The news about Elbaf continued to ferment.
The World Government issued three consecutive announcements, insisting that the Image Shell footage had been maliciously edited and that the so-called "kidnapping of Giant children" was merely a frame-up by people with ulterior motives.
But they could not explain the identity badges of God's Knights, nor could they explain the Den Den Mushi reserved for use in the Holy Land.
Much less could they explain why Saint Somaz and Saint Qilin Gomu had disappeared at the same time.
Morgans even made hundreds of copies of the original Image Shell and sent them to the major member nations and news agencies.
Anyone could verify it personally, and the claim that the footage had been fabricated quickly became a joke.
More and more member nations publicly demanded an investigation.
Those kings might not truly care about the Giant Tribe's children, but they all keenly realized one thing.
If the World Government could bypass every procedure and secretly infiltrate non-member nations to capture children,
then in the future, it could use the same method to enter their palaces, abduct their heirs, and take away the families of their military leaders.
It could even support a more obedient royal family and replace them completely.
Once suspicion arose, it could no longer be suppressed.
Several financially struggling member nations were the first to begin delaying their Heavenly Tribute.
Their reasons varied: shipwrecks, droughts, royal accounts needing to be reexamined.
But everyone knew they were only testing how much deterrence the Holy Land still possessed.
Some Marine Branches also began refusing to cooperate with Cipher Pol.
When Cipher Pol demanded the arrest of civilians spreading newspapers, the branch commanders gave only one reply: "They have committed no crime. The Marines do not arrest people for reading newspapers."
The news