Sengoku shook his head and said, "It isn't the Chris Pirates' own strength. It's the other powers tied to them."
"In my last report, I mentioned..."
"The Chris Pirates have the support of Germa 66, the Alabasta Kingdom, and Elbaf, the land of giants..."
"And they may well have the support of Dressrosa's Royal Family, too."
"This time, we've discovered another power!"
The mustached member of the Five Elders raised an eyebrow. "Chris has won over another ally in just over two weeks?"
"That man certainly wastes no time finding allies."
"No," Sengoku said. "They weren't recent allies. We overlooked the signs before."
"We now have ample reason to suspect that the Chris Pirates and Fish-Man Island have formed an alliance."
"Their relationship has grown closer than we ever imagined."
At the mention of Fish-Man Island, Sengoku watched the Five Elders' expressions.
He caught a subtle change in each of them.
Surprise flickered across their faces, along with a trace of disbelief.
It caught Sengoku off guard.
He had not expected the Five Elders to care so much about Fish-Man Island.
The blond elder glanced at the other four and said quietly, "If Chris really has formed a deep alliance with Fish-Man Island..."
"Then this could be troublesome."
"Do you think he knows about that matter?"
The bald elder lightly tapped the blade of his sword. His eyes sharpened. "We can't rule it out."
"If the intelligence is right, and the Chris Pirates and Fish-Man Island have joined forces..."
"Neptune will certainly have told Chris that secret."
The long-bearded elder took a sip of coffee. "Poseidon. We've searched for her for years."
"By now, the new Poseidon should have appeared."
"Neptune may already have confirmed her identity."
The other elders frowned.
By then, Sengoku had begun to understand.
He had