As Rocks ceased hostilities and the Main Force withdrew to Hachinosu to rest and recuperate, the whole world seemed to have briefly hit pause again.
If not for the armies massed along the borders and the small detachments of the Rocks Pirates wreaking havoc everywhere, things would have been almost no different from the earlier cold war.
The geography of the pirate world made it difficult for wars to break out with front lines routinely stretching thousands, or even tens of thousands, of kilometers.
With his headquarters in the New World, Rocks found it difficult to gain a foothold in other seas, especially the Four Blues, unless he personally stationed himself there.
The same held true for Lind. The New World would be relatively stable in the short term, so he needed to find a new priority target.
Lind shifted his focus to the West Blue. Although Sengoku was stationed there, that did not stop Lind from planting agents in the West Blue first and waiting for the right time to act.
Rocks, meanwhile, focused on the first half of the Grand Line.
In early 1483, Rocks sent men to occupy the Fish-Man Kingdom, taking control of this vital transport route.
He also kept sending men to attack the Grand Line, expanding his sphere of influence.
Many pirates who would originally have received their baptism only upon reaching the New World got an early glimpse of what truly great pirates were like.
Countless so-called Supernovas were forced to join the Rocks Pirates while still in the first half of the Grand Line, becoming Rocks's lackeys.
They replenished the strength lost in the previous series of major battles.
But although these Supernovas with ample potential had joined, realizing that potential would still take time.
Especially without as many Devil Fruits as