As soon as he left the Fleet Admiral's office, Diarmuid answered the Den Den Mushi. "Gion? What's up?"
"You came back to headquarters from the New World and didn't even call me once." Gion's tone was a little resentful.
Diarmuid gave a helpless laugh. "Things are different now. I'm a Marine Admiral now, and I'm swamped with work. You have no idea, I didn't even finish listening to the Fleet Admiral's words and just walked right out of his office to answer your call…"
"Oh, please. You've been back at headquarters for three days and have been sleeping in your house for the first two!" Gion exposed Diarmuid's lie mercilessly.
Diarmuid was silent for a moment, then laughed awkwardly. "Hahahaha… It's mainly because the last mission was too tiring."
"Your fleet was in a storm before, and you rested for about two weeks. You also soaked in the hot springs on Vicura Island…" Gion said softly again.
Diarmuid was silent again for a moment, then he grumbled. "Hina, that traitor! I'll show her!"
"Hina?" Gion was stunned, then asked, "What about Hina?"
"Huh?" Diarmuid was also a little confused, then said, "Didn't Hina sell me out?"
"How could she? Isn't she your secretary?" Gion said with great surprise.
"Then how did you know about my situation?" Diarmuid scratched his head.
"Ah, so you thought Hina told me all this? Hehehe… If Hina had told me, I would've contacted you three days ago. But I only found out you were at headquarters today. Tokikake told me the news. Your last mission wasn't confidential, and resting at headquarters for three days is enough time for others to find out the news." Gion said triumphantly.
"Tokikake… that bastard. He's always causing trouble for me with these little tricks," Diarmuid muttered. Then he asked again, "Seriously, do you hate him?"
"Hate him? Not really. He's just a little annoying," Gion said very calmly.
Tokikake may seem like a simp who takes every opportunity to confess his love to Gion. But in reality, Tokikake is very mindful of his actions.
First of all, he never gets physical, and secondly, he's always straightforward and never resorts to fancy tricks.
Finally, whenever Gion sternly rejects him, he won't bother her for a while. He'll only make his move again after a few months.
It must be said that Gion's strict and uncompromising rejections and Tokikake's gentlemanly behavior to a certain extent both prove that they are quite solid in character. Because of this, Gion only found Tokikake annoying and didn't despise him.
"Is that so?" Diarmuid mumbled. Then he paused and asked seriously, "Gion, are you…" But before he could finish, Diarmuid stopped himself and gave a self-deprecating laugh. "It's nothing."
The Den Den Mushi was quiet for a while, about ten seconds. Then Gion said softly, "Diarmuid, if you had said what you were about to say, that would have been the end of us. We couldn't even be friends anymore. It's a good thing you're still a decent person."
Diarmuid leaned against the wall and touched his nose. Even though there was no one else in the hallway, he still felt a little embarrassed.
He had been about to ask Gion if she was using him as a shield or something. But just as he was about to say it, he suddenly realized that those words would be the biggest insult to her.
When had Gion ever needed a shield? This question would be questioning her character and, at the same time, questioning all the silent efforts Gion had made for him over the years.
"I'm sorry, my bad," Diarmuid said very seriously.
Gion was quiet for a moment, then said, "An apology alone isn't enough."
"Hahahaha, is that so? How about we take a vacation together after the Reverie is over?" Diarmuid's tone suddenly became much more relaxed.
Gion on the other end of the Den Den Mushi sounded a little surprised, then a gentle smile appeared in her eyes. "In all the years I've known you, this is the first time you've ever asked me out."
"I've bought you drinks many times, haven't I?" Diarmuid complained.
"But not just the two of us," Gion said with a raised eyebrow.
"Tch…" Diarmuid clicked his tongue unhappily, then changed the subject as if he had a guilty conscience. "You didn't just contact me for that reason, did you? That doesn't sound like you…"
"Sometimes, I just can't stop thinking about you. When I suddenly see something and it reminds me of you, it's only natural for me to call you, isn't it? What's more… your presence is everywhere in G-7. I can't forget you even if I tried," Gion suddenly said.
This sudden, subtle confession left Diarmuid completely baffled. But before he could react, Gion seemed to get embarrassed and quickly changed the subject. "We captured a slaver ship in the Calm Belt…"
Diarmuid's mind was in a jumble, and he instinctively replied, "Right, a slaver ship… huh? A slaver ship? What's so special about that? Do you need to report something like that to me?"
I'm an Admiral, after all. Although I've been a bit lazy lately and don't have much to do besides my daily paperwork, it's not like I need to be informed about a mere slaver ship, right? Isn't that a bit of an overreaction?
But soon, Diarmuid came to his senses and asked in a low voice, "Don't tell me some royal family member of an affiliated country was captured?"
From late 1503 to early 1504, the seas were very chaotic. Or rather, a large group of people were stirring up trouble, including bounty hunters, pirates, slavers, black market merchants, and other various gangs.
The reason for their chaos was that soon, there would be a lot of rich targets on the seas. In fact, the start of every Reverie was a feast for these chaotic people. And their prey were naturally the royal families of those affiliated countries.
These high-ranking nobles, who usually didn't leave their countries, would set out for Mariejois to attend the Reverie. Some countries would be escorted by Marine fleets, while others would travel on their own. But whether they had Marine protection or not, they were all ripe for the taking.
If they were captured during this period, the captors could not only extort a ransom from the affiliated country but also force the World Government to find a way to appease them in order to maintain the stability of the Reverie.
Almost every Reverie, a few unfortunate royal family members would be kidnapped. And what was even more surprising was that no one would be killed after being captured. As long as the ransom was paid, the captives would be safely returned. It had become an unspoken rule!
Therefore, for a period of time before the Reverie, the Marines would increase their cleaning operations in various seas.
Generally speaking, for these people, the Calm Belt was a very good hiding place. Of course, the prerequisite was that your ship had to be capable of surviving in the Calm Belt.
The reasons were simple. First, the Calm Belt was a lawless and desolate area where very few people entered, so it was very safe. Second, the Calm Belt connected the Grand Line and the Four Seas, making it convenient for them to launch surprise kidnappings…
So when Gion suddenly contacted Diarmuid and said she had captured a slaver ship in the Calm Belt, Diarmuid instinctively thought of these things. Could it be that some unfortunate royal family member had already been captured?
"They are a royal family, yes, but not from an affiliated country," Gion said with a laugh.
"Not from an affiliated country? What do you mean?" Diarmuid asked curiously.
But soon, Diarmuid seemed to have thought of something, and his expression changed. "Amazon Lily?"
Gion, who was about to tease Diarmuid, was also surprised and asked incredulously, "How did you know?"
"I guessed it…" Diarmuid said with a smile in his eyes.
"Tch, that's no fun," Gion grumbled, then said calmly, "We were on a routine patrol at Iron Mine Island No. 3 and were escorting some iron ore resources back to G-7. When we got close to Iron Mine Island No. 3, we suddenly discovered a slaver ship anchored on the sea.
"First, it's our duty as Marines to fight against criminal acts like this. Second, it was to cover up our various operations in the Calm Belt. So Vice Admiral Momonga attacked the slaver ship without hesitation, and of course, we easily defeated them."
"And then you found the people from Amazon Lily?" Diarmuid asked with a laugh.
"Yes. They have a very impressive status. They are the royal heirs of Amazon Lily, the three sisters Boa Hancock, Boa Marigold, and Boa Sandersonia. And what's even more of a coincidence is that they are the only three members of the current royal bloodline of Amazon Lily. So all three of them were captured by the slaver crew at once. That is to say, Amazon Lily must be in…" Gion said with a laugh.
"It must be a complete mess. The royal bloodline suddenly went extinct… That's a very serious problem for any country," Diarmuid also laughed.
However, he was a little surprised. From what he remembered, the Hancock sisters were supposed to be sold to Mariejois and become slaves of the Celestial Dragons around next year… So why was it earlier? But soon, he came to his senses.
Being sold to Mariejois as slaves was one thing, and being captured by slavers was another. It takes time to sail the seas and find a buyer. A time difference of over a year was completely normal. So he didn't think too much about it.
"Yes, it's a very serious problem. And from what I remember, aren't you very interested in this pirate country? This might be an opportunity," Gion said seriously.
"Yeah. Amazon Lily became a pirate country mainly because of its remote location, which made it difficult to communicate with other countries. So this country can still be saved… Saving their royal heirs is a good thing for us, too. But I don't have time to deal with this at G-7 right now. Everything will have to wait until the Reverie is over. You can keep them at G-7 and take care of them. After everything here is finished, we'll make arrangements for them," Diarmuid instructed.
"Understood," Gion replied quickly.
At this point, Diarmuid seemed to remember the little girl Robin, whom he had saved from Ohara and then just left at G-7 without a second thought. So he casually asked, "Oh, and how's Robin? How has she been lately?"
"Robin is very sensible. She's been studying how to join the Marines in the shortest amount of time," Gion said with a smile.
After Diarmuid saved Robin, he didn't take any responsibility for her and just left her with Gion to take care of. So for the past two years, Gion and Robin had become very close.
At this, Diarmuid was completely baffled. Nico Robin wanted to join the Marines? What was going on?
"It's a miracle she doesn't hold a deep hatred for us Marines. Why would she want to join the Marines?" Diarmuid asked in surprise.
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