Seeing Sakazuki's stance, Diarmuid smiled.
'Sure enough, this guy was holding a grudge.'
Taking a sip of his drink, Diarmuid said, "We can't just barrel in, and it's not something the two of us can handle alone either…"
"What about with me?" Onigumo suddenly interjected.
Yamakaji looked a little awkward. Onigumo was one of Sakazuki's trusted subordinates, and with Sakazuki's Admiral candidacy being suppressed, Onigumo was furious.
But Yamakaji genuinely didn't feel a thing. He didn't have any close ties to Sakazuki, but now that Onigumo had spoken up, he felt a bit awkward.
After a slight pause, Yamakaji said, "Diarmuid's business is my business."
Diarmuid smiled, not surprised at all.
Yamakaji was a good friend of his, and on top of that, he was a good-natured guy who found it hard to refuse people. Bringing him along today was, to be blunt, a way of getting him involved.
Although Onigumo and Yamakaji were both Rear Admirals, they were definitely the elites among them and represented the will of a portion of the Rear Admiral faction.
"Even with four of us, it won't work." Sakazuki spoke up, pushing back against Onigumo.
"Exactly. Four of us are definitely not enough. I think we need to get the entire Marines involved," Diarmuid said.
After a brief pause, Diarmuid continued, "With the four of us taking the lead, if we can convince Admiral Sengoku, we'll be pretty much set."
"What about the Gorosei?" Sakazuki asked after a moment of silence.
"As long as we convince the Admirals, the Gorosei will definitely side with us," Diarmuid replied with a chuckle.
"So how do we get started?" Sakazuki pressed.
"We need to wait for the right moment…" Diarmuid said softly.
After a slight pause, Diarmuid continued, "Just watch. This is bound to go in one of two ways. The first is that, due to the threat of the Great Pirate Era, the World Government will realize the reality of the situation and may compromise with us, relying on the Marines once more. If that happens, we won't even need to make a move, and things will solve themselves."
Sakazuki nodded. That was true. He didn't believe for a second that the World Government could keep suppressing the Marines forever without worrying about the Marines rebelling.
After some thought, Sakazuki asked, "And what's the second possibility?"
"The second is more troublesome. The World Government will continue to find ways to suppress the Navy, completely grinding down our fighting spirit, while also devising underhanded methods to control us," Diarmuid explained.
Sakazuki's brows furrowed. He didn't say a word, but he felt a wave of concern.
Because what Diarmuid was saying had a very real chance of becoming a reality.
"But that's the moment I'm waiting for," Diarmuid suddenly said.
Sakazuki was taken aback, then came to a realization. "I see…"
Sakazuki wasn't an idiot, and he immediately understood what Diarmuid meant.
Right now, the World Government's actions hadn't become unacceptable to the entire Marines. You could see that Yamakaji didn't feel a thing.
After all, the World Government was only targeting a portion of the elite Marines at the moment.
But if the World Government went a step further in "persecuting" the Marines…
It would inevitably affect a lot more Marines.
At that point, he and Diarmuid could take the lead, stir things up, and get everyone to join their cause, maybe even organize a strike or something.
By forcing the World Government to concede, they might achieve a massive result.
Of course, Sakazuki also knew that whoever took the lead would be loathed by the World Government, and it would definitely affect their future.
But…
He glanced at Diarmuid. Since Diarmuid wasn't afraid of offending the World Government, why should he, Sakazuki, be afraid?
Sakazuki's character was already very unyielding. He could tolerate the World Government, sure.
But to say he was afraid? Absolutely not.
Now, with Diarmuid stepping up to lead the charge, he was ready to join in!
As for his future, he couldn't even become an Admiral candidate anymore, so what future was there to talk about?
Diarmuid also broke into a smile. Although Sakazuki hadn't said it outright, he clearly approved of the plan.
This way, he could counter the World Government and secure the Admiral position as quickly as possible.
Second, it also involved Sakazuki in offending the World Government. In the future, Sakazuki definitely wouldn't have any ties to the World Government anymore.
That was even better for Diarmuid.
"Wait for the right moment…" Diarmuid raised his glass, about to say something.
Suddenly, a deafening boom echoed from the Marineford naval port.
Diarmuid and Sakazuki's expressions changed. Is someone trying to pull a fast one with the Fleet Admiral?
Before they could figure out what was going on, the tavern door was pushed open. A Marine Rear Admiral frantically said, "Vice Admiral Diarmuid, Vice Admiral Sakazuki, Vice Admiral Saul of the Giant Squad has let the Ohara prisoner escape and used a battleship to block the port's exit. Now he's fled with the prisoner!"
Sakazuki: '...What?'
Diarmuid's expression relaxed slightly. 'So Saul really did betray us, huh? Is he really that desperate?'
"Did they get far?" Diarmuid asked.
"No, they haven't passed the horizon yet!" The Rear Admiral quickly replied.
Diarmuid stood up and put his cup down. "Saul and I are on good terms. I can't just stand by and watch him throw his life away. You guys keep drinking; I'm going to go deal with that idiot!"
With that, Diarmuid grabbed his Justice coat from the back of his chair, draped it over his shoulders, and turned to walk out the door.
Sakazuki watched his retreating back and didn't make a move to interfere, simply continuing to drink quietly.
He had no doubt that Diarmuid would succeed.
If Diarmuid couldn't even handle Saul, then he wouldn't be worthy of being an Admiral candidate, let alone becoming an Admiral in the future.
At the same time, on the sea not far from Marineford, Saul was frantically adjusting the sails and the battleship's engine, fleeing with Nico Olvia.
He had blocked the port, so the battleships wouldn't be able to pursue them for a short time.
But he knew how many monsters the Marines had and didn't dare to be careless.
"Why did you save me?" Olvia looked at the Giant in astonishment.
For years, Saul had been chasing after the scholars, and yet now, he had saved her life?
"We found out who you are. You're an Ohara scholar, and Ohara is about to be hit with a Buster Call. After I get you away, you need to go to Ohara yourself and find a way to save your people. As for me, my sense of justice has been shaken. If I stay in the Marines, it'll only get more difficult…" Saul said with a heavy voice.
"A Buster Call?" Olvia cried out in horror.
As a scholar, she knew exactly what a Buster Call was.
Just then, Saul's expression changed dramatically, and he looked up at the sky.
Olvia, who was still in shock, instinctively followed Saul's gaze to the sky, and her face went completely blank.
A meteorite?
"It's Diarmuid!" Saul said, a solemn look in his eyes.
He didn't panic too much, however, because he could see that the meteorite would land ahead of them, not on the battleship. He guessed it was a way to block their path, maybe as a form of greeting?
"Who's Diarmuid?" Olvia quickly asked.
She hadn't paid much attention to the Marines' situation and wasn't very familiar with them.
"Rodriguez Diarmuid, the 'Ferocious Tiger of Marine Headquarters.' He's the only Admiral candidate in the Navy right now, and his strength is on a whole different level, a true monster…" Saul said grimly.
"Admiral candidate… He's a Vice Admiral, right? Aren't you a Vice Admiral too?" Olvia asked.
"It's not comparable…" Saul shook his head.
Before he could say more, the forward-moving battleship suddenly came to a halt. The abrupt stop almost made Olvia lose her balance.
At the same time, Saul turned to look behind him.
"Saul, what do you think you're doing? Come back with me now, and I can still keep you out of trouble!" Diarmuid landed heavily on the battleship and said in a deep voice.
"Diarmuid, the Buster Call on Ohara…" Saul began.
"Shut up. The Buster Call on Ohara isn't changing. Those scholars deserve to die!" Diarmuid said bluntly.
Just then, Olvia came to her senses and shouted angrily, "Deserve to die? How do we deserve to die? Is butchering unarmed scholars your Navy's form of justice?"
Diarmuid heard her and immediately backhanded Olvia across the face, then kicked her down onto the deck. "I'm not Saul. I don't have his patience, and I won't listen to your nonsense. Studying the Poneglyphs is an act expressly forbidden by law. It's a serious crime. What's more, the Poneglyphs contain information about the Ancient Weapons. How do you not deserve to die?"
Olvia took the slap, blood welling up at the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away with her hand but didn't back down, arguing heatedly, "We just want to know the history of the past! That's the treasure of all humanity, the right of all humanity! To hear and protect the voices of the past is the principle of us scholars. Is that a crime?"
"Nonsense!" Diarmuid kicked her again, then said sternly, "Who gave you the right to represent all of humanity? You scholars use noble words as a banner, but you show no regard for the safety of the world. Let me ask you this: what if a powerful, evil pirate found you instead of our Marines? How could you guarantee the Ancient Weapons wouldn't fall into their hands?"
"We scholars are not afraid to die! We would never reveal those things to evil people!" Olvia said without hesitation.
From her demeanor, it was clear that she really wasn't afraid to die.
As for the scholars' fearlessness, both Saul and Diarmuid were very aware of it.
But Diarmuid still didn't give her a pleasant look and said gravely, "What about Devil Fruits that relate to hypnotism or memory manipulation?"
When he said this, Olvia, who had been about to say something else, went completely silent, unsure how to respond.
"You're all selfish lawbreakers. I've never heard of a single time you Ohara scholars used the proper legal channels to try to resolve these issues. Ohara is an autonomous island and has the right to attend the Reverie. In all these years, you've never once proposed an amendment to the relevant laws.
"Instead, you just went ahead and researched them, trampling all over the law. What if you unleash an Ancient Weapon? Can you take responsibility for that? So many of my fellow Marines and innocent civilians could be killed because of you, and you still have the audacity to act so nobly in front of me? Do you think I'm going to let you get away with that!?" Diarmuid berated her without mercy.
He had completely stunned Olvia.
Because she truly had no counterargument to the things Diarmuid brought up. Had she really never considered them before?
Saul, who was standing to the side, was also dumbfounded, vaguely feeling that Diarmuid was making a lot of sense.
For some reason, his sense of Marine justice was coming back to him.
"You're shameless!" Diarmuid rebuked her once more.
Then he turned to Saul, his expression darkening. "You should know, Saul, that you're not my match. Come back with me now, and I'll ask the Admiral to pardon you!"
"I…" Saul's mouth moved.
But before he could finish, Diarmuid said angrily, "Stubborn fool!"
With that, a powerful wave of gravity instantly crushed Saul to the deck of the battleship. The entire sea surface where the battleship was located sank a thousand fathoms.
Then, the battleship lifted off the sea and began to return to Marineford.
Saul was completely dumbfounded.
I didn't even say anything!
What the heck is going on?
Are you really that ferocious!?
Please, just be a human!
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