After dark, having finished dinner, Diarmuid returned to his dorm for a shower.
He was just coming out of the bathroom in his boxers when Commander Momonga enthusiastically put his arm around his shoulder.
"Diarmuid, ready for the sparring match?" Momonga asked with a laugh.
Diarmuid laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I am."
"Great! Let's go. I'm going too. We should have a match today. Yamakaji said he lost to you!" Momonga said with a chuckle.
"In terms of technique, I still have a lot to learn," Diarmuid said modestly.
Just then, Commander Yamakaji opened the door and walked out. "A win is a win. Let's go. I wanna see if Momonga will get his butt kicked by you too, hahahaha."
And just like that, the three of them laughed and chatted as they put on their clothes and headed to the gym.
Perhaps because the seas were still unstable, there weren't many people there today, just about ten or so.
But what surprised Diarmuid was that besides the students of his class, some previous graduates had also come.
He was very familiar with one of them: Kuzan, the one he was in the hospital with.
Standing next to Kuzan were two others: Gion, who had invited him to the swordsmanship sparring match earlier, and Borsalino, who looked like a seasoned old-timer.
This was Diarmuid's first time meeting Borsalino.
You could tell he was still young, but his demeanor was already starting to become sleazy.
Just standing there, he seemed unreliable.
Kuzan also noticed Diarmuid and happily waved him over. "Hey, Diarmuid, long time no see!"
Diarmuid walked over with a smile and looked him up and down. "Looks like your leg has healed?"
"Yeah, I was just discharged two days ago. It was a long vacation," Kuzan said with a laugh.
Gion was a bit surprised. "You guys know each other?" she asked.
Unlike Diarmuid, who came from a North Blue branch, Gion, Kuzan, and Borsalino were all Marines from Headquarters from the start.
The three of them came from well-connected backgrounds.
Kuzan graduated from the third Marine Officer Training Camp and had a mentor-student relationship with Zephyr. They had a deep bond. At the same time, his superior was the Marine Hero, Vice Admiral Garp.
Plus, with the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit, anyone could see that as long as he didn't court death, he would definitely be one of the Marine's core leaders in the future.
As for Gion, she was a swordsman. She also had a sisterly relationship with the Headquarters' Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and was under her command.
She was also a Marine with a bright future.
And Borsalino, who was with Admiral Sengoku and graduated from the first Marine Officer Training Camp, was a no-brainer.
He himself was already a pillar of the Marines, holding the rank of Vice Admiral.
Gion's surprise wasn't because Diarmuid wasn't "on their level."
It was because she knew that Diarmuid had just come from the North Blue and shouldn't be familiar with anyone at Headquarters.
Kuzan laughed. "Yeah, Diarmuid and I were in the same hospital room."
"I see," Gion nodded, now understanding.
Borsalino also looked at Diarmuid. In his weird tone, he said, "Ohh~ so you're Diarmuid? Sengoku-san talks about you a lot. I'm finally getting to meet you."
Although Borsalino's tone was a bit annoying, Diarmuid knew he didn't have any ill intentions. That was just how the guy talked.
"Good evening, Vice Admiral Borsalino," Diarmuid replied with a smile.
Borsalino nodded and then said, "Sengoku-san also had a message for you. He said you don't have to go on any missions for now and that you should focus on your training here."
Diarmuid looked enlightened. He now understood that he hadn't been forgotten; Admiral Sengoku had been secretly looking out for him.
Kuzan and Gion were both surprised. It turned out that Diarmuid had already gotten in with Admiral Sengoku without making a sound?
It seemed that from now on, he could be considered one of Admiral Sengoku's direct subordinates.
As for this special treatment, they didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
After all, they themselves were part of this "privileged class" and had enjoyed similar special treatment on many occasions.
As beneficiaries, they naturally wouldn't object to it.
"Yes, I understand. Please pass on my thanks to Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Borsalino," Diarmuid replied with a smile.
"Alright, alright, enough about that. I heard you're going up tonight, so I came to see you. You have to win, Diarmuid! If you do well, I'll have you transferred to my unit. Don't worry, my unit has very few missions, so even if Sengoku-san doesn't look out for you, you'll still have plenty of time to train," Kuzan said with a chuckle.
Diarmuid gave Kuzan a look. "Forget it. I don't think I have a future with you."
"Hahahaha, you're right. Kuzan, you're too lazy. Diarmuid is a very diligent person. Don't lead him astray," Gion laughed.
To be honest, even though they hadn't interacted much, Diarmuid could already feel that even though Gion was a beauty, she had a very cheerful and straightforward personality.
"Hey, at least I'm more driven than Borsalino, right?" Kuzan complained with dissatisfaction.
"Hmm? What's that supposed to mean, Rear Admiral Kuzan? I'm a Vice Admiral," Borsalino retorted.
After a few more minutes of chatting, Diarmuid looked at the time. "You guys talk. I'm going up now."
After saying goodbye to them, Diarmuid turned and left.
It was only then that Borsalino spoke softly. "Weren't you guys curious about why I came? I'll tell you the truth. Sengoku-san has his eye on this kid and asked me to come see how he performs. If he's good, when the time is right, he'll be transferred to my ship."
In the original story, Borsalino gradually shifted his position to the neutral faction of the Marines.
But for now, Borsalino was still one of Admiral Sengoku's direct subordinates.
He was trained by Sengoku himself and served as both a Vice Admiral at Marine Headquarters and Admiral Sengoku's aide.
Therefore, in most cases, when they went on missions, they would go together.
So when Borsalino said this, Gion and Kuzan understood perfectly.
As long as Diarmuid was capable, he would become a member of Admiral Sengoku's faction, and his future would be bright!
It was called "going up," but there was no real ring.
Momonga was already warmed up and ready.
There were no boxing gloves or other protective gear because this was a real sparring match with no rules, as long as no weapons were used. The match would end when one person gave up or was knocked out.
Diarmuid took off his Justice coat and threw it on a nearby chair. He also took off his jacket, revealing the white tank top underneath.
Under the tank top, his body looked very well-built. Although he didn't have explosive muscles, he had a powerful physique.
"He has a great body," Kuzan said with a laugh.
Borsalino was a lot more perverted. He said, "Gion, aren't you annoyed that Tokikake is always bothering you and confessing his love? Why don't you just cut him off and get a boyfriend, ne? I think Diarmuid is pretty good. He's handsome, right? He has a great future… and a great body, too."
Gion glared at Borsalino with annoyance. "You should mind your own business, senpai. I don't have time for love."
"That's a very un-cute thing to say, ne~" Borsalino said with a chuckle.
Diarmuid did a quick warm-up and then walked toward Momonga.
Momonga stopped what he was doing and walked toward Diarmuid.
After they stood face to face, they both raised their arms and bumped fists in the air.
"Don't hold back," Momonga said with a smile.
"I hope you'll go easy on me," Diarmuid replied with a laugh.
There was no referee. This was a very unofficial sparring match.
As they withdrew their fists, both of them took a step back, which was a sign that the match had officially begun.
Neither of them made the first move. It seemed they both wanted to wait for the other to make a move.
After a short moment of tense silence, a fierce look flashed in Diarmuid's eyes. He pushed off the ground and lunged forward, making the first move.
Momonga's footwork was very agile. As Diarmuid lunged, he sidestepped and threw a heavy punch at Diarmuid's head.
Diarmuid tilted his head, twisted his body, and dodged the punch. He then threw a counterpunch at Momonga's chest.
Momonga was very fast. He grabbed Diarmuid's arm and stopped his punch. He then threw a backfist. His strong arm was like an iron rod, and it whipped into Diarmuid's chest.
This heavy blow made a triumphant smile appear on Momonga's face.
But at this moment, Yamakaji, who was watching from the side, had a helpless look on his face.
As someone who had fought with Diarmuid, he knew exactly what tactics and rhythm Diarmuid used.
As long as Momonga was careless, he would be led into a disadvantageous rhythm. Perhaps this was the start of it.
Sure enough, Momonga had thought this attack would at least interrupt Diarmuid's offense, but it didn't. Diarmuid took the blow as if he felt no pain and didn't even flinch. He then threw a counter elbow strike right into Momonga's chest.
"Ack…" Momonga was knocked off balance by the blow.
Before he could counter, Diarmuid's arm was already wrapped around his neck. At the same time, he hooked Momonga's heel and pushed back, trying to throw him to the ground.
Without time to think, Momonga grabbed Diarmuid's neck to keep himself from falling. At the same time, he used his other leg to knee Diarmuid hard in the stomach.
Diarmuid's face flushed red, but his movements didn't stop. He put more strength into his hands and, with Momonga's knee strike, managed to throw him to the ground.
"Doesn't that guy feel any pain?" Kuzan asked, looking at the fight in the ring with a hint of surprise.
Momonga's counter was very effective. For most people, taking that knee strike would have caused them to falter, and Momonga could have used that chance to break free and reset his offense.
But Diarmuid wasn't affected by it at all!
Borsalino said softly from the side, "According to Sengoku-san, Diarmuid seems to have completed his pain training. Back in the North Blue, he was stabbed through the chest by Golden Lion, and his lungs were heavily damaged. Even in that situation, he managed to throw a very effective counterattack that almost took off Golden Lion's head…"