"Melody!"
At another table, hearing this, Carol shot her sister a helpless look, but she was powerless to do anything about her.
She was the apple of her parents' eye, and they doted on her excessively, to the point that her older sister had no authority to restrain her.
Waving her hand dismissively at Carol, Melody turned her head back to Natsui and Ash.
"Actually, proving yourself isn't that difficult. You just have to retrieve three treasures from the three nearby islands—Fire Island, Ice Island, and Lightning Island—and place them on the shrine here on Shamouti Island. Then, I will play the ocarina of dedication to the gods, and that's it!"
Ash asked, "And where are the treasures?"
"In the shrines on the three islands, of course!" After saying this, Melody saw Ash frown slightly. Thinking he was worried about his ability to reach the islands, she smiled. "Don't worry, if you want to go there, there are special boats to take you. And once you get to the shrines, there are even stairs to climb. It's really simple~"
Natsui and Tracey exchanged a look.
From the sound of it, this activity was clearly a gimmick, a means for the islanders to attract people by using the local legend. It was obvious that the "treasures" were also pre-arranged items they had placed there in advance.
All in all, it did indeed sound very simple, a task that should be easy to complete.
In truth, given Ash's personality, he wasn't worried about how difficult the process would be. The reason for his hesitation was simply that he knew he was just an ordinary person, not some "chosen one."
However, hearing Melody's words, Ash thought he was being looked down upon. He quickly stood up and nodded. "Understood. I'll go there right now and take a look!"
But the main reason was that Melody was too close. Looking at her delicate face, Ash couldn't help but be reminded of the kiss on the cheek from their first meeting when they arrived on the island!
"Don't be in such a hurry," Melody advised, contrary to his expectations. "The festival will last until tomorrow. It's fine if you go tomorrow morning. Just relax a bit."
With that, she grabbed Ash and pushed him back down into his seat.
However, once that impetuous kid Ash had made a decision, it was hard to change it. He completely ignored Melody's good intentions.
He broke free from her arm, stood up again, and said with great determination, "What can be done today should be done today! That is my—no, that is the principle that this humble one has always followed!"
Natsui: ...
Misty: ...
Tracey: ...
This humble one!?
Ash's words left the group speechless. His pretentious self-address, in particular, was jaw-dropping.
Look at that, is this still the same hopelessly dense Ash we know?
To say something like that, he must be completely smitten, head over heels!
However, Ash's sudden burst of passion seemed to stun Melody, and at the same time, it resonated with Mei who was nearby.
"Alright, I support you!" Mei smiled and walked up to Ash, patting her chest. "In that case, let me take you to the nearest island, Fire Island, in my boat!"
"Thank you so much!" Ash nodded happily, then turned his gaze to Natsui. "Natsui, are you coming too?"
"Sure."
Natsui shrugged nonchalantly. He had nothing better to do here anyway, and being around Ash was clearly the best way to trigger the plot.
Nearby, hearing that Natsui was going, Sabrina and Misty naturally wanted to go along as well. But after a moment's thought, Natsui stopped them.
"Since the journey isn't that far, I think we'll be back soon. Besides, it's already so late, and there won't be much scenery to see. You two should just stay here and wait."
Since he had put it that way, Sabrina and Misty didn't insist and stayed behind in the banquet hall with Tracey.
Grabbing an apple and finishing it in a few bites, Natsui, along with Ash and Mei, left the hall and returned to the pier.
However, they didn't take one of the Shamouti Island boats, choosing instead to set out again on Mei's speedboat.
After all, as Mei put it: no matter how good or fancy other people's boats are, you're always more comfortable using your own things!
Leaving the pier, with the roar of the engine, the speedboat cut through the waves, heading rapidly south.
The night sea breeze blew against their bodies, making them break out in goosebumps.
Even under the boat's lights, the surroundings were extremely dark.
Natsui looked up and saw that there was no moon or any stars in the night sky. The dark clouds, at some point, had once again covered the heavens.
This isn't a good sign...
Sure enough, not long after, the sound of thunder began to rumble in the sky.
BOOM!
After a bright flash of lightning streaked across the sky, a torrential downpour suddenly began.
Raindrops as large as beans poured down on them, forcing Natsui and Ash to take shelter in the small cockpit to avoid getting soaked.
But fortunately, this time there were no giant waves, which spared them the misery of being tossed about and the risk of capsizing.
Seeing that the rain showed no signs of stopping, Natsui couldn't help but ask, "Miss Mei, how far are we from Fire Island?"
Mei thought for a moment. "If you're just talking about a round trip, about half an hour should be enough."
Only half an hour?
Natsui nodded. In terms of distance, it really wasn't too far.
Thud!
Just then, a light thud came from the bow of the boat, catching Natsui's attention. The boat then shuddered slightly, as if it had hit something and then mercilessly run over it.
"Did you guys hear something?"
"A sound?" Mei looked around blankly. "No, all I hear is the rain."
"Yeah, I didn't hear anything strange," Ash said, puzzled. "Natsui, could you have misheard?"
Did I really mishear it?
Although Mei and Ash hadn't noticed anything, Natsui had a strong feeling that they had just run over something, and he thought he had faintly heard a few screams!
However, when he looked back towards where they had just come from, all he could see was darkness, nothing at all.
Sigh, I hope it was just my imagination...
The speedboat continued south, leaving a long wake behind it.
And not long after they had left, a man, a woman, and a Meowth struggled for a few moments before miserably climbing onto a floating piece of wreckage.
Needless to say, this was the Team Rocket trio that had been relentlessly entangling themselves with Ash!
Looking at their Gyarados submarine, which had been smashed to pieces, Jessie turned her head and began to curse at the speedboat that had caused the accident and left.
"They must be blind! How could they crash into our submarine!"
James spat out a mouthful of seawater and said weakly, "What does it matter? The submarine was already leaking anyway and was unusable. If it's broken, it's broken."
"You idiot!" Jessie shouted. "Even if it was broken, it was still a vehicle we worked hard to save up for and assemble! Without it, how are we supposed to get around at sea!"
"You two, stop fighting!" Meowth extended its sharp claws and gave them a hard scratch, then narrowed its eyes and said in a low voice, "I think the people who just passed were the twerp and his Pikachu. And next to him, I think that man named Natsui was also standing there!"
"Eh?" Jessie and James, their faces covered in scratches, were taken aback. "Those two have met up again? And they're working together? Could it be... that something big is about to happen?"
------------------------
Support my projects and get immediate access to hundreds of chapters of Bleach, Naruto, Pokémon, and more! ✨ Key Benefit: Your favorite novels, with my quality, and always up-to-date.
Featured Novels (with hundreds of chapters available NOW!):
The Heroine Wants to Join My Harem (1050 caps)
Goddess Training Manual (800 caps)
I Have Caught a Pokémon (700 caps)
Bleach Getting Stronger (330 caps)
Naruto: Saving the Uchiha (300 caps)
And many more!
Why subscribe?
🔥 Immediate Access: Read my new chapters before anyone else.
📚 Huge Library: Access my complete catalog instantly.
⭐️ High Quality: Enjoy the novels with a professional and well-crafted text written by me.