"Team Rocket..."
Shiro's gaze drifted toward Captain Walt, who was lying off to the side.
Almost instinctively, as if guided by psychic intuition, suspicion fell on the old man.
But he was in such a miserable state now. One leg was already gone. He could not have cut it off himself. Or was he simply unlucky?
Snap.
Shiro flicked his fingers again and used psychic power to communicate with Mesprit.
In an instant, the psychic force on the deck withdrew like a whirlpool. Walt on the ground and Arne, who had been standing stiffly like a lackey, both regained their ability to move.
"I know who the Team Rocket spy is!"
Two voices rang out almost at the same time.
Shiro swept his eyes toward the speakers. They were Arne and Walt.
"Dr. Shiro, I can guess who it is!"
Walt roared once more, drawing the attention of the other three. His thigh had been twisted into a mangled lump by Octillery's corrosive slime. There was no massive bleeding, but the pain left his face deathly pale.
Red Devil glanced at Arne with some confusion. How did his capable subordinate know about the spy on the S.S. Anne?
But seeing that Arne stayed silent, Red Devil also chose not to speak.
Shiro lifted his chin slightly toward Walt. "Go on, Captain Walt."
Sweat beaded on Walt's forehead. He wriggled his body, panting as he stammered through an explanation.
"I, it was the crewman on duty tonight. I saw him before. He often called people outside the ship, but he always said it was his girlfriend… Tonight happened to be his shift. He probably didn't expect that after leaking the information, he'd be caught and killed by pirates first!"
"So there's no proof now?" Shiro said lightly and turned his gaze to Arne.
The moment Arne met that look, he spoke at once.
"The Team Rocket spy is Walt."
"He's slandering me!" Walt shouted, clutching his thigh even harder. Whether from pain or guilt, his face was twisted like a bitter melon. He then begged desperately.
"Dr. Shiro, these pirates are vile and shameless. How could they tell the truth? They just want to frame me first, kill me, and then win your trust..."
Shiro nodded again and again. It did sound somewhat reasonable.
It was a pity his psychic ability was still lacking. If he could use hypnosis, he could then learn mind reading.
If he could read minds, he would hear their thoughts directly.
Right then, Unown A spoke up.
'This fat man is lying.'
Shiro immediately called out, "You are lying!"
Walt trembled and fell silent. Red Devil and Arne, who were both uneasy, relaxed a little.
Arne understood clearly. If Shiro had been hostile toward pirates from the start, then no explanation would matter.
But the situation was better than expected. Shiro had directly judged that Walt was lying.
Was it that strange ability?
Arne could not be sure.
Shiro spoke again, "Arne, you continue."
"There's a high chance the Team Rocket spy on the S.S. Anne is Walt," Arne said in a low but firm voice. "He knows Kabu, a Gym Leader from Galar. That Gym Leader was once famous in our waters because he liked spending money to work with Team Rocket."
Kabu...
Shiro raised an eyebrow slightly and recalled the devices Kabu had carefully prepared to capture him before, which were later reclaimed by Macro Cosmos.
Those devices seemed to have come from Team Rocket.
"As the captain of the S.S. Anne, it's unreasonable for Walt to know someone like Kabu," Arne continued. "Unless he already had ties with Team Rocket or with people from our waters."
After speaking, Arne added one more sentence, "Our waters are full of pirates."
"You..." Walt opened his mouth but only managed to spit out a word or two. He could not form a full sentence.
In this situation, he could no longer explain himself.
While cursing his earlier slip of the tongue, despair also rose in his heart. This so-called Pokémon researcher Shiro, a man from Galar. Was he really the genius Professor Rowan spoke of?
What kind of genius researcher had psychic power this strong?
Even Executive Sabrina did not have power like this.
As a Team Rocket mole planted within the League, Walt had some insight. When Shiro controlled every living being on the ship with psychic power, he recognized that familiar ability.
Walt could only accept his bad luck. He let go of his severed leg and gave a light laugh. "Haha... Pirates. Only pirates can kill me. Dr. Shiro, I understand. Your mission is to secretly purge the organization..."
Seeing this, Shiro did not hesitate. He raised his finger and pointed lightly.
Mesprit understood and immediately wrapped Walt in psychic power, putting the fat man into instant hypnosis.
Shiro asked, "What is your real name?"
"Walter White..."
"What was Team Rocket's purpose in sending you here?"
"There was no special mission. I only needed to keep collecting passenger information from the cruise ship and report it to the organization."
"..."
Shiro asked a few more questions, then tossed Walt aside.
Team Rocket had planted many spies within the League. From future Elite Four members like Koga, Gym Leaders like Sabrina and Lt. Surge, down to ordinary League staff, even janitors at headquarters.
Walt was just one of them. His task was routine. He only had to report information from the cruise ship. Most of the time, it was one way information flow.
Tonight, he was unlucky. Without Walt knowing, Team Rocket sold the information to pirates, who then launched a night raid.
"Sigh..." Shiro could not help but sigh. He did not know how to describe it.
Was Team Rocket's appeal really that strong? Or was Giovanni's personal charisma just overwhelming?
He thought briefly, then quickly pushed aside the question that had no clear answer. He turned his gaze back to the two pirates in front of him.
Red Devil and Arne.
What should be done with them?
The instant Shiro looked at them, Red Devil's knees went weak. He knelt and bowed his head.
"I am willing to accept any punishment. I only ask that my Pokémon be released."
Arne immediately knelt as well.
"I only ask that my boss's life be spared!"
Under the night sky, the deck of the S.S. Anne was eerily quiet.
The two pirates lay prostrate, trembling with unease.
"...There's no need for that." After a moment of silence, Shiro waved his hand. "I still have some questions. Including the hostages. I'll need your help."
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