"It's difficult to explain clearly right now, and it will take some time to verify."
Yamamino continued, "I can only tell you that the moment he leaves Pyrite Town, this place will slip entirely from his control."
Huh?
The ominous, "storm is coming" tone gave Kashiwagi pause. He was about to press for details, but Yamamino spoke first.
"You're probably having a headache right now about how to handle the Deino's routine care, aren't you?"
"Uh, yeah. Accurate."
Kashiwagi had to admit the Deino was currently a hot potato. If he exposed it to the public, the Mayor would soon realize that a certain someone who attended the auction happened to possess a gifted Deino.
With the poachers wiped out, the Mayor likely considered those Deino his personal property. He wouldn't let it go.
Considering that, Kashiwagi felt like running away on the spot. But he couldn't. His raid on the Team Snagem mine had netted him 30 million and Executive status, but it had also pushed him into the spotlight. He couldn't be low-profile even if he wanted to.
Moreover, Soshiro had already reported him to the Boss to determine if he should officially take the Executive seat. The Crystal Unit, holding a grudge, was undoubtedly watching him like a hawk, looking for any way to pull him down rather than letting a powerful rival grow.
Fleeing now, whether successful or not, would implicate Otsuka, Naruhisa, and the people of Iridium Street. Even Frobo and Ryuka would be affected. Those two clearly had big plans and had taken care of him for a long time; it wasn't right to drag them into his mess.
If I just drop everything and run, what kind of man would that make me?
So, what should he do? Keeping the Deino hidden wasn't hard for a short time, but the real issue was healthcare. It couldn't go without check-ups forever; training inevitably caused micro-injuries that he couldn't fully fix himself.
Wait until the day he could leave?
Just as Kashiwagi was struggling, Yamamino offered a helpful tip.
"Personally, I can't help you right now. There are too many eyes on me. Besides, you don't need to look far. Go to Frobo. Tell him your predicament, and he'll help you."
"Frobo!? You know him?"
"...Wait? I thought you'd connect the dots when you saw that Ditto. I even specifically mentioned it was borrowed."
"...I'm an idiot." Kashiwagi facepalmed.
He never would have guessed Yamamino had ties to Frobo. They seemed to have zero overlap, aside from both having used a Ditto. Were they friends? Part of the same faction? Or some other special connection? Perhaps seeking help would provide some answers.
----
The Underdome Office Building
Despite being an Executive Candidate, until his official appointment, Kashiwagi was still technically a Squad Leader under Ryuka's command.
"Oh? The 'Executive' is here?"
"Got some free time today? The restaurant isn't open; I was hoping to grab a meal," the other Squad Leaders under Ryuka joked.
Kashiwagi didn't take offense. He looked around and asked, "Where's Frobo? Have you seen him?"
"—Over here~"
A hand went up in the corner of the office area. Kashiwagi hurried over and found Frobo lying on a flattened bench with a sleep mask over his eyes. "Why don't you sleep at home?"
"Sleep is the same everywhere." Frobo waved a hand and groaned softly. "What do you need?"
Kashiwagi glanced at the other Squad Leaders and leaned in to whisper, "It's about the auction from the other day."
The moment he heard that, Frobo ripped off his sleep mask. "Was Takeshi spotted?"
That sentence confirmed it: Frobo and Yamamino were definitely in contact. Combined with Yamamino's cryptic words earlier, Kashiwagi felt a major event was brewing.
Hearing Frobo's words, the other Squad Leaders turned curious gazes toward them. Seeing that Frobo had no intention of being discreet, Kashiwagi spoke up:
"No, it's about the Elder of the Village of Dragons. She gave me permission to adopt one of the Deino. But as you know, the Mayor is investigating, so I can't exactly walk around with it..."
"Wait a second. You said the Elder of the Village of Dragons gave you a Deino?" Frobo looked stunned. "Why?"
"Because... Takeshi and the Elder believe I'm a descendant of Dragon Tamers."
Kashiwagi explained frantically, only to see Frobo staring at him with his mouth open. Even the surrounding Squad Leaders looked catatonic.
"You're a descendant of Dragon Tamers?" someone asked, their voice trembling.
"I don't know! I have almost no memory of my parents. I was raised by the neighbors!" Kashiwagi spread his hands helplessly. "I went to ask the neighbors a few days ago, and they said my family moved here from somewhere else."
"And then?"
"Then I checked the original address, and the people there didn't even know I existed!" Kashiwagi's head hurt just thinking about it. "I even checked the Team Snagem records, and their registration is trash! My parents are listed as the parents of one of my own subordinates! It's like I fell from the sky, but the neighbors insist they saw my parents and that they used to work here!"
Frobo listened to the rant and exchanged looks with the other Squad Leaders.
They had looked into Kashiwagi's background long ago. They knew he was an orphan and that the registered parents on his ID weren't his real ones. However, since the Sand Unit had many undocumented laborers from the underground kilns and it happened over a decade ago, they had stopped digging. It was enough to know who Kashiwagi was now.
Who could have guessed that after all this digging, he'd turn out to be a descendant of Dragon Tamers!
Frobo fell into deep thought, while someone went to inform Ryuka of the news. Shortly after, Ryuka burst out of his office, grabbing Kashiwagi and turning his head side to side to inspect his face. "How are we supposed to identify a descendant of the Dragon People?"
"You can't. The oldest branches of the Dragon People spread to various regions tens of thousands of years ago. Hair color, eye color—it's all different now," Frobo said, shaking his head.
Kashiwagi raised his hand. "Um, Big Brother, I actually came here for something urgent, not to find my identity."
"Urgent? What's urgent?" Ryuka blinked.
"I can't take my Deino to the Pokémon Center for check-ups because the Mayor will find out..." Kashiwagi said quietly.
Ryuka paused, then looked curious. "Why did you come to us for help?"
"Yamamino told me to."
The group burst out laughing, though it was tinged with exasperation.
"That kid... he's got some nerve. What does he think we are?" someone muttered.
Frobo waved it off. "Eh, don't say that. At least he notifies us and asks for our opinion before he makes a move. That's respectful enough."