The outskirts of the New World were quiet in an almost eerie way.
The routes once filled with skull-and-crossbones flags now saw only Marine patrol ships and vessels belonging to Legal Adventure Groups.
The ports once occupied by pirates began to light up again, and merchant ships cautiously resumed trial voyages.
For the first time, civilians dared to load cargo onto their decks without the protection of pirate flags.
But everyone who truly understood the situation knew this was not peace.
It was only the sea briefly lowering its waves before the storm arrived.
The Marines' banners of justice had already advanced to the edge of the Three Emperors' territories. One step farther lay Onigashima, Totto Land, and Red-Hair's waters.
And at that very moment, the Holy Land of Mary Geoise finally made its move.
The Room of Authority.
The Five Elders looked over report after report of the latest intelligence, their expressions darker than ever before.
They could not openly stop the Marines from attacking pirates.
Because what the Marines were clearing out were slave ships, pirate strongholds, underground arms ports, and criminal islands.
If the World Government publicly ordered them to stop, it would be tantamount to telling the entire world—
The Government would not allow the Marines to fight pirates.
So they changed their approach.
They froze part of the military budget, demanded that Marine fleets fighting in the New World undergo renewed review, recalled several high-ranking officers for debriefing, restricted Legal Adventure Groups from entering the New World's core waters, and investigated the legality of the underground intelligence provided by Doflamingo.
Under the pretext of "preventing the conflict from escalating," they ordered Sengoku to suspend large-scale fleet deployments.
Orders streamed from the Holy Land to Marineford, yet not a single one explicitly stated, "Stop the Marines