Day 36 of the journey. Clear skies.

Knowing they were leaving today, Gulzar and Travis both got up early and started packing.

There wasn’t much to pack, though. Aside from their Pokémon, they were basically broke. When the poaching crew grabbed them, they’d been stripped clean.

The ship from Mandarin Island North probably wouldn’t reach them until noon. Reiji also had no idea whether Naoki had managed to find a bodyguard yet—someone strong enough to keep that little hot potato safe.

After breakfast, Reiji helped Gulzar sort through the wild Pokémon they’d caught last night. He picked out one Lotad with decent potential—51. Not bad for a Grass-type.

The rest were nothing special. He had Gulzar release them, then went back to the river to fish, taking back the notebook Gulzar returned to him.

Gulzar had copied almost everything these past few days. What needed copying was already written down. The rest would just take time to study.

After that, the two kids didn’t bother him. Reiji stayed by the river alone, trying to catch Magikarp. Quincy still showed up today, not letting “Team Rocket might be around” stop him, and helped release the Magikarp Reiji didn’t want.

They worked until a little after ten. Then Reiji’s phone rang—delivered by Spinarak. He saw the number and realized it was Naoki.

“Naoki?”

“Boss, I’m here. Where are we meeting?” Naoki had already spotted white smoke rising from the woods, but he didn’t come over. Reiji had warned him: Travis couldn’t be allowed to see him.

“Near the river, there’s a clearing in the forest. Wait there,” Reiji said. He had to pause the Magikarp hunting and headed into the woods with Gengar, Darkrai, Croagunk, Spinarak, and Ditto.

“Gulzar, come with me.”

Before entering the forest, he called Gulzar over. He needed the two to meet. It would make things easier later.

If Reiji wasn’t around and Gulzar ran into trouble, at least he’d have someone to turn to. He could also ask Naoki about raising Pokémon.

Naoki might look like a down-on-his-luck trainer, but his foundation was still there. Becoming a quasi–Elite Four tier trainer was only a matter of time. Teaching Gulzar was more than enough.

“Rai-nii… aren’t we boarding the ship?” Gulzar ran over, curious, and followed him into the forest without a hint of suspicion. If Reiji had wanted him dead, Gulzar would’ve been gone ages ago.

“No rush. The ship picking you up still needs a bit,” Reiji said.

Croagunk and Spinarak walked at his side. Gengar and Darkrai moved inside his shadow as they headed deeper into the woods, toward the spot where he’d once caught Gyarados.

When they got close, the clearing was empty. Naoki was probably hiding.

“Naoki, come out.”

“You’re not Boss.” Naoki stepped out from behind a tree opposite them, staring at Reiji’s young face. It didn’t match the older youth he’d spent time with before.

“Ditto,” Reiji said.

Right in front of Naoki, Ditto transformed into that familiar older face. Naoki’s wariness eased at once.

“Boss… you?” Naoki stared at that face, and understanding hit him a beat late. So the face from before had been fake. Had Boss never trusted him? Had he been dealing with him under a false identity the whole time?

“Don’t look so shocked. Basic disguise,” Reiji said, and had Ditto hop down off his face.

Naoki had seen the older look. Gulzar was seeing the younger one. If Reiji wanted to introduce them, he couldn’t keep hiding behind a mask.

“Boss, then before—”

“Before was still me. Just a different face,” Reiji said. “You’ll need this too.”

He found it hard to believe Naoki didn’t understand. Naoki had run around the underground world and even climbed high enough to become a gang boss.

Unless Naoki’s “underground experience” had been the fake kind—charging headfirst through everything without ever covering his face.

“So that’s what it was…” Naoki exhaled hard, relief washing through him. For a second, he’d thought everything had been a lie. Turns out only the face had been.

“Right. I’m introducing you to a kid,” Reiji said, then looked at Gulzar. “This is Gulzar. When you’ve got time, keep an eye on him.”

Then he turned back to Gulzar. “This is Naoki. If you don’t understand something, ask him. Give him your number too.”

Naoki’s gaze flicked to Gulzar. “Boss… is he a member too?”

“Aren’t Spiders all experts?” Naoki muttered, baffled. “What’s a kid doing here?”

“Not yet,” Reiji said. “We’ll talk later. He’s still green.”

Gulzar didn’t understand a word of that exchange, but Reiji wasn’t about to explain it either.

“Gulzar, if you’ve got questions, ask Naoki little by little. He’ll tell you.”

“I understand,” Gulzar said, forcing down the restless surge in his chest. He’d brushed against something big—something he didn’t understand at all. He was curious about this stranger, and whatever “Spider” meant sounded even more secretive than Team Rocket.

After Naoki got Gulzar’s number, he studied the boy more closely. Anyone Boss took an interest in probably wasn’t ordinary.

“Quit staring,” Reiji said, tossing Naoki a cigarette. “He’s just a normal kid. His starting line’s even worse than yours.”

Naoki laughed awkwardly. “Sorry. From now on I’ll just call you Gulzar. You didn’t pick the wrong person. Stick with Boss and you’ll be eating well in the future.”

He patted Gulzar’s shoulder, genuinely impressed with Reiji.

Naoki knew about Reiji stirring up Team Rocket in Trovitopolis, and now again here. What Naoki didn’t know was that Reiji had also hit Team Rocket back in Kinnow island, wiping out their casino plants.

Ever since leaving the island, it was Team Rocket every time—directly or indirectly. Reiji didn’t get a choice. Team Rocket just wouldn’t let go.

“Enough. Don’t lead the kid astray,” Reiji said. “Give him a copy of your Grass-type raising notes. He wants to become a Grass-type specialist.”

Reiji had been wanting to say it for a while. In the Orange Archipelago, Gulzar’s goal actually made sense. The path was there, and the advantage was obvious.

“A Grass-type specialist, huh?” Naoki said. “I’ve got notes on Victreebel and Exeggutor.”

He pulled out his own training notes, plus a Victreebel guide he’d gotten from a club, and handed them to Gulzar.

“Keep the Exeggutor one for now. The Victreebel notes—I only have the one copy. When I’m back on Mandarin Island North, I’ll make a copy and mail it to you.”

“Thank you, Naoki,” Gulzar said. He hadn’t expected his first meeting with a stranger to come with gifts—two sets of quasi–Elite Four tier raising notes. Just like Reiji, Naoki didn’t hesitate at all. What kind of people were these?

Naoki waved it off. “It’s nothing. We’re on the same side.”

Part of it was respect for Reiji. The other part was simple calculation: any kid Boss singled out had the potential to reach Elite Four tier someday. Naoki wasn’t going to miss the chance to build goodwill early. Help given in a storm mattered more than flowers handed out after the sun came back.

“Thanks,” Gulzar said again, and accepted the gifts. Turning down someone’s goodwill would just be rude.

“Right—first time meeting and I didn’t prepare anything,” Naoki said. “Here. Some money. Buy whatever you want.”

He pulled several thick bundles of cash from his bag and shoved them into Gulzar’s hands—at least a few million Pokédollars.

Naoki had hundreds of millions on him. A few million was nothing. As soon as he set the cash down, he remembered what Reiji had told him. He quickly took two backpacks off Flygon’s back and pressed them into Gulzar’s arms.

“Boss told me to buy these for you. Two backpacks, and two outfits that should fit. Try them on and see if they work.”

“Rai-nii…?” Gulzar stared, stunned. Reiji had bought them new clothes and backpacks too. He hadn’t seen that coming at all.

“Two sets, two backpacks,” Reiji said, walking over and giving Gulzar’s shoulder a firm pat. “Take them back and split them with Travis. Put on something decent before you board.”

It was a goodbye.

“Rai-nii…” Gulzar’s voice cracked, and the tears came anyway.

“That’s enough,” Reiji said. “Anything you want to say, save it for later. Train your Pokémon. Become the kind of trainer nobody dares to bully.”

He turned away, cigarette between his fingers, and waved Gulzar off. He still had important business with Naoki.

Sending Gulzar away also left a sting of guilt. A guy who preferred taking it easy telling someone else to work hard… it always sounded a little off, like he didn’t quite belong in this world.

“Go. I’m not seeing you off,” Reiji said. “Let Quincy take you.”

Gulzar watched his back, lingering for another second, then forced himself into motion. He needed to get back to camp and tell Travis they wouldn’t have to wear those oversized clothes anymore. They had new ones now.

As for what happened here, there was no point telling Travis. Travis wasn’t supposed to know any of this—unless Travis could join them too. That would take a real talk later.

Reiji bringing him here to meet Naoki meant Gulzar was already considered “one of theirs.” He was just too weak right now—nowhere near qualified.

Right before the trees swallowed him, Gulzar turned back. Under the sunlight, the two of them stood facing each other. He lowered his voice.

“Rai-nii… I’ll work hard. I’ll become a strong trainer.”

…

“Naoki. Did you bring them?” Reiji meant the Gems—Poison Gems and Ghost Gems. He planned to use them to push Gengar through its final sprint.

That damn 9.99 had been stuck in his throat like a bone. He even dreamed about 9.99 at night. It was unbearable.

“I brought them, Boss,” Naoki said. “Two hundred fifty total. One hundred Ghost Gems, one hundred fifty Poison Gems. Total value: 112,000,000.”

Naoki took a backpack off Flygon. Inside were the Gems Reiji wanted—hundreds of them.

“Gengar. Spit it out,” Reiji said, stomping lightly on his own shadow.

Gengar surfaced from the darkness and vomited out five backpacks.

One belonged to that dead fatso. One belonged to the “red wine” guy. One belonged to that group of disposable goons. The last two were Team Rocket’s.

Reiji had checked the Team Rocket bags last night. Nothing valuable. Those two must’ve poured every last bit of savings into breaking through to Advanced tier, and after they finally made it, their bags were basically empty.

What was left was common stuff—mostly whatever Reiji hadn’t bothered taking. Now it was Naoki’s job to price it.

Naoki opened the goons’ bag first. “This one’s basically trash. I’ll price it at 500,000.”

Then he kept going.

“Eleven second-stage evolutions, three third-stage common Pokémon. I’ll price those at 5,000,000.”

“And the alcohol, jewelry, gold and silver, art pieces… hard to pin down. Just the gold and silver alone are over 4,000,000. I’ll call it 7,000,000.”

“These two bags don’t have much valuable stuff. I’ll price them at 6,000,000.”

“And these held items… I’ll price them at 18,000,000.”

Most of those were from the two Team Rocket trainers. They weren’t worth much. Team Rocket ran their own point-based reward system, and only the items stripped off Pokémon had real value.

Two or three Advanced-tier items, four or five Elite-tier items. Those two had only just reached Advanced tier. They didn’t have money to properly kit out their teams yet.

Naoki’s hand paused. “Boss, there’s a high-grade Leaf Stone in here. Are you sure you want to sell it?”

He rubbed the Evolution Stone, liking the feel, then pulled out a scanner. It confirmed it—high-grade Leaf Stone. Naoki grinned, excitement breaking through.

He’d started raising another Exeggcute. He needed a high-grade Leaf Stone, and now one had dropped right into his lap.

Without it, getting a high-grade one would’ve forced him into “unofficial methods.” The good stuff was monopolized by the major powers, and snatching it out of their hands wasn’t easy.

Now he didn’t have to risk anything.

“Price it,” Reiji said. He didn’t care much about a high-grade Leaf Stone. Once he joined the League, he could squeeze the League for resources anyway.

“Boss, the high-grade Leaf Stone, plus the other Evolution Stones in the bag, plus Miracle Seed, Twisted Spoon, and a bunch of random extras… that’s 50,000,000.”

“Fine.” Reiji nodded. That matched his own rough estimate.

There were still things he hadn’t shown: the books on the shelf, two Mystic Waters, a Soft Sand, various type Gems, and several hundred boxes of premium Pokéblocks. He was keeping those for himself.

Naoki checked the last part. “Boss, these last five Pokémon—Exeggutor and Flygon still have value. Add Seadra, Sharpedo, and Gyarados… I’ll price it at 15,000,000.”

“Works.” Reiji pulled out a calculator, tapped a few times, and read the total. “101,500,000.”

“Alright,” he said. “Pack it all up. Keep it, sell it on Mandarin Island North, whatever you want.”

Reiji didn’t care how Naoki handled it. He’d already sold everything to him. From this point on, it was Naoki’s problem.

But even a haul worth over a hundred million still wasn’t enough to fully pay for the Gems.

Two hundred fifty Gems were worth 112,000,000.

The haul was worth 101,500,000.

That left 10,500,000 unpaid.

Add in the few million in cash those two Team Rocket trainers had, the goons’ pocket change, and the dead fatso’s ten-something million, and it covered the gap.

Reiji handed Naoki 10,500,000 in cash. He had 4,300,000 left, plus his earlier balance.

Remaining balance: 9,956,000.

And that wasn’t counting the dead fatso’s bank cards. Reiji had no idea how much was on them.

“Bring the card reader,” Reiji said. “Let’s see what’s on these.”

Naoki had already put away the electronic scale they’d used for weighing gold and silver. Now he pulled out a card reader—one that could check balances.

There were four bank cards.

Reiji entered the first password. Balance: 13,000,000.

Second card: a bit over 35,000,000.

Third card: a bit over 28,000,000.

Fourth card: 62,000,000.

Total: a bit over 138,000,000.

“Naoki. There’s over 138,000,000 on these,” Reiji said. “When you get back to Mandarin Island North, transfer 130,000,000 to me. Keep the rest as your trouble fee.”

“Boss, you just gave me over ten million,” Naoki said quickly. “How can I take your money too?”

Reiji narrowed his eyes. “Now you want to count pennies with me? Then maybe we should settle the time you slipped away last time.”

Naoki’s face went stiff. Gengar rose out of Reiji’s shadow as if answering the shift in tone.

Naoki wasn’t afraid of Gengar. He knew what the real horror was—what hid deeper in that shadow.

The kid, Gulzar, didn’t understand Boss at all. Naoki did. He knew exactly how terrifying Reiji could be.

“Boss—no, I didn’t—”

“Enough,” Reiji cut him off. “Do what I tell you. Stop wasting my time.”

He tossed the card reader back, then threw the four bank cards after it.

“Hold onto the cards. The passwords are on the back. And don’t buy any more Gems for now. I’ll tell you when to pick up more.”

“Understood, Boss,” Naoki said, and carefully put the cards away. That was over a hundred million. Losing it wasn’t an option.

“Good. If there’s nothing else, go,” Reiji said. “Everyone’s busy. Get back and train your Pokémon. If you pick a fight with someone strong, don’t talk about revenge. Focus on staying alive first.”

“I’ll be careful, Boss,” Naoki said.

He packed everything, sorted it into bags, climbed onto Flygon, and left Rind Island.

When he rose higher, he saw a ship pulling away from the coast. Someone stood on the shore waving goodbye to it—someone Naoki didn’t recognize.

So the ship wouldn’t spot him, Flygon rolled once in midair and carried him up into the clouds, vanishing completely.

…

Reiji returned to the waterfall camp.

Only he and Quincy were left—just like when they’d first met.

“They’re gone?” Reiji asked.

“Gone,” Quincy said with a chuckle. “They didn’t see you. They looked pretty disappointed.”

Quincy understood why Reiji had stayed out of sight. It meant Reiji’s identity wasn’t clean. He wasn’t the League trainer Quincy had first assumed.

But it didn’t matter. After spending so much time together, Quincy had decided the young man wasn’t a bad guy.

“Good,” Reiji said. “No kids around to mess with our fishing.”

He let out a long breath, picked up the afternoon tea on the table, and sat down with the old man by the river.

“Not even a little reluctant to see them go?” Quincy teased.

Reiji’s face stayed calm as ever. Quincy still couldn’t read him. This kid’s thoughts were hard to catch.

“I’m used to being alone,” Reiji said, waving it off. “Doesn’t matter where I am.”

He finished his tea and went right back to work. He still wanted a Magikarp he’d actually be satisfied with.

“Hey, kid—slow down,” Quincy called out, laughing. “What’s gotten into you?”

Reiji had been obsessed with catching Magikarp for over a week, and he still didn’t look bored of it.

Reiji grinned and tossed a fish onto the grass. “Get over here, old man. This one’s a real prize—fish of the year.”

They stayed busy all afternoon. After dinner, Quincy went back to the cabin.

Reiji kept working the river, grinding away into the night.

Even at midnight, he still hadn’t hooked the “dumb fish” he wanted. In the end, he went back to his tent and fell asleep.

[End of chapter]

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