The next day.
Kashiwagi received news that Yoshioka's rank had been completely stripped, and he had been sent to the deepest part of the Underdome to work the mines.
Under normal circumstances, that man would never see the light of day on the surface again; the pits would be his final resting place. In just one day, a high-flying Squad Leader had fallen to such a state...
While Yoshioka certainly brought this upon himself, Chester's decisive abandonment of his subordinate was still shocking. It was likely that his loose-lipped comments from the day before had been used as a pretext to finish him off.
"Poor soul," Kashiwagi mused, before throwing himself back into the hard work of raising his Pokémon.
The Pyrite Colosseum Battle Open was drawing near. There was a good chance that Executive-level trainers—those with Pokémon averaging over Level 50—would participate. Without thorough preparation, he wouldn't stand a chance.
Naruhisa and the others didn't disappoint Kashiwagi after receiving their money. They spent it where it was needed most, which brought him a sense of relief.
But the real challenge was just beginning. History is full of examples of people who can share hardships but not prosperity. Among the business owners in Sectors 1 and 2, there were bound to be those who didn't want to pay double and would try to bribe the squad to get on Kashiwagi's good side.
Sure enough.
That afternoon, Naruhisa arrived with a thick envelope. He said someone had left it at his doorstep, and the contents were exactly what Kashiwagi had anticipated. There was no signature.
"They're trying to drag you down with them..."
Kashiwagi smiled. "An average person getting this much money without their boss knowing would definitely pocket it. But once the collection starts and those shopkeepers spill the beans, your situation would become very awkward."
"At that point, if I turned on you, the collection would proceed as planned. If I chose to protect you, they'd use 'unwritten rules' and 'honor' to pressure me into lowering their fees to save your face. They must have heard somewhere that you and I are particularly close."
Naruhisa's face paled. "But..."
"It's a desperate move, right? But it's the only one they can think of. They're betting that you're greedy and that I'll cover for you while following their twisted 'rules.' They're operating on pure wishful thinking, but it's understandable—after all, they grew up in this culture."
Kashiwagi opened the envelope and counted. "Whoa! Not a small amount! I'll take this batch. They'll probably send you more later; you guys can split those among yourselves."
"Eh? Is that... appropriate?"
"I'm taking a cut myself, so what's inappropriate about it? When someone fires a sugar-coated bullet at you, you eat the sugar and spit the bullet back. It's that simple." He patted Naruhisa on the shoulder. "Go on. There's nothing wrong with earning a little extra on the side."
Naruhisa left.
Kashiwagi watched his retreating back and stuffed the envelope into his bag. If he didn't take a portion, Naruhisa and the others would never dare to touch the rest. The rule of Team Snagem was that the underlings only eat if the boss eats. A situation where the boss takes nothing while the subordinates feast would only make them anxious.
Over the next few days.
The owners sent money twice more, exactly as predicted. Naruhisa and the others split a portion, but they stubbornly refused to keep the rest, secretly tossing it into Kashiwagi's yard while pretending they knew nothing. It was both frustrating and endearing.
During this time, Otsuka was discharged from the hospital.
His condition had stabilized, and he just needed proper rest to return to his former self. The medical technology of the Pokémon world was truly remarkable. Upon hearing about the recent events, Otsuka lamented that he hadn't been there to cheer Kashiwagi on during the clash with Yoshioka. Kashiwagi just laughed and told him to save his energy.
Time flew by like a white stallion passing a crevice.
In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed. During this period, Kashiwagi successfully collected double the tribute from the business owners of Sectors 1 and 2. He also told them plainly: this money was "protection money" for Ryuka.
As the saying goes, "the fence-sitter dies first." There was no way Ryuka would easily forgive them for siding with the Crystal Unit. Paying for their lives was the only logical step. Of course, whether they believed him or not wasn't Kashiwagi's concern. He'd said his piece; if someone still wanted to court death, he wouldn't stop them.
However, when he handed over the "fines," Ryuka's expression was interesting. Facing the mountain of cash, his "big brother" didn't even look at it. He only asked why Kashiwagi had handed it all over without keeping his own cut first. Those eyes seemed to be testing something.
Kashiwagi's answer was simple: "Let the Boss decide the split."
Consequently, he received a massive sum in return. Ryuka was never stingy in that regard.
In truth, Kashiwagi had little interest in this "protection money." He took it because he had to—he couldn't afford to stand out by being too eccentric. Eventually, he combined this cash with previous "ill-gotten gains" and converted it into daily necessities, distributing them to the elderly and the destitute neighbors on Iridium Street.
Before, when he had no status, he couldn't do this freely. Now, it didn't matter. Many Team Snagem members who rose from the bottom did similar things, though none as generously or as frequently as Kashiwagi.
When Frobo heard about this, he visited Kashiwagi and asked if he realized that giving away protection money meant losing a massive income. He told him that since he was already in this world, he shouldn't be so fastidious—he should use the money boldly.
He even asked a classic question: if two piles of money were placed before him, could he tell which was "righteous" and which was "evil"?
Kashiwagi just smiled and told him that humans are stubborn; they don't cry until they see the coffin. Since he was still young and had a few coins in his pocket, he'd indulge in his "stubbornness" a little longer. If he ever became truly destitute and had to rely on protection money to survive, he'd stop being so picky. Until then, he'd follow his heart as long as he could.
His Pokémon supported him. Even Mawile, after a trip to Iridium Street, decided she could lower her lunch standards by one tier. Chansey was even more eager, wishing she could give away all her food. Lairon often played with the local children, letting them ride on its back like a little pony.
After hearing this, Frobo's expression became one Kashiwagi would never forget. It was a complex gaze—a mix of joy and disbelief, yet filled with pity and regret. It was as if he had found a handful of gold dust in murky silt; he was overjoyed by the treasure, yet knew he couldn't hold onto it, watching helplessly as it slipped through his fingers and washed away in the rushing river.
The human face is truly a wonder, Kashiwagi thought. How could it show so many changes in such a short time?
Why did he look at him like that? Kashiwagi didn't know, but there were clearly big secrets surrounding Ryuka and Frobo—just like the Mightyena and other Pokémon that had been taken away before.
Kashiwagi had seen the feedback videos. Those three Pokémon, who were nothing but killing machines under Ken, were now living happily in an ecological park. Blue skies, white clouds, grasslands, and rivers—happiness was written all over their faces.
Kashiwagi finally felt at ease. The territory matters were settled for now.
During these two weeks, the simulator had cooled down twice. Unfortunately, neither run yielded results as impressive as the Lass. One was a Hiker who frequented mountain foothills and loved using Pokémon with the Sturdy ability to cause trouble. The other was a Bird Keeper who specialized in Pidgeot.
Together, these two provided Kashiwagi with three "Level up once (under Lv. 50)" rewards, as well as the move Stealth Rock and a "Random Flying-type move" reward.
He gave Stealth Rock to Chansey. The random Flying-type move turned out to be a grand prize: Roost. The only problem was that none of his current Pokémon could learn it. He had to set it aside for now.
He dumped all the level rewards into Lairon. Combined with the past half-month of training, it had reached Level 43.
Kashiwagi couldn't quite remember what level Lairon evolved, but he figured it had to be close to the requirement, if not there already.
Next, he still needed a catalyst.