After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Diarmuid pondered for a moment. He then turned to Hina and Vergo and called out: "Hey, you two..."
Hina and Vergo looked at Diarmuid and asked: "What is it?"
"Stop dilly-dallying. Pack up. We'll eat this Triceratops, and then we're going to Alabasta," Diarmuid instructed.
Vergo had no objections. He now essentially treated Diarmuid as his true superior, especially since his young master was clearly determined to follow Diarmuid. Therefore, his stance was clear: whatever the Admiral tells me to do, I do. No arguments.
Hina, however, asked curiously: "Admiral, why are we going to Alabasta? Isn't that place a mess right now?"
Diarmuid smiled and said: "The world's most ancient nation, a country with thousands of years of history, known as the birthplace of human civilization. Let's go take a look, and be enriched by its deep culture. And while we're at it... let's watch a show. It seems a good drama is about to unfold there."
"What kind of drama?" Hina asked, very interested. She had followed Diarmuid for so many years, and things had largely gone smoothly, so she had a personality that enjoyed watching the excitement from a distance. The mention of a good show immediately piqued her interest.
"The turmoil in Alabasta is about to reach a fever pitch. I reckon that guy Dragon is going to take a fall. It'll be perfect to go see his embarrassing moment," Diarmuid said with a laugh.
While Diarmuid was discussing going to Alabasta to watch the show with Hina and Vergo.
On the other side, at Erumalu, another port city in Alabasta.
Erumalu was located downstream of the Sandora River, Alabasta's largest inland river. Originally, due to the misuse of Dance Powder, Alabasta had gone without rain for years, causing the Sandora River to gradually dry up. Erumalu was severely affected and slowly declined.
But for now, Erumalu was holding on. The port was bustling with an endless stream of ships.
At the moment, several secretive figures disembarked from a merchant ship at the port wharf. The leader of the group was draped in a black cloak and wore a grey-white suit. He looked somewhat frail, but his eyes were notably sharp. Behind him were several grim-faced subordinates in black suits, giving them an intimidating presence. Fortunately, the port was a mixed bag, with all sorts of people, so they didn't stand out as particularly strange.
"This blasted place is hot enough to kill a man. Get me a bottle of water..." The man at the front spoke uncomfortably the moment he disembarked, feeling baked by the scorching air.
Soon, one of his subordinates handed him a bottle of water. At the same time, the subordinate asked: "Spandine-san, neither Crocodile nor the Revolutionary Army are easy to provoke. Are we really wading into this murky water?"
That's right, the person who had just landed at Erumalu Port was the Chief of CP9, Spandine. The person speaking to him now was Who's-Who, who had an encounter with Diarmuid and was now valued more highly by Spandine, kept close for focused training.
If anyone else had dared to ask, Spandine would have already slapped them across the face. Was this something just anyone could casually inquire about? As agents, they should just obey orders.
But Who's-Who was different to Spandine. So, after taking a drink of water and dispelling some of the heat, Spandine waved his hand irritably: "Do you think I want to come? In recent years, out of ten missions involving our CP agents and the Revolutionary Army, nine have run into trouble. And that guy Crocodile is not easy to deal with either. If it weren't absolutely necessary, I certainly wouldn't want to show up in this cursed place, Alabasta..."
Due to Dragon's strategic partnership with Diarmuid and Stussy, he could always get first-hand intelligence from within the CP agencies. Stussy often used Dragon's hand to take care of colleagues who crossed her. Now that the Queen was one of the leaders of CP0, if anyone stepped out of line, it was simple for her to deal with them: she would assign them a mission to go after the Revolutionary Army, and then turn around and sell them out to Dragon, who would then deal with them for her. Everything seemed perfectly justifiable.
However, this time Spandine was personally involved. Given Spandine's relationship, he certainly wouldn't be betrayed by his 'sister' Stussy. Thus, Dragon hadn't received any intelligence this time.
After a slight pause, Spandine continued, looking a bit troubled: "It's all my fault for performing too excellently over the years. Those five elders took notice of me, and they personally assigned and instructed this matter. Do you think I have the right to refuse?"
Although Spandine had somewhat defected to Diarmuid, as long as Diarmuid hadn't openly broken with Mariejois, Spandine still had to obey Mariejois. And this time, his arrival in Alabasta was personally arranged by the Gorosei. As he said, because Spandine had performed quite well in the CP agencies over the years, the Gorosei had finally entrusted him with a heavy responsibility.
How could he not be excellent? Spandine was fundamentally very capable, merely lacking in character. Furthermore, within the CP agencies, he had the strong backing of Queen Stussy, and externally he could privately leverage the authority of Marine Admiral Diarmuid. When doing things, three-tenths of the task could be solved by reputation alone. Unless he was utterly incompetent, he was bound to perform exceptionally well under these circumstances.
And it was precisely this outstanding performance that caused him to run into the Gorosei's sights this time. They assigned him a very difficult mission. Of course, hardship also meant opportunity. If he performed brilliantly this time, he would surely be promoted and enrich himself. He would most likely enter CP0 as a high-ranking operations agent, following the path Stussy had taken back then.
Who's-Who rolled his eyes at Spandine. Recently, due to Spandine's favor, his personal relationship with Spandine had become closer, unlike the rigid superior-subordinate dynamic of the past.
"Troubled because you're too excellent? Sir, that's a kind of trouble I'd like to experience myself," Who's-Who grumbled.
"Hahahaha," Spandine laughed with a self-satisfied smirk. He then stood on his toes and patted Who's-Who on the shoulder: "You've still got a long way to go, you're not there yet."
After the laugh, Spandine's face became serious: "Let's go. We'll head to Rainbase first and meet that guy Crocodile. We have to convey the will of the five elders to him, no matter what."
Speaking of this, Spandine paused again, saying with a hint of exasperation: "After that, we'll take things one step at a time. I hope this guy Crocodile is reliable. If he's capable enough, it will save me a lot of trouble."
Who's-Who quickly instructed the subordinates behind him: "Hurry up, have some sense! Didn't the Chief say we're going to Rainbase? Go rent a camel caravan immediately."
Who's-Who giving orders to the subordinates pleased Spandine. He then offered advice, imparting his experience: "Let me tell you, I can't advise you much on things like strength, but luckily you're an ambitious person. So keep pushing. You're lucky to have caught the eye of Admiral Diarmuid. As your superior, I naturally wish you well. After this job is done, I might be going to CP0. Who will I leave CP9 to? I originally planned to give it to my disappointing son, but now that that brat has been sent to the Marines, I'm relieved; I don't have to worry about him. CP9 is Stussy-san's base of operations, and it can't be given to outsiders. So, it will definitely be handed over to you. Once you become the Chief of CP9, you must use your head more. You can't just rely on your ability to fight. Do you understand?"
This was the first time Who's-Who had heard Spandine explicitly state that CP9 would be handed over to him. A promotion and getting rich was certainly a good thing, so Who's-Who replied happily: "Yes, Sir! I will definitely guard our base of operations well."
Just as G-7 was Diarmuid's base of operations, CP9 was Queen Stussy's private turf within the CP agencies, always reserved for direct descendants.
"Good. Let me tell you a little more. When doing things, you must first choose the right people to cooperate with. Take this time, for example. Although it's fraught with difficulties, if we have a good partner whose interests align with ours, it will be much easier. I think that guy Crocodile has some skill. He might even surprise us and solve this seemingly difficult matter. Based on my experience in this line of work, you must first know how to borrow power. We certainly don't lack power; after all, we have people in high places. The key is choosing the right people..." Spandine walked out of the port wharf while rambling on, sharing his accumulated wisdom with Who's-Who.
Who's-Who followed closely behind Spandine, listening very attentively. As Spandine's current confidant, Who's-Who knew that although his superior was weak in strength, he was genuinely capable. Since Spandine was willing to teach, Who's-Who was naturally willing to listen.
After the two figures walked a little further away, several other agents slowly followed. One of them, stroking his chin, said: "What's wrong with me compared to the Boss? I wish Spandine-san would choose me as the next Chief."
"The fact that you know he's the 'Boss' proves you're not completely brain dead, Jabra," a sharp-tongued woman retorted.
"Hey, Kalifa, whose side are you on? We're partners who grew up together in the orphanage!" Jabra cursed.
"This old man also thinks the Tiger is more suitable to be the next Chief than you," the long-nosed Kaku added.
That's right, these CP9 agents lagging behind were the original companions of Rob Lucci in the canon story. They were Kalifa, Jabra, Kaku, Kumadori, and Blueno. Originally, Lucci should have also grown up with them in the orphanage, forming deep bonds from childhood. After the Enies Lobby incident, they were able to stick together during their hardship and eventually recover.
However, in this timeline, Lucci was taken away by Diarmuid when he was very young and steered onto a different path. Although they probably knew each other, too many years had passed, and they no longer had much of an impression of him. Lucci didn't join CP9, but the rest of them entered CP9 as planned, and through their individual talents, became mid-level personnel within CP9.
"Once you can beat the Tiger, then you'll have a chance to compete for the Chief position," Blueno added with a smile.
"Hey, hey, are you guys heartless? Have you forgotten who used to stick up for you when you were bullied at the orphanage?" Jabra complained.
Although Jabra was often collectively 'pushed back' by them, making it seem like their relationship wasn't great, in reality, their bond was extremely close—the kind of camaraderie where they could entrust their lives to one another. This was a very rare situation in a dark organization like the CP agencies.