Early November, in the year 1504 of the Sea Calendar.
Diarmuid's warship slowly sailed into the port of the Marine 19th Branch in the East Blue. Over two months had passed since he took leave from Marineford, picked up Gion at G-7, and traveled all the way to the East Blue.
A lot had happened in those two months.
Vice Admiral Kuzan of Marine Headquarters had a big fight with "White Hunter" Smoker on Shift Island in the first half of the Grand Line. The battle was a stalemate, and Smoker successfully escaped.
Of course, it was all an act. Because of this incident, Kuzan was 'punished,' and two weeks later, Smoker was officially enlisted as a Warlord of the Sea by the World Government.
Thus, "White Hunter" Smoker became the first Warlord of the Sea since the organization was officially established. His bounty was temporarily set at 260,000,000 Berries.
Smoker's enlistment as a Warlord caused a huge stir on the seas.
The Warlord policy had been in place for a long time, but no one had actually joined until now. Previously, there were rumors that "Blood Plague" Craster would be the first Warlord, but he was completely wiped out by the Marines in the blink of an eye.
This made many people realize that to become a Warlord, one had to first get past the Marines.
Before this, many people, like Donquixote Doflamingo, thought they had to go through the Marines and get their approval. But now, Smoker had proven that there was another way: confronting the Marines head-on.
As long as the Marines couldn't get rid of you and you could hold them off for a while, the World Government could officially make you a Warlord. Once you became a Warlord, the Marines would no longer have a reason to fight you.
At the same time, Smoker's case proved that not everyone who wanted to become a Warlord would be targeted by a Marine Admiral. If you were lucky, you could end up fighting a Vice Admiral.
It had to be said that Kuzan's reputation took a bit of a hit this time, and many people began to look down on him. There were rumors that it was no wonder Kuzan hadn't become an Admiral candidate like Sakazuki and Borsalino—he was a fraud.
But he didn't seem to care about these things. The higher-ups at Headquarters knew what was really going on, so no one would criticize him for it. Even the punishment was just for show for the World Government.
The warship slowly docked at the port of the Marine 19th Branch in the East Blue. A large figure immediately jumped off the ship. It wasn't Diarmuid, but the mischievous old man, Garp.
That's right. Although Diarmuid had sternly tried to stop and scold Garp, even using his Admiral status to demand that he not come along, Garp was completely shameless. He shamelessly snuck onto Diarmuid's ship and couldn't be driven away.
What could you do with such a shameless person? Unless you beat him up, but he was ridiculously strong, and Diarmuid wasn't confident that he could beat him. In the end, he could only reluctantly accept this rascal.
Because Garp shamelessly snuck on board, Hina found an opportunity. She used the excuse of "vacationing with Garp-san" and also managed to sneak onto the ship.
Fortunately, Gion didn't care about any of this. She and Garp had known each other for a long time and had a great relationship. Privately, Gion would call Garp funny names like "Garp-kun" or "Garp-chan," and Garp didn't mind at all.
As for Hina, she was currently Gion's good friend and sidekick. Although Gion could tell that Hina had an inappropriate crush on Diarmuid, she surprisingly didn't try to stop it. Nobody knew what was on that woman's mind.
The commander of the Marine 19th Branch, a Captain, had been waiting at the port for a long time. The moment Garp landed, he immediately stepped forward, snapped to attention, and saluted. "Vice Admiral Garp, thank you for your hard work."
Garp nonchalantly nodded and said, "You are the ones who worked hard. You did a good job on Gotten Island. How are things now?"
The Captain looked a little helpless. "Although we won, the losses were quite severe. We haven't had a battle with a scale of tens of thousands of people in the East Blue for many years. Many of the Marines lack combat experience and are not in good psychological shape. Many people want to apply for retirement."
Just then, Diarmuid slowly walked off the warship. Gion and Hina were behind him, whispering to each other.
"You can't force them to stay. Do a psychological debriefing first. If anyone still wants to apply for retirement after that, make sure to take care of their emotions. Give them all the benefits they deserve, and then approve their request," Diarmuid said in a deep voice.
The Captain was stunned for a moment, then immediately saluted. "Yes, Admiral Diarmuid!" After a pause, he continued, "We've been doing psychological debriefing from the start. We've made some progress over the past two months, but many people still want to retire."
"Then do as Diarmuid says," Garp also nodded.
This was how it was. In reality, not just in the East Blue, but even at Headquarters, many people applied for retirement every year due to psychological trauma from war. This was a common but unsolvable problem.
Therefore, in most cases, they would first do psychological debriefing, and if it didn't work, they would let them go peacefully. Forcing them to stay was meaningless and would also affect the overall morale of the Marines.
"You've done a good job. Are you interested in a promotion to Headquarters?" Diarmuid asked with a smile.
"Me? Is that possible?" the Captain's face lit up.
"What's your name?" Diarmuid asked with a smile.
It was only then that the Captain seemed to realize that he hadn't introduced himself yet. This was a big oversight, probably because Garp's sudden arrival had thrown him off his game. He immediately snapped to attention and saluted. "Forgive me, Captain Brannew, commander of the Marine 19th Branch in the East Blue, greets you."
Diarmuid was taken aback. He had thought this man looked familiar. Now that he heard his name and saw his fluffy green hair, he finally realized.
It was him, Brannew, the future conference master who would join Marine Headquarters and become a Commodore. His strength was unknown, but he often did paperwork at Headquarters, organizing and explaining meetings and reporting situations to the big shots.
If he remembered correctly, he was originally a Major at Headquarters after about ten years. He probably accumulated experience and with the Marines' new aggressive style, he suddenly became a Commodore two years later. He didn't expect this guy to come from the East Blue.
He was a just person, and Diarmuid had no bad impression of him, so he helped him out. He said, "Very well, Captain Brannew. After you're done here, report to Headquarters."
"Yes, thank you, Admiral!" Brannew quickly replied.
Some people, once they become a branch commander, hold a lot of power and don't want to be transferred to Headquarters. But others dream of joining Headquarters. Brannew was clearly the latter.
After that, Diarmuid and Garp visited the wounded from the Gotten Island battle. To be honest, it had been almost three months, and many of their injuries had already healed.
Brannew also suggested that Diarmuid and Garp talk to the Marines who had applied for retirement. He believed that if they were encouraged by a Marine Hero and a Marine Admiral, many people would regain their spirit and give up on the idea of retiring.
Diarmuid and Garp were here to comfort these Marines, so they naturally didn't refuse such a good suggestion. Soon, they met with many Marines who had applied for retirement. It was true, many of them were revitalized after meeting the two of them.
In a military camp, Diarmuid sat on a simple bench, holding a cup of water, looking at a new Marine who had just walked in. It was a rare female Marine with long magenta hair, shaved on both sides, which gave her a heroic look. She wasn't exceptionally pretty, but she could be called beautiful.
"Lieutenant Belle-mère of the Marine 19th Branch greets you, Admiral Diarmuid!" Belle-mère said with a very serious expression.
Diarmuid was stunned for a moment. He had thought this woman looked familiar, but when he heard her name, it all came back to him. It was her, Belle-mère, the foster mother of Nami and Nojiko.
In an instant, many of the details he had forgotten came flooding back.
If he remembered correctly, the large-scale battle on Gotten Island had destroyed the entire town. Although the Marines won, they paid a heavy price.
It was in this war that Belle-mère was severely injured and lost her will to live.
It was at that moment that she saw a three-year-old Nojiko holding a one-year-old Nami, crying helplessly on the battlefield.
This sight reignited her will to live. She survived that brutal battle and adopted Nojiko and Nami.
"Lieutenant..." Diarmuid murmured softly, then smiled. "Don't be so nervous. Please, have a seat. You are all heroes of the Marines."
"Yes, thank you, Admiral Diarmuid!" Belle-mère replied with a smile. Her personality was very open and bold. She didn't hesitate and sat down.
"You're very young, Lieutenant Belle-mère," Diarmuid said, starting to chat with her.
"Well, I joined the Marines when I was sixteen. I just turned twenty this year," Belle-mère said, scratching her head a little shyly.
Belle-mère would raise Nami and Nojiko for a full ten years, and she would only be thirty when Arlong killed her.
"You became a Lieutenant in just four years?" Diarmuid smiled, then said, "That means you're very talented. You could probably become a field-grade officer before you turn twenty-five. If you were to go to Headquarters for further training, becoming a flag officer before you're forty shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"Hahaha, to be honest, I used to want to become a Marine Admiral!" Belle-mère laughed.
"There hasn't been a female Admiral in the Marines for almost a hundred years. I think you have a chance," Diarmuid said playfully.
"Really?" Belle-mère smiled, then awkwardly scratched her head. "Well, those were just childhood dreams. I don't really think about them anymore."
"Tsk..." Diarmuid clicked his tongue in a slightly disappointed way, then asked, "Are you applying for retirement? Do you have any psychological trauma?"
Belle-mère waved her hand and said boldly, "I am indeed planning to apply for retirement. I didn't expect to meet an Admiral and talk to you. But it has nothing to do with psychological trauma. It's just that I found two little ones during the war and I'm going to adopt them and become a mother."
"Hahaha..." Diarmuid also laughed heartily. "You're only twenty, and you're already going to adopt two children?"
"Why not?" Belle-mère pouted, then took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and offered one.
"Go ahead," Diarmuid said casually, waving his hand.
Belle-mère's personality was indeed very likable. Maybe it was because she was planning to retire, or maybe it was just her nature, but she was still herself when facing an Admiral.