Marineford was truly a magnificent island.
Especially the towering Fortress of Justice, which had stood for countless years.
It radiated an unshakable presence.
As if evil could never invade this place.
At the same time, Marineford was arguably the strongest island in the entire world.
Because the majority of the Marines' top combat power gathered here.
Just looking at this island, one could almost hear an unspoken declaration:
"Only the Marines bully others. No one dares bully the Marines."
That was the kind of arrogance and authority it carried.
However, none of that concerned Diarmuid for now.
The moment he disembarked, he was immediately sent to Marineford's sanatorium.
Perhaps because of special arrangements from Sengoku and Zephyr.
Diarmuid was placed in a high-level recovery ward.
This facility was specifically built for high-ranking Marine officers.
Ordinary soldiers had no right to stay here.
Only officers with flag ranks—at least Brigadier General—were normally admitted.
Diarmuid's room was on the second floor, a double room.
His bed was beside the window.
Looking outside, he could see a wide grassy courtyard behind the hospital.
Many Marine officers were strolling there.
Some had arms in casts.
Some walked with crutches.
Others sat in wheelchairs.
Every one of them held general rank within the Marines.
It was a reminder that while the Marines appeared glorious and dominant—
That glory had been built upon countless lives and rivers of blood.
Being a Marine was never an easy profession.
Rosinante seemed to have completely attached himself to Diarmuid.
Even though Diarmuid had slapped him hard on Minion Island, he didn't seem to care at all.
He treated Diarmuid like his personal savior.
According to Zephyr, while Diarmuid had been unconscious on the ship, Rosinante stayed by his bedside every day.
Now, Rosinante still visited daily.
He would sit quietly beside the bed.
Sometimes pouring water.
Sometimes peeling fruit.
To be honest, if a cute little girl were doing these things, Diarmuid would have gladly accepted it.
Unfortunately, Rosinante was a little boy.
And worse—
He had a natural ability to drag teammates into trouble.
Still, because Rosinante was technically a "second-generation Marine official," Diarmuid couldn't really push him away.
That said—
Having Rosinante running errands did make life in the hospital much easier.
"Ugh… is it noon already?"
A lazy voice came from the other hospital bed.
The patient who had been sleeping all this time finally woke up.
"Oh, Diarmuid. I'm jealous of you."
"You've got such a nice kid taking care of you."
"If you're not going to eat that peeled apple, mind giving it to me?"
"I just woke up and I'm a little hungry."
The man spoke shamelessly.
Diarmuid sighed helplessly.
He grabbed the apple from the fruit plate and tossed it over.
"Catch."
"Hey!"
The man caught it easily and began eating happily.
Three days earlier, Diarmuid—who had originally been alone—had gained a roommate.
Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral Kuzan.
Yes.
The man lying on the other bed was none other than the future Admiral Aokiji.
To be honest, Diarmuid had imagined many possible ways of meeting people like Kuzan.
But meeting him as hospital roommates had never crossed his mind.
Kuzan had always been a laid-back person with little sense of hierarchy.
Even though he didn't know Diarmuid before, over the past three days they had gotten along quite well.
They chatted easily.
"You eat, sleep, and sleep some more every day," Diarmuid said.
"Don't you ever get bored?"
Kuzan chewed his apple and replied vaguely,
"What do you want me to do?"
"Go downstairs and play soccer?"
He raised his leg slightly.
His right leg was in a cast.
Clearly he had suffered a serious injury.
"Your leg really has bad luck," Diarmuid said with a grin.
"Maybe it's because you sit incorrectly."
"I never cross my legs," Kuzan rolled his eyes.
"How could my posture be wrong?"
"Maybe that's exactly the problem," Diarmuid joked.
Before Kuzan could respond, Diarmuid's curiosity finally got the better of him.
"By the way… you're also called one of the Navy's monsters, right?"
"So how did you break your leg?"
For three days he had avoided asking.
They weren't familiar enough before.
But now that they had spent several days together, it felt acceptable.
Kuzan immediately looked miserable.
He swallowed his apple and sighed.
"Diarmuid… having a good boss is extremely important."
"Especially one who's reliable."
"If you ever get the chance, don't make the same mistake I did."
"I was fooled by the word 'hero.'"
Diarmuid: ???
Seeing his confusion, Kuzan lowered his voice.
"What I mean is—if you ever have the choice, don't pick Vice Admiral Garp as your boss."
Diarmuid burst out laughing.
"So your leg got wrecked because of Garp?"
"What happened?"
Kuzan sighed deeply.
"Well… it's not a secret anymore."
"Recently we got intelligence that the Roger Pirates had appeared again in the first half of the Grand Line."
"Vice Admiral Garp has some serious obsession with Roger."
"So the moment he heard that news, he rushed out to chase them."
"As his aide, I had to go with him."
"Next thing you know…"
"We ran straight into the Roger Pirates at sea."
"Garp was perfectly fine."
"But I got caught in the chaos and had my leg broken."
Diarmuid looked at him sympathetically.
Yep.
Choosing the right boss really mattered.
And everyone knew that Vice Admiral Garp was famously unreliable.
Among the Marines' younger generation, there were currently three standout figures known as "the Monster Trio."
They had already served for years and all held admiral-level potential.
Kuzan was actually the lowest-ranked among them.
The other two were:
Sakazuki — later known as Akainu
Borsalino — later known as Kizaru
From what Diarmuid had learned recently:
Borsalino served as Admiral Sengoku's aide, currently holding the rank of Vice Admiral.
Sakazuki was actually Zephyr's aide.
However, since Zephyr had stepped away from frontline command, Sakazuki now essentially operated independently.
He too was a Vice Admiral.
"So anyway," Kuzan said, finishing the apple.
"I heard you actually clashed with Golden Lion Shiki."
"That took guts."
Diarmuid glanced helplessly at Rosinante.
Then he tapped the boy's head lightly.
"If it weren't for this kid, I wouldn't have needed to take such a risk."
"And I wouldn't be lying here either."
Rosinante lowered his head in embarrassment.
Kuzan laughed loudly.
"But still—you've got courage."
"Teacher Zephyr seems to think highly of you."
"You'll probably become my junior soon."
Zephyr's Officer Training Camp had already produced many talented Marines.
But very few people earned Kuzan's acknowledgment as a junior.
Diarmuid looked around cautiously and lowered his voice.
"Rear Admiral Kuzan…"
"Do you think I have a promising future?"
Kuzan blinked.
"What kind of future?"
"The kind where I become an important figure," Diarmuid said with a grin.
Kuzan laughed.
"That depends on your ability."
Diarmuid leaned against the bed and spoke more thoughtfully.
"Earlier, Admiral Zephyr asked me what justice meant to me."
"I couldn't answer."
"Maybe I'm just lost."
"Even now, I don't know if I have any sense of justice at all."
"But after arriving at Marineford…"
"I realized something."
Kuzan grabbed a cup of water from the table.
He blew on it lightly.
The water instantly turned ice-cold.
Taking a sip, he asked:
"And what did you realize?"
Diarmuid looked at him seriously.
"I want to stand higher."
"I want greater strength."
"Higher status."
"More power."
Then he asked:
"Rear Admiral Kuzan… is that against justice?"
"Is it too utilitarian?"
Kuzan fell silent for a moment.
He finished the ice water in one gulp.
"Justice is a complicated thing," he said slowly.
"As for what you said…"
"Yes, it's a bit utilitarian."
"But there's nothing wrong with it."
Even though Kuzan personally thought differently, he didn't think Diarmuid was wrong.
Wanting greater strength, status, and authority was perfectly normal.
In the end, Kuzan added one final comment.
"Admiral Sengoku once said…"
'A Marine who doesn't want to become Fleet Admiral isn't a good Marine.'"