Not long afterward, a large batch of intelligence reports on the Roger Pirates arrived.
Sengoku distributed the documents immediately.
Even Diarmuid received a copy.
Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Garp and Chief Staff Officer Tsuru also received the same reports through their Den Den Mushi feed.
Soon, everyone began reading.
Since the reports were recent, it didn't take long for the group of high-ranking officers to comb through them.
And they did indeed notice some clues.
"It looks like the Roger Pirates have been searching for something all over the world," Borsalino said, slightly frowning.
Sakazuki nodded.
"That seems to be the case. It would explain why they returned to the New World."
Diarmuid wanted badly to say it out loud.
They're looking for the Poneglyphs.
But he couldn't.
There was no way he could explain how he knew that.
If Sengoku asked where the information came from, he'd have no answer.
However—
Just as Diarmuid was thinking about how to subtly steer the discussion in that direction—
Garp suddenly spoke.
"Poneglyphs."
The room fell silent.
Everyone looked at Garp with confusion.
"Poneglyphs?" Sengoku asked, surprised.
"What would those pirates want with something like that?"
The Poneglyphs were forbidden by the World Government.
Researching or reading them was strictly prohibited.
However, in reality, neither the Marines nor the World Government paid them much attention anymore.
For the past eight hundred years, the Poneglyphs had been scattered across the world—
But no one could read them.
So even if someone found one, it was essentially useless.
That was why Sengoku found it so strange.
Why would the Roger Pirates waste time searching for them?
Were pirates planning to become scholars?
What kind of nonsense was that?
"I don't know why they're looking for them," Garp said after thinking for a moment.
"But every time I chased them, I noticed the same pattern."
"Maybe those stones hide some kind of treasure… or a secret."
He hadn't paid much attention to it before.
After all, the Roger Pirates hadn't committed any major crimes because of it.
So he assumed it was just coincidence.
But now—
After reviewing the intelligence and considering Diarmuid's earlier deduction—
Garp began to suspect that the Roger Pirates might have discovered something important about the Poneglyphs.
And their return to the New World could very well be related to that.
Sengoku stroked his braided beard thoughtfully.
Finally, he spoke.
"We don't have time to investigate their motives right now."
"For now, we'll proceed under the assumption that the Roger Pirates entered the New World to search for Poneglyphs."
He picked up the Den Den Mushi again.
"Search our records."
"I want to know whether there are any Poneglyphs located near the Edd War Sea, Chalanna Sea, or Riswerson Sea regions."
"Yes, Admiral Sengoku!" came the response.
The room fell silent again.
Sengoku placed the Den Den Mushi on the table and continued examining the map and intelligence reports, occasionally frowning as he tried to piece together new clues.
Suddenly, Tsuru seemed to remember something.
"If I recall correctly…"
"…don't the Poneglyphs contain information about the Ancient Weapons?"
The room froze.
A moment later, Sengoku's expression darkened.
"I think you're right."
Not many people in the present era paid attention to the Poneglyphs.
After all, the Ohara incident hadn't happened yet.
It had been a very long time since anyone seriously investigated them.
So Sengoku and the others simply hadn't thought about it.
But Tsuru's reminder triggered their memory.
"What are Ancient Weapons?" Gion asked quietly from beside Tsuru.
Everyone heard the question.
Sengoku took a deep breath and explained.
"According to ancient legends, three weapons once existed that possessed the power to destroy the world."
"Pluton."
"Poseidon."
"And Uranus."
"These weapons vanished from history centuries ago."
"Whether they truly exist or are merely myths… I'm not entirely sure."
"When we return to Headquarters, I'll investigate further."
"But the World Government has long believed that information about these weapons is recorded on the Poneglyphs."
"That's why studying or deciphering them was forbidden."
He paused briefly.
"Of course, over time the people capable of reading the ancient language disappeared."
"So the ban eventually became meaningless."
For Kuzan, Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Gion—
This was the first time hearing the full story.
After thinking for a moment, Sakazuki frowned.
"In other words…"
"There's a possibility the Roger Pirates have deciphered the ancient language."
"And they might be searching the Poneglyphs for the location of these Ancient Weapons…"
"…to destroy the world?"
As soon as he finished speaking—
Garp immediately objected.
"That's impossible!"
"Roger may be a bastard, but he's not insane enough to want to destroy the world!"
Sakazuki replied coldly.
"He's still a pirate."
"And pirates embody evil."
"We cannot afford to underestimate that possibility."
Sakazuki's personality was fiercely uncompromising.
Unlike the still-undecided Borsalino or the laid-back Kuzan—
Sakazuki firmly believed in Absolute Justice.
Garp looked irritated, but he didn't argue further.
Even though he didn't believe Roger would do such a thing—
He still stood firmly on the side of the Marines.
That had never changed.
"No matter what Roger intends," Sengoku said grimly,
"we cannot ignore this possibility."
"In matters like this…"
"It's better to kill by mistake than let one escape."
"We must treat the Roger Pirates as a greater threat from now on."
"Hopefully this mission will allow us to eliminate them completely."
That statement effectively settled the matter.
And through this discussion, Diarmuid gained a clearer understanding of the Marines' stance toward the Ancient Weapons.
Sengoku's words—better to kill by mistake than let one escape—revealed just how ruthless he could be when necessary.
Diarmuid wasn't surprised.
Sengoku might appear gentle toward his subordinates—
But when it came to threats against the world, he could be extremely cold-blooded.
After all…
Years later, it would be Sengoku himself who authorized the Buster Call on Ohara.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi rang again.
Sengoku answered immediately.
"Report!"
"Yes, Admiral."
"Our investigation shows that on Tiraskol Island, near the Edd War Sea, there is a recorded Poneglyph."
Sengoku's eyes flashed with irritation.
He almost demanded why such important information hadn't been reported earlier.
Why hadn't the Poneglyph been secured?
But he quickly suppressed his anger.
It wasn't really the fault of the officers reporting the information.
Without Diarmuid's suggestion earlier, none of them would have connected the dots to the long-ignored Poneglyphs.
And they certainly wouldn't have thought to check.
Historically speaking, it wasn't until after the Ohara incident that the World Government began taking the Poneglyphs seriously again and gradually started recovering them.
Now, because of Diarmuid's reasoning, the Marines had noticed this long-ignored "dangerous relic" much earlier.
Whether that would have long-term consequences was unclear.
Still—
Diarmuid suspected it wouldn't change much.
Roger wasn't trying to destroy the world.
And after Roger died a few years later, the issue would likely fade again.
The Marines' main priority was maintaining stability at sea.
They didn't have the energy to obsess over ancient stones forever.
Sooner or later, attention would shift elsewhere.
"I understand," Sengoku said before hanging up.
Then he looked at the others.
"It seems the Edd War Sea may indeed be our destination."
Tsuru nodded decisively.
"Even though all of these deductions are based on speculation…"
"…it's still the most reasonable lead we have."
"It's better to bet on Edd War than gamble blindly on the other two seas."
She was absolutely right.
All of their conclusions were still theoretical.
No one knew the truth.
But at least they now had a direction.
Under these circumstances, heading toward Edd War was the most logical choice.
The Marine commanders quickly reached a consensus.
Not long afterward, Sengoku issued the order:
Full speed toward the Edd War Sea.
Thus, the short pre-battle meeting concluded.
And for the first time—
Diarmuid had stepped onto the grand stage of Marine high command.
For now, at least—
He felt it had gone rather well.
After the video Den Den Mushi was shut off, Sengoku smiled and patted Diarmuid on the shoulder.
"Well done, Diarmuid."
"This time, we owe you one."
"Without your idea, we'd still be completely lost."
"If the battle really happens at Edd War…"
"…I'll make sure the first merit goes to you."
Diarmuid shook his head modestly.
"With Admiral Sengoku's wisdom and Chief Staff Officer Tsuru's insight…"
"I believe you would have reached the same conclusion eventually."
He wasn't just flattering them.
He genuinely believed it.
After all, it was still possible that the Marines missed the battle simply because the storm ended it too quickly.
"There's no need to be overly modest here," Sengoku said.
"The Marines need people with real ability."
"I hope you continue to perform even better in the future."
With that, Sengoku left the command room.
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