Several days later, in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
Saint Topman Warcury had brought back no encouraging news.
The details and outcome of his "negotiations" with Gern at New Marineford were kept strictly between the Five Elders
and a handful of core members of the Holy Knights. Nothing was made public.
The World Government offered no public response to Gern's almost humiliating "ultimatum." There was no declaration of war, no diplomatic condemnation, and even its usual smear campaigns seemed halfhearted.
That abnormal silence instead lent weight to a chilling suspicion.
The "being" who stood above all others really did seem to have chosen to remain behind the scenes for some reason.
(Judging by the latest episode of the anime, Imu was just a coward who liked hiding in the back.
So, faced with Gern's "Spark," which could hurt Imu, Imu would definitely keep hiding.)
The only visible action came over the following week, when a staggering number
of enslaved civilians from across the Four Blues and the Grand Line were gradually "released" by World Government ships
and sent through Red Port, either to return home or to resettlement sites designated by the Marines.
Most of those released were gaunt and dazed, their bodies bearing the marks of prolonged abuse.
Their appearance, and the World Government's quiet handling of the matter, silently proved that Gern's threats had not been empty.
But this looked more like a humiliating, reluctant concession by the World Government than genuine repentance.
Regardless, Gern's approach to the negotiations had worked!
Faced with several harsh conditions, the other side would inevitably choose the easiest, least damaging one.
And so, from beginning to end, Gern had only wanted to free the slaves...
The New World, the waters surrounding the G-14 branch.
Kizaru, Borsalino, hovered on photons above