Diarmuid spent another two weeks at Marine Branch 19.
He encouraged the Marines who wanted to retire and, along with Garp, Gion, and others, held a mobilization rally. It turned out the most popular speaker wasn't Admiral Diarmuid or Marine Hero Garp. Instead, the atmosphere reached its climax as soon as Vice Admiral Gion took the stage.
Beautiful women, it seemed, were popular everywhere they went. Gion's appearance alone made many Marines who were considering retirement change their minds and become determined to join the Headquarters in Marineford!
After this whole process, Diarmuid had achieved his goal of reassuring the Marines at Branch 19. Captain Brannew, the base commander, was also preparing to pack his things and start his new job at Marineford. His transfer orders had been issued from Marineford two days ago, and he was thrilled.
Diarmuid's warship slowly left Branch 19 with everyone on board. Diarmuid had originally wanted to travel around a bit, maybe even visit Koshiro at the Shimotsuki Village to secretly learn a few sword techniques, as he wasn't particularly skilled in that area and had always relied on his abilities to fight.
But that scoundrel Garp was being a nuisance. As soon as the serious business was done, he was in a rush to get to Foosha Village to see his grandson, Ace. And Gion was also very interested in her good friend Garp's grandson, so she was happy to go along. Persuaded by the two of them, Diarmuid's warship had no choice but to sail toward Foosha Village in the Goa Kingdom.
Ever since the battle of ten thousand men on Gotten Island, most of the pirates in the East Blue had been eliminated in one fell swoop. Their pirate alliance had been completely dismantled. As a result, the pirate situation in the East Blue returned to a state where only a few weak pirate groups remained.
On the entire journey from Branch 19 to Foosha Village, they didn't encounter a single pirate crew. On the contrary, the East Blue trade routes were clear, and on the main shipping lanes, they saw many merchant ships, fishing boats, whaling boats, and patrolling Marine fleets.
As Shiki and others said, the East Blue was the weakest sea in the world, but as Garp said, it was also a symbol of peace—a brand that the Marines and the World Government had spent decades building. At least compared to the other chaotic and brutal seas of the world, ordinary people were truly lucky to live in the East Blue.
The massive warship slowly docked at the simple harbor of Foosha Village. Garp, who had been in the greatest hurry, was now the most leisurely, lazily tidying his fishing gear on the deck.
Diarmuid, however, was the first to step off the warship. After spending so much time at Branch 19, it was now the end of the year 1504, and the year 1505 was just a few days away.
Foosha Village was Garp's hometown and part of the Goa Kingdom, but from the perspective of the entire kingdom, there was nothing special about it; it was just a remote port village. This was Diarmuid's second time here, the last being with that rascal Garp. He wasn't unfamiliar with the village.
He glanced around the harbor, seeing a few fishing boats docked and two merchant ships being unloaded. It was a normal day, the weather was nice and sunny, and a warm, comfortable breeze was blowing in from the sea.
"So this is Garp-chan's hometown? It's my first time here," Gion said. She had her blade, Konpira, at her waist but was wearing a light yellow dress. While the combination seemed odd, it looked perfectly natural on her, giving her a unique kind of beauty.
Behind Gion, Hina was holding a little baby with orange hair—Nami. It was clear that Hina was very fond of Nami. Over the past couple of weeks, Hina, Gion, and Belle-mère had become good friends.
Beside Hina, Belle-mère, holding the hand of the curious Nojiko who was looking all around, said with a smile, "I've been here a few times before, but only on the warship; I never got off."
Just then, Garp came strolling down from the warship, carrying his fishing gear.
Diarmuid glanced at him and said, "Are you really going to learn how to fish?"
"What do you mean, 'learn'? I'm already an expert!" Garp glared at Diarmuid.
"But you're terrible at it," Diarmuid retorted without holding back.
Garp had a carefree and restless personality; Diarmuid even suspected he had ADHD. If he suddenly became quiet, you could be sure he had fallen asleep. He had an exceptional talent for sleeping; he could even fall asleep next to a cannon while it was firing at a pirate ship. It was that ridiculous. In this state, it would be a miracle if he ever caught a fish. And yet, on the ship, he watched Diarmuid catch one fish after another and thought it looked fun, so he insisted on trying it himself.
"That's because I haven't shown my true skills yet," Garp said stubbornly. Then, looking around, he asked, "Why isn't the mayor, Woop Slap, at the harbor? Is he sick?"
"The mayor? Does he have to greet you at the harbor?" Diarmuid teased with a laugh.
"No, it's not that. Every time I come, he gets a message from the harbor when the warship is about to arrive. We're old friends; he always comes to the harbor to greet me personally. The fact that he isn't here might mean he's really sick," Garp said, shaking his head.
But even before he finished, the figure of Mayor Woop Slap appeared in the distance, walking toward them.
"Hahaha, see? I told you so!" Garp laughed heartily.
But when Woop Slap arrived, Diarmuid noticed his expression was a little strange.
"Mayor Woop Slap, it's been a while," Diarmuid greeted him with a smile.
Woop Slap also smiled. "Admiral Diarmuid, it's been a long time."
After a brief chat, Woop Slap looked at Garp with a strange expression, about to say something, but in the end, he just shook his head and remained silent.
Diarmuid was curious, but Garp was oblivious, busy introducing his hometown to Gion and the others.
"Mayor Woop Slap, did Ace cause some trouble?" Diarmuid asked.
That was probably the only reason for the mayor's strange behavior. But, calculating the age, Ace was only three years old at most. How much trouble could he get into?
"Ace?" Woop Slap was taken aback, then shook his head with a smile. "Ace is doing well. He's with Dadan. What kind of trouble could a little kid cause?"
"Then what's with the way you keep looking at Garp like you want to say something?" Diarmuid asked curiously.
"Well…" Woop Slap hesitated, then said, "Sigh, why don't you go see for yourselves at the village bar?"
"The bar?" Diarmuid stroked his chin and nodded.
The bar in Foosha Village belonged to Makino's family and had been passed down for generations. Diarmuid had met Makino the last time he was here. She was only twelve then but was already a very capable hostess, helping out at the bar from a young age. She must be around fourteen or fifteen now. He was quite fond of the beautiful, kind, and sensible girl and was looking forward to seeing her.
Seeing this, Diarmuid nodded and smiled. "Perfect. I'm on vacation, and it would be nice to have a drink at the bar. Care to join us, Mayor?"
Woop Slap smiled. "An invitation to drink from a Marine Admiral? I'd be happy to."
"Hahaha, so it's decided that I'm buying?" Diarmuid laughed, too.
Then, the group walked into Foosha Village, chatting and laughing in small groups. The village was small, with one main road leading up the mountain. On both sides were residential houses, shops, the bar, and the market. The entire village seemed to have only a couple of hundred people.
Soon, Diarmuid and the others arrived at the entrance to the village bar. Before Diarmuid could even open the door, a small figure carefully squeezed out, holding a large empty barrel.
Diarmuid smiled and reached out to help push the door open. "Hey, Makino, it's been a while. You've grown up a lot."
The person holding the barrel was, indeed, Makino. Hearing his voice, Makino looked up in surprise, her eyes lighting up. "Diarmuid-san? What brings you here?"
"Hahaha, that old man Garp practically dragged me here. I'm on vacation, so I thought I'd have a few drinks at your bar," Diarmuid laughed heartily.
Just then, a commotion erupted from inside the bar. Diarmuid was curious and tried to look, but the view was blocked by the bar's interior layout. Makino seemed to realize something and quickly said, "Diarmuid-san, please go on in. I'll go and switch out this barrel."
"Need any help?" Diarmuid asked with a smile.
"No, thank you. This barrel is empty; it's not heavy," Makino replied, a gentle smile on her face as she shook her head.
Seeing this, Diarmuid stepped aside without another word, and Makino walked out with the empty barrel. Gion, standing beside him, said with a fond smile, "What a kind and well-behaved girl."
"I know, right?" Diarmuid nodded and stepped inside.
As he entered, he saw a figure scrambling to climb out a window, trying to escape. The owner of the bar, Makino's mother, was a beautiful woman still in her prime. She was staring blankly at the man trying to escape through the window, while cradling a small, ugly baby in her arms. The baby looked like it had just been born.
What in the world is this? Abandonment after a fling?
A whole drama played out in Diarmuid's mind in an instant. But then, he reacted. Wait a minute... that guy's profile looks familiar. And those crossed red markings…!
It's you! Dragon!
But Garp reacted even faster than Diarmuid. As he stepped into the bar, he also noticed the figure trying to climb out the window. A look of fury flashed in his eyes. "Dragon! I finally ran into you, you scoundrel!"
As he finished speaking, Vice Admiral Garp took a flying leap, covering more than ten meters in a single bound, and grabbed the leg of Dragon, who hadn't managed to get out of the window yet.
Dragon was clearly flustered and had none of his usual Revolutionary Army leader composure. Diarmuid even found it strange that he wasn't using his mysterious ability to flee but was instead trying to climb out the window. He was probably so rattled by the commotion that he wasn't thinking straight.
Before Diarmuid could process his thoughts, Garp delivered a powerful punch to Dragon's back. Dragon cried out in pain and was sent flying, smashing through the window and the wall around it.
"What a 'filial' father and son," Diarmuid couldn't help but say, clapping his hands.
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