A few days later, the handover of the G-7 Marine base was completed. The former Base Commander returned to Headquarters, and Diarmuid officially took command. Diarmuid was now sitting in the G-7 Base Commander's office, holding the detailed handover documents that described the base's current situation.
It wasn't bad. G-7 had 10,000 active Marines, and not a single one of them was old, weak, or sick—Diarmuid had already inspected them. But to say they were elites would be an exaggeration; they were just average Marines.
Their military discipline was decent, not outstanding, but not terrible either. Overall, G-7 was a middle-of-the-road base. It seemed the former commander was a safe manager, more than capable of holding on, but not enough for advancement. Diarmuid was not surprised by this at all.
Just as he was looking over the documents, the office door opened, and Gion walked in.
"Well? Do the funds match the books?" Diarmuid asked.
Gion nodded and smiled. "With the name of an Admiral Candidate like you, no one wants to offend you right now. Vice Admiral Saril's handover was flawless. G-7's funds and ledgers match completely. I've checked them; there's a reserve of 13.6 billion Berries. Based on the current scale, that's enough to maintain the base for the year, but it's completely insufficient for your grand plans of expanding the base, building a new military town, and relocating people. You should probably find a way to convince Admiral Sengoku and the others to approve some military funds for you."
13.6 billion Berries seemed like a lot, but in reality, it wasn't. The food, water, and daily needs of 10,000 Marines, along with routine base maintenance, restocking ammunition, and repairing and building warships—it all cost money. It was just barely enough. If Diarmuid made any major moves, he would likely go over budget.
Diarmuid nodded. As long as the books matched the actual funds, he was satisfied. He didn't expect any pleasant surprises.
"Do you have any good ideas or suggestions?" Diarmuid asked.
Gion sat down on the couch with a smile, poured herself a cup of tea, and took a sip. "We have some time. The tide of pirates hasn't reached us yet. We're close to the South Calm Belt and adjacent to the Three Great Powers of Justice, so the waters are still calm, and there aren't many pirates. I think we should organize our forces for construction. We have over 10,000 people, including the ones we brought. They're good laborers, after all…"
"What about the cost of materials? I can't expand the base with thin air, can I?" Diarmuid chuckled.
"There's plenty of timber on the island, so we can just chop it down. As for stone and metal… we can dig for stone on-site. If that's not enough, you can just pull down a meteor from the sky. For metal, we'll have to buy it… Of course, if you're lucky enough to pull down a metal-rich meteor, you could save a lot," Gion said with a laugh.
"Haha, a good point. But 10,000 people still isn't enough. We need more talent, preferably people we don't have to pay," Diarmuid said, laughing heartily.
"You mean… slaves?" Gion asked, looking surprised. Without waiting for Diarmuid to reply, she shook her head. "Although the slave trade is popular all over the world, it's still legally forbidden. As Marines, we can't open that door, and it would be very bad for your reputation… Besides, you'd still need a huge amount of money to get slaves. The slave traders won't just give you people for free just because you're an Admiral Candidate."
As for slaves, once you got them, all you had to do was feed them. Diarmuid wasn't worried about food. They were close to the Calm Belt, so he could just hunt two Sea Kings to solve the food problem.
Diarmuid smiled at her words. "No slaves needed. We'll get some labor reform. Prepare the ship. I need to pay a visit to our neighbor."
"Neighbor?" Gion was confused by what Diarmuid meant. But she quickly realized, looking at him in shock. "You want to go to Impel Down?!"
"Go prepare the ship," Diarmuid didn't answer directly, simply waving her away. Gion smiled and shook her head, going to ready the ship.
After Diarmuid tidied up the documents on his desk and arranged for Doberman to hold the fort at G-7, two Marine ships set off for Impel Down. It was a very short distance. In less than half a day, the warships had reached the vicinity of Impel Down.
At this time, Impel Down's Chief Warden was not Magellan, the tyrant of the prison. Magellan was the Vice Warden, just as tall as he would be twenty years later, but much younger.
The current Chief Warden, or Warden, was an old man with white hair and two horns on his head, who didn't look like a normal human. It seemed like he was from a special race, similar to the Longarm Tribe or the Tontattas. However, Diarmuid had no intention of asking for details.
When he heard that the G-7 Commander was coming for a visit, the Chief Warden wasn't too surprised. The geographic locations of Impel Down and G-7 were indeed close, and there had always been cooperation between them. It was perfectly normal for a new leader of a neighboring base to pay a visit.
The giant warships slowly came to a halt, docking smoothly at Impel Down's harbor.
Diarmuid and Gion, both smiling warmly, stepped onto the port. This wasn't Diarmuid's first time at Impel Down. He had passed through a few times before, using Impel Down as a shortcut to get to Marineford via the fast Justice Current.
Thinking about it now, G-7 was a great location. It only took half a day to reach the Calm Belt where Impel Down was located, and from there, it took less than half a day to get to Marineford. In short, even if something important happened at Headquarters, Diarmuid could get there in a single day if he moved quickly.
"Hahahaha, Vice Admiral Diarmuid! It's been a while!" the Chief Warden laughed as he stepped forward to greet Diarmuid.
It was a different time now. The last time Diarmuid had come, he was still a Rear Admiral. He was only allowed to pass through Impel Down because he had a good relationship with many of the top brass at Headquarters. But now, the Chief Warden couldn't afford to underestimate this young man.
After all, Diarmuid had been given the honorary title of Admiral Candidate. In theory, with the current Admiral vacancies, he could become an Admiral at any time. For whatever reason, he hadn't yet, but he was currently the only official Admiral Candidate in the Marines. There was no doubt that he would eventually become an Admiral.
From an organizational standpoint, Impel Down was a subordinate agency of Marine Headquarters and was directly managed by them. While the Chief Warden was in charge of Impel Down, he still had to follow the orders of the Marine Admirals and the Fleet Admiral.
Twenty years later, when Magellan wanted to commit suicide to atone for the great prison break, the first person he reported to was then-Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who strictly told him not to do anything foolish. From this, it was clear that Impel Down was under the control of Marine Headquarters.
Diarmuid was an Admiral Candidate, and he could become a full Admiral at any time. The phrase, "An Admiral only answers to the Fleet Admiral," was not a joke. Therefore, the Chief Warden was well aware that this young man might become his superior at any time. So he had to treat him well. He was old and wanted to retire peacefully someday. If he offended a future superior, he would have nowhere to complain.
"Hahahaha, Warden Maxcas, it certainly has been a while! You look to be in great health! I'd say you're good to go for at least another ten years, right?" Diarmuid walked forward, put his arm around the old Warden's shoulder, and patted him twice, speaking with an extremely friendly tone. After all, he was here to ask for a favor, so he had to give the other person plenty of face.
The old Warden, Maxcas, was a bit surprised. Diarmuid had made it seem like they were old friends from the start. He was genuinely confused, because he knew he didn't have much of a relationship with Diarmuid as they had only met a few times.
But old men are wise, and since Diarmuid, a man who could be his future superior, was giving him so much respect, Maxcas wasn't going to risk offending him. He immediately became even more enthusiastic, grabbing Diarmuid's hand and shaking it vigorously. "I'm too old, too old! When I see a great man like you, Vice Admiral, I just feel how old I am! I can't compare to you! Oh, and I haven't congratulated you yet on becoming the first Admiral Candidate in nearly two decades. With your talent, I'm sure a future Admiral position is a guarantee."
A little flattery goes a long way.
Diarmuid and Maxcas stood on the port and praised each other for a good ten minutes, as if they were truly old friends. It completely confused Magellan nearby. 'Does our Warden have such extensive connections? I never heard he was on such good terms with an Admiral Candidate from Headquarters!'
After chatting for a while, Maxcas finally said, "Vice Admiral Diarmuid, you've traveled a long way. It's not right for you to just stand at the door. Why don't you come in and have a seat?"
Diarmuid waved his hand. "I know Impel Down's rules. It's a great honor to be able to talk with you on the port. I would never take advantage of your kindness. Without an order from Headquarters, it's not convenient for me to go inside, even for me."
Passing through Impel Down's port was fine under certain unwritten rules, and it wasn't overstepping. But for Diarmuid to enter the great prison without cause would be a clear violation of the rules.
If anything happened while he was inside, he would have to share the blame. He would only have the authority to enter and exit Impel Down at will once he became a full Admiral.
Maxcas was only being polite, of course. If Diarmuid had taken the invitation, he would have had to grit his teeth and welcome him in. But he didn't expect Diarmuid to be so understanding.
After a brief pause, Diarmuid continued, "To be honest, the reason I came to Impel Down is to ask you for a favor, old friend."
Maxcas was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Please say the word, Vice Admiral. Did a friend or relative get falsely imprisoned here? As long as they're on the first four levels, I'll release them for you, no problem!"
He knew it! He had a feeling this Vice Admiral was coming to pull some strings. But it was no big deal. As Maxcas said, he could easily help with anyone on the first four levels. This was a classic case of officials protecting their own.
Whether it was the Marines or Impel Down, both were institutions of justice, but they were still rife with connections. This was a problem with no solution throughout history.
Diarmuid didn't plan on solving it. Instead, he would simply follow the belief of, "If you can't beat them, join them." If he became one of them, he wouldn't get the short end of the stick.
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