When Diarmuid arrived near St. Poplar, he met up with the surrounding Marine fleets.
Admiral Sengoku was clearly taking Douglas Bullet and Crocodile seriously. Or rather, he was taking the madman Douglas Bullet especially seriously.
As for Crocodile, his reputation might be huge and his strength immense, but at least he wasn't a lunatic who would destroy an entire island just for fun. This time, he was just caught in the crossfire.
The Buster Call fleet, led by Sakazuki, was on its way, but due to the time crunch, this Buster Call fleet wasn't particularly impressive. It was nowhere near as formidable as the one at Ohara.
For starters, Diarmuid wasn't part of the fleet, and Kuzan had recently gone to the New World to help Borsalino stabilize the situation on Punk Hazard, so he couldn't make it either.
As a result, of the five Buster Call Vice Admirals, only Sakazuki was a truly formidable fighter. The others, Dalmatian being the only other half-decent one, were just mediocre. This was why Sengoku had to urgently call on the Marine officers near St. Poplar to assist with the Buster Call, lest the mission fail.
Unfortunately, there weren't many elite Marine officers in the vicinity of St. Poplar.
Over the past two years, St. Poplar had a miserable time. Not long ago, it was ravaged by the ruthless rookie Craster, who had a bounty of 460 million Berries. The entire island was left a bloody mess, the Marine G-16 Base on St. Poplar was completely wiped out, and Vice Admiral Veslan was killed on the spot.
Just when the island was finally starting to recover and restore order, Crocodile and Douglas Bullet showed up to cause more trouble. It was a sure bet that the hard-won peace was about to shatter again.
Because St. Poplar had already been practically destroyed once, there weren't many top-tier Marine officers patrolling nearby. At most, there were a few Rear Admirals. This made Sengoku's request for the local Marines to assist in the Buster Call a bit lacking in force.
Luckily, the Marine G-7 Base was not far away, and Gion had already arrived. It was also fortunate that Diarmuid wasn't too far from St. Poplar, so he made it, too.
What's more, the G-8 Base was also relatively close, and the hidden powerhouse, Vice Admiral Jonathan, also arrived. Without them, the existing Marine forces nearby wouldn't have been enough to deal with Douglas Bullet and Crocodile.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan," Diarmuid greeted, as he stepped onto the G-8 ship. Vice Admiral Jonathan was surrounded by a group of Marine officers. It was clear that before Diarmuid, an Admiral candidate, and Sakazuki, the leader of the Buster Call, arrived, all the Marine officers in the area were under Jonathan's command.
When Jonathan saw Diarmuid, the serious look on his face eased considerably. He smiled and said, "I'm glad you finally made it. With you here, I can rest a lot easier."
"Hahaha, that much confidence in me?" Diarmuid teased before asking, "What's the situation?"
Jonathan dropped the pleasantries and his expression turned serious. "The reconstruction of the G-16 base on St. Poplar has been completely wiped out. Rear Admiral Strawberry is critically wounded and has been evacuated to Mariejois for treatment. It's unclear if he'll make it. The pirates, Crocodile and Douglas Bullet, who were fighting fiercely three days ago, have stopped since our fleet started patrolling the area.
"However, as soon as I got here, I sank their ships and established a scattered blockade of the surrounding waters, so they have no chance of escaping. Crocodile tried to hijack our warships twice, but I sank them both. All in all... they're trapped on St. Poplar."
Diarmuid nodded. "Well done, Vice Admiral Jonathan..."
Jonathan's strategy was undeniably effective. He had rescued the unlucky Strawberry and successfully blockaded St. Poplar, preventing Douglas Bullet and Crocodile from escaping before the Marines arrived.
The only shame was that since the two had stopped fighting three days ago, if they hadn't dealt each other serious injuries, they might be at full strength now.
Jonathan shook his head at Diarmuid's praise. "We still don't have enough manpower. My original plan was to launch a direct assault to test their condition, or at the very least, exhaust them."
After a slight pause, Jonathan continued, "It would be best if we could eliminate them before the Buster Call arrives."
Diarmuid looked at St. Poplar in the distance and nodded. "That's true."
A Buster Call fleet was one thing; it could be called off if the Golden Den Den Mushi wasn't activated. But once the Golden Den Den Mushi was activated, St. Poplar would essentially be completely destroyed, and it would take at least ten years or more to rebuild.
This was a significant problem because St. Poplar had an excellent strategic location in the first half of the Grand Line. It was a central hub between the two Calm Belts, connecting G-7 and G-8, and it also acted as a protective shield for Enies Lobby. Furthermore, it was linked to Water 7, and Marine warships were often constructed there.
All in all, it was a very important island, which was why Vice Admiral Veslan had stationed tens of thousands of Marines there.
"Sakazuki isn't a fool," Diarmuid mused. "Even if the Golden Den Den Mushi is used, he probably won't completely demolish the entire island. That would seriously impact the Marines' strategic deployment. At worst, he'll just scorch the earth."
"In any case, whether it's you or Sakazuki, once you decide to launch a ground assault, you need to be careful with your moves. Especially you. I heard you and Borsalino's clash with Charlotte Linlin on Hogley Island destroyed half the island... St. Poplar is a crucial central hub, so please, go easy on it!" Jonathan said with a laugh.
Diarmuid nodded, then chuckled. "Not necessarily. My ability isn't just for destruction. It's also very effective for reconstruction. At worst, I'll take some time to move another island and place it nearby to make up for the strategic loss."
Jonathan paused for a moment before laughing. "That's a good point."
After a few more words, Diarmuid and Jonathan discussed the situation in detail. Diarmuid then took command of the nearby Marine forces as an Admiral candidate. He scanned the gathering of Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals, feeling a slight sense of disappointment.
It was just as he had heard: aside from Gion and Vice Admiral Jonathan, there wasn't a single strong fighter among them. The Buster Call fleet was in a similar situation, with only Sakazuki as a true powerhouse.
However, while the overall quality didn't meet Diarmuid's expectations, they had a clear advantage over the pirates. At least Diarmuid, Gion, Sakazuki, and Vice Admiral Jonathan were all capable of going head-to-head with them. It would be four against two, and the two pirates weren't even allies.
After thinking for a moment, Diarmuid told Gion, "Call Sakazuki. I want to coordinate with him."
Gion quickly agreed and contacted Sakazuki. Soon, Sakazuki's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Gion?" Sakazuki sounded a little confused. He had exchanged Den Den Mushi numbers with Gion years ago, but they had almost never used it.
"It's me, Diarmuid," Diarmuid responded directly.
Sakazuki quickly realized what was happening and said in a low voice, "You've already arrived near St. Poplar?"
"Yeah, I've linked up with Vice Admiral Jonathan and the others," Diarmuid replied, then continued, "I'm up to speed on the situation on the island. Sakazuki, I assume you're preparing for a ground assault?"
"Of course. Are you expecting to kill those two bastards with cannon fire?" Sakazuki said without hesitation.
"How many can you spare?" Diarmuid asked.
Sakazuki was silent for a moment. "Just me and Dalmatian."
"That works," Diarmuid nodded, then gave direct orders. "Here's the plan: Gion and I will infiltrate from the southeast side of the island. Judging by your course, you'll be approaching from the northwest. Don't worry about linking up. Your Buster Call fleet will blockade the northwest side, and we'll blockade the southeast.
"Once Gion and I are on the island, you and Dalmatian will follow. The four of us will be the vanguard, and we'll take down Crocodile and Douglas Bullet. Everyone else, including the Buster Call fleet, will follow Vice Admiral Jonathan's command. They'll serve as a backup force from the surrounding seas. The Golden Den Den Mushi will be held in reserve!"
Diarmuid's words were essentially stripping Sakazuki of his command over the Buster Call fleet. But Sakazuki didn't hesitate for a second. "No problem!"
He knew Diarmuid's plan was perfectly logical. Given the strength of Douglas Bullet and Crocodile, they would need a dedicated vanguard to deal with them; cannon fire alone wouldn't do the trick. The only ones strong enough to be in the vanguard, including Vice Admiral Jonathan, were the four of them, plus Dalmatian as a half-measure.
However, it was impossible for all four and a half of them to be on the front lines. So Vice Admiral Jonathan, being the most senior and experienced Vice Admiral, would be removed from the primary combat force and take on the role of commander. He would control the remaining Marine forces from the rear and serve as a backup. Dalmatian would follow Diarmuid and the others to the front line.
After hearing Sakazuki's serious reply, Diarmuid looked at the sun sinking into the sea in the distance. "How long until you get here?"
"I'm sailing at night. I'll arrive at dawn tomorrow at the latest," Sakazuki said without a moment's hesitation.
"Tomorrow morning? Good. We'll launch the general assault at dawn tomorrow," Diarmuid said in a low voice.
With no more arrangements to make, Diarmuid hung up the Den Den Mushi with Sakazuki. He then turned to Vice Admiral Jonathan. "Vice Admiral Jonathan, I'm leaving things here in your hands for now. Tomorrow morning, Gion and I will be part of the vanguard and lead the main assault with Sakazuki and the others. It's getting dark now, so we'll get some rest and recharge our energy."
"Heh heh, don't you worry. I won't let either of them escape from St. Poplar before the morning assault," Jonathan replied with a chuckle.
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