As expected, Admiral Sengoku and his five warships arrived at Baterilla Island very quickly that afternoon.
Diarmuid was already waiting for the big shot at the port. He felt a little guilty. This was the first time in his Marine career that he had gotten Sengoku into trouble, and he hoped the consequences wouldn't be too severe.
Garp, the thick-skinned debtor who didn't fear more debt, was still on the warship, secretly worrying.
The moment Admiral Sengoku's ship docked, he disembarked with Kuzan. He had a stiff, angry expression on his face. Kuzan, who was following him, smiled and gave Diarmuid a reassuring wink, which eased Diarmuid's mind a bit.
When it was time to back down, Diarmuid wasn't a man of rigid principles. As soon as Admiral Sengoku's foot touched the ground, he shamelessly went up to him. "Admiral Sengoku, you must be tired after rushing here. Thank you for your hard work."
Seeing Diarmuid's eagerness, Admiral Sengoku's heart softened a little. Although the boy had been reckless, it seemed nothing had gone wrong. He kept a stern face, however, and scoffed. "I'm not as tired as Vice Admiral Diarmuid. Hmph."
"Not at all, I'm not tired. Everything for Justice," Diarmuid said with a thick-skinned smile.
"You still dare to talk about Justice to me? This was a matter of extreme importance, and you and Garp had the audacity to keep it a secret from Headquarters and withhold the news for a full two days!? If anything had gone wrong, no one could have saved you, Diarmuid! If you can't give me a good enough reason and explanation today, then don't blame me for sending you to military court to teach you a lesson!" Sengoku said menacingly.
But Diarmuid could already hear the concern in Sengoku's voice. He knew that as long as he could provide a somewhat convincing reason, Sengoku would help him cover it up. Otherwise, he was in for a beating.
Diarmuid was very moved by Sengoku's gesture. Even after his recklessness, his superior still cared for him. As for an explanation, he had already prepared one.
When Sengoku finished speaking, Diarmuid began. "I do have a valid reason. As you know, I came to the South Blue to deal with the Sorbet Kingdom and to track down Dragon…"
Hearing this, Sengoku was reminded of Dragon. "By the way, what about that Dragon?"
"He got away. I can confirm he's a Devil Fruit user now, an unknown power that feels like a Logia. He can control wind. We fought, but I couldn't defeat him. He didn't seem willing to fight me head-on, so he found a chance and fled," Diarmuid said somberly.
Sengoku didn't blame him. After all, Dragon had been the leader of the new generation of Marines. Even Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan were slightly inferior to him. Even if Diarmuid had caught up to their level in recent years, Dragon had likely made progress too.
It was hard to say if he could be defeated, let alone captured. The fact that he escaped was reasonable and not surprising to Sengoku.
"Did you figure out what he's trying to do? Why did he leave the Marines?" Sengoku asked.
Diarmuid nodded. "I figured out a little. He seems to be forming a secret organization to fight the World Government. I don't know his intentions for sure yet, but he has a great deal of hostility toward the World Government. I think he wants to overthrow it. As for us Marines, though he didn't say it, I can tell he still has some feelings for us and doesn't want to be our enemy…"
"Can he fight the World Government and bypass the Marines? If that bastard is really planning that, we will have to face him one day," Sengoku said seriously.
He was worried. The Marines had put all their effort into training Dragon. Both he and Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong had seen him as a true leader who could one day carry the torch for the Marines.
Because of this dedication, along with Dragon's own talent, he had become a perfect leader, a brilliant tactician, and a charismatic commander.
If he was determined to cause trouble for the World Government, Sengoku felt he could accomplish a lot. That's what made it even more frustrating. The Marines had invested so much only to raise a dangerous enemy.
Dragon hadn't made his move yet, so Sengoku didn't dwell on it. He scowled at Diarmuid again. "Keep going with your excuse. I'm listening."
Diarmuid gave an awkward laugh. "How is this an excuse? It's the truth." He paused for a moment. "After I finished up in the Sorbet Kingdom, I spoke with CP0's commander, Stussy, and we talked about Roger. She said there were rumors of him being on Baterilla Island. I remembered we had similar intelligence at Headquarters, but Admiral, you know how it is. We get a new Roger sighting every three days. We can't believe all of them. I didn't believe it at the time, so I didn't report it immediately."
Sengoku nodded. That was all true, and he believed him. No one would think Diarmuid could have a premonition. His judgment was reasonable.
"But since I was already here, I thought I might as well check it out. So Stussy and I came to Baterilla Island… And it turned out Roger was really here. The situation was tense. The warship was in the port, so Roger would definitely know we were here. I was worried he would try to escape, so I went to the island alone to stabilize him. Roger is seriously ill and knew his time was running out, so he made a demand: he wanted to see Vice Admiral Garp or else…" Diarmuid paused for a moment. "Admiral, you know, even though he's sick, he's still the Pirate King. A cornered beast is the most dangerous kind. An injured wild animal with nowhere to go will do anything. So that's what happened. I agreed to his terms and contacted Vice Admiral Garp first. Then, on the third day, Roger surrendered."
Sengoku looked at Diarmuid in frustration. The boy's explanation made sense and was logical, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Still, he sighed. He decided not to press the matter.
No matter what happened behind the scenes, Diarmuid had captured Roger, and he was safe. The outcome was a good one. As for the messy business involving Garp and Diarmuid, they were both people he trusted. He figured they wouldn't do anything that would harm the Marines. And considering Garp and Roger's tangled past, Sengoku was too lazy to investigate further.
"Remember this story. If anyone asks, this is the reason. Understand?" Sengoku said, glaring at Diarmuid.
Diarmuid breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Sengoku was letting him off the hook. He couldn't help but smile. "Yes, Admiral! This is the truth, I promise!"
Only then did Kuzan walk over, smiling. "Impressive, Diarmuid. I've never seen anyone with your kind of luck. You managed to capture Roger with zero effort."
Kuzan truly admired Diarmuid's luck. In the Edd War, Diarmuid had insisted on sailing into the storm, and the Marines had won a great victory by chance. Then he fell through the deck and got a top-tier Paramecia Devil Fruit, the Gravity-Gravity Fruit. And when he was on a simple escort mission with the Fleet Admiral, he just happened to run into Patrick Redfield and captured him.
Kuzan thought his luck must have run out, but after two years, he took on a simple political mission in the South Blue and still managed to capture the Pirate King, Roger, without losing a single man. No one else could do that!
Diarmuid laughed happily. "When you're this lucky, you can't stop it…" He changed the subject and turned to Admiral Sengoku. "Admiral, I caught Roger. That's a huge accomplishment, right? What kind of reward am I getting? Do you think there's a chance…?" Diarmuid raised an eyebrow, hinting at something.
Sengoku laughed. "A chance for what?"
"You know… Zephyr-sensei isn't in charge anymore, and all the duties of the three Admirals are on your shoulders. It must be tough, right? As your subordinate, I want to help you out. With this much credit, do you think I could be promoted to Admiral?" Diarmuid asked shamelessly.
Sengoku found Diarmuid's behavior amusing. Diarmuid wasn't like this before. But ever since his power increased and he was promoted to Vice Admiral, he seemed to have become more uninhibited and his skin had gotten much thicker.
However, Sengoku didn't dislike it. On the contrary, he felt that this Diarmuid was more authentic and easier to get along with. Sengoku had always known that Diarmuid wanted more power and status, so he wasn't surprised by his ambition.
He still reached out and tapped Diarmuid on the head. "Don't even think about it. What do you think being an Admiral is? It's not something I can just give you."
"Not even for catching Roger?" Diarmuid asked helplessly. He wasn't surprised. He hadn't gotten his hopes up. He was just trying his luck, just in case. After all, the crying child gets the milk.
"If you had defeated Roger with your own strength, I might be able to try, but right now… You have the merit, no matter what. Capturing Roger is an undeniable fact, and it's a huge accomplishment. But your strength… you can't yet handle the title of Admiral. If I went soft and gave you the position now, I wouldn't be helping you; I'd be hurting you," Sengoku said in a gentle tone.
He paused for a moment. "Besides, you've only been at Headquarters for a few years. You've been promoted fast enough. It's not appropriate for you to become an Admiral just yet."
Diarmuid grumbled to himself. My promotion might be fast, but in twenty years, the Marines will just get two new Admirals from a worldwide conscription, and no one will think that's inappropriate.
But he also knew that times were different. The Marines were constantly changing. At that time, it would be the most chaotic of the worst generation, but now, the Great Pirate Era hadn't even begun.
The internal mindset of the Marines wasn't as extreme yet. As for strength, while Diarmuid was confident, he wasn't arrogant. A Marine Admiral had to be a world-class powerhouse, and he knew he wasn't there yet. He was still a little short.
"Yes, Admiral. I understand," Diarmuid said, nodding and smiling.
Seeing that Diarmuid wasn't angry or sulking, Sengoku praised him in his mind. This boy is reckless at times, but he's still capable of listening to advice.
As for Diarmuid becoming an Admiral, Sengoku began to consider it. Maybe it's not such a bad idea? He would just have to train the boy for a few more years, and then he would give him the opportunity.
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