When the Marine ships arrived at the Edd War Sea, everyone's faces were grim.
Sengoku looked at the overcast sky and felt like fate was working against him.
"We chose wrong…" Sengoku said with a hint of helplessness and regret, standing on the deck.
Borsalino and Sakazuki's expressions were similar, but Borsalino looked more nonchalant.
Only Diarmuid seemed confused. What did he mean?
"Admiral, maybe we aren't wrong? The Edd War Sea is so big… what if we go in and look for them?" Diarmuid suggested.
Sengoku said with a sigh, "Shiki is a cautious man, and he has some of the best climate scientists in the world. Our Marines' climate intelligence can't compare to his. We might make a mistake and misjudge the weather in the Edd War Sea, but Shiki… he wouldn't."
As he said this, Sengoku smiled inwardly at Diarmuid's disbelieving expression and patted him on the shoulder. "Diarmuid, you didn't do anything wrong. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I was too careless."
After all, he was the one who circled the three seas. Diarmuid had only found the most likely one within the range he provided.
He really couldn't blame Diarmuid for the current situation. It was his own fault for trusting the climate report from the intelligence department too much.
Hearing Sengoku's words, Diarmuid finally understood what was going on.
He really wanted to tell Sengoku that they could still make it if they rushed in now.
Maybe the great battle between Roger and Shiki had already ended, and maybe they wouldn't be able to catch the Roger Pirates, but as for that guy, Shiki, he might have a ship's rudder stuck on his head. This was a great opportunity to take care of him once and for all!
Looking at the sky, it seemed like this cloudy weather had been going on for a few days, but in reality, a huge storm had just formed and was spreading not long ago.
And it was because of this phenomenon that Sengoku mistakenly thought they had made a mistake in their climate intelligence.
From this perspective, Sengoku felt that even if the Roger Pirates had chosen to pass through here, Shiki wouldn't risk having his entire fleet wiped out by ambushing Roger here.
In that case, he wouldn't be taking out the Roger Pirates; he would be giving them a helping hand!
"Admiral, I think we can still try!" Diarmuid said urgently.
Sengoku and the others had planned to turn around and head for the Chalana Sea or the Wisewell Sea when they saw the weather. By doing so, they would be gambling on luck, but maybe they could still make it in time.
Of course, Sengoku no longer had much hope in his heart.
Going back and forth like this, even if the ships were fast enough, they probably wouldn't make it in time.
He even believed that, as of now, the Marines could declare this mission a failure.
Even though he was a bit dejected, he wasn't too discouraged. After all, the Marines had only considered this a worthwhile opportunity from the beginning.
Even if they failed, there was no loss.
It was even a small gain. No matter what, Shiki would probably have a big fight with Roger. If those pirates were to fail, it would be a victory for the Marines, right?
Therefore, Sengoku quickly adjusted his mood. As a commander, he couldn't let himself be depressed.
Listening to Diarmuid's persistent words, Sengoku smiled and continued, "Diarmuid, you're still young, and you don't know these pirates. Golden Lion Shiki is an ambitious man with great power and cunning. At the same time, he's a very ruthless and meticulous man. For all these years, he has been very clear about his weaknesses and has never made a single mistake in this area. So… it's impossible for Shiki to be here in this weather."
Sengoku's evaluation of Shiki was very fair.
As Shiki's old opponent, he was qualified to judge him this way.
No need to mention his ambition and strength. As for being meticulous, even though Diarmuid always felt like the Shiki he knew in his memories was a bit of a knucklehead.
Like fighting Marine Headquarters, Marineford, all by himself…
But he had to admit that when he wasn't being irrational, Shiki was indeed meticulous.
Could a careless person plan something that would take over twenty years to come to fruition?
What's more, if he wasn't meticulous in this area, he probably would have been taken out by the Marines and his fellow pirates long ago. Could he have become the pirate overlord he was now?
Because of this, Diarmuid felt that Sengoku's words made a lot of sense, and he almost changed his mind, thinking that Shiki might not actually be in there.
But he quickly got rid of that thought because there was a very important factor that no one else had noticed!
That was that Roger was a more "treacherous" person than Rosinante!
How to put it… he was a little different from Rosinante's "treacherousness." Roger was more like the "Child of the Era."
But somehow, anyone who got involved with him usually didn't have a good ending!
Look at Rocks. He was a pirate overlord who was about to lead his young and brave brothers to conquer the world.
But by chance, Roger debuted as a pirate, and not long after, he completely destroyed Rocks at God Valley.
From then on, the Rocks Pirates' company went bankrupt, all the shareholders went their separate ways, and the pirate forces in the New World became tangled and complex.
As for Whitebeard, even though it hadn't happened yet, in the future, Roger's biological son would be the fuse that led to the Whitebeard Pirates' downfall. Wasn't that "treacherous" enough?
It was even worse for Garp. As a Marine hero, he was so deceived by Roger's request to take care of his son that he had to bury the boy himself and live in pain for half his life.
As for Shiki… no need to mention him. He was the person most affected by Roger. He was so deceived by Roger that he fell from the position of "pirate overlord." It was a tragedy.
No one had noticed this "treacherous phenomenon" surrounding Roger yet, so no one would think too much about it.
But Diarmuid knew very well that Shiki was right there!
"Admiral!!!" Diarmuid suddenly shouted. Then, with a determined look on his face, he said, "What are we going to do if we don't go in? Go to the Chalana Sea? The Wisewell Sea? Based on the time, we won't make it anyway, will we? So, in a practical sense, can we already declare this mission a failure?"
Sengoku was startled by Diarmuid's loud voice. He looked at the kid with some surprise. Diarmuid had always given him the impression that he was very well-behaved. He didn't expect him to suddenly start yelling.
But when he heard Diarmuid's question, Sengoku hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "You're right."
"Are we just going to give up like this? Are we Marines a justice organization without perseverance? The Edd War Sea is right in front of us… are we going to give up on the mission at the last step before reaching our destination?" Diarmuid said with a passionate look.
To be honest, his current appearance was a bit like a "hot-blooded idiot." The words he was saying were more like something a protagonist in a shonen manga would say.
But he had to admit, his words were quite moving for Sengoku.
Looking at Diarmuid, he seemed to be reminded of his own youth when he, too, was as passionate and determined as Diarmuid.
On second thought, this was Diarmuid's first time on such an important mission at Headquarters, and he had already shown excellent performance. Maybe unlike them, Diarmuid wasn't willing to admit defeat so easily?
Thinking about this, Sengoku turned his head and looked at the turbulent sea and the gloomy sky.
The reason he hadn't planned to move forward before was that the weather was unstable. If they went in, they might suffer unnecessary losses. Even though the people he brought were all top-tier fighters, they were still human and couldn't fight against the weather.
Knowing that Shiki was highly unlikely to be in a storm-ridden sea and still trying to force their way in… wouldn't that be stupid?
As a tactician, Sengoku would never do such a thing.
But at this moment, looking at Diarmuid, he finally wavered. He laughed and said, "Oh, fine. For the sake of the future of the Marines, I'll take you through this storm, Diarmuid."
Sengoku had always admired and looked out for Diarmuid.
Seeing Diarmuid like this now also reminded him of his past self. Finally, Sengoku decided to teach Diarmuid a lesson!
There's nothing wrong with being passionate and determined, but if you're heading in the wrong direction, all your perseverance will do is make you go even further astray!
Ignoring Diarmuid, Sengoku raised his hand and commanded, "Give the order to enter the Edd War Sea!"
The Marine Captain next to him quickly responded, "Yes, Admiral!"
Soon, the ships that had slowed down began to pick up speed again, heading towards the storm-covered Edd War Sea.
Sakazuki, who had been ignoring Diarmuid, was now looking at him thoughtfully.
He truly didn't expect Sengoku to care so much about Diarmuid. He was really going to force their way into a storm?
Not to mention, the three powerhouses on the ship were all Devil Fruit users. If the ship were to sink, they would all be in big trouble.
But Sakazuki just thought about it. The ship wasn't that easy to sink.
This matter made Sakazuki take Diarmuid a little more seriously. Maybe this kid would soon be trained by Sengoku?
Could Diarmuid… become a like-minded companion of his?
Even though he was thinking about this, Sakazuki still didn't go and talk to Diarmuid. He looked at the raging sea, then turned and left.
It was Borsalino who laughed and said, "Diarmuid, Sengoku-san really is looking out for you."
Diarmuid smiled and said seriously, "Vice Admiral Borsalino, what if… Shiki and his crew really are in the Edd War Sea?"
Borsalino looked at the storm and thought, "How is that possible?" But he still smiled and said, "I hope so."
Looking at Borsalino's expression, Diarmuid felt a little emotional. Sure enough, no one thought Shiki would be in this kind of weather.
But that was exactly where he was!