Shortbeak's argument wasn't without merit. From the perspective of Blossom Mountain, setting aside old grudges with the Six Demon Kings—even if only temporarily—and joining forces against a common enemy was clearly in everyone's best interest.
If the Six Demon Kings were to lend a hand when the Heavenly Fleet attacked, Monkey would agree without a second thought. After all, defending his home was his top priority now.
As for settling old scores, that could wait until after the Heavenly Fleet was repelled.
Unfortunately, the Six Demon Kings' alliance offer wasn’t just a simple alliance—it came with a condition: they wanted elixirs.
If we consider only the elixir trade itself...
Monkey couldn’t refine elixirs himself, but he still knew plenty about the process. Anna Yang had already complained more than once about the poor quality of the materials Shortbeak cobbled together.
If the Six Demon Kings helped gather materials, then with limited manpower, they could produce better elixirs—which, in effect, would increase overall output.
Of course, the finished elixirs would have to be shared with the Six Demon Kings. After all the deductions, Blossom Mountain wouldn’t make much profit—the most they’d save was a bit of manpower spent searching for ingredients.
So, in terms of this transaction alone, Blossom Mountain wouldn’t gain much, but it wouldn’t lose out either.
That meant all the real gains hinged on the alliance with the Six Demon Kings.
On that front, Monkey wasn’t actually worried about the Six Demon Kings turning against him at the last minute.
Even if those six were foolish and faithless, they might dare cooperate with South Heaven Gate, but they’d never dare side with Marshal Silver.
This wasn’t just a matter of trust—it was a question of interests.
Who is Marshal Silver? He’s the sworn enemy of the Six Demon Kings—he’s wiped out their lairs twice, not to mention the earlier battle at Dragonpool Cove. No matter what, the Six Demon Kings would never turn their weapons on themselves and help Marshal Silver; at most, they’d just sit back and watch the fight, or, if things looked bad, simply run away.
From this angle, it seemed Blossom Mountain wouldn’t really lose anything either.
But that was only considering the short-term fight against the Heavenly Fleet. Given Monkey’s position now, he had no choice but to think a step further.
There was no doubt: whether the alliance actually bound the Six Demon Kings, and whether they’d honor it, were the real keys to deciding if this deal should go ahead.
To put it bluntly, agreeing to this was really a gamble on the Six Demon Kings’ character.
Monkey had no idea about the Bull King’s character, but he had reason to doubt the Drake King. Because of that, he didn’t hold out any hope for the others either—no matter how much the Azurewave Dragon King guaranteed it.
Looking only at the alliance, the material-for-elixir trade, and any future cooperation, Blossom Mountain wouldn’t lose out. It seemed like this gamble required no real stake at all. But was that really the case?