For Hancock, his future 'colleague,' Smoker had a very good feeling about her.
Of course, it wasn't because Hancock was beautiful, but because as soon as Hancock joined the Warlord of the Sea undercover project, he, Smoker, would no longer be alone. Admiral Diarmuid wouldn't dare to only target him for this hellish assignment, right? At least someone would be there to share the torment of this 'hell' with him.
Hancock, on the other hand, was completely bewildered. What is this situation? Welcome me to what? Hell? Her mouth twitched slightly as she replied with a hint of annoyance, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rear Admiral Smoker."
At that moment, Doberman spoke up, "Why did you leave the New World and come here?"
Smoker sighed. "I've been cooperating with the Calm Belt for so long, and I've never come to see it, so I decided to stop by and check it out."
"Just 'stopping by'?" Doberman chuckled. "Did the Admiral give you another mission?"
Smoker grumbled. "Of course. He wants me to go to Water 7 to recruit some shipwrights and build a shipyard in the New World. On the surface, it will produce and sell ships to regular people, but in secret, it will build warships…"
Of course, this was only part of the plan. The other reason came from Spandine. He had secretly informed Diarmuid that CP-9 had already uncovered a lot of intelligence about Tom. It was highly likely that the man had the blueprints for the Ancient Weapon Pluton. However, since he was the one leading the development of the Sea Train technology, and the World Government also valued this technology, they didn't take action against him and gave him a suspended sentence.
Diarmuid's mission for Smoker was to go to Water 7 to see if he could invest in the Sea Train technology. Once Tom finished his work, Smoker could immediately get his hands on the completed technology. He would then secretly give it to the Marines.
The Marines planned to use this technology in the Calm Belt to further develop the area. To be honest, once this technology was developed, the World Government would definitely have a copy, but the Marines couldn't just ask to use it without a good reason, so they had to rely on Smoker.
As for the Pluton, Diarmuid had no interest in it. That thing was like a nuclear weapon; it was best if no one possessed it. Once that Pandora's box was opened, no matter who it was in the hands of, the harm to the world would be immense. Admiral Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong also believed that the Marines should not meddle in such matters.
As for the World Government, Diarmuid knew that, unless something unexpected happened, they wouldn't get the blueprints. He just needed to have Spandine keep an eye on things.
Listening to Smoker's answer, Doberman nodded. "This is very important. One of our main constraints in the New World is the limited number of warships. As you know, most of the Marines' warship production is completed in Water 7 and some here at Headquarters. But neither location has a shipyard in the New World. When we Marines enter the New World for missions, we usually pass through Mariejois. Our people can pass, but our ships can't. If we were to coat the ships and transport them from Fish-Man Island, the risk would be very high. As a result, there has always been a shortage of warships in the New World. If you can secretly fill this gap, it would be a huge contribution!"
Smoker nodded. "That's what the Admiral told me as well. The world situation is a bit unstable now, but compared to a few years ago, it's much better. We Marines have regained the initiative, and the future strategic focus has shifted back to the New World. The Admiral and the others are preparing to cleanse the New World of pirates in the future, so we need to prepare for that in advance…"
"In short, we're counting on you, Smoker," Doberman said with a smile.
"Hahahaha, it's not a very difficult task. Water 7 is not in a good state right now. A lot of shipbuilding companies have gone bankrupt, and many skilled shipwrights are unemployed. It shouldn't be a problem for me to go and recruit these people," Smoker said, laughing as he nodded.
With the arrival of the Great Pirate Era, Water 7 was hit hard. The once-booming tourism industry on the island slowly declined because the island attracted too many pirates. Pirates needed ships, and when they arrived at Water 7, they would naturally want to build a good one to continue their journey. As a result, a large number of pirates gathered in Water 7, and their presence naturally brought chaos. Thus, Water 7's tourism industry quickly declined.
Next, the shipbuilding industry was greatly affected. From the perspective of many pirates, letting you build a ship was an honor; how dare you ask for money? Did they think he was a soft touch? Was his sword not sharp enough? In short, most pirates would just freeload, and no one could tolerate that. So, in recent years, a large number of shipbuilding companies went bankrupt, which led to the economic collapse of the entire city. It was now in a Great Depression.
This situation only began to turn around after Tom developed the Sea Train technology and his disciple, Iceburg, worked hard to build the city back up. But since the Sea Train hadn't been developed yet, it shouldn't be a problem for Smoker to go and poach their talent.
After this, Smoker began to tell Hancock about the Warlord of the Sea system, passing on his experience as a senior.
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters in Marineford, Diarmuid was in his office dealing with some documents. Just then, his office door was pushed open by Hina. In all of Marineford, only Hina and Garp would barge in without knocking. Hina had Diarmuid's permission, while Garp was just completely unreasonable, and telling him to stop was useless.
Hina's footsteps were light, while Garp would always make a ruckus upon entering. Thus, Diarmuid knew it was Hina without even looking up. He asked, "What's wrong?"
"Admiral, just see for yourself," Hina said angrily. She handed a document to Diarmuid. Diarmuid signed the documents he was holding first, then took the file Hina gave him and opened it.
"Oh, my…" Diarmuid muttered, then looked at Hina with a smile. "Why are you so angry? Wasn't this expected?"
"But even if it was, I'm still angry! What are the people at the top thinking? You and the others worked so hard to capture Kaido, and now they just let him go…" Hina said furiously.
That's right. The document was about Kaido, who had been handed over to CP-0. According to the file, Kaido had broken free of his shackles on a prison ship en route to Impel Down, sank the ship, and escaped.
But in reality, this was just a cover. Kaido had been locked up for over two years, and he just happened to escape now? The World Government must have reached some kind of agreement with Kaido, or there was some other reason for his release. As far as Diarmuid knew, the World Government did have some kind of cooperation with Kaido, possibly involving weapons, but that was a long shot. He wasn't too sure about the details.
Seeing Hina so angry and cursing the World Government, Diarmuid couldn't help but laugh. He said, "Alright, alright, don't say such things here. What if they get out?"
"What are you afraid of? You often badmouth them with Vice Admiral Garp, and no one has come to punish you!" Hina said huffily.
"What do you mean 'no one has come to punish me'?" Diarmuid gave Hina a look. "Have you ever seen an Admiral who has been in the position for so long and never formally met the Gorosei? Only me. Why? Because they don't want to see me, hahahaha…"
That's right. Although Diarmuid's position as an Admiral was stable, he had never been officially recognized by the higher-ups. The Gorosei had no intention of dealing with him. From a certain perspective, this was a form of silent suppression.
The appointment of a Marine Admiral was an internal matter for the Marines, but what about a Fleet Admiral? The World Government had a justifiable right to intervene. Once an Admiral was distrusted and disliked by the World Government, their chances of becoming Fleet Admiral were practically zero.
For example, in the future, even with the strong recommendation of Kong and Sengoku, the World Government would still shoot Kuzan down and forcefully push Sakazuki to the top. And Sakazuki would live up to their expectations by beating Kuzan and taking the Fleet Admiral position.
So, even though Diarmuid was currently at the peak of his power in the Marines, from an outsider's perspective, many people who didn't know the inside story believed that Diarmuid had reached the end of the line. He would be an Admiral for the rest of his life, and the World Government would most likely never agree to him becoming Fleet Admiral.
But among the insiders in the Marines and the big players involved in many of these matters, like Stussy, Diarmuid was still highly sought after. In their view, by the time Diarmuid was ready to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, the Marines would have already resolved most of their external problems, and the World Government would have no power to interfere with Marine affairs. They even believed that Diarmuid might become the most powerful and autonomous Fleet Admiral in Marine history, ushering in a new era for the Marines.
Seeing that Diarmuid didn't care at all about Kaido's "escape," Hina glared at him, a little annoyed. I'm only this angry because you guys were the ones who captured Kaido. If you're not worried, why should I be?
"Alright, alright…" Diarmuid first soothed Hina, then said, "Compared to Kaido, I'm more concerned about this Crocodile…"
"What about Crocodile?" Hina asked.
"According to the information from Stussy, the World Government is secretly in contact with Crocodile. It's possible that he's going to become a Warlord of the Sea, and that doesn't fit our plan…" Diarmuid said.
"Then let's just go find and take down Crocodile right now, just like we did with… 'Blood Plague' Craster?" Hina mused.
"The problem is, we Marines can't find Crocodile's location at all, and Stussy's side hasn't been able to get any information either," Diarmuid shook his head. Crocodile was very cunning. He probably wouldn't reveal his whereabouts at all until his Warlord of the Sea status was confirmed.
According to Diarmuid's plan, there was no place for Crocodile among the Warlords. Kuma, Mihawk, and Smoker already occupied three positions. Out of the remaining four, Hancock would definitely take one, and in the last two years, the Marines have had a lot of interaction with Queen Otohime of Fish-Man Island, and Diarmuid was considering saving a spot for Jinbe. That would leave only two spots left. Doflamingo was going to take one of these, a plan Diarmuid was also working on because Doflamingo was someone they could try to win over.
That would leave only one position. Diarmuid intended to look for another suitable candidate for this spot and didn't plan to leave it for an outsider. But now, Crocodile, who had been quiet for a few years, was showing up again, which was very annoying. However, many things are like this. You plan for a long time, but there will always be unexpected things that disrupt your arrangements.
Just then, Hina said, "If we have to, let him be a Warlord for now. We don't have a suitable candidate anyway. When we do, we can just find a way to take him down, right?"
Diarmuid: ???
You're ruthless!
However, this was indeed the Marines' strategy from the beginning. If there wasn't a suitable candidate, they would just let the position be filled. Once they found the right person, they would take down the non-Marine Warlord and replace them with one of their own! Therefore, the feasibility of this plan was quite high.