"Sinnoh Hunters Guild?"
After hearing Jona's words, Shiro frowned.
When discussing the plan with Blaine, he had already given up on the Hunters Guilds in both Kanto and Sinnoh.
The reason for Kanto was simple. First, the headquarters of the League was there, so everything was under much stricter control. More importantly, Team Rocket had a firm grip over the two Kanto regions. There was no way they would let any other force get involved in the gray market.
Sinnoh was different. It was the first region to lift the ban, which allowed the Hunters Guild to grow stronger than anywhere else. It was also home to the Hunters Guild headquarters.
That headquarters was not just the underground facility. It referred to the organization behind the Hunters Guild, Team Galactic.
Team Galactic, along with its true masters, the People of Shin'o.
The Hunters Guild incident had only ended a short while ago. The People of Shin'o might not have received the full report yet, but they would definitely learn that Saturn had died there.
Shiro looked at her and asked, "Do you have a way to deal with Team Galactic? Or... do you have a way to earn their trust?"
"Yes." Jona tried hard to steady herself before continuing. "My current identity is actually that of a member of Team Galactic. Now that Saturn is dead, I can try to take his place and take control of the Sinnoh Hunters Guild."
"Take his place?" Shiro did not think it would be that simple.
Saturn had only just died. Team Galactic would certainly investigate the matter thoroughly. How could someone suddenly appear and replace him?
Unless...
His eyes shifted slightly as an idea crossed his mind.
Jona noticed that he had figured it out and smiled. "...As long as I become Saturn."
Only the survivors knew that Saturn was dead. Those who survived were either the newly recruited guild members or people from the League.
She knew Saturn well, and she also knew Team Galactic well.
From Team Galactic's perspective, Saturn had simply run into some trouble while carrying out his mission. He had been caught between the League and traitors within the guild, but had still managed to preserve the Sinnoh branch.
"I can give you one billion Pokédollars every year." Jona spoke with complete confidence.
Shiro shook his head. "Not enough."
The Sinnoh Hunters Guild alone earned nearly ten billion Pokédollars in pure profit every year. Offering only one tenth of that...
"That's already a lot!" Jona could not help explaining. "Seventy to eighty percent of that money has to be handed over to Team Galactic. I also have missions to complete, and I need to send at least another billion back to my clan. If you ask for any more, you might as well just kill me."
"One and a half billion." His reply was brief.
Jona gritted her teeth before finally nodding.
"Good." Shiro continued. "Now hand over the Unown."
Her expression changed immediately. "Impossible! This is only a partnership. You'll keep my identity secret, and I'll give you part of the Sinnoh Guild's profits."
"You seem to have misunderstood something."
Shiro waved his hand, and Articuno A, which had been waiting all along, instantly fired an Ice Beam.
The freezing light expanded rapidly. The cold was so intense it felt as if it could freeze a person's thoughts. Caught completely off guard, Jona found herself frozen in place.
Didn't they already reach an agreement? Why attack all of a sudden?
Fortunately, the four Unown reacted much faster than she did. They instantly gathered together and raised a green Protect barrier. After watching their psychic barrier freeze apart with ease, they no longer dared to rely on psychic power.
If a hastily formed psychic barrier was not strong enough, the Ice Beam would pierce straight through it, and she would die instantly.
Protect was their last option…
Wooo!
Outside the temple, the wind howled like the cries of Pokémon. The falling snow could only be seen as blurry white streaks slanting through the air. Beneath the dark sky, the endless white landscape felt even colder.
With the blizzard raging, Articuno A's power was almost effortless to control. On top of that, it was facing four already injured Unown.
Bang!
A few moments later, the Protect barrier slowly broke apart despite its efforts.
Inside, Jona's face was deathly pale, and her eyes were filled with disbelief.
'Am I really going to die here? Die inside Snowpoint Temple?'
Articuno A's massive icy blue body hovered before Regigigas's stone statue. The four Unown could only huddle together and wait for whatever came next.
"So you really don't have any other tricks left."
Shiro walked forward step by step, unable to hide the disappointment in his eyes.
"I thought you'd use whatever you escaped the Hunters Guild headquarters with before."
He looked at her calmly. "Now, Hunter J, hand over the Unown. You don't want these four to suffer even worse injuries just to protect you, do you?"
Jona's body trembled as she clenched her teeth. "Impossible..."
"I'm not negotiating." Shiro's voice turned colder. "Your life is in my hands."
"No. It's because..." She swallowed hard. "I need the Unown to help me disguise myself as Saturn."
Shiro knew exactly what she was trying to do.
She wanted to shift the conversation and tempt him with the value of infiltrating the Sinnoh Hunters Guild. That way, he would naturally put the Sinnoh Guild ahead of everything else.
On one side was the chance to infiltrate two ancient clans while earning 1.5 billion Pokédollars every year. On the other was killing her and perhaps gaining only four weakened, disobedient Unown.
The choice was easy. After asking Unown A a few simple questions, Shiro shook his head. "Then you can keep one Unown."
"Not enough. At least three." Jona immediately bargained.
Shiro let out a cold snort. "Two. If that's still not enough, then you can go reunite with Saturn."
That was his bottom line. Because with Hunter J's two Unown, along with Unown G and the newly discovered Unown C inside the temple, he would have all eight together once again.
As for the remaining two, they were not especially useful for now, so he could leave them temporarily with Hunter J.
Seeing that there was no room to negotiate, Jona reluctantly nodded.
She looked up at the four Unown: B, H, L, and M.
Their expressions were complicated, and there was clear reluctance in their eyes.
If the person they acknowledged decided to send them away… they were not the kind of Pokémon that would cling to someone like helpless children. They would simply accept reality. Besides, there was no other choice in the current situation.
The real question was who would leave.
The two that were sent away, the two that were abandoned, would naturally have no reason to stay attached.
"L... M..." Jona lowered her head and avoided their eyes. "I'm sorry."
Hearing that, neither Unown L nor Unown M seemed particularly surprised.
They quietly flew toward Shiro.
The two of them had always been the quieter ones. They were neither as dependable as Unown B nor as cheerful and outgoing as Unown H. They also had little interest in Unown B's dream of saving Arceus.
To them, following anyone was still following someone, and Unown A was the rightful leader no matter what.
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!