While thinking about these things, Diarmuid was also carefully listening to the advice from his senior.
"Ultimately, the most important thing for a base commander is to protect the peace of your region. That's the most critical evaluation standard. However, I believe that the ability to secure funding is just as important. The more money you can get, the less you have to rely on the budget from Headquarters. Under those circumstances, you can defy the normal flow of things.
"With G-7's current state, you can't expect the budget from Headquarters to help you do more than just sustain daily operations. If you want to achieve anything, it all comes down to your methods.
"I can give you a few pointers. First, train a trustworthy pirate hunter team. The emphasis is on 'trustworthy'; their strength doesn't really matter. Then, you and your people go out to catch pirates. When you get back, give them the bounties to turn in to the World Government for money. Over time, you can accumulate funds for development, though you'll lose some credit. But a guy like you doesn't need more credit.
"Second, see if you can find some business talent. One of G-7's advantages is its proximity to the southern Calm Belt, which provides direct access to the South Blue. As you know, very few people dare to cross the Calm Belt right now, but our battleships can.
"Find a reliable subordinate to take a battleship, find a merchant group, and escort them directly across the Calm Belt into the South Blue to purchase local products. Once you bring them back to the Grand Line, it's a huge profit. Understand?" Jonathan whispered, sharing his experience with Diarmuid.
Diarmuid nodded in agreement. He wasn't short on ways to make money, but a senior willing to give you pointers was a form of recognition and a treasure in itself. He had to listen carefully.
Furthermore, Jonathan wasn't a talker. Many of his ideas perfectly coincided with what Diarmuid had already been thinking and even gave him some new ideas.
The core principle was the same as his own plan: to get money and people! With money, he could afford to conscript more soldiers, constantly growing the base's military power. That military power would, in turn, strengthen the base, allowing it to better protect its region and ace the most important evaluation.
After speaking simply and clearly, Jonathan asked about Shiki. At his question, everyone else in the room looked over curiously. Diarmuid, Gion, and the others, as eyewitnesses, didn't hide anything and gave a full account of the situation with Shiki.
"I was just eating shabu-shabu and singing with Gion and Admiral Sengoku when battleships suddenly started raining down on Marineford. The situation was extremely urgent," Diarmuid boasted.
After listening to his account of the Shiki incident, the Marine officers were all very happy. The Marines had just caught Roger, and now they'd also caught Shiki. Two of the three strongest pirates in the New World were gone, leaving only Whitebeard, Newgate, to run wild.
The New World would be much easier to handle. After they dealt with Roger and Shiki, perhaps they would go after Whitebeard, find a way to take him out, and then sweep the New World clean!
It felt like an era of justice was beckoning the Marines.
Ignoring the older Marine officers' fantasies about the future, Diarmuid poured himself a cup of tea and turned to Chief of Staff Tsuru. "Chief, do you need us to help with Roger's execution?"
Tsuru smiled and waved her hand. "That guy Sengoku already told me that he didn't want you and Gion to come, but since you two insisted on seeing it, he told me to tell you not to get involved in anything here. Your top priority is to rest and recover as soon as possible."
Diarmuid chuckled and patted his chest. "I'm perfectly fine. It's just a minor injury."
"A minor injury? The Marine doctor repeatedly told you that you can't have any intense physical activity for a while or you'll aggravate the wound!" Gion immediately retorted. As soon as she said that, the other senior officers in the office burst into laughter.
Diarmuid wasn't embarrassed; he just shook his head helplessly. "You are way too skilled at selling out your superiors, you know that?"
The Chief of Staff and the others had already arranged everything for Roger's execution. Diarmuid was just here to watch the show, and since there was nothing for him to do, he didn't insist.
After chatting for a while longer, at Gion's insistence, he followed a Marine Major back to the room arranged for him to get some sleep. For the next two days, Diarmuid didn't leave the Marine base.
Meanwhile, in Loguetown, all sorts of unsavory characters from every sea were starting to appear. Buggy and Shanks had also arrived.
Buggy had been seriously ill during the last leg of their journey to Laugh Tale, so Shanks had stayed behind to take care of him. As a result, neither of them made it to Laugh Tale, and they even missed the dissolution of the Roger Pirates.
However, since they were just two apprentices, they didn't attract any attention. Their arrival was hardly noteworthy.
At the Loguetown harbor, Doflamingo was sitting cross-legged on a large oak wine barrel, looking wild and unrestrained. A wicked smile was on his face as he watched a figure walk toward him.
"Fufufufufu. You're being incredibly open about this. If I remember correctly, you're supposed to be wanted by the Marines, right? Though your bounty isn't that high…" Doflamingo said, greeting him with a laugh.
The man walking toward him had a cigar in his mouth, light purple hair styled into a slick back, and a fierce look on his face. He was wearing a black suit with a fur coat draped over his shoulders. He looked every bit like a villain.
"'Desert King' Crocodile," Doflamingo quietly said his name.
That's right, this was Crocodile, one of the future Seven Warlords of the Sea. He was known as the "50-50 fighter," a man who could make any battle, from a top-tier powerhouse to a rookie who just started his journey, into a heart-pounding, 50-50 fight!
Speaking of which, Crocodile's bounty was a bit of a mystery. At this point, he was able to fight a monster like Douglas Bullet to a standstill in the New World. Logically, he should have a bounty of several hundred million. But for some reason, Marine Headquarters seemed to look down on him.
At the moment, his bounty was only a little over sixty million, not even hitting a hundred million. He was a nobody in the New World. But no one who knew his story would dare to underestimate him. He was truly powerful, and being a Logia Devil Fruit user made him formidable.
"Hmph…" Crocodile sneered, giving Doflamingo a dirty look. He said, "Do you think the Marines would make a move on me at a time like this?"
"Fufufufu, of course not," Doflamingo laughed with a villainous smile.
It was obvious that all the Marines wanted was for Roger's execution to go smoothly. There was no need to create any new problems. So even though Crocodile was standing brazenly at the Loguetown harbor, the Marines were just watching him from the shadows, not taking any action.
Ignoring Doflamingo, Crocodile walked directly into the town. As they passed each other, Doflamingo laughed again. "Fufufufufu, still as cold as ever? By the way, have you thought about my offer? How about we team up?"
"You can be my underling, but you're not worthy of teaming up with me," Crocodile replied without hesitation.
A flicker of killing intent appeared in Doflamingo's eyes but quickly disappeared. He stood up from the wine barrel, hopped to the ground, and swaggered into the town with his arrogant walk.
Crocodile had come to Loguetown to witness Roger's execution. He couldn't believe that the man who had stood at the pinnacle of piracy would be executed today. He also didn't want to accept this reality.
Just as Sengoku had said, Roger's death might break the spirits of many pirates. If nothing unexpected happened, that would be the case. But of course, something unexpected did happen, and it turned into the Great Pirate Era.
Crocodile was the kind of man with sky-high ambitions, so he had to come and see Roger's death for himself to see if his own spirit would be broken.
The Loguetown plaza was now filled with a massive crowd. Marines were maintaining order, and the execution platform stood tall.
Today was the day Pirate King Roger would die.
The people of Loguetown were all spectators, standing in the plaza, waiting to catch a glimpse of Roger's final moments.
Crocodile and Doflamingo each stood in the crowd, and with their unique styles, they were like two cranes standing among chickens.
Not too far behind them, Dracule Mihawk was also waiting for Roger's appearance. At this time, he hadn't been officially designated a pirate by the Marines, but he hadn't been making much trouble. It seemed like he had a new realization about swordsmanship and was accumulating strength.
As a lone wolf, his information-gathering abilities weren't strong, so he didn't know anything about Diarmuid. He only knew that this Vice Admiral had captured Roger. He didn't know what his fighting style was, but he had recognized the Nagasone Kotetsu hanging from Diarmuid's waist at the harbor two days ago.
Plus, Gion, a Rear Admiral with whom he had a good fight before, was standing next to Diarmuid. For these reasons, Mihawk assumed Diarmuid was a swordsman. He was already thinking that he should find an opportunity to fight him and see whose blade was stronger.
Not too far behind Mihawk was a very tall man, about six or seven meters tall, and incredibly muscular. He had red hair and a demonic face, and very few people dared to get close to him.
This was Gecko Moria.
At this point, Moria had not yet gone to sea to become a pirate. He hadn't yet fought with Kaido. He was just a little-known figure. But after Roger's execution, he would join the promising pirate profession and become one of the representative figures of the first wave of the Great Pirate Era.
He would make a strong entrance into the New World, fight a battle with Kaido in Wano, almost die, and have his entire crew annihilated. All of his grand ambitions would be shattered by Kaido.
Afterward, he would be completely disheartened. When the Seven Warlords of the Sea plan was introduced, he would barely manage to become one, after which he would just hide out as a shut-in in the Thriller Bark. He would never have any great achievements again. He was like a meteor, shining brightly for a moment before falling quickly.
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