Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

Xiao Gang's steady voice continued Du Weijin's words.

He gave him a wink.

Although those squinty eyes made it impossible to see anything in their eyes.

"Since the ultimate goal is to control the overall situation, prioritizing the identification and control of the highest-ranking commander on the ship is undoubtedly the most effective strategy."

"When the leader is controlled, the lower-level staff are more likely to fall into chaos, and it is also easier to divide and disintegrate them."

Xiaoxia immediately pressed for more information.

"Who is the highest-ranking person on Team Rocket on that ship right now? The captain? Or some executive disguised as a wealthy man?"

Du remained silent for a moment, seemingly considering how to answer.

Dragonite instinctively looked at its trainer.

It couldn't do it for a while.

We... the Rockets are going to fight the Rockets?

This... is it Mission Impossible? Infernal Affairs?

Could it be that the trainers are actually double agents?

Dragonite's mind was instantly filled with countless strange plots it had seen on TV.

Du slowly opened his mouth.

"The person with the highest official status on the ship..."

He paused for a moment before calmly uttering the second half of the sentence:

"It could be me."

Xiao Gang: "?"

Xiaoxia: "?"

Xiao Zhi: "?"

"Heavenly Kings have high status..."

Xiaoxia blinked, thinking that Du hadn't understood her question, and quickly added more details.

"What I mean is, who is the highest-ranking leader on the Rockets?"

Du nodded.

His face remained expressionless as he repeated it firmly.

"That's still me."

The three of them: "???"

72. On the Development History of Organized Crime!

The air in the room seemed to freeze for a good ten seconds after Du said those two "It's me".

After an explanation that only deepened the misunderstanding.

It's still Xiaozhi's simultaneous Chinese-to-Chinese translation.

It took the two men and one dragon to finally understand the situation.

"Ow—!"

This is really troublesome!

Having figured it out, Dragonite once again skillfully fed Ash.

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all."

Xiao Zhi waved his hand casually.

He naturally took the baby bottle from Dragonite, tilted his head back and drank a few mouthfuls to moisten his slightly dry throat.

"So..."

Xiao Gang was the first to recover from this massive information overload.

He raised his hand and pressed his temples hard with his thumb and forefinger, as if this would help clear his mind.

"Mr. Watari, do you mean that everyone on Rocket... regards you as their highest-ranking officer on this ship?"

"Yes."

Du nodded.

He was somewhat puzzled.

Wasn't the core meaning of what Xiaozhi just relayed the same as what he said himself?

Why do you all look like you suddenly understand after listening to his version?

"How did they... uh, confirm it?"

Xiaoxia couldn't help but interject with a question.

Upon hearing this, a rare, faint look of confusion flashed across Du's face.

"do not know."

"There might be a mistake."

Ash mumbled incoherently as he chewed on a berry that Dragonite had somehow produced, his cheeks bulging.

"Wow! This variety is really delicious!"

"Pickup!"

Pikachu, munching on the same berry, nodded in agreement.

"Ow~!"

Dragonite immediately puffed out its round belly.

Right! It picked it on purpose!

The sweetest ones!

Du glanced at the three interacting so naturally without offering any rebuttal.

He simply raised his hand without making a sound and gently tightened the pocket under his cloak.

"all in all."

Du pulled his slightly scattered thoughts back and summarized in his usual calm tone.

"They seem to have spontaneously identified me as one of their own, and in a very high position at that. So far, this misunderstanding seems to be working in our favor."

"How could they make such a mistake? Is the Rockets' internal management made of paper?"

Xiaoxia couldn't help but complain.

"No wonder the Rockets have been so badly suppressed by the league these past few years!"

"To be precise, the Rockets' recent decline is not primarily due to the league's continued crackdown."

Upon hearing this, Du slightly turned his head and corrected him in a calm tone.

Yes it is, no it is not.

He always speaks fairly.

"The root of the problem... probably goes back a few years, when the Rockets conducted a highly classified cutting-edge research project."

"Although the league doesn't fully understand what they're researching yet, it's certainly costing a fortune."

"Not only did they purchase an isolated island in the far sea, but the manpower and resources they invested were astronomical."

"However, some major accident occurred during the research process, ultimately triggering an extremely violent explosion. The commotion was so great that it even shook the surrounding seas, which is why it attracted the Alliance's serious attention..."

"So later the league seized the opportunity, the Thunder struck, and dealt them a fatal blow, and the Rockets never recovered?"

Xiao Gang stroked his chin and speculated based on his understanding.

Lance shook his head, and with lightning speed, slapped away Dragonite's claws that were trying to sneak into his cape pocket once again.

"The league did indeed take the opportunity to investigate and exert pressure."

"But the fundamental reason for the Rockets' rapid decline is that they have piled up almost all of their liquid resources and years of accumulated wealth on that island."

"After the explosion, all investments were lost, causing the organization's funding chain to break completely and its operations to come to a standstill."

He paused, then used a very straightforward word.

Simply put, they're short of money.

Xiao Gang: "......"

Xiaoxia: "......"

Ash (stops chewing): "..."

Short of money.

That's such a realistic, simple, and convincing reason!

This is completely different from the thrilling battles of wits and strength, fateful showdowns, and clashes of beliefs that they had imagined between the alliance and the evil forces!

The Rockets, once a fearsome behemoth, have fallen into decline due to a lack of funds...

The tone has suddenly plummeted from a conspiracy epic to that of a social and financial news section!

"It's tough being a gangster too..."

"Yes, I heard that the Rockets are cutting costs and increasing efficiency, and streamlining their staff."

"Well, that's why."

Xiao Gang cleared his throat, forcefully pulling the topic, which had almost veered off course into economics, back on track.

"What are our plans going forward? We can't just stay on the ship with this misunderstanding going on forever, can we?"

As if he had expected this, Du took out a neatly folded, precisely detailed nautical chart from the lining of his cloak and laid it flat on the small round table in the room.