The arrival of so many Impel Down prisoners on Hachinosu sent shockwaves across the island.
Only after asking around did the pirates learn that their captain and core officers had quietly pulled off something earth-shattering.
The news spread quickly from Hachinosu across the New World.
But the World Government was prepared. It kept a tight grip on the narrative and sealed off the New World.
It flooded the rest of the world with its own version of events, burying the news that the Rocks Pirates had captured Impel Down.
In this era, the World Government's control over public opinion was formidable. With the government on guard, the other powers dared not cause trouble under its nose.
The World Government kept the damage to its reputation to a minimum.
But it still had to deal with the damage to Impel Down itself.
The triangle formed by Marine Headquarters, Enies Lobby, and Impel Down had operated for centuries. It could not simply be abandoned.
Impel Down also had a geographic advantage: it lay in the Calm Belt.
The World Government had neither the time nor the resources to build another Impel Down.
Meanwhile, the Rocks Pirates grew stronger with the addition of so many criminals.
Kosa, the "Violence King," returned and filled the vacant post of Second Division Commander left by Donovan, the "Golden King."
Then, after a grand banquet came to an end,
the Rocks Pirates' Thirteen Divisions were formally established. Each division had at least three thousand fighters.
The larger ones were immense. The Seventh Division under Shiki, the "Golden Lion," had nearly twenty thousand fighters.
Hades's Tenth Division, built around the Pluton Pirates, had nearly five thousand.
The formation of the Thirteen Divisions marked another step forward in the Rocks Pirates' cohesion and further cemented the core officers' authority