"You're right. I've been thinking the same thing. We should definitely be sharing information with the CP agencies. It would be a win-win for both sides. It would greatly reduce the waste of manpower and resources, and it would increase the efficiency and security of our intelligence gathering." Tsuru nodded.
With that answer, she was more than satisfied with Diarmuid's performance. It had only been a few minutes since she asked the questions, and Diarmuid had already provided such a solid answer. He was truly excellent.
This made Tsuru even more certain that she had made the right choice in bringing Diarmuid in as her aide. She had noticed his talent for intelligence analysis and strategic thinking during the Edd War. As it turned out, her instincts were correct.
After discussing this further, Tsuru asked again, "Do you have any other ideas?"
Diarmuid thought for a moment before nodding. "I do have a few rough ideas."
"Hahaha, that's fine. Let's hear them. This is the time for us to brainstorm and improve," Tsuru said with a smile.
Now was the foundation-laying phase of reorganizing the Intelligence Division. Any good ideas could be implemented right away. It would be much more difficult to make changes once everything was already set in stone.
"Then I'll be bold and just say it. I don't think the Intelligence Division should be so one-dimensional. In addition to conventional methods of intelligence gathering, we should also use unconventional ones," Diarmuid said.
The Marines were already using conventional methods, such as wiretapping with Den Den Mushi, using surveillance ships, and purchasing information from the Underworld. Tsuru was well aware of all this, so she asked directly, "What do you mean by 'unconventional methods'?"
"First, we should form a special intelligence unit. It doesn't need to be big, but the members should be clever and elite. Their job would be to carry out infiltration and reconnaissance missions to gather information," Diarmuid said.
Tsuru frowned a little. "That sounds a lot like the CP agencies."
"It is. Even though our relationship with the CP agencies is not great, we have to admit that they're really good at this stuff," Diarmuid said, nodding. He was essentially suggesting a version of the "Anbu" from Naruto.
"That's something to consider," Tsuru said after thinking it over, not wanting to dampen Diarmuid's enthusiasm. Then, she asked, "What else?"
"We should also form a professional undercover organization under the Intelligence Division," Diarmuid said without hesitation. He then added, "Similarly, we don't need too many people. The members should have special skills and specific Devil Fruit abilities that can help them with their infiltration missions and make it easy for them to transmit information."
Tsuru smiled at that. "I was thinking the same thing. I'm already getting things set up for that."
Diarmuid wasn't surprised, as he knew the Marines would eventually form an undercover organization. He knew that Sengoku's foster son, Rosinante, would eventually become one of its members, codenamed "Arare," and infiltrate the Donquixote Family. Rosinante's mission would ultimately be a famous failure.
While Rocinante was a prime example of an unsuccessful undercover operation, Diarmuid knew the model itself was sound. It would be incredibly beneficial for the Marines to have undercover agents on the Pirate King's crew, Whitebeard's crew, Shiki's crew, and the crews of the future Yonko. Of course, it would be extremely difficult, as those big shots weren't fools.
"Do you have any other ideas?" Tsuru asked, her voice filled with anticipation. The more she listened to Diarmuid, the more she felt he had a natural talent for intelligence work.
Diarmuid hesitated for a moment before saying, "We should create a non-existent organization and establish it in the Underworld."
Tsuru was taken aback. She didn't understand what Diarmuid meant, so she quickly asked, "Explain that in more detail."
"A 'non-existent' organization means it wouldn't be in the official Marine archives. Only people with the proper clearance, like you, Admiral Sengoku, or Fleet Admiral Kong, would know about it," Diarmuid said softly.
Tsuru nodded, signaling for Diarmuid to continue. Seeing this, Diarmuid went on, "Because it doesn't exist and would have a high level of clearance, it would be extremely secure. Based on that, we can create an intelligence organization that operates independently of the Marine Headquarters' Intelligence Division. I envision it as a 'commercial' and neutral information-trading organization in the Underworld. If we can make it successful, we won't just get a huge amount of money to invest in intelligence and reduce the headquarters' budget, but we would also be able to penetrate deeper into the Underworld. It's a win-win. Because it appears to be neutral, this intelligence agency would also be able to greatly reduce the suspicion of various forces. We could even use this disguise to cooperate with them. If we can get this up and running successfully, I believe it would greatly enhance our intelligence-gathering capabilities!"
Tsuru was stunned. She had considered most of Diarmuid's previous ideas. But this one was truly something she had never thought of. And after hearing it, she was genuinely intrigued.
"To put it simply, we would be creating a dark intelligence organization? It would appear to be separate from Marine Headquarters, but it would actually report directly to the Admirals, the Fleet Admiral, and the head of the Intelligence Division. It would become a part of the Underworld?" Tsuru asked.
"That's basically it," Diarmuid nodded.
"It's a great idea. Very interesting," Tsuru said, stroking her chin and nodding. After a short pause, she continued, "It's just… a bit unorthodox."
The Marines were, after all, an organization of justice. If it were to be revealed that they were secretly running an organization in the Underworld, it would be no laughing matter.
"That's why this operation would require an extremely high level of secrecy," Diarmuid said with a smile.
"I'll give it some serious thought," Tsuru said.
Diarmuid knew what was going on in the Underworld. The Donquixote Family was stirring up trouble, and various future big shots were starting to make their mark. But he specifically noted that the Pleasure District did not exist yet.
The Pleasure District, which would become a key part of the Underworld, was not to be underestimated.
On the surface, it was a worldwide organization that made a huge amount of money from the entertainment business. But underneath that, it was a front.
The Pleasure District was also in the intelligence business. They took all sorts of jobs, and they were a huge success in the Underworld. But even that was a façade.
The Pleasure District was actually an intelligence agency created by the CP agencies. Its leader, Stussy, the so-called "Queen of the Pleasure District," was a top executive of CP-0.
Through this organization, the CP agencies' intelligence capabilities became outrageous and far surpassed those of the Marines.
The suggestion Diarmuid was giving Tsuru was to hijack this operation. The CP agencies hadn't set it up yet, so why not let the Marines do it instead? The benefits were immense.
First, it would be extremely profitable, making the Intelligence Division self-sufficient and even giving money back to Marine Headquarters. Second, it would greatly enhance the Marines' intelligence capabilities, reducing their future dependence on the CP agencies. Lastly, it would strengthen the Marines while simultaneously weakening the CP agencies, which would be very helpful when they went head-to-head in the future.
As a Marine, Diarmuid was naturally thinking of the Marines' interests. He had no intention of joining the CP agencies. The stronger the Marines were, the more benefits he would get. Why not? He was using the CP agencies' own idea to serve the Marines and earn merit for himself. It was a win-win.
"Let's stop here for today, Diarmuid. Tomorrow, you will officially take your new position as Deputy Chief of the Intelligence Division, reporting directly to me. To the public, you will be known as my aide," Tsuru said.
Diarmuid was taken aback. Me? An aide? Deputy Chief? He thought for a moment and then asked, "Chief, what about Gion? I haven't seen her lately."
Tsuru looked at Diarmuid with a bit of a smile. "She's busy with other things and isn't at headquarters. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing. I was just curious if she was part of the Intelligence Division as well," Diarmuid said with a smile.
"No. While Gion is under my command, she's part of the combat unit. Oh, and you should be mentally prepared. Just because you've been transferred to the Intelligence Division doesn't mean you'll be off the front lines. Sengoku and Zephyr would never let your skills go to waste in the Intelligence Division," Tsuru said with a smile.
Diarmuid nodded and accepted the news. This was good. He had no intention of leaving the front lines. He couldn't become a master by only working in theory. But he also decided to be more careful. He had to stop trying to fight the big bosses head-on.
He had participated in two battles since coming to Marine Headquarters, one against Shiki and one against Redfield, and he had almost died both times. He couldn't keep doing that.
He'd start by bullying some pirates on his level and work his way up slowly. The reason he had asked about Gion was that he remembered she was Tsuru's aide. It seemed he had just stolen her position. He didn't ask anything else. After a few more words, Diarmuid got up to leave.
Just as he was about to open the door, Tsuru suddenly said, "Diarmuid, if we create a 'non-existent' organization based on your idea, would it be able to make a lot of money?"
"Chief, you already have the answer in your heart, don't you?" Diarmuid said with a smile.
"Hehehe, I guess so," Tsuru said with a smile, saying no more. Diarmuid pushed the door open and left.
After Diarmuid was gone, Tsuru murmured to herself, "This might be a new path for us Marines… a non-existent organization."
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