Konoha's sudden appearance and its capture of Garp and Aokiji had indeed thrown the world into turmoil for a time.
But Konoha soon vanished without a trace, as though it had disappeared into thin air.
At the same time, because of Ace's capture, undercurrents swept through the entire sea. Every faction was sharpening its claws and making its own plans.
Both the World Government and the Navy found it strange. Why had this so-called Konoha Country vanished after appearing?
It had clearly caused such a massive commotion, yet it seemed to have disappeared from the world altogether. Why?
Neither the Navy's intelligence network nor the World Government's CP0 could uncover any information related to Konoha.
This so-called Konoha Country seemed to have appeared suddenly, only to vanish just as suddenly.
That inevitably made people suspicious. Could this so-called Konoha be a conspiracy?
The Navy, the World Government, and even many pirates suspected that it was most likely a conspiracy!
Yet none of this had much to do with Konoha.
With Orochimaru and the Second Hokage's help, a new Curse Mark was quickly developed. It incorporated genjutsu, and would activate whenever someone tried to reveal any information about Konoha or came under mental control.
It even incorporated the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique, allowing its bearer to take everything around them with them upon death.
It was somewhat cruel, but there was no helping it.
Konoha's current advantage over the Pirate World was intelligence. With an intelligence advantage, ninja abilities could accomplish many things.
But if that intelligence was exposed, the ninja's strength would become a problem.
At the same time, Konoha needed to experiment as much as possible with the other world's methods of cultivation.
Orochimaru had already tried to extract the Devil Fruit inside Aokiji's body. If Haku could