"Admiral, what's going on? Did you lose a bet and get mad?" Hina said, a cigarette already back in her mouth at some unknown moment.
"You lit up again when I wasn't looking? And am I that kind of person?" Diarmuid dusted off his clothes, then looked at Sphinx: "You were just a kid following Shiki back then, so I didn't intend to do anything to you. Since you've been in retirement all these years, why bother starting trouble with me? Couldn't you have just pretended you didn't see me?"
"What kid? Back then, I had a bounty of 370 million Berries!" Sphinx raged.
She aimed her Taurus revolver at Diarmuid again and continued: "I originally didn't plan to continue as a pirate after Captain Shiki fell, but seeing your bastard face makes my teeth itch! What despicable method did you use to kill Captain Shiki!?"
It was only then that Hina seemed to snap out of it, surprised: "You're Berserk Loli Sphinx? From the Flying Pirates?"
"That's me, so what?" Sphinx said, aiming her other revolver at Hina.
"The Flying Pirates?" Vergo was surprised, then said: "If she's really from the Flying Pirates, wouldn't she have become a pirate when she was two or three? She doesn't look like she's even twenty."
"Bullshit! I just have a youthful appearance! You were still sucking your thumb when I was messing around on the high seas!" Sphinx retorted, her mouth full of curses.
Vergo looked resigned. It's a shame for such a pretty little girl to be cussing like that. Thinking about it, wow, she really does sound like she was raised in a pirate den.
Diarmuid shifted his gaze from Sphinx to Issho, then said: "What's your deal? State your name. Are you a pirate too?"
Issho said, sounding quite helpless: "It's a misunderstanding. I am Fujitora Issho, merely a rōnin. Although I know she was a pirate before, she genuinely hasn't done anything bad in all these years. I believe she was just an ignorant child back then who was tricked into becoming a pirate. Esteemed Admiral, can you please let us go?"
"All these years?" Diarmuid was surprised.
Seriously? You deadbeat gambler, have you been hanging around with Sphinx all this time? How did you two even end up together?
"I personally vouch for her; she has truly turned over a new leaf," Issho insisted.
Hina glanced at the gambling den, then said skeptically: "You mean you want us Marines to trust the integrity of a gambler?"
Issho was instantly speechless.
Damn it, you have a point!
"Deadbeat gambler, why are you wasting words on these bastard Marines? You are the man who inherited Captain Shiki's will! Let's team up, start by killing Diarmuid, and then contend for the entire sea!" Sphinx yelled wildly, clearly trying to stir up chaos.
Issho was nearly moved to tears by her stupidity. He quickly said: "Don't talk nonsense! I didn't! I'm not! I have absolutely no connection to Shiki!"
"The man who inherited Shiki's will?" Vergo looked at Fujitora Issho strangely.
Issho, who had not yet become an Admiral, was an unknown figure, a folk master mingling with commoners, frequenting gambling dens everywhere. What kind of formidable aura could he possibly possess? None, at the moment.
And Shiki? Shiki was a fierce man who once terrified the four seas, dared to challenge Marine Headquarters alone, and was an epoch-making hero who was one step away from reaching the true pinnacle of piracy.
Issho currently had zero aura-based comparability to him, so Vergo was puzzled as to how this Sphinx character concluded that he had inherited Shiki's will.
"Diarmuid, you despicable and shameless bastard! You stole Captain Shiki's Devil Fruit, yet you have the gall to use that power against Captain Shiki! You even murdered him in Impel Down! How dare you still be a Marine Admiral?! You're vile, shameless, filthy, and disgusting..." Sphinx cursed.
Diarmuid was taken aback.
"Don't think I won't hit you just because you're small. I stole my ability fair and square. Just as Shiki took that Devil Fruit from someone else, what's the problem with me taking it from him? I'm a Marine, he was a pirate. My striking him was perfectly justified! As for his death, if he hadn't tried to escape from Impel Down, why would I bother going there just to kill him? I could have finished him at Marineford! What's more, he fought me fairly, in a duel to the death! There was nothing despicable or shameless about it!" Diarmuid spat back angrily at Sphinx.
Sphinx froze for a moment, then asked: "Escape? You weren't narrow-minded enough to secretly go to Impel Down and murder Captain Shiki, were you?"
"Are you insulting me?" Diarmuid said, a flicker of anger in his eyes.
The massive, crushing gravity from his person instantly enveloped both Issho and Sphinx.
It was at that moment that Issho lightly stamped his foot. A force, equally intangible and invisible, rose from within him, gently resisting the pressure carelessly exuded by Diarmuid.
In that instant, Diarmuid's anger vanished, replaced by surprise as he looked at Issho.
This power was incredibly familiar to him.
Because this force was the same top-tier, world-dominating power that his first true nemesis on this world had once wielded.
When he killed Shiki in Impel Down, he had regretted not having the Float-Float Fruit, thus letting a top-tier Paramecia ability go uninherited.
That's right. The ability Issho unintentionally used to resist Diarmuid's aura was none other than the power of the Float-Float Fruit, once wielded by the world-shaking pirate, Shiki the Golden Lion!
"I see. No wonder, no wonder Sphinx said you inherited Shiki's will. No wonder a volatile person like her would listen to you and retire from piracy. I see now..." Diarmuid murmured softly.
"The Float-Float Fruit..." Hina said, her eyes wide with shock.
The Marine Intelligence Division had been searching for this Devil Fruit ever since Shiki's death, but there were no leads. Yet, the fruit had been eaten by this unknown man years ago?
What was even more surprising was that upon gaining such power, this man hadn't caused any major trouble. He simply continued to be a deadbeat gambler, and even managed to guide Sphinx, a former great pirate, to turn over a new leaf?
"While I wasn't a witness to the events back then, having followed Admiral Diarmuid for many years, I've learned some of the secrets. Shiki the Golden Lion broke his own legs to escape from Impel Down and happened to run into Admiral Diarmuid, who was visiting Impel Down. The two engaged in a fierce fight to the death, but the Admiral was the final winner. The Admiral gave Shiki sufficient respect, and your Captain Shiki let go of his hatred before he died. Over the years, countless pirates have fallen at the hands of the Admiral, but Shiki is the only one he personally buried and erected a grave for!" Hina quickly spoke up.
Sphinx's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief, and she asked, her voice trembling slightly: "Captain Shiki... Does Captain Shiki have a grave?"
"Hmph." Diarmuid snorted, offering no verbal reply, but both Issho and Sphinx understood. He was admitting it.
"In the very end, did Captain Shiki acknowledge you?" Sphinx asked, looking at Diarmuid, her voice shaking.
"Do I need his acknowledgment?" Diarmuid retorted irritably.
But after the anger subsided, he nodded: "Both Shiki and I, in our hearts, respected the other. He may have been a damnable, evil pirate bastard, but judging by his demeanor and spirit, I must admit he was a true hero. For such a man, when death is imminent, I am willing to grant respect."
"It's true... Captain Shiki mentioned you many times. He said he watched you rise from an unknown figure in the North Blue, and he even said that the world became more interesting because he didn't kill you with one slash back then..." Sphinx whispered.
Her voice was full of deep sorrow.
It was clear her feelings for Shiki were deep.
Just then, Sphinx lifted her head, looked at Diarmuid, a flash of tears in her eyes, and then humiliatingly bowed her head, jumping off the stool and smashing her forehead onto the gambling table.
It looked somewhat awkward, as if she were bowing in deference to Diarmuid. "Diarmuid, whether you kill me or capture me, I won't resist. I only ask for one thing: before you deal with me, let me see Captain Shiki's grave! Just one look is enough!"
Diarmuid looked at Sphinx, somewhat surprised. He couldn't understand this kind of devotion. Shiki had been dead for so many years, yet Sphinx remained fiercely loyal, willing to go this far for him.
Though he didn't understand, he wouldn't mock her.
After a long silence, Diarmuid said: "You may."
"Thank you!" Sphinx immediately raised her head and said.
Issho quickly stepped forward and said: "This is truly a misunderstanding. Sphinx was just a child back then. She had no choice and was raised by pirates, which led her to do evil. She has genuinely turned over a new leaf now. There's no need to actually kill her, or send her to Impel Down, is there..."
"What if I insist on doing so?" Diarmuid looked at Issho and asked.
"Deadbeat gambler, don't worry about me. I already knew you didn't inherit Captain Shiki's will. I was just lying to myself, thinking that every time I saw your ability, the Captain hadn't really died... that he was still alive. But now that I think about it, you are nothing like him. Go on, leave me alone. Go back to being your gambler," Sphinx said, pushing Issho away.
However, Issho raised his hand and directly grabbed Sphinx by the collar, lifting her up and tossing her behind him. He looked at Diarmuid with a serious expression and said: "Perhaps this choice is wrong, but... I cannot stand idly by and watch you take my friend!"
"Oh? You intend to be an enemy of the Marines, and an Admiral?" Diarmuid's lips curled into a cruel smile.
"Perhaps I merely wish to ask the Admiral for a chance at clemency," Issho said softly, touching the shikomizue at his waist.
"Hahahahahaha!" Diarmuid burst into laughter.
After laughing, Diarmuid said: "You haven't caused any trouble all these years. I could have completely assumed you were dead, Sphinx. Even our Marine Intelligence Division officially concluded you were dead. Whether I arrest you or not holds little significance now. I can take you to Shiki's grave, but from this day forward, you must join my command..."
Issho was the type of person who, even as an Admiral, would whimsically let the Straw Hat Pirates escape. Even more so now that he wasn't yet a Marine. As for Sphinx, Diarmuid honestly wasn't very interested in her. She had been retired for so many years, and associating with Issho seemed fine. However, she had committed crimes in the past, and he couldn't just ignore her completely. Since that was the case, it was better to give her a chance at redemption.
The Marines also had a tradition of recruiting pirates, like how Hina recruited the hypnotist from the Black Cat Pirates in the original story. But making Sphinx an actual Marine was neither necessary nor appropriate.
"Impossible! You can arrest me, you can kill me, I don't care, but forcing me to join you bastards in the Marines? Never!" Sphinx refused without hesitation.
"Not exactly the Marines. In fact, it would suit both of you very well. Think of it as hiring you as security personnel. There's a place called Gold City that I think you'll find very interesting..." Diarmuid smiled.
"It's an entertainment city ten thousand times better than this place, with everything from the lowest-tier gambling dens to the most luxurious high-end casinos imaginable..." Hina, the little devil, chimed in.
Issho, who was utterly lacking in principle when it came to gambling, immediately pulled Sphinx over and said: "No problem at all! It's not about the gambling; I just think the name 'Gold City' sounds great and it's destined to be!"