"But you should think carefully about this, too."
"Every other faction will have had the same idea."
"And Chris is far too clever not to have thought of it."
Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, was cautious. She had never taken Chris for a fool.
The fact that Chris had come this far, step by step, was proof enough of what he was capable of.
Streusen narrowed his eyes slightly. "There's more to it than that," he said gravely.
"Nearly every faction in the New World has shown up near the Pudora Kingdom Waters."
"Most important among them are Whitebeard and the Red Hair Pirates."
"According to this paper, the relationship between the Chris Pirates and those two Pirate Crews is rather murky."
Pudding gave a cold laugh and cut in. "Streusen, you believe rumors like that?"
"If the Chris Pirates really had some connection to the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates..."
"Why would they go to so much trouble to attack the Pudora Kingdom?"
"If all three joined forces, they could probably wipe us out instead!"
Disdain was written all over Pudding's face.
But Streusen remained unruffled. "Pudding, you can't judge everything by appearances."
"It's true that what this paper says doesn't count as fact."
"But it does let us establish one thing!"
Chiffon picked up the thread, her expression calm. "At the very least, the photographs in the paper are real."
"That means the Chris Pirates have had contact with both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates."
"Even if there's nothing deeper between them, it's enough to show that they're on good terms!"
Streusen nodded.
That was exactly what he had meant.
An alliance between the Chris Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates, and the Red Hair Pirates was all but impossible.
Everyone there knew it.
But those