga nodded in understanding. "So, the Admiral's idea is to catch the corrupt Marines and use the money they've embezzled over the years for military funds?"
"Pretty much," Garp nodded.
"The Admiral's methods are truly impressive," Momonga said with a smile.
"Hahahaha, Diarmuid is very good at making money. You were in charge of the Calm Belt, so you should know how capable he is," Garp laughed.
And so, the Marines launched a massive anti-corruption campaign. Corrupt Marines everywhere were on edge. One after another, they were rooted out, and a large amount of ill-gotten gains was sent to Headquarters. Diarmuid's excuse had unexpectedly and effectively eased the Marines' current financial pressure. This was a pleasant surprise.
At the same time, in Fish-Man Island, Fisher Tiger also received news that the Marines' top generals were being dispatched all over the world to fight corruption. He looked at the newspaper and the famous Marine figures, his eyes shining with a strange light.
Tiger had been a slave in Mariejois for several years. During that time, he constantly wanted to escape, but he also carefully observed the state of Mariejois. Because of this, he discovered that Mariejois was not as "impenetrable" as he had imagined. It was full of holes. So, even before he escaped, he had a bold plan in mind: to free the slaves who had suffered alongside him in Mariejois. He wanted to give the damned World Government a lesson they would never forget.
Later, he successfully escaped, but his body was in bad shape from years of slavery. He planned to return to Fish-Man Island to recuperate. On the way, he had planned to tell King Neptune about everything he had seen and planned. But when he returned to Fish-Man Island, he discovered that the relationship between Fish-Man Island and Marine Headquarters had changed since he was captured. Even his younger brother Jinbe had become a Marine Captain.
Tiger knew this was a good thing for Fish-Man Island, so he didn't tell the Royal Family anything. When his brother Jinbe came to visit him from the Marines, he wouldn't even let him inside. He had already made up his mind.
Now, his body had fully recovered, but before this, he was still worried. Even though Mariejois's defenses were weak, it was the Holy Land and not too far from Marine Headquarters. If something went wrong, Marine reinforcements would arrive quickly. The Marines now had many rising stars and powerful individuals. If an Admiral like Diarmuid showed up, he would be in big trouble.
Just as Tiger was thinking about how to solve this problem, he suddenly found that the problem had solved itself. Admiral Diarmuid had launched a new anti-corruption campaign, and a large number of generals who had been gathered in Marineford were now scattered all over the world.
Isn't this the perfect time for me to act?
With this thought, Fisher Tiger couldn't sit still any longer. He left Fish-Man Island that very night without saying goodbye to anyone.
When his younger brothers in the Fish-Man District, like Arlong, discovered that their big brother Tiger was missing again, Tiger was already climbing the Red Line. His conviction was pushing him to sneak into Mariejois in this reckless yet incredible way.
Arlong and the others weren't surprised by their leader's sudden disappearance; they were used to it. After all, their big brother was an adventurer. Especially after he came back this time, Tiger's personality seemed to have changed a lot. He wasn't willing to talk to anyone, so leaving without a word wasn't too hard to accept.
And so, Tiger disappeared from Fish-Man Island again without a ripple.
As Tiger climbed the Red Line, Dragon and his fellow Revolutionary Army officers were hiding underground beneath the Holy Land of Mariejois. They had arrived just two days ago. It was a small group of Dragon's most trusted subordinates, but they were all very strong.
Dragon was holding a map of Mariejois's layout. "You must understand that our mission is not about anything else but freeing more slaves and taking all the ill-gotten wealth from the World Nobles' homes. Our main goal is to create chaos, not to kill. Do you understand?" Dragon said to his crew.
Even though they had a chance to attack Mariejois in one fell swoop, the Revolutionary Army didn't have the power to occupy it or destroy the World Government's central command. So, Dragon wasn't fantasizing about achieving his life's ambition in one go. While he was a bit crazy about this, he wasn't someone who couldn't control his ambition. This time, he was going to be practical: free the slaves and get the money!
"Dragon-san..." a Revolutionary Army officer said. "We've been here for two days. Are we not going to act?"
Dragon was silent for a moment. "According to my intelligence, there should be some chaos in Mariejois. That will be the best time to act." After a short pause, Dragon continued, "But I don't think this intelligence is very reliable. So, let's wait a little longer. If nothing happens tomorrow, we'll act tomorrow night!"
"Yes!" the Revolutionary Army officers responded.
"How's the support team?" Dragon asked again. He was different from Tiger. Tiger came alone and acted alone, and any success he had was pure luck. But Dragon was an organized man.
"Our ships have already been coated and are hiding beneath Mariejois's port. As soon as the chaos begins, they will quickly take over the port and provide support," another Revolutionary Army officer said quickly.
Dragon nodded and didn't say anything else. Everything that needed to be arranged was ready. Now all that was left was to see how big their haul would be.
The thought of setting Mariejois on fire, freeing the slaves, and robbing the World Nobles made even Dragon a little excited. But in front of his crew, he had to maintain a calm and collected demeanor.
"Time... hurry up," Dragon whispered to himself, then closed his eyes and leaned against the wall to rest.
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