Just as Hina was about to draw her sword and hack Diarmuid, the "old pervert," to pieces,
The Den Den Mushi placed on the deck next to Diarmuid suddenly rang.
Both Hina and Diarmuid turned to look. The Den Den Mushi was mimicking Gion's appearance, which immediately quieted them both down.
Diarmuid glanced back at Vergo, who was reading a book. Vergo looked startled and quickly said, "Admiral, I haven't sold you out..."
As he spoke, he stood up, looked behind him, and the rest of the Marines also wore expressions that clearly said, "Not me."
"Go, go, go! All of you just want to watch me make a fool of myself!" Diarmuid growled angrily.
Vergo chuckled, nodded, and then quickly led the petty officers on the deck away.
"Is there some kind of surveillance Den Den Mushi hidden on my ship?" Diarmuid looked around, muttering to himself. He then turned to Hina. The fiery indignation she had moments ago had significantly lessened; the flush on her face had faded, and her eyes darted nervously left and right, as if she, too, was searching for a surveillance Den Den Mushi.
How could it be such a coincidence? I just 'pecked' the Admiral, and immediately, Gion-nee's call comes in?
It shouldn't be that coincidental, right?
Diarmuid took a cursory look around, decided it was unlikely, and didn't give it any more thought. He picked up the Den Den Mushi and asked, "Hello? Gion?"
"Hmm? Why does your tone sound so guilty?" Gion asked from the other end.
Diarmuid was taken aback, she could even hear that?, but he quickly covered it up. "Guilty about what? I'm fishing right now, and your Den Den Mushi just made me miss a fish."
"Is that so?" Gion didn't dwell on it. Instead, her tone became serious. "We have a bit of a problem."
"What kind of problem?" Diarmuid asked calmly.
Hina, curious, sidled up to listen. But the moment she got close, Diarmuid glared at her and pointed to his mouth.
Hina, fuming, lifted her leg and kicked Diarmuid in the shin, pulling a vicious, teeth-gritting face.
Diarmuid just rolled his eyes and ignored her.
Gion, naturally, hadn't noticed the situation on his end, as she couldn't see them. She spoke directly, "That little brat Robin ran off."
"???" Diarmuid was utterly confused. That can't be, can it?
Why would she run? She was well-fed and well-looked-after in the Marines. Gion and he both took good care of her, and she was periodically approved to visit her mother at Impel Down. She was a Captain in Marine Headquarters now. He heard Gion was preparing to promote her to Commodore recently, moving her even closer to her goal. Why would she run away at a time like this?
"No way? Why would she run? Did she defect?" Diarmuid asked, astonished.
"No, not that. You wouldn't know, I just found out myself. During the time we went to the New World to catch Shanks, Robin applied to join the Intelligence Division's special unit. Tsuru-nee wasn't paying attention, and she successfully pulled one over on her. Then, yesterday, she accepted a mission from the Intelligence Division and secretly left Headquarters. I couldn't find her today, which is how I discovered all this," Gion said softly.
"Ah..." Diarmuid finally sighed in relief. So it wasn't defection; she was just out on a mission. That was understandable.
The more dangerous the mission, the greater the merit upon successful return. Robin had been dragging her feet in the Intelligence Division for so long; she must have been eager to go out and earn a significant achievement.
"What kind of mission?" Diarmuid asked.
"Undercover. She chose Crocodile..." Gion said, sounding a bit helpless.
Diarmuid paused, then asked, "Why? Is there something happening with Crocodile lately?"
"For one, among the current Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile is the one the Marines are most dissatisfied with. Robin happens to be aware of this and is also privy to our Warlord infiltration plan. She knows the Marines will move against Crocodile eventually. If she can infiltrate beforehand, then when the time is right, she can coordinate with us and help us eliminate Crocodile in one fell swoop. That would definitely be a major achievement. Given how much we've taken care of her, her own efforts, and her accumulated years of service, she might even jump straight to Rear Admiral..." Gion analyzed.
"That's a fair point," Diarmuid nodded.
Among the five active Warlords of the Sea, there's Boa Hancock. Robin had a good relationship with her back at G-7 and knew she was a Marine agent. Hancock had only recently become a Warlord, so there was nothing much to say there.
Smoker was a veteran Warlord and a Marine agent, so nothing needed to be said about him either.
Bartholomew Kuma was a sleeper agent, handled by the Intelligence Division and the Special Science Group. Diarmuid didn't pay much attention to Kuma's issues, but the man was now essentially marching in lockstep with the Marines and didn't require extra management.
As for Mihawk, Diarmuid brought him in just to fill the quota because he was the perfect candidate to occupy the Warlord position when the Marines didn't have enough manpower. After all, he wasn't a pirate in the true sense, and after gaining the title of the World's Strongest Swordsman, his threat level plummeted. He wouldn't randomly start cutting people down in the streets anymore...
He was a carefree vagrant, nothing to worry about; just let him roam the seas in his little boat.
Therefore, the only one the Marines had always been dissatisfied with was "Desert King" Crocodile. The Marines never intended for him to become a Warlord, but he managed to worm his way in.
Since becoming a Warlord, the man had never contacted the Marines or made any gesture of cooperation. He just holed up in Alabasta and refused to budge.
Based on Robin's own analysis, if the Marines were to move against the Warlords, Crocodile would likely be the first target. Therefore, after much thought, she made up her mind when Hancock officially became a Warlord.
"Of course, that's just one aspect. There are two other reasons," Gion added.
"What reasons?" Diarmuid asked.
"The situation in Alabasta has been very unstable recently, with a lot of internal conflict. It's rumored that the Nefertari family's reputation has been affected, so Headquarters also suspects there is a problem in Alabasta..." Gion whispered.
"You suspect that Crocodile fellow is stirring up trouble?" Diarmuid asked.
Gion hesitated, then said, "Huh? No, why would you suspect Crocodile?"
"Wait? Shouldn't I suspect Crocodile? He's holed up in Alabasta. Alabasta was fine before, and now it's having problems..." Diarmuid said, a little surprised.
So the Intelligence Division didn't even suspect Crocodile?
Gion paused for a moment, then said softly, "It shouldn't be Crocodile, right? He's a pirate. There's no need for him to do something so pointless, is there? Is he trying to usurp the throne? Heh heh heh..."
In fact, before Doflamingo used his status as a Warlord of the Sea and his cunning to seize Dressrosa, no one truly believed a pirate could usurp a kingdom.
After all, the reputation of pirates was too notorious.
Even after Doflamingo seized the throne of Dressrosa, everyone still treated it as an isolated incident.
Doflamingo had a special background; his ancestors were indeed the royal family of Dressrosa, so it couldn't be considered a widespread phenomenon. Therefore, people still didn't take it seriously.
It wasn't until Alabasta was nearly destroyed by Crocodile's machinations that the world's nations truly recognized the danger posed by the Warlords of the Sea.
Right now, with trouble brewing in Alabasta, Marine Headquarters' Intelligence Division hadn't focused their suspicions on Crocodile.
From Diarmuid's perspective, this was both unbelievable and foolish. But if viewed from within the logic of this world, without considering his "cheat," perhaps it was reasonable?
Diarmuid didn't say much. Instead, he counter-questioned, "Then who does the Intelligence Division suspect?"
In his heart, he already had the answer.
"The Revolutionary Army," Gion whispered.
"I knew it," Diarmuid clicked his tongue.
Yes, at this stage, whenever there was political instability, rebellion, or uprising in any nation, the Revolutionary Army was the first and foremost suspect.
It was normal for the Marine Intelligence Division to first suspect the Revolutionary Army when Alabasta ran into trouble. It was even highly probable that Crocodile had already fabricated evidence to pin the blame on the Revolutionary Army.
"Alabasta is different from other countries. It is one of the oldest human kingdoms, the sole nation on the super-island 'Sandy Island,' and a descendant of the twenty founding kings. It hides who knows how many secrets. But most importantly, Alabasta is a military powerhouse on a global scale. If the Revolutionary Army were to genuinely gain control of this nation's power... the consequences would be unimaginable," Gion said softly.
Even though Marine Headquarters had various ties to the Revolutionary Army, it didn't mean Headquarters wanted the Revolutionary Army to rapidly grow and become powerful.
At the very least, they absolutely did not want the Revolutionary Army to seize control of Alabasta and instantly command an army of over a million.
Diarmuid wasn't so foolish as to ask if the Marines had contacted Dragon through Bartholomew Kuma to confirm the situation or anything similar. It was a joke; if the Revolutionary Army was truly behind this, Dragon would deny it to his dying breath.
So, there was no need for the Marines to ask; they had to investigate the truth themselves.
"..." Diarmuid said softly, "It seems the merit Robin is eyeing this time is far greater than I initially thought."
Before, he was locked into a fixed mindset, instinctively and subconsciously believing that Crocodile had begun causing trouble in Alabasta. Now that he thought about it, he'd already veered this world off its original course. If the Revolutionary Army was causing trouble, it wasn't impossible, was it?
In fact... what if Crocodile and the Revolutionary Army had teamed up?
After all, Gecko Moria had become an officer in the Revolutionary Army. If Dragon managed to win over Crocodile, it didn't seem entirely impossible either.
It seemed Robin's trip to Alabasta was two-fold: one, to see if she could infiltrate Crocodile's side, and the other, to investigate the truth about Alabasta and see if the Revolutionary Army was involved. That would indeed be a significant achievement.
Diarmuid thought it over and realized he couldn't blindly assume Crocodile was the one causing trouble anymore. Since Robin had already left, he would let her investigate. What if there was a surprise?
Moreover, the CP agencies should have already taken action, right? But that was none of his concern. "What's the third aspect?" Diarmuid asked.
"There's a rumor that there's a Poneglyph in Alabasta. I imagine Robin is also interested, given her background... but that's irrelevant," Gion said with a chuckle.
"It truly is irrelevant," Diarmuid nodded calmly.
In his mind, however, he wondered if Robin might actually find the Ancient Weapon Pluton in Alabasta.
Though, what would be the point? At least for now.
But if she did find Pluton, it would certainly be a huge achievement. However, given Robin's character and principles, she would never unleash such a weapon. She would probably pretend she didn't find it.
No matter what, if she could achieve even one of those three goals, it would be a major accomplishment. If she could achieve all three, she could easily become a Vice Admiral.
It certainly satisfied her eagerness to earn merit.
With that thought, Diarmuid shook his head and smiled. "That little one, Robin, has always had her own ideas since she was a child. Since things have come to this, we can't exactly go and drag her back, can we? She's out on a mission... just let her go."
"Agreed. That's what I thought, too. It's better to guide than to obstruct. How many times can we stop her? It's better to just let her go. I just called to inform you," Gion said with a smile.