Aquaman Leaves the Team

At first, the people of Atlantis thought they were suffering an invasion.

Atlantis, which they had always been proud of, possessed weaponry far beyond land technology and a powerful magical culture that had been developing for tens of thousands of years.

Hitting that kid only managed to produce a heatwave or a puff of smoke; it couldn't even break his skin.

Meanwhile, countless soldiers clad in armor blending magic and technology charged forward, one after another.

It should be known that the general physical condition of Atlanteans comprehensively surpassed that of ordinary humans on land.

Furthermore, their supposedly formidable battle armor could amplify their inherent physical strength by several, even dozens, of times.

But to that formidable "intruder," it was as if he couldn't even see them, as if their accumulated attacks totaling tens of thousands of tons were merely a gentle breeze.

Sometimes, when he was truly annoyed, he would frown and casually wave his hand, sending hundreds of Atlantean soldiers flying out with screams.

It wasn't until the enraged Aquaman and Queen Mera rushed out of the city that Aquaman's fury was replaced by surprise upon seeing the opponent.

"Retreat, all of you!"

Aquaman, clad in golden scale armor, drove back his subjects and casually handed the Golden Trident, originally meant for combat, to a guard beside him. He then slowly walked up to Shane, whose expression was icy.

"Why are you causing trouble in Atlantis?"

Shane stared quietly at Aquaman, then suddenly grinned, revealing a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I've been learning a lot from Teacher Prince recently. I couldn't sleep tonight, so I wanted to find someone to spar with and test my progress."

Aquaman suddenly understood.

He figured the kid was just looking for a fight to vent his bad mood.

Although he had been in Atlantis all day, directing his subjects to prevent and control a highly dangerous anomaly in the seabed, he hadn't been able to respond to the Justice League's notifications.

However, Aquaman had always kept a close eye on the Watchtower.

Through communication equipment designed by Batman and several monitoring screens connected to space signals, Aquaman had a general idea of what had happened.

The young man before him had helped Superman retrieve a "family member" from the edge of the Solar System.

Afterward, the group completely ignored the "hero" of the day and focused all their attention on Superman.

"He's still just a child. It's normal to have some resentment when you're overlooked."

Aquaman thought to himself, digesting his earlier frustration and even letting out a hearty laugh.

"No problem, but this is my kingdom. Fighting here will affect my people—I know a sea area that's deeper and much wider."

Aquaman patted his chest.

"As long as we control our strength, it won't easily cause any seismic disasters there."

Shane twitched the corner of his mouth and nodded, following Aquaman out of the magic bubble. The two swam towards a deeper part of the sea, one after the other.

Only then did the Atlanteans realize the visitor might be Aquaman's friend, and they relaxed. The army gradually retreated back into Atlantis.

Half an hour later, the ocean in the entire area began to vibrate violently.

An hour later, the tremors subsided.

Just as Mera was preparing to question the rude young man about his origins after Arthur returned, the Golden Trident suddenly rippled with faint golden waves and flew out of Atlantis on its own, charging into the dark depths of the ocean.

Mera was displeased.

She knew her husband had been a bit of a "playboy" in his younger days.

"He's already king, how can he still have the bad habits of his youth?"

More violent shockwaves than before continued to surge, followed by a period of quiet for several tens of minutes.

Then, incredibly powerful tremors began to incessantly impact the entire kingdom of Atlantis.

The Atlantean people, who had just calmed an unprecedented undersea earthquake, had to mobilize entirely, using magic and technology to protect their city from being destroyed by the continuous, violent tremors.

Strictly speaking, the repair work required that final night was several times greater than that of the seabed earthquake successfully suppressed during the day.

Queen Mera's brow furrowed with intense murderous intent. With Aquaman absent, she temporarily took over his duties, rushing around all night, issuing orders, and repairing the city.

He's been fighting with a child for so long?!

He's clearly gotten carried away!

And he caused such great losses to all of Atlantis, inflicting severe physical and mental exhaustion on the people.

It also severely impacted her beauty sleep.

He must be severely punished upon his return!

Three hours later.

Aquaman, who couldn't even be described as bruised and swollen, swam back to Atlantis, trembling.

As soon as he passed through the magic bubble, Aquaman, swollen like a pig, his legs gave out, and he fell to the ground. The Trident, which he had managed to hold onto, clattered down with a dull thud.

Mera, who had been ready to settle accounts with Aquaman, immediately lost her anger. She rushed forward, beckoning a stream of water imbued with healing magic to lift Aquaman, who was still trembling uncontrollably.

Looking at Arthur with concern, Mera couldn't help but chide him.

"You too! If you know you can't win, why fight for so long!"

Aquaman's whole body trembled at the words, and he struggled to lift his unrecognizable, pig-like face.

His sausage lips, now three sizes larger, vibrated at a frequency even higher than a fascia gun at maximum power.

Two clear tears trickled down, winding their way between the festering pustules.

"Run... I, I can't run away!"

Aquaman seemed to have suffered an immense injustice.

"He's too much of a beast, that kid is f***ing too much of a beast!"

As he spoke, Aquaman's teeth ground together, and he fainted from exhaustion.

Thanks to the continuous effect of healing magic, his swollen wounds gradually recovered, and Aquaman regained consciousness within seconds.

Mera's eyes also began to fill with a hint of anger.

"This is too much! How could he do that? I'm going to contact the Justice League and report him!"

"Wait!"

Aquaman suddenly grabbed Mera's arm.

"Actually, my injuries aren't that serious. Look, I've almost recovered already, and I have something else to confirm right now!"

Initially, Aquaman, fighting with his bare hands, was indeed no match for Shane. However, due to the lack of a life-threatening danger, coupled with his pride as a man and a king, Arthur managed to endure the first hour of beatings.

Then, Aquaman started to falter.

Whether it was because Wonder Woman had taught him too well, or because Shane was truly exceptionally talented, the kid had actually mastered a fighting style that inflicted pain without causing serious injury.

Aquaman was helpless. When he could no longer bear the pain, he gritted his teeth and used his abilities to push away the surrounding seawater, extracting a small amount of oxygen from the plankton. He then requested a pause and pleaded with his opponent to let him retrieve the Golden Trident before continuing the fight.

Shane readily agreed.

In a short while, Aquaman summoned his exclusive weapon, and the surge of power emanating from him caused even Shane to feel a slight surprise.

Aquaman regained his confidence, slamming the Trident heavily to his side.

"I am the King of the Seven Seas, and this weapon can empower me with the strength of all the oceans on Earth when I am in the sea!"

In the subsequent exchange, Shane was severely crushed by Aquaman in a head-on confrontation for a period.

The total mass of all oceans on Earth is approximately 1.4 × 10^18 tons.

Aquaman did not unleash the full power bestowed upon him by the Trident, otherwise, the contest between them would have exceeded the scope of sparring.

But what troubled Shane was that his opponent seemed capable of continuously applying excessive pressure on him through some kind of authority-based magic.

Although he was immune to magic, and his opponent was using magic, it couldn't withstand the fact that its manifestation was purely physical.

After being repeatedly struck dozens of times by Aquaman's anchor-like trident tail, bearing a crushing weight far exceeding the pressure of actual ocean depths, Shane's mobility was greatly reduced. He directly and frankly raised his hand.

He had come to vent his anger, not to kill or injure, but he certainly couldn't just keep taking a beating.

Shane very politely pointed to his mouth, and Aquaman opened another water bubble.

Then Shane began to ask questions.

Because he found it strange. Although he wasn't entirely incapable of exerting greater speed and strength, under this super water pressure amplified by magic, each of his punches and kicks had to be restrained and cautious.

Otherwise, a single misstep could cause a disaster akin to the fragmentation of oceanic plates on Earth.

Aquaman, however, could swim at speeds clearly exceeding dangerous limits without causing any destructive cavitation explosions.

Aquaman was so helpful. Seeing Shane's politeness, he directly told Shane that this was a very profound skill for using superpowers.

"This isn't magic, nor is it authority. Theoretically, most superpowered individuals can master this skill from the perspective of their own abilities, as long as they learn to embrace the ocean instead of resisting it."

Shane's eyes lit up, and he pointed to himself.

"Can I learn it too?"

"Of course, Atlanteans are born with it, I can teach you."

Then, amidst Shane's sincere calls of "Teacher Arthur," Aquaman lost himself and spent several tens of minutes instructing Shane.

Shane quickly mastered the technique.

Aquaman even praised his high talent.

Then the two began sparring again.

As a result, this time Aquaman couldn't even run away, because Shane could now swim as fast as him.

After venting his anger for three full hours, Shane looked at the pig-headed Aquaman, who had finally seized an opportunity to open a water bubble and was frantically shaking his head, signaling he couldn't fight anymore. Shane frowned and pondered for a moment.

Because Arthur's personality was a bit too simple and straightforward, Shane somewhat suspected that the pink pearls were not a trap set by Aquaman and Batman together.

"Where did you get those two pearls you gave me last time?"

"I just grabbed them from the Atlantis treasury. What's wrong? Batman specifically told me you were in dire need of money, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to give you some travel expenses to alleviate your financial difficulties."

Aquaman lay gasping in a damp pile of sand on the seabed, his gaze on Shane filled with both admiration and a sliver of fear.

Shane cast a sympathetic glance at Aquaman.

He didn't overtly try to sow discord, though Batman's actions would eventually blow up in his face.

"This is tens of thousands of meters underwater. How did Batman even manage this?"

After merely sighing this one sentence, he sincerely apologized to Aquaman and thanked him for his selfless guidance.

Then, Shane departed.

Leaving behind a bewildered Aquaman.

It wasn't until he returned to Atlantis and had his mind cleared by Mera's healing magic that Aquaman finally began to understand.

The next day, looking at the myriad of listening devices dismantled from the royal palace treasury, Aquaman's expression turned so grim that even those closest to him felt afraid.