Wallace seemed to understand this logic as well; he was the first to turn around.
This master, known for his flair, was currently stained with blood, yet his turning motion still carried a unique charm.
He saw Jenny pointing her gun at them, and there was no surprise on his face, only a slight furrowing of his brows.
"Jenny, please put down your gun. It's us."
His voice was calm, yet it carried a convincing power.
Immediately after, Steven and Cynthia also turned around one after another.
When the lead Jenny saw Wallace's highly recognizable face, her pupils constricted.
When she saw Steven and then Cynthia, the arm holding her gun began to tremble uncontrollably.
Finally, when Ariel also turned around—that young face, which had been featured in countless close-ups at the closing ceremony of the Ever Grande Conference, and the news reports of the newly appointed Dark-type Gym Leader—this Jenny's brain completely shut down.
Wallace... Steven... Cynthia... and Gym Leader Ariel!
They were all top figures of the League!
Why... why were they here? And in this state?
"Gym Leader... gentlemen? And Miss Cynthia?"
Jenny's voice was somewhat dry; she slowly lowered her gun, but the shock on her face did not diminish in the slightest.
Ariel lifted his eyelids slightly; he hadn't expected his reputation to have spread much further than he had imagined.
The other Jennys on the speedboats also recognized these big shots, and for a moment, gasps erupted one after another across the sea surface.
Their wariness was put aside, but it was replaced by an even more surging horror.
The lead Jenny signaled her subordinates to stand down, and she carefully climbed onto the deck via the gangway lowered by the poseidon.
Once on board, she saw One-Armed Shark and the remaining six pirates tied together in a string, tossed in the corner like zongzi.
One-Armed Shark's iconic single arm allowed her to immediately confirm the identity of this group.
It really was the One-Armed Pirate Crew!
Her brain raced, attempting to connect the information before her.
The One-Armed Pirate Crew... the sea of blood... four young people...
A conclusion that she herself felt was utterly absurd uncontrollably surfaced in her mind.
She walked up to the four of them, stood at attention, and saluted, but her gaze remained fixed on Ariel and the others, her voice trembling uncontrollably:
"Mr. Wallace, Mr. Ariel... everything that happened here... was it done by you?"
Ariel looked at her expression, which looked like she had seen a ghost, and found it somewhat amusing, so he shrugged and said in a matter-of-fact tone:
"Look around here, is there anyone else besides us?"
This understated response was like a bombshell, exploding in the hearts of all the Jennys.
It really was them!
Four people!
Just four people had wiped out the One-Armed Pirate Crew, which had infested the Hoenn seas for years, given the navy endless headaches, and numbered in the hundreds?
This wasn't just sensational; it was simply a myth!
Jenny felt her worldview had suffered a violent shock.
She had known before that these individuals were strong, at the pinnacle of the Trainer pyramid, but such strength had always been a vague concept.
Only today did she witness with her own eyes what this "strength" truly meant.
These weren't Trainers; they were clearly four walking weapons of war!
The few young officers behind her looked at the four of them with eyes that had turned from initial vigilance to fanatical worship and awe.
"Immediately... immediately transport the prisoners back!"
The lead Jenny snapped out of it and hurriedly ordered her subordinates.
Looking at One-Armed Shark's despairing face, she even felt a trace of sympathy.
Who better not to provoke than these four titans?
Several Jennys stepped forward, shackled One-Armed Shark and his subordinates with special handcuffs, and prepared to take them away.
Throughout the whole process, no one dared to speak loudly, and the atmosphere was eerily quiet.
Everything settled down, and the deck of the poseidon returned to tranquility.
The Jenny speedboats left with the prisoners, leaving only a few ships in the distance to handle the scene.
The last ray of the sunset vanished, and night fell.
Steven walked over to Ariel, raised his hand to pat his arm heavily, and then squeezed it forcefully.
Good heavens! I'm speechless.
These muscles! These lines!
"When did you train all this?"
"You weren't like this when I saw you before, right?"
Steven, with one hand pinching Ariel and the other rubbing his own chin, was somewhat puzzled.
At that time, Ariel had knocked out a Gym Leader Level peak Crobat with one punch; that scene was simply incredible!
Ariel grinned, moved his shoulders, and didn't feel anything was wrong.
However, before he could relax, a figure leaned in.
It was Wallace.
This Pokémon Contest master was currently examining Ariel up and down with the gaze of someone studying a rare work of art.
Ariel felt a bit creeped out by his gaze. "What are you looking at?"
Wallace didn't answer; instead, he suddenly reached out and pressed firmly onto Ariel's abdomen.
Through a thin layer of clothing soaked in blood, one could clearly feel the firm and defined muscle contours underneath.
Ariel's body stiffened.
What the hell?
What is this guy doing?
Isn't this a bit too intimate?
Wallace's fingers even poked quite unceremoniously, and then, as if he had discovered a new world, he let out an exclamation.
"How do you grow something like this?"
He turned to look at Steven, discussing it with a serious face,
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"It feels really good, firm and elastic."
Steven's mouth twitched, and he moved a small step to the side, seemingly wanting to distance himself from him.
Cynthia stood to the side with her arms crossed, watching this scene with great interest, a hint of a smile shining in her beautiful eyes.
"Good for you! Ariel! You've been hiding your talents!"
Wallace was still sighing in admiration and even wanted to lift Ariel's clothes to see more clearly.
Ariel finally reacted, slapped his hand away, and said irritably:
"That's enough! If you touch me again, I'm going to start charging!"
Wallace then withdrew his hand sheepishly, muttering:
"Why be so stingy? I'm just trying to exchange fitness tips..."
Ariel was speechless; he had finally realized it—the neural pathways of this bunch seemed to be a bit different from normal people.