Following Smoker's involvement, two massive naval battles, each involving tens of thousands, erupted in the New World, both ending with victories for the Whitebeard Pirates.
Now, after these two large-scale naval battles, the previously incessant warfare in the New World had fallen into an eerie quiet.
However, everyone knew this was merely the calm before an even greater storm.
The alliance between Charlotte Linlin and Kaido was likely heading toward a decisive showdown with the combined forces of the Whitebeard Pirates and Smoker.
Panic was spreading throughout the New World. This battle, which would determine the new and old overlords and the king of the pirates, would affect the destiny of everyone in the New World, perhaps even the entire world, regardless of the outcome.
To be honest, most people in the New World hoped that Whitebeard would win.
Because Whitebeard was a relatively easygoing person; as long as you didn't provoke him, he wouldn't cause unnecessary trouble.
Compared to Whitebeard, both Kaido and Charlotte Linlin were the types of people who would create problems even if you left them alone.
Therefore, if people didn't want the New World to be in constant chaos, most naturally hoped that Whitebeard could maintain his hegemonic position and preserve a certain level of stability in the New World.
Both sides were urgently preparing for the final showdown.
Meanwhile, Marine Headquarters, Marineford, also seemed to be secretly gearing up for something.
In the Marineford conference room, several high-ranking Marine officers were seated, preparing to discuss matters.
Diarmuid was in the New World, so he couldn't attend, nor did he use any "video Den Den Mushi" for the meeting.
However, he had already submitted his proposal regarding Smoker to Headquarters, and this meeting was specifically about discussing that proposal.
Fleet Admiral Kong was seated at the head of the conference table, holding a document and looking through it absentmindedly.
Admiral Sengoku stood in front of the projection screen, earnestly speaking to the people in the room. The rest of the attendees, including Sakazuki, Garp, Gion, Chief of Staff Tsuru, Kuzan, and other Marine generals, were listening attentively.
The year-and-a-half that Kong had agreed upon with Diarmuid was quickly drawing to a close, and he had also received Diarmuid's report, which stated that he had dispatched Borsalino to coordinate with Jinbe regarding Fisher Tiger's situation.
Theoretically speaking, with Diarmuid's planning, Jinbe's assistance, and Borsalino's execution, there should be absolutely no problem with this matter.
But because it concerned the overall interests of the Marines, and whether he, Steel Bone Kong, could assume the position of Commander-in-Chief of the entire armed forces, even though he felt confident and assured, the Fleet Admiral was still feeling a little anxious.
Thus, he seemed distracted during today's meeting.
"Fleet Admiral, Fleet Admiral?" Sengoku called out twice.
This snapped Kong back from his thoughts. The Fleet Admiral put down the document in his hand and said, "My apologies, I was distracted. Sengoku, what is it?"
Sengoku naturally wouldn't reprimand the Fleet Admiral. He smiled and said softly, "Fleet Admiral, we have finished our discussion."
"Finished so quickly?" The Fleet Admiral was taken aback, then looked at the people in the conference room, and a look of understanding dawned on his face with a slight smile.
Sakazuki himself was a hardline Marine, always a member of the Hawk Faction. The Marines were now discussing military action and participation in the war in the New World; it would be strange if he didn't support it.
Therefore, the Hawk Faction Marines under his command would certainly support it.
This proposal was initiated by Admiral Diarmuid, who was not present. He had been the one spearheading everything regarding Smoker and the Warlord of the Sea arrangements. Thus, no member of Diarmuid's faction, including Gion, could possibly veto the proposal.
Garp, that veteran trouble-maker, probably wouldn't raise any objections.
As for Kuzan, he should also be siding with Diarmuid.
Therefore, even without Diarmuid present, his influence in the conference room was extremely strong. Now that the Hawk Faction Marines and Diarmuid's faction Marines had reached a consensus on this matter, there was naturally no room for the Neutral or Dove Factions.
So, was it really not surprising that the discussion concluded so quickly?
But speaking of the Dove Faction Marines, the Fleet Admiral looked at Garp, Kuzan, and then Sengoku.
In earlier years, before Diarmuid rose to prominence in the Marines, the Dove Faction Marines absolutely held a tremendous advantage in the internal faction struggles.
Back then, Sengoku was the leader of the Dove Faction. Zeff also had one foot in the Dove Faction. Although Garp was more inclined to be neutral, he mostly supported Sengoku's actions. Tsuru naturally supported her old friend Sengoku.
During that period, the Dove Faction Marines could practically wipe the floor with the Hawk and Neutral Factions.
When Diarmuid first began his rise, he initially appeared to lean towards the Dove Faction, having very good relationships with Sengoku and others. Sengoku did indeed intend to groom Diarmuid to take over the faction's leadership.
But later, Diarmuid never truly committed to being a Dove Faction Marine. Instead, he gradually developed a "Diarmuid Faction," or the "G-7 Faction," or the "New Marine Faction," which transcended the Hawk, Neutral, and Dove Marines.
The philosophy upheld by these individuals was neither the aggressiveness of the Hawk Faction nor the measured caution of the Dove Faction, nor the indecisiveness of the Neutral Faction.
The New Marine Faction, spearheaded by Gion and assisted by Vice Admiral Doberman, Vice Admiral Yamakaji, Vice Admiral Momonga, and others, was primarily rooted in the person of Diarmuid himself!
And this faction had already, to a great extent, devoured the strength of the Dove Faction Marines, giving them the appearance of a shell company taking over a listed one.
Now, Garp, the old eccentric, basically supported Diarmuid on all matters, big and small, simply because he owed Diarmuid a huge favor.
As for Zephyr, the retired Marine Admiral, although he was now working behind the scenes, he controlled the new blood of the Academy Faction. Moreover, he deeply favored his disciple, Diarmuid. Therefore, most of the hidden support in Zephyr's hands was actually directed toward Diarmuid.
Tsuru had a relationship with Diarmuid based on mentorship and being his former superior. Diarmuid had learned a great deal about how to interact with internal Marine members from her.
In addition, Tsuru and Gion were like sisters and were very close. Diarmuid also had strong influence in the Intelligence Division. Since he came from the Intelligence Division and was a veteran who participated in the reform of the department back then, his influence was extraordinary.
Furthermore, Tsuru greatly admired and acknowledged Diarmuid's strategic abilities.
Therefore, to a certain extent, Tsuru would strongly support Diarmuid's ideas.
As for Kuzan, there was no need to say much. After Diarmuid began to develop his own faction, Sengoku deliberately changed his target and supported Kuzan to lead the Dove Faction.
But the problem was that Kuzan was too laid-back. With Diarmuid stepping up to take the heat for him, he had virtually no internal pressure and was enjoying life immensely. He didn't even want to become an Admiral, so how could he possibly compete for the position of a faction leader?
He even openly showed signs of defecting to Diarmuid's side, as the two had a very good relationship, and Diarmuid never harassed or pushed him too hard.
It could essentially be said that Diarmuid built his foundation by consuming the resources of the Dove Faction Marines.
Yet, he also had an excellent relationship with the leader of the Hawk Faction Marines, Sakazuki. The two had cooperated on many matters consecutively.
Therefore, the people in Diarmuid's faction also got along well with the Hawk Faction Marines. It was especially noteworthy that Vice Admiral Doberman and Vice Admiral Onigumo, who were the close confidants of Diarmuid and Sakazuki respectively, were stationed at G-7 and in the New World.
Despite this, whenever the two had time to meet at Headquarters, they would inevitably drink together until they passed out, enjoying an incredibly close relationship.
This kind of private interaction between members of two major factions was unheard of in the past.
Especially between the Hawk and Dove Factions, they often wouldn't even acknowledge each other when meeting.
Therefore, overall, although Diarmuid's faction emerged from the Dove Faction Marines, they had an extremely good relationship with the Hawk Faction Marines...
As for the Neutral Faction, there was even less need to worry. If Diarmuid's faction could get along with the Hawk Faction, why worry about the Neutral Faction?
Although Borsalino had rarely appeared at Headquarters these past few years and hardly participated in any internal issues, his personal relationship with Diarmuid was very good.
In the earlier years, when he worked under Sengoku as his aide, he had also taken care of Diarmuid quite a bit due to Sengoku's influence.
At this point, Kong suddenly remembered the now-obsolete Dove Faction Marines.
He thought of Diarmuid's faction, looked at the current internal situation of the Marines, and felt a sense of relief, yet also recognized Diarmuid's remarkable political skill.
Unconsciously, the faction Diarmuid belonged to seemed to have unified the entire Marine organization.
Diarmuid's faction possessed incredible inclusiveness; it seemed they could peacefully coexist with the Dove, Hawk, and Neutral Factions?
Furthermore, in the few years since Diarmuid's faction began to "take shape," internal fighting and wastage within the Marines had virtually disappeared.
Even Sakazuki, with his perpetually stern face, had now mended relations with many people in Headquarters, most notably Garp and Kuzan.
Garp's relationship with Sakazuki was now incredibly good. As for Kuzan, it wasn't that their relationship was excellent, but where it was once extremely rigid, it could now at least be described as peaceful.
The entire Marine high command, under Diarmuid's influence, was gradually shifting towards a state of mutual tolerance, where competition existed but did not lead to internal collapse. Everyone might have their differences and rivalries, but they would never affect the normal functioning of the Marines because of them.
Undoubtedly, this was highly beneficial for the entire Marine organization.
Thinking of this, Kong glanced at Sengoku again. Sengoku must have realized this problem long ago, yet he neither stopped it nor made any countermeasures. In fact, he was implicitly going along with it and fulfilling Diarmuid's intentions...
As a faction leader, this was undoubtedly a failure, but no one in the Dove Faction seemed to think anything was wrong.
However, as the future Marine Fleet Admiral, Sengoku's approach was undoubtedly the correct and most suitable one.
Why would Sengoku willingly give up the identity of a faction leader?
The reason was simple: as the Marine Fleet Admiral, regardless of which faction one came from, there must be no further favoritism.
To hold the Fleet Admiral position, one must maintain fairness across the board.
Otherwise, if the Fleet Admiral showed favoritism or leaned too heavily toward a certain faction, it could very likely trigger instability within the entire Marine high command.
Sengoku undoubtedly understood this principle.
And now it seemed that his deliberate allowance of Diarmuid's influence better suited his future interests and political acumen as Fleet Admiral.
Because with Diarmuid's faction helping him consolidate internal Marine contradictions, fissures, and rivalry flaws, Sengoku wouldn't have to be burdened with handling the internal Marine issues; he only needed to maintain a strong hold on Diarmuid, the key figure.
As long as Diarmuid was stable, the Marines would be stable, and wouldn't that be a great thing for the Fleet Admiral?
It was at this moment that Kong suddenly seemed to understand something: Sengoku... seems to have greater expectations for Diarmuid to take over the Fleet Admiral position in the future?
Why else would he make such arrangements?
However, these were no longer his concerns. By then, he would be working in an office in Mariejois.
Moreover, Kong himself actually favored Diarmuid more.
"What are your opinions?" The Fleet Admiral collected his thoughts and asked.
Sengoku replied with a heavy voice, "We believe this proposal is feasible. Furthermore, compared to our previous strategy of inaction, it is more beneficial for the Marine's future deployment and operations against the New World."
"Very well, let it be so. Since it has passed, begin to address the gaps and fill the flaws in Diarmuid and Smoker's plan. We cannot afford any mistakes once the operation begins!" the Fleet Admiral commanded in a deep voice.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]