The flat-headed man clasped his hands together and pressed them against his brow as he spoke in a deep voice, "Why should we pay?"
As soon as he said it, the others immediately echoed him.
"Allen is right!"
"The money was taken by pirates. What does that have to do with us?"
"And it's obviously exaggerated. They're just trying to extort us!"
Listening to them, George's face darkened, and he responded coldly, "Why should we pay? Because Goodshow is already preparing to move against us. If we can't produce these two billion, he'll use it as an excuse to bring people here and investigate Sinnoh's finances..."
After he finished, the room fell silent. Only the sound of him slamming the table echoed again and again, his expression so grim it could rival a Ghost-type Pokémon.
"This is blackmail! Extortion!" the fat woman shouted angrily. "Chairman, can't we negotiate with them and pay less?"
"Do you want to negotiate with the Chairman of the main League?"
George snapped at her, then let out a cold snort.
Everyone knew this was blatant extortion. But Sinnoh had too many problems of its own. Unless they went begging those arrogant nobles, they had no way to stand against the main League. If Goodshow brought just a few of those old figures, it would be enough to wipe them out completely.
"By the way, whose subordinates are those pirates?" the fat woman suddenly asked sharply.
The moment her words fell, the conference room went quiet again.
At a time like this, asking whose men the pirates were was clearly about shifting blame. Who would pay more, who would pay less, or even not pay at all, all depended on how well the blame was passed around.
She kept talking, "I've never heard of any pirate base in the southern waters of Sinnoh. And I've never seen any of the money those pirates supposedly gave—"
A short, thin, bald old man suddenly cut her off harshly, "Sherry! Didn't you take the money last time?"
"Oh my, how would I know that money you gave last time came from pirates?" she narrowed her small eyes and replied in a mocking tone. "Didn't you say it was from a southern merchant group?"
Two others quickly chimed in.
"That's right."
"Yes, it was from a southern merchant group."
The bald old man was furious.
When taking money, every one of them acted like greedy weasels. Now, they all wanted to cut off their tails and deny everything.
He stood up abruptly and shouted, "I'm telling you, whether it was a merchant group or pirates, it's all gone now! According to Kanto's report, the Tentacool Pirates have been wiped out... but the Red Devil and Crawdaunt pirate groups have completely lost contact too. Think about it carefully. That source of money from the southern sea is gone for good!"
"Wasn't it just one pirate group that got destroyed?" Sherry's face was filled with shock.
"They're all gone!" the old man roared. "The informant reports only mentioned one group being eliminated, but I can't contact that Octopus or Lobster at all. There's definitely something fishy about this whole incident. Who knows what really happened?"
The room fell silent once more.
Originally, their plan had been for Agatha to negotiate with the Red Devil Pirates, exchange money for the passengers, and then collect another round of profit themselves. But the first report said no ransom had been paid. Instead, a Pokémon scholar who appeared out of nowhere had wiped out the Tentacool Pirates.
And now, things had taken a sharp turn. The main League was using this as an excuse to extort them.
"So now, the key is that Pokémon scholar who suddenly appeared!" the bald old man said first. "Weren't we already planning to investigate him and put some pressure on him?"
George spoke in a low voice, "That guy is probably an agent of the main League. Maybe even an investigator. He's already gone into hiding. What can we do?"
"I also suspect this might be a trap set up by the main League," Allen added.
"Heh." The bald old man let out a sinister laugh. "I've already investigated. That guy is from Galar. He's not some agent of the main League, just a researcher at most."
Everyone looked up at him at once.
He continued, "That researcher is called Shiro. The ship he boarded was arranged through connections by Rowan. I've already confirmed his identity and contacted people within Galar..."
"No one here wants to pay this money, and now the 'merchant group' from the southern sea is gone. So we can take a two-pronged approach. We'll use Shiro and Rowan as our targets!"
After hearing this, George straightened his back and asked, "Specifically? How do we get the money?"
"Not get," the old man said slowly. "Rowan hasn't produced any research results for twenty years, yet he still receives two hundred million in research funding every year."
"But that funding comes from the main League," Sherry blurted out.
The old man waved his hand. "It doesn't matter who gives it. Rowan is in Sinnoh, and that gives us the right to investigate him. When the time comes, we either force him to spit out the money or make him go to Kanto and negotiate to lower the ransom..."
George suddenly understood. "And we can also investigate Shiro while we're at it!"
"Exactly." The old man nodded. "Chairman, this will depend on you. It must be done as soon as possible."
* * *
Sandgem Town.
Rowan Research Institute.
"I embezzled research funds for personal use? They're going to investigate my lab's assets?"
Professor Rowan stared at the document just issued by the Sinnoh League, his whole body trembling.
"And all because I haven't produced any research results in twenty years!"
This was going too far. What kind of logic was that?
He almost wanted to throw the document straight at the Sinnoh Chairman's face and make him personally conduct research, just to see if he could produce results in twenty years.
Startled by the commotion, Rowan's assistant Rei and Professor Carolina stepped over to look.
Rei was the first to notice something strange and pointed it out, "This isn't a pre-drafted document. The timestamp is from today... and the format doesn't match official standards. It looks like it was put together in a hurry."
"Call them and ask," Carolina said calmly. "Ask those worms directly what they want."
"Alright!"
Rowan immediately dialled the number.
Buzzt!
George's voice slowly came through the line, "Professor Rowan, there's no need to attempt bribing me. Whether you are innocent will be determined by the investigators."
"George! Stop deceiving yourself! Aren't those so-called investigators your people?" Rowan roared in anger.
George fell silent for a moment, then chuckled softly before speaking again, "I understand you are trying to avoid the investigation by questioning the League. But the League's fairness is beyond doubt. Besides, we already issued a notice. There is a wanted criminal hidden in your lab. That is an undeniable fact, isn't it?"
"A wanted criminal? Where?" Carolina felt offended and immediately snapped, "George, you stinking skunk, who are you barking at?"
"…"
Carolina's voice caused George to go quiet again. After a moment, he suppressed his anger and explained, "Professor Carolina, I wasn't referring to you. This matter has nothing to do with you."
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