Early the next morning, Diarmuid emerged from his house and into the courtyard, holding his Admiral's greatcoat. He looked a little tired and yawned as he prepared to head to his office.
After waiting in the courtyard for a bit, a hint of impatience entered his voice. "Hey! We're gonna be late! Are you still dawdling in there?"
"You can go on ahead! I'm not even wearing makeup yet!" Gion's voice called back from inside.
That's right. Ever since Gion's transfer back to Marineford, she hadn't accepted the housing the headquarters offered. Instead, she chose to live with Diarmuid, claiming it was "to save the headquarters money." Diarmuid, of course, couldn't refuse, so he and Gion had been cohabitating ever since. It was rumored that Stussy was so angry when she heard the news that she didn't eat for three days, but it was hard to say if that was true.
Originally, Diarmuid had planned to arrange for Gion to become the G-5 Base Commander in the New World shortly after her return. However, with Sakazuki now an Admiral and primarily focused on the New World, he had discussed it with Diarmuid and arranged for Kuzan to go to G-5 instead.
That's right, Kuzan was now the G-5 Base Commander. Given that Kuzan was an Admiral candidate but lacked experience in an external post, being the commander of G-5 was a great opportunity for him. Sakazuki had clearly thought of Kuzan's best interests, so Diarmuid naturally had no objection and let Kuzan take the position. Gion stayed at Headquarters and took over Kuzan's old job.
"You're already a beautiful woman. You look stunning without any makeup, so what's taking you so long? I'm really leaving!" Diarmuid shouted into the house.
"Just go! I'm meeting my girlfriends after work today, so how could I not wear makeup?" Gion replied without hesitation.
Seeing this, Diarmuid couldn't be bothered with the vain woman anymore. He slung his greatcoat over his shoulders and said, "Alright, I'm heading out."
"Bye... Hahaha, Admiral Meitora!" Gion's mocking, slightly teasing voice came from inside.
Diarmuid's good mood instantly soured.
That's right. After discussing it with Fleet Admiral Kong and Admiral Sengoku, Diarmuid was forced to choose a codename from a list of corny-sounding options like "Black Tiger," "Fierce Tiger," and "White Tiger." He chose "Meitora," which literally means "Underworld Tiger" or "Dark Tiger." While he wasn't thrilled with it—it sounded a little chuunibyou—it was still better than "Black Tiger" or "White Tiger."
[TN: Meiko would be another rendering of the codename. I chose Meitora since it sounds better than Meiko and closer to Fujitora.]
He had wanted to drag out the decision a little longer so they could think of some better ones, but the Fleet Admiral and Admiral Sengoku had no interest in wasting any more time. According to them, it was just a codename. As long as he was strong enough, no one would dare make fun of it.
Diarmuid knew this was true in principle, but it was a bitter pill to swallow when it was his name on the line. "Sengoku, you say that so easily, but why haven't you taken a codename yourself? If it were up to me, I'd name you 'Admiral Unhappy Buddha,' and then we'd see if you still have the nerve to say that!"
But in the end, there was nothing he could do. He had to accept the slightly ridiculous codename and became Admiral Meitora. He thought he might as well have just used the name "Fujitora"!
Ignoring Gion's teasing, Diarmuid walked to his office. He opened the door and saw the lovely Hina watering a potted plant. A pot of hot tea was already on his desk. The room was spotless, and the messy piles of documents had all been sorted and neatly arranged by Hina.
Seeing this, Diarmuid's mood improved slightly. "Good morning, Hina."
This was why Diarmuid had kept Hina by his side for so many years. Not only was she beautiful and a pleasure to see, but she was also incredibly efficient, perceptive, and loyal. As Diarmuid was praising her in his mind, Hina turned to him with a playful smile. "Good morning, Admiral... no, Admiral Meitora."
Diarmuid picked up his teacup and took a sip. "I'm warning you, if you keep calling me that, I'll send you to the Calm Belt to mine minerals!"
"What do you mean 'calling you that'?" Hina said with a pout. "It's the codename you picked yourself."
"I had no choice! I had to pick one from a bunch of rejects!" Diarmuid complained. He was starting to regret his decision. He should've learned from Admiral Sengoku and refused to pick one. He became an Admiral a few years before Sakazuki, so he shouldn't be lumped in with the new generation anyway, right? But it was too late now.
Compared to the last few days, Diarmuid didn't have much work today. He'd arrived early just to drink tea and read the newspaper.
"Crocodile..." Diarmuid murmured, reading the information on the paper.
Crocodile, after receiving the title of Warlord of the Sea, didn't return to the New World. Instead, he went to Alabasta. The King of Alabasta, Nefertari Cobra, didn't like him, but due to the Warlord system and Crocodile's strength, he couldn't drive him away.
For now, it seemed Crocodile wasn't doing anything bad in Alabasta. On the contrary, he had stationed himself in the port city of Port Nanohana as a Warlord and was actively cracking down on pirates who invaded Alabasta, acting more like a Marine than a pirate. An unsuspecting person would think he was trying to clean up his image and go straight.
Since Crocodile was behaving himself in Alabasta, Diarmuid had no intention of causing trouble for him. It wasn't the right time. He flipped the page and continued reading. When he saw an article about a "Job Agency" on the Sabaody Archipelago, Diarmuid's eyes flashed with anger. "Hina, tell Commodore Maynard to take his men and sweep the Sabaody Archipelago again. I want that 'Job Agency' smashed!"
"Yes, Admiral," Hina replied immediately.
After a slight pause, Diarmuid added, "Also, have the Intelligence Division investigate the background of this 'Job Agency' and see if that guy, Doflamingo, is involved."
"Understood, Admiral," Hina said, jotting down Diarmuid's orders.
Without another word, Diarmuid continued to read the newspaper, his stormy expression gradually softening.
"Oh?" Diarmuid said in surprise, then murmured, "That Dragon guy really seems to like the East Blue. Have the CPs found the Revolutionary Army's base yet?"
The newspaper article featured a picture of the Revolutionary Army's leader, Monkey D. Dragon, taken by a reporter at a port in the East Blue's Lancelot Kingdom. They suspected the Revolutionary Army was about to incite a revolution there.
The CP agents were probably rushing to the East Blue now. But Diarmuid knew Dragon wasn't the type to be so careless. Given his cautious nature, how could he be photographed by a reporter at a port? There was probably a conspiracy afoot.
This wasn't Diarmuid's jurisdiction, so he was only asking out of curiosity.
"No, they haven't," Hina said, shaking her head. "How could Dragon let anyone find his base so easily? But they did find the name of their headquarters island. It's called Baltigo in the New World. It's known as the 'White Soil Island' and, like Punk Hazard, has no magnetic field, so it can't be found using conventional methods."
"Is that so?" Diarmuid wasn't surprised and just nodded casually.
The rest of the news wasn't as interesting; most of it was entertainment news, like how the pop star Cindry had fallen off the stage and died during a performance. Her body was stolen afterward, and there were rumors that the famous doctor Hogback was responsible, but no one knew for sure.
Moria's out there starting a revolution, and Hogback's still up to his old tricks? Diarmuid thought. Those two probably won't be working together anymore.
Diarmuid put the newspaper down, and Hina picked up a Den Den Mushi to relay his orders. Diarmuid took out a cigar and was about to light it when there was a knock on the office door.
"Come in," Diarmuid said casually.
The door opened, and the big, blue-skinned Jinbe walked in.
Diarmuid was a little stunned. "Didn't you go back to Fish-Man Island?"
Jinbe smiled. "I'm back."
"Already?" Diarmuid asked, surprised. You left yesterday morning and you're back this morning? What's wrong with you? But after a moment's thought, Fish-Man Island wasn't that far from Marineford. It only took about half an hour to get from Marineford to the Sabaody Archipelago, and from there, it was only 10,000 meters down to Fish-Man Island. For a fish-man like Jinbe, it really wasn't a problem.
"I'm a fast swimmer. I'm a whale-shark fish-man, after all! Hahahaha," Jinbe said with a big laugh.
As he spoke, he took off the backpack he was carrying. "Admiral, this is a gift from Queen Otohime."
Jinbe pulled out a colorful pearl the size of a fist. Diarmuid was about to decline, saying it was too much, but when he saw the pearl, he immediately changed his tune. "The Queen shouldn't have..."
He wasn't a fan of these things himself, but Gion and the others loved them. The black pearl he brought back from Fish-Man Island last time was taken by Gion. Stussy had complained to Diarmuid about it, saying he'd never given her a gift before. Now that Jinbe had brought one, he could give it to Queen Stussy.
But then Diarmuid noticed the expectant look in Hina's eyes. He rolled his eyes in exasperation and said to Jinbe, "Go back to Fish-Man Island more often."
Jinbe was a little confused but nodded. "I will, Admiral."
"How's your big brother? Is he doing well?" Diarmuid asked, pretending to be casual.
Jinbe's expression was a little disappointed. "After Tiger-aniki found out I joined the Marines, he wouldn't let me in. He just gave me a few words of advice and sent me away..." Otherwise, he wouldn't have come back so soon. He would have stayed and had a few drinks with his brother Tiger and hung out for a few days.
Diarmuid nodded, already understanding. It seemed Tiger had made up his mind to take on Mariejois. In the original story, he had told Queen Otohime and King Neptune about what happened to him, but this time, he'd probably kept it a secret. After all, the relationship between Fish-Man Island and the Marines was developing so well; why would he want to ruin that? And sending Jinbe away was probably to ensure that Jinbe wouldn't be implicated in his future actions.
Diarmuid didn't say much else. After a quick chat, Jinbe left. Watching the door close, Diarmuid looked at the colorful pearl on the table. "Mariejois, huh..." he murmured softly.
"What about Mariejois, Admiral?" Hina asked, curious.
"Nothing," Diarmuid said with a small grin.