Carnival City, a wonderfully vibrant island in the first half of the Grand Line.
As its name suggests, it is an island dedicated to entertainment.
A small assault ship slowly docked in the harbor, and Diarmuid's tall figure stepped off the vessel.
He was not dressed in his usual Admiral attire.
Diarmuid was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, beach shorts, and black sunglasses. He held a glass of juice with a straw in his mouth, and a newspaper was tucked under his armpit.
He perfectly blended into the cheerful atmosphere of the island, indistinguishable from the tourists streaming by. The only thing that made him stand out was his height.
But even that wasn't a problem, as there were plenty of tall tourists on the island.
Following behind him was his little secretary, Hina.
Hina wore a light yellow sheer dress and a wide-brimmed lady's sunhat atop her pink hair. She, too, sported sunglasses, but instead of juice, she held a half-smoked cigarette between her lips.
The original plan was for Gion to accompany Diarmuid on this vacation.
However, circumstances changed at the last minute. Just as they were about to depart, an urgent mission came in from the Intelligence Division, and Gion had to go help her old friend, Chief of Staff Tsuru.
In the end, it was Hina, the little secretary, who benefited, happily tagging along with Diarmuid for the holiday.
They didn't go to the New World, which was still a mess. Given Diarmuid's status, if he were recognized there, it would surely cause a new commotion.
So, after careful consideration, the two decided to come and enjoy Carnival City.
"The Sea Train project has finally been rolled out?" Diarmuid stood at the port, looking at the railway station being constructed not far away, and said with a touch of nostalgia.
Years ago, Smoker had begun contacting Tom and had indeed acquired the Sea Train technology.
The initial plan was to lay tracks in the Calm Belt, but it was temporarily shelved.
The Sea Train technology at the time was not particularly mature; it had only just achieved initial success. The first-generation Sea Train couldn't slow down and was constantly in a state of vroom-vroom-vroom.
There were also issues with the track technology, making it cumbersome to lay on the ocean surface, and they hadn't yet perfected the sonic waves needed to repel Sea Kings.
Later, Diarmuid delegated these tedious matters to Momonga, and he hadn't paid much attention to them since.
Now, it seemed the Sea Train technology must have matured. If all went as expected, Momonga should have already begun laying down proper Sea Train lines in the Calm Belt.
Once a functional Sea Train network could be established within the Calm Belt, the entire plan for developing the South Calm Belt would be completely realized and perfected.
"Does the Admiral want to try it out? I hear Water 7 has opened a line connecting to St. Poplar," Vergo said with a smile.
That's right, Vergo was also vacationing with Diarmuid.
Since Doflamingo was preparing to completely align himself with Diarmuid, Vergo's identity no longer felt quite so awkward.
If Doflamingo could truly clean up his image and permanently secure his ties to the Marines through concrete actions, Vergo wouldn't have to worry about his former undercover status. He could officially serve as a Marine officer.
Diarmuid had previously asked him if he intended to return to the Donquixote Family to assist Doflamingo or stay in the Marines to continue his work.
After a brief moment of thought, Vergo gave a firm answer: he wanted to remain a Marine.
This surprised Diarmuid. He wondered what the reason was. Could it be that his years of service in the Marines had truly activated the man's 'Sense of Justice'?
That's absolutely outrageous.
But since Vergo had made his choice, Diarmuid gave him another chance. He transferred him away from his position as Port Scheduler and brought him back to his side.
After this vacation, he would be sent out to serve as Vice Admiral Doberman's deputy.
Speaking of which, Diarmuid had assigned Doberman to the G-5 Marine base as its Commander.
Diarmuid had originally planned to send Gion to that position, but due to various circumstances, it ultimately fell to Doberman.
And surprisingly, Doberman was doing quite well in G-5, the so-called Marine 'garbage bin.'
Doberman's life story was changed by Diarmuid from the very beginning. The moment he graduated from the Marine Officer Training Camp, Diarmuid took him in as his aide. Later, he oversaw the labor reform movement for pirate prisoners at Impel Down in the Calm Belt. Having been by Diarmuid's side and absorbing his ideology and personal instruction, Doberman had long been a staunch member of Diarmuid's faction.
He was thriving in the G-5 'garbage bin.' After all, could these so-called 'problem children' truly be more vicious than the tens of millions of Impel Down labor prisoners?
Impossible. In just over half a year, Doberman had whipped G-5 into shape, top to bottom.
Now, he only lacked a deputy, and Vergo was the deputy Diarmuid had prepared for Doberman.
"No need," Diarmuid waved his hand.
Then, he looked at the bustling Carnival City and smiled: "Enjoy the atmosphere here while you can. You might not get to experience this kind of liveliness later."
Hina paused at this and asked: "Admiral, is there a problem with Carnival City?"
"No," Diarmuid said calmly.
"Then you're speaking as if Carnival City is about to go bankrupt," Hina said, rolling her eyes.
"Once our Gold City project is launched, every entertainment city in the world will be severely affected, and Carnival City will be no different. This is inevitable. And according to Tesoro's plan, Gold City will be operational by the end of next year... That's why I had that thought," Diarmuid explained, his tone a little reflective.
Although Smoker only recently secured approval for the Gold City project from Mariejois and gained support from the Holy Land.
In reality, preparations for the plan began as soon as Tesoro joined Smoker's ranks. In fact, construction on Gold City has been underway for a long time.
So, according to the current plan, Gold City is set to begin operations no later than the start of 1516, Sea Calendar.
With this, Diarmuid has finalized arrangements for all the major income streams supporting the Marines' economy and military expenses.
Joking and chatting, the three walked further into the port area.
Just as Diarmuid bought a watermelon and was about to find a place to slice it open for everyone to eat, the Den Den Mushi Hina carried began to ring.
"Admiral, it's Vice Admiral Yamakaji," Hina said, looking at the Den Den Mushi.
Diarmuid performed a single-handed chop to split the watermelon, gestured for Vergo to start eating, and then picked up the Den Den Mushi: "Yamakaji? What is it?"
"There's been another incident in the Special Science Group, Admiral," Yamakaji's gentle voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
Diarmuid was perplexed. Is Borsalino having a terrible year? Why is it that every time the Marines have an internal problem recently, it originates from his department?
"What happened? Don't tell me someone kidnapped Dr. Vegapunk?" Diarmuid joked.
"A large-scale leakage of raw materials for mass-destruction weapons occurred on Punk Hazard. Dr. Vegapunk was evacuated immediately, but the entire island of Punk Hazard has been contaminated. It's essentially been 'destroyed'," Vice Admiral Yamakaji reported with a hint of helplessness.
He was part of Diarmuid's faction, but he worked in the Intelligence Division. This was normal; faction was one thing, and the department was another. Because he worked in the Intelligence Division, Yamakaji was well-informed about many internal Marine matters.
"Punk Hazard is completely ruined?" Diarmuid was stunned.
"Yes. The losses are immense. The other chief scientist in the Special Science Group, M. Caesar Clown, is the culprit behind this incident. He was secretly researching an extremely powerful mass-destruction weapon behind Dr. Vegapunk's back. This Punk Hazard incident was caused by the leakage of his weapon's raw materials. Furthermore, he immediately chose to defect and actually managed to escape Punk Hazard amid the chaos," Vice Admiral Yamakaji continued to report.
Diarmuid frowned slightly. He recalled that while Caesar had caused such a tragedy, he had been arrested by the Marines and was supposed to be sent to Impel Down.
In reality, that imprisonment was merely a way to clear his name. Caesar was a valuable talent to both the Marines and Mariejois, and it was impossible for him to be truly shelved because of a single incident. A few years in prison would serve as a public explanation, and he would soon be reinstated.
However, in the original story, he didn't seem to understand this, was terrified, and was intercepted by Doflamingo on the way to Impel Down. He then switched his allegiance and went to work for Doflamingo.
Later, relying on some of the results he had developed in the Special Science Group, he secretly helped Doflamingo research new weapons, sold new military hardware, and even engaged in artificial Devil Fruit business and human giantification experiments with Charlotte Linlin. In short, he never did a single good thing.
But this time, he escaped? He wasn't captured?
"What about Borsalino? He couldn't catch Caesar?" Diarmuid asked.
"Admiral Borsalino was at Headquarters for a meeting when the incident occurred..." Yamakaji said, sounding somewhat embarrassed.
Hearing this, Diarmuid burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, that Borsalino guy is truly having a run of bad luck!"
After a moment, Diarmuid asked: "What did Headquarters say?"
"The specific measures haven't been issued yet, but it's likely that Admiral Borsalino is in trouble. Fleet Admiral Sengoku was very angry and severely reprimanded Admiral Borsalino during the morning meeting," Yamakaji replied.
"That's what he gets for being so lackadaisical all the time..." Diarmuid muttered.
However, he knew that this incident truly wasn't Borsalino's fault. The Special Science Group was an incredibly complex organization. Officially, it fell under Marine Headquarters, but in reality, various factions interfered—the CP organization, Mariejois, and even the Warlords of the Sea had operations there. Especially when it came to the chief scientists, Borsalino couldn't control them at all.
It was precisely because of this complex structure that Fleet Admiral Sengoku entrusted the Special Science Group to Borsalino, that smooth-talking, cynical old veteran who knows how to deal with everyone.
But trouble still arose. Although it wasn't Borsalino's responsibility, he was the one who had to step up and take the blame.
Truly miserable.
"How severe are the losses?" Diarmuid asked again.
"Several tens of thousands, at least," Vice Admiral Yamakaji whispered.
"Several tens of thousands?" Diarmuid was astonished. This implied 'tens of trillions' of Berries.
"The entire Punk Hazard was developed as a research island. Over the years, the Special Science Group and Mariejois have invested a huge amount of research funding in Punk Hazard. Not to mention the research results that were destroyed, just the high-end scientific equipment and machinery accumulated amount to several tens of trillions," Vice Admiral Yamakaji explained quietly.
Diarmuid slowly suppressed his shock. Right. Scientific equipment was always outrageously expensive. Often, a single, unassuming machine could cost hundreds or even thousands of billions of Berries.
Punk Hazard had been operating as a research island for so many years. The investment there was incalculable.
This time, the loss was truly enormous. Both the Marines and Mariejois would feel the pain!
"You in the Intelligence Division need to closely monitor Caesar's movements. We can't let this extremely dangerous bastard roam free. Capture him and bring him to justice as soon as possible," Diarmuid said after a moment of thought.
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