If Olvia's treatment had surprised Diarmuid, then Rosinante's situation left him utterly speechless. This is truly what it means to be the Fleet Admiral's son!
Diarmuid hadn't even ventured deep into the facility. Impel Down has six levels, but both Olvia and Rosinante were kept on the first level, and not even in the actual cells, but right at the entrance level. Essentially, this area doubled as the administrative offices for the Great Prison system, which was why their quarters felt so out of place.
Calling Rosinante "imprisoned" was a stretch; he was basically just living there. He even had a small courtyard.
At that moment, Rosinante was watering the Luminescent Grass in his yard. Whether above or below ground, Impel Down never sees the sun, so ordinary flora cannot grow. This Luminescent Grass, however, was a specialty of the New World.
There is a sea in the New World known as the Sea of Eternal Night, which seemingly mirrors the waters of Enies Lobby in the first half of the Grand Line. Enies Lobby is the "Island of No Night," bathed in permanent daylight where the sun never sets, a truly bizarre phenomenon.
It was precisely because of these anomalies that Diarmuid had long known that this world's celestial mechanics were nonsense. Anyone trying to navigate by the stars alone would likely end up in an early grave; one had to rely on Log Poses and magnetic fields.
If the Enies Lobby area never sees sunset, then the Sea of Eternal Night never sees a sunrise; it remains pitch black no matter when you enter. Diarmuid recalled hearing that the Sea of Eternal Night housed the New World's second-largest pirate paradise, known as Avalon Island.
He seemed to remember Fleet Admiral Sengoku mentioning that many years ago, Avalon was the most prosperous island in the New World and the most famous pirate haven in the world. However, over a century, it had gradually declined. The most famous pirate paradise in the New World now was Hachinosu.
Hachinosu, of course, was once the base of operations for the Rocks Pirates. It seems pirate paradises rise and fall based on whether there is a legendary pirate powerful enough to hold the fort. Since the Rocks Pirates fell, Hachinosu had declined significantly. In Diarmuid's memory, it only flourished again later when Teach became one of the Yonko and established his headquarters there. Presumably, the Island of Eternal Night, Avalon, followed a similar pattern. Perhaps some formidable pirate had once used it as their base.
Diarmuid's mind wandered through these disparate thoughts in the span of a single second upon seeing the Luminescent Grass.
Rosinante hadn't known Diarmuid and the others were coming. Upon seeing them, his face lit up with joy. He dropped his watering can and rushed over clumsily—so clumsily, in fact, that he tripped over his own feet and face-planted.
Diarmuid, Garp, and even Vergo were well-acquainted with Rosinante's clumsy nature. You're a grown man, why are you always tripping over flat ground? Do you think you're being cute?
"How old are you? Still so scatterbrained!" Diarmuid scolded.
Rosinante showed no resentment or impatience. Instead, he said happily, "Diarmuid-nii, I've been locked up for so long, and you haven't come to visit me once..."
Diarmuid's face darkened as he retorted, "Why would I visit you? Just looking at you makes my blood pressure rise!"
Garp laughed heartily from the side, clapping Rosinante on the shoulder. "Doing alright here, kid?"
Although Diarmuid never pulled his punches when scolding Rosinante, everyone present was "family" and knew that the two shared an incredibly close bond. Diarmuid's feelings toward Rosinante were complex; he knew the guy was a walking disaster, but they shared real history. They had returned to Marineford from the North Blue together, and Rosinante, being deeply sentimental, had viewed Diarmuid as an older brother for years.
Diarmuid hadn't exactly "looked after" him... well, he didn't need to. When your father is the Fleet Admiral, who else do you need? While he acted annoyed on the surface, Diarmuid actually valued the kid; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone all the way to the North Blue back then to save his hide.
"It's good. Everyone treats me well, including Magellan-san," Rosinante said with a grin.
As he spoke, he spotted Vergo. He froze, looking between Vergo and Diarmuid, appearing completely bewildered. Though he lived comfortably in Impel Down, he received very little news from the outside world. His last memory of Vergo was at Minion Island, where Diarmuid had discovered the mole and shot him several times, nearly killing him on the spot. Rosinante had assumed Vergo's fate would be far worse given his identity as an undercover agent.
Yet here he was, looking quite well. Had he somehow become Big Brother Diarmuid's confidant? What was going on?
Vergo simply nodded to him casually, showing no signs of embarrassment.
"Onii-chan, this... Vergo... what about Doflamingo?" Rosinante asked, his expression full of shock.
"Vergo is my man now," Diarmuid stated.
Rosinante hesitated but started to say, "I feel it's necessary to—"
"Doflamingo is also my man. He is now one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea," Diarmuid added.
Rosinante: "???" My brother... actually submitted to someone?
But then he considered Diarmuid's overwhelming power and realized it was actually plausible.
"Sigh, we all know what Doflamingo did in the past. There's no need to make excuses for him, but he has his uses, so he must be tolerated. Fortunately, since he realized he should follow us, he's restrained himself quite a bit... He's not a lost cause," Diarmuid said, patting Rosinante's shoulder.
Rosinante was at a loss for words.
"Besides, I saw him not long ago. How should I put it..." Diarmuid rubbed his chin and shook his head. "He actually asked about you. He wanted to know how you were doing but acted like he was too proud to care. He's a real piece of work..."
After interacting with Doflamingo more recently, Diarmuid suspected that the shooting of Rosinante on Minion Island might have truly been a momentary act of blind rage. If Doflamingo hadn't been so agitated, it might not have come to that. But there was no use in hypotheticals; Rosinante was alive, and Doflamingo remained a creature of darkness, living for his hatred. He had simply toned down his style because of Diarmuid and the Navy.
While Diarmuid chatted with Rosinante, Garp cut in to ask questions on behalf of Sengoku. Garp had watched Rosinante grow up and was genuinely fond of him; the two were soon deep in conversation.
Seeing this, Diarmuid turned to Magellan. "The roster?"
"I'll go get it right now," Magellan replied, turning to summon an aide.
At that moment, Rosinante finished his chat with Garp and looked at Diarmuid expectantly. "Diarmuid-nii, what about Law? How is the little guy doing?"
Diarmuid blinked. He scratched his head awkwardly. To be honest, although he was the one who brought Trafalgar Law back from Minion Island, he had been swamped with major events immediately after Rosinante was imprisoned. How could he have time to babysit a kid? He wasn't running a daycare center.
Of those who came from Minion Island, he only remembered Drake, who had recently appeared in Alabasta as a member of the Intelligence Division. As for Law, Diarmuid hadn't paid any attention at all.
"I think... I think he's with Zephyr-sensei?" Diarmuid said, sounding somewhat irresponsible.
Rosinante: "???" 'I think'??
Garp boisterously intervened, "Bwahahahaha! Don't worry, the kid is indeed with Zephyr, though Sengoku usually looks after him personally. He's got great talent and potential, and more importantly, he's incredibly sharp. He's declared that he wants to become an outstanding Marine..."
Garp added with a touch of sentiment, "Sengoku... that guy treats him like a grandson."
It was much like Garp himself. Since Dragon's "account" was effectively deleted, he pinned his hopes on "rerolling" with Luffy and Ace to raise them as pillars of the Navy. Fleet Admiral Sengoku was the same. Rosinante's Marine career was effectively over; even after he was released, it was unlikely he would return to the force. Therefore, Law had become something of an adopted grandson to Sengoku, a chance to raise the next generation's greatest talent.
Seeing that Vice Admiral Garp knew more about the situation, Rosinante immediately dragged Garp back into a discussion about Law.
Diarmuid sat on a stone stool in the courtyard, rubbing his chin as he looked at the Luminescent Grass. Meanwhile, the brat Luffy, clearly having never seen glowing grass before, was crouched down with his rear in the air, pulling up handfuls of it. He even ate a couple of strands...
Diarmuid could never figure out if this kid just had a different brain structure or if he was truly an idiot.
"Hey, Luffy!" Diarmuid called out suddenly.
Luffy turned around, a strand of Luminescent Grass hanging from his mouth. "Wha ish it?" he mumbled.
"Have you thought about what kind of Paramecia ability you want?" Diarmuid asked.
At the mention of this, Luffy's interest piqued. He stuffed the rest of the grass into his mouth and swallowed it in a few gulps. Diarmuid's eyelid twitched. Good grief, kid, one day you're going to eat something weird and kill yourself.
Since he was a certified moron, Diarmuid didn't bother stopping him.
"A really strong Paramecia! Ideally one that lets me beat you in one punch and become the Marine King!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
Diarmuid's face darkened. He gestured to Luffy. "Come here. Turn around and stand right there."
Luffy, being a total simpleton, did exactly as instructed and stood with his back to Diarmuid. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously.
Just as he started to turn his head, Diarmuid delivered a swift kick to his backside, sending him flying.
"You bastard!!! I'll fight you!" Luffy roared in a rage. He scrambled up from the ground, ready to brawl, but Diarmuid said casually:
"Just giving you a little reminder to help your memory. Stop dreaming about impossible things, and stop bragging all the time..."
With a flick of his finger, Diarmuid sent Luffy flying again with a powerful forehead flick.
At that moment, Magellan returned with a ledger in his hand. "Admiral..."
Seeing this, Diarmuid beckoned to Luffy. "Get over here and pick a Devil Fruit power..."
Luffy, who had been fuming a second ago, immediately brightened up. He came skipping back. "Coming, coming!"
Sure enough, the boy had a very short memory when it came to pain, but a very long one when it came to food!