The last time Diermude came to the New World, he barely had the chance to see its scenery.
The Marines had been marching at full speed back then, rushing straight to the Edd War Sea, where they conveniently picked up the aftermath of Shiki's defeat.
This time, however, the journey was much more relaxed.
Fleet Admiral Kong's warship sailed steadily and unhurriedly across the sea, heading toward G-1 Marine Base.
Even though he was out on an inspection tour, Kong remained extremely busy.
He stayed inside the cabin most of the time, frequently communicating with Admiral Sengoku at Marineford through a Den Den Mushi, discussing various important matters.
The fax machine inside the cabin never stopped running.
As long as the Fleet Admiral sat there working, documents kept transmitting back and forth without pause.
Compared to this busy Fleet Admiral, Kuzan and Diermude were far more relaxed.
Kuzan had placed a reclining chair on the deck.
Seeing that the weather was good, he simply lay there with an eye mask on, pretending to nap while sunbathing.
Meanwhile, Diermude sat beside him on a small stool, holding a fishing rod and enjoying the peaceful rhythm of sea fishing.
By now he finally understood why the Fleet Admiral needed escorts during such trips.
In truth, their role was simply to handle the trivial matters of the voyage, preventing those issues from interrupting the Fleet Admiral's work.
"Kuzan, how long until we reach G-1 Marine Base?" Diermude suddenly asked.
Kuzan, who was pretending to sleep, didn't even remove his eye mask.
"What's wrong? Getting bored already?" he said lazily.
"Life at sea is mostly like this. It sounds exciting, but in reality it's incredibly dull."
"As someone with experience, let me give you some advice."
"Get yourself an eye mask too. Sometimes if you just keep sleeping… you'll wake up and suddenly you've arrived."
Diermude rolled his eyes.
"I'll pass. Instead of sleeping, I'd rather practice my sword swings."
"Honestly, if you weren't so lazy, your strength would probably have reached a whole new level by now."
"You fisherman have no right to lecture me," Kuzan shot back irritably.
"Is fishing not laziness?"
"At least I might bring food back to the ship," Diermude replied calmly.
"You, on the other hand, are just dreaming in broad daylight."
"That's different."
"But you haven't caught a single thing this whole trip!" Kuzan snapped, pulling off his eye mask.
"That's because I'm a beginner," Diermude replied confidently.
"These things take practice."
"Can you improve your skills by sleeping?"
Kuzan glared at him furiously.
A moment later, the two suddenly burst out laughing.
Just as Kuzan had said, sailing the seas sounded romantic and adventurous.
But in reality, you could go ten or even twenty days without seeing a single island.
No matter which direction you looked, there was nothing but endless ocean.
Interesting events were rare.
Instead, what you experienced most was loneliness and boredom.
Without something to pass the time, the days would feel unbearable.
Kuzan chose to sleep his way through the journey.
Diermude chose to learn fishing.
As a result, the two of them spent their free time bickering, adding a bit of fun to the otherwise dull voyage.
"So really—how long?" Diermude asked again.
After all, he was just a Commodore dragged along by Kuzan.
He didn't even know which direction the gates of G-1 faced.
Meanwhile, despite Kuzan's relaxed attitude, he was actually responsible for managing the ship's daily operations.
"We're almost there," Kuzan replied helplessly.
"Give me a more precise answer," Diermude said.
Kuzan glanced at the sun and estimated the time.
"We should arrive by this afternoon at the latest."
"That's great news," Diermude said happily.
After sailing at sea for more than ten days, the most pleasant words anyone could hear were:
"We're about to arrive."
Just then—
The fishing rod in Diermude's hand suddenly trembled violently.
His eyes lit up.
"Finally got a bite!"
With that, he jerked the rod upward.
The fishing line tightened, and something massive was dragged out of the sea.
The creatures of this ocean were bizarre and colorful.
The fish Diermude had caught had a huge blade-shaped bone on its head, giving it a vicious appearance.
It was about the size of a Marine lifeboat.
Its sharp teeth protruded from its mouth, too large to be contained by its lips.
One look told you it was a dangerous beast.
"Oh? A Bluefin Bladefish," Kuzan said with interest.
"The meat is delicious."
"Not bad for your first catch. You're pretty lucky."
But the moment he finished speaking, the Bluefin Bladefish whipped its tail midair.
It suddenly accelerated and charged toward Diermude, trying to stab him with the blade on its head.
"Hahaha! Feisty little thing!" Diermude laughed.
With a flick of his wrist, a strange force traveled through the fishing rod.
The ferocious fish suddenly froze in midair, held in place by invisible power.
No matter how it struggled, it couldn't move.
Diermude calmly stood up and drew the Nagatsune Kotetsu from his waist.
The blade gleamed coldly.
"Secret technique… Fillet Knife!" he declared casually.
A flash of steel followed.
Several slashes cut through the air.
The fierce Bluefin Bladefish was instantly dissected.
Its bones and organs remained suspended midair, while the tender fish meat fell neatly onto the deck in orderly slices.
Diermude sheathed his sword.
Then he waved toward a few nearby Marines.
"You guys. Take the fish meat to the kitchen."
"Extra dishes tonight."
"Yes, Commodore Diermude!"
The Marines hurried to carry away the meat.
Kuzan chuckled.
"I'm starting to think your ability works surprisingly well with your swordsmanship."
"With that kind of power supporting you, even if your sword skills are only average, you could probably still pass as a swordsman."
"It doesn't matter," Diermude replied with a shrug.
"I'm not chasing those titles, and I'm not obsessed with swordsmanship."
"As long as I'm strong enough, that's all that matters."
Then he paused and added with a grin,
"By the way… we've never really sparred before."
By "spar," he clearly meant fighting.
Kuzan raised an eyebrow.
"Getting a little arrogant, aren't you?"
"You want to fight me?"
Diermude grinned.
"I said spar, not fight."
At that moment, a hearty laugh echoed from nearby.
"Hahaha! Seeing young people like you full of energy makes me believe the Marines truly have a bright future."
"If you two really plan to spar, I'd very much like to watch."
Fleet Admiral Kong strode out of the cabin with powerful steps, laughing loudly.
"Fleet Admiral!" Kuzan and Diermude greeted at the same time.
Before they could salute, Kong waved his hand casually.
"No need."
Although Kong looked fierce, he was actually a very kind old man.
His intimidating appearance was mostly due to the scars on his face.
But those scars also proved something important—
This Fleet Admiral had fought his way through countless life-and-death battles.
Kong was already in his fifties, but physically he was still at his peak.
Diermude also knew something else.
This man would continue serving as Fleet Admiral for more than a decade.
Later, after the Mary Geoise arson incident and the death of the slave liberator Fisher Tiger, Kong would be promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the World Government's armed forces, moving to Mary Geoise.
That promotion would allow Sengoku to become Fleet Admiral.
And Borsalino, Kuzan, and Sakazuki would then become the new Admirals.
In a way, Fisher Tiger would end up triggering a massive shift in Marine leadership.
Although Diermude had never seen Kong fight, the man's beast-like physique and overwhelming aura made one thing obvious—
He was definitely a top-tier powerhouse.
"We're almost there, right?" Kong asked.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral," Kuzan replied.
"We'll arrive soon."
Kong nodded.
"Sengoku just told me that once you return from this mission, you'll be promoted to Vice Admiral, Kuzan."
"I've watched you grow in the Marines step by step."
"Once you become a Vice Admiral, don't grow complacent."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!" Kuzan responded immediately.
Diermude understood the implication.
Sengoku had already paved the road for Kuzan.
Once this mission ended, Kuzan would return to Marineford as a Vice Admiral.
Though a little disappointed that the gap between them would widen again, Diermude was genuinely happy for him.
After encouraging Kuzan a few more times, Kong turned to Diermude.
"So you're the top graduate of the Sixth Officer Training Camp?"
"Looking at you reminds me of Sengoku when he was young, Diermude."
Every training camp class held a final competition before graduation.
The strongest and most outstanding cadet would be named the First Seat of that class.
Although there was no proof, Diermude believed that if he hadn't been there, the First Seat of the sixth class might have been Gion.
But now—
It was undoubtedly Rodriguez Diermude.
Gion had reluctantly taken the position of Second Seat.
Compared to two years ago, Diermude had become far more relaxed and confident.
Hearing Kong's words, he smiled openly.
"Admiral Sengoku often says the same thing."
"If I can become someone like him someday, that would already be wonderful."
Kong shook his head and patted Diermude's shoulder.
"That's not good enough."
"You should aim to surpass him."
"That way the Marines can keep improving."
"Each generation should be stronger than the last!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral! I'll work hard!" Diermude replied immediately.
Just then, a lookout shouted from the observation tower:
"G-1 Base is within visual range!"
Diermude turned
toward the horizon.
At first, he saw nothing.
But soon—
A small black dot slowly appeared in the distance.
Their destination had finally come into sight.
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