"Is that guy Vergo safe at Headquarters?" Gion asked as she ate dinner.
Diarmuid, Saul, Hina, and Gion were eating in the dining hall reserved for the base commander. It was perfectly reasonable for a base commander to have their own restaurant, right?
Besides, it was all built by pirates, so it didn't cost much. The dining hall was huge, big enough to accommodate a giant like Saul, and the food was varied and excellent.
"I've already told Admiral Sengoku and the Chief of Staff about his identity. The Fleet Admiral knows too, so don't worry," Diarmuid replied casually.
As Diarmuid's former second-in-command at G-7, he had already told Gion about Vergo. Otherwise, Gion might have unintentionally leaked important secrets to him. The same went for Doberman. However, both of them were excellent actors and didn't show any signs of suspicion.
Saul, however, was a little confused. He stuffed a huge piece of meat into his mouth and asked, "Vergo? What about him?"
When Saul came to G-7, Diarmuid hadn't been promoted to Admiral yet, so he had some contact with Vergo.
"Oh, did I not tell you? Vergo is an undercover agent for Donquixote Doflamingo. He doesn't know that his cover has been blown," Diarmuid said with a laugh.
Saul, who was chewing on a piece of meat, froze and said in disbelief, "Really?"
"Really," Gion nodded seriously. "At first, I didn't believe it either. After a thorough investigation into the Donquixote Family, we found that they had a Heart executive who had never appeared in public. We believed this Vergo was the Heart, and it was later confirmed..."
A look of regret flashed in Saul's eyes. He shook his head. "That's a shame. Even though I only had a short time with Commodore Vergo, he seemed so righteous and kind to me. I heard he has a great reputation at G-7, and many Marines respect him. They say he's strong and gentle... a bit like Yamakaji."
"That's because he's a very good actor," Diarmuid nodded.
Hina, who had just finished her juice, asked in a tone of shock, "Since Commodore Vergo... no, since Vergo is a pirate spy, why don't we get rid of him? It must be dangerous to keep him at Headquarters."
Because Vergo was still by Diarmuid's side at Headquarters, he seemed to be Diarmuid's direct subordinate. So Hina, Diarmuid's secretary, had a good relationship with him. Or rather, Vergo was deliberately maintaining a good relationship with Hina, thinking he could get more secrets about Diarmuid and Marine Headquarters that way.
Hina had naturally accepted this goodwill, but she was good at keeping her mouth shut. Although she had threatened to 'tattle on him to Gion' several times, she had never betrayed Diarmuid. So far, she hadn't leaked any secrets to Vergo.
When she heard this, she was overcome with a sense of dread. The gentle and slightly clumsy Commodore Vergo, who always had food on his face, was a pirate spy?
"Don't worry, he's still useful. The Donquixote Family... or rather, Doflamingo himself is very special. At this point, he isn't an enemy of the Marines," Diarmuid said with a smile.
When he met Doflamingo in the New World, Diarmuid could tell that even though Doflamingo was acting natural, he was terrified of him. And based on his behavior in the past two years, he hadn't caused any trouble for the Marines. The Marines, in turn, were too lazy to bother with a guy whose identity was so troublesome. They were at a truce.
And privately, there were some shady deals.
Just as Doflamingo said, the Marines also bought weapons from him.
From Diarmuid's perspective, Doflamingo was someone they could win over. After all, the guy's power level was undeniable and could be suppressed, and he was very smart, knowing who he could and couldn't mess with.
Most importantly, he had a big grudge against the World Government and likely knew many of the secrets hidden in Mariejois. These were all things the Marines could use against the World Government in the future, so keeping Doflamingo around was a good idea.
As for Vergo, they would let him stay undercover for now. When the time came, he would be an inside man for the Marines to contact Doflamingo.
Hina nodded, half-understanding. Seeing that her Admiral and Gion-nee didn't have any objections, she didn't say anything more. This wasn't a matter for a Marine Commander to get involved in.
Talking about Vergo reminded Diarmuid of his little brother. He wondered how Corazon was doing now. Gion could confirm Vergo's identity because of the intelligence Corazon had provided.
Before Vergo even joined the Marines, Corazon had already accepted the mission to go undercover in the Donquixote Family and returned to Doflamingo. Because of his own special identity and Doflamingo's special status, Corazon's direct supervisor was Admiral Sengoku, so he only had to report to him.
Diarmuid didn't know what kind of role he would play in the Donquixote Family.
He looked down at the silverware in his hand, a silver-white fork. Diarmuid asked, "If I remember correctly, this is a set of amber lead silverware, right?"
Gion nodded. "That's right. We got it from a pirate crew. I heard this stuff is more expensive than gold..."
"Amber lead, huh... Does anyone know how Flevance, the White Town, is doing?" Diarmuid asked.
Gion shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't paid much attention to that area." Flevance was in the North Blue, so it was normal for Gion not to know.
But Hina nodded. "They're doing great. I saw in the newspaper a few days ago that they discovered another amber lead mine, which attracted a large number of people to develop it. They say Flevance will be at the top of the North Blue's wealthiest nations list this year..."
"It's all thanks to amber lead," Diarmuid said with a strange smile.
"Yeah, about a hundred years ago, Flevance was just an ordinary small country..." Saul said, rubbing his chin.
"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Diarmuid glanced at Saul.
"Me? Tahahahaha, I'm one hundred and forty-two this year!" Saul laughed heartily.
"Long-lived species are different," Diarmuid remarked. One hundred and forty-two was considered middle-aged or in their prime for a giant, not old at all.
After teasing Saul, Diarmuid continued, "That's right. A hundred years ago, amber lead wasn't discovered, and Flevance was just an ordinary small country. Now, because of this mineral, they've been the number one economic power in the North Blue for several years. This stuff has brought them endless wealth..."
"To be specific, the annual output of amber lead is worth over ten trillion Berries," Hina said seriously.
Diarmuid gave Hina a strange look. Are you a business genius? You have a knack for economics.
Without saying anything more, Diarmuid asked, "Speaking of amber lead, have you heard of amber lead syndrome?"
Gion immediately shook her head. "No."
Saul, still eating, said, "Why would I care about something like that? Of course, I don't know."
Only Hina nodded slightly. "I've heard of it. Apparently, there have been a few cases of a related disease in Flevance. They haven't found a cure yet. There are rumors that they got the disease from eating raw amber lead..."
As soon as Hina finished speaking, Gion looked at the amber lead silverware in her hand and said with a shocked expression, "This stuff is poisonous?"
'I've been eating with this for two years, and you're telling me it's poisonous now?!'
"It's not poisonous, don't worry," Diarmuid said, giving Gion a look.
Gion was relieved and laughed loudly. "I knew it! It's openly made into silverware and sought after by wealthy nobles. How could it be poisonous?"
Diarmuid ignored Gion and didn't talk about amber lead anymore. He looked up at the calendar on the wall. It was April 23, 1504, according to the Marine calendar. It was early in the year 1504.
He recalled that the fall of Flevance and the outbreak of the lead-platinum disease would happen four years later, in 1508. The wealthiest country in the North Blue would be destroyed.
"Sigh..." Diarmuid clicked his tongue and didn't say anything more.
It was an impossible thing to stop. If you went there with good intentions, you would be rejected by all the beneficiaries of amber lead. And everyone in the country was a beneficiary.
You would tell them you were there to save them, but they would think you were there to cut off their source of wealth.
As the saying goes, 'cutting off someone's financial road is like killing their parents.' One could only imagine how their good intentions would be twisted. In reality, once amber lead became popular and the economic pillar of Flevance, the destruction of the country was inevitable.
After dinner, there wasn't much to do for entertainment at G-7. There were some pubs in the military town, but Diarmuid wasn't interested. So he went back to his room to rest.
Even though he had moved back to Headquarters from G-7, Gion had kept a room for him here. Everything inside was his from a few years ago, making it feel natural and familiar.
After washing up and taking a shower, Diarmuid stood there in a white towel, pouring himself a glass of water. Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door. Diarmuid didn't think much of it. He answered and went to open the door. He saw Gion standing there, looking sneaky.
When Gion saw Diarmuid, she froze. He was shirtless with just a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair still wet. His muscular abs and defined physique were very appealing...
"Gulp..." Gion instinctively swallowed her saliva. He smells so good!
"Let me in, quick!" Gion looked around and said in a low voice.
"What are you doing here so late?" Diarmuid asked in surprise, stepping aside to let Gion in. It would be bad for Gion's reputation if someone saw her. As for himself? Ever since he 'punched a Fleet Admiral and sliced Garp,' he had long since lost any shame about things like this.
"You're so insensitive, you men. What else would I be doing coming here this late at night? Did you think I came to drink beer with you? Of course, I'm here to sleep with you!" Gion said, sitting down on the sofa and taking the water Diarmuid had just poured for himself.
Diarmuid gave Gion a helpless look. "Isn't this a little too fast? I'm not even ready yet..."
"Fast? What's fast?" Gion said bluntly. But if you looked closely, you'd see her cheeks were starting to flush, and if you listened carefully, you could hear her heart beating faster and faster. But the more nervous she was, the more aggressive she acted, as if to hide her anxiety.
Gion pointed to the big bed in the bedroom. "You go wait for me on the bed. If you dare fall asleep, I'll stab you with my sword. I'm going to take a shower."
With that, Gion stood up and walked into the bathroom. Then she yelped and frantically walked back out with Diarmuid's underwear in her hand.