From Nico Robin's perspective, the Marines were undoubtedly her enemies. The reason was simple: they suddenly broke into her island, and without a word, killed all the scholars she respected and destroyed Ohara.
And as if that wasn't enough, Diarmuid had personally locked her mother away in Impel Down, essentially sentencing her to life in prison. How could they not be enemies?
But from Diarmuid's perspective, he had saved both Robin and her mother's lives. Of course, this wasn't something he could explain to Robin.
His decision to save Robin was purely based on a little goodwill from his past life; he didn't want her to die or live a miserable life in the shadows like she did in the original story. It was a normal thing to do.
After that, Diarmuid never paid her much mind. He didn't intend to change her mind, nor did he have any grand plans for her, other than possibly using her to threaten Olvia in the future if he had to. That would be a little underhanded, but there was nothing to say about it.
Because of this, Diarmuid hadn't paid any attention to Nico Robin for the past two years, doing his best to minimize contact with her. So when he casually asked about her today, he was shocked to hear from Gion that Robin was trying to join the Marines. What the heck was going on?
"She does have a grudge, right?" Gion mumbled, then continued, "But for the past two years, she's been well taken care of by the Marines at G-7, and I've been very good to her. Maybe to some extent, her perception of the Marines has changed. I also asked her for her reason, and she said that if she becomes a Marine, if she becomes an important figure in the Marines, she might have the power to get a special pardon for her mother, Olvia, from Impel Down..."
"So, she plans to use that method to save her mother?" Diarmuid whispered to himself, understanding a bit more now. She was only a ten-year-old child; what other options could she have?
If you thought about it, Robin's mental state was pretty easy to figure out, even by working backward.
First, the impression the Marines left on her at Ohara was undoubtedly a deep one, and the most deep part was the Marines' power. Because of this, maybe from the very beginning, Robin never considered saving her mother from any other angle.
She never even thought about how she could defeat the Marines.
So, if you can't beat them, join them.
It was a perfectly rational decision.
Perhaps she believed that only by joining the Marines and accumulating enough merit could she earn a pardon for her mother, Olvia. Even if that didn't work out, as long as she became a high-ranking Marine officer, no one could bully her mother in Impel Down, and she could even use her status to visit her mother.
It was nothing more than a little girl's deep yearning for her mother. It was also the best way she could think of.
As for hatred, maybe, as Gion said, she saw the Marines as the embodiment of destruction in Ohara. But after living at G-7 for two years, she must have had a lot of contact with the Marines and realized that they weren't evil or cruel. On the contrary, they were gentle and just.
At the same time, given Robin's intelligence and maturity, she had probably already considered the Ohara incident from the Marines' perspective. Maybe her feelings were still conflicted and complex, but perhaps she no longer held a simple hatred for the Marines.
In any case, there were probably many reasons, but now, the ten-year-old Robin had not only given up on becoming a historian but was also determined to work hard to join the Marines, rise through the ranks, and save her mother.
Thinking of this, Diarmuid laughed and said, "Things really are unpredictable... Humans are too complicated. They always make unexpected choices and decisions. But she's dreaming. She's only ten years old. It's way too early for her to join the Marines... But, let her work hard. Having a goal is better than having none."
"What's wrong with being ten? Didn't Lucci join the Marines at about the same age?" Gion said with a teasing chuckle.
"It's not the same. Lucci was specifically trained from a young age. Can Robin be compared to him?" Diarmuid said with a smile. After a short pause, Diarmuid said softly, "But in the future, maybe I can give her a chance. It all depends on her performance."
After discussing these things, Gion and Diarmuid talked about some other matters concerning G-7 and the Calm Belt.
After Diarmuid became an Admiral, the matters of the Calm Belt were basically under his sole control, from the perspective of Marine high command.
After all, he was the one who proposed the plan, he was the one who did the preliminary preparations, and his own subordinates were in control of G-7. There was no reason for him not to be in charge of the Calm Belt, especially since he was an Admiral now.
However, at this stage, the Calm Belt was still developing step by step. Only after the Warlord system became fully established and Smoker could become a Warlord would the Calm Belt plan enter the next stage.
"So, this survey might have found a gold mine?" Diarmuid's eyes lit up.
"It's very likely. At least, that's what the initial survey suggests. We've already assembled a team and have started the actual excavation. If we can find a gold mine, it will undoubtedly be a huge return on our investment in the Calm Belt," Gion said with a hint of excitement in her voice.
"A gold mine... If the reserves are large enough, it would be the first step for the Marines to break free from the shackles of our military budget. It's a good thing. Let me know as soon as there's any progress," Diarmuid said with a chuckle.
"Understood," Gion replied.
"How are the labor reserves doing?" Diarmuid asked again.
"Currently, we have already put 160,000 prisoners to work in the overall Calm Belt development plan. For now, it's sufficient, but we also need more manpower to suppress and manage this large number of prisoners. So I plan to submit a new recruitment plan to headquarters soon. I anticipate creating a force of 150,000 Marines at G-7," Gion said softly.
When Diarmuid left, G-7 had already grown to a force of 70,000 Marines. However, only 20,000 members were stationed at the base year-round to maintain daily operations. The remaining 50,000 Marines were stationed on the various developed islands in the Calm Belt to suppress the pirate prisoners.
However, with the continuous development of the Calm Belt, the large number of pirates brought in by the Great Pirate Era, and Impel Down's full cooperation, the number of pirate prisoners under G-7 had rapidly swelled to over 160,000 in just two or three years.
This isn't to say that Diarmuid and the other Marines had only recruited 160,000 prisoners in total; the actual number was closer to 200,000. And the remaining 40,000 were basically gone due to various reasons. After all, pioneering is a very dangerous and difficult job, especially mining...
In other words, from a certain perspective, in just under four years, more than 40,000 lives had directly or indirectly died at Diarmuid's hands due to the plan he implemented. And yet, this matter remained completely silent.
What did this prove? It proved the power of authority! And now that Diarmuid had become an Admiral, the consequences of his influence and every action would become even greater.
A simple order or a single plan from him could affect hundreds of thousands of people, and if the plan was a little poor, countless people could even die because of it.
This was both a responsibility and a power, and it was exactly what Diarmuid was pursuing at this stage. With one command, a thousand heads would fall; with a wave of his hand, a million soldiers would gather!
"Okay, just submit the plan directly to me, and I'll approve it right away," Diarmuid replied.
Just then, a Marine Rear Admiral hurried down the hallway. The moment he saw Diarmuid, he let out a sigh of relief and quickly walked over. But when he saw Diarmuid on the Den Den Mushi, he didn't get any closer, instead stopping a short distance away.
Diarmuid naturally noticed the Marine Rear Admiral and said to Gion on the Den Den Mushi, "Okay, okay, that's all. Keep up the good work at G-7. And don't worry, I'll definitely take a long vacation and travel with you after the Reverie is over. Alright?"
After giving a few more instructions, Diarmuid hung up the call with Gion. He touched his chin and clicked his tongue. "Ah, it's a hassle when you're too charming. Women always fall for you..."
After his moment of self-satisfaction, Diarmuid didn't waste any more time. He waved to the Marine Rear Admiral. The Marine Rear Admiral quickly ran over and stood at attention in front of Diarmuid, saluting. "Admiral Diarmuid!"
"Judging by your look, were you looking for me?" Diarmuid asked.
"Yes. I'm Rear Admiral Varis of the Intelligence Division's Strategy Analysis Group. This is a document the Chief of Staff asked me to personally deliver to you," Rear Admiral Varis said, handing the document to Diarmuid while explaining.
"Ah, Varis. I knew you looked familiar. You used to work under me back then, didn't you? You were a Captain then, and now you're a Rear Admiral? You're doing great," Diarmuid said with a chuckle.
Rear Admiral Varis's expression was full of surprise and excitement when he heard this. He excitedly saluted again. "Thank you for remembering me, Admiral!"
"Hehehe, you're welcome. It's all for justice. Go back and tell the Chief of Staff that I've received the document," Diarmuid said, patting his shoulder.
"Yes, all for justice!" Rear Admiral Varis said, standing at attention. After that, he quickly left without bothering Diarmuid anymore.
Before, whenever something happened, the Chief of Staff would call Diarmuid into her office to discuss it. But now, she had to proactively report the situation to Diarmuid. This was the power of an Admiral...
As Diarmuid walked, he opened the document bag and took out a file. He glanced at it and saw that it was a Level 2 confidential document. It wasn't a very high level of secrecy, so he didn't worry about it.
He just started reading it as he walked down the hallway. After a while, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he shook his head. "Isn't this a piece of cake?"
The information in the document had nothing to do with pirates; it was intel on an affiliated country's royal family.
In the first half of the Grand Line, there was a kingdom called Gorillan. From the perspective of the Marines' jurisdiction, this country was under the command of Marine Base G-8.
According to this document, the king of Gorillan, King Kurethas, was planning to slander the Marines at the upcoming Reverie.
In simple terms, six months ago, he wanted the Marines to help him escort a large sum of wealth he had just extorted from his people to another country to buy some luxury goods for his own pleasure. However, Vice Admiral Jonathan of Marine Base G-8 flatly refused his request.
The king then gritted his teeth and did it anyway. As expected, with the seas so chaotic right now, he was robbed. Since then, he had held a grudge against the Marines of G-8.
Because of Vice Admiral Jonathan's policies at G-8, the base had always been criticized for being "flashy but useless." However, in reality, it was a very powerful defensive fortress. Only outsiders couldn't see that.
This time, King Kurethas planned to use this point to attack G-8 and get Vice Admiral Jonathan removed from his position, hoping to replace him with someone else.
This was a very easy matter to resolve. Without even thinking, Diarmuid walked into his office, locked the door, took out his Den Den Mushi, and called Smoker, that promising pirate...
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