With a faint smile on his face, Nathan emerged from beneath the ocean's surface and called out in a loud, clear voice.
As his voice rang out, two jets of seawater surged up and enveloped the two men mid-transaction.
To their shock, the water around them wasn't soft or loose—it was as solid as iron, tightly binding them in place, rendering them completely immobilized.
"Gentlemen," Nathan said calmly, still smiling as he approached, "I have something to show you. I think you'll find it... quite interesting."
As he spoke, Nathan pulled out his phone and tapped on a video file.
The footage that began to play was none other than the very scene of their transaction—every word, every movement recorded in crystal clarity.
And not just vaguely—the video captured both of them in clear view, and their voices were recorded in full, leaving no room for denial.
The Liberty Union contestant's face turned pale as he saw the video. Panic set in immediately, and he could no longer keep still.
"Nathan, you can't do this… We—we can give you money!"
The fear in his voice betrayed his desperation. Because he knew very well: if this video were to be leaked, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Their transaction will affect Liberty Union which would be permanently banned from the World Tournament.
And as for him—he would become the national scapegoat, the traitor who ruined everything. His name would go down in disgrace, and prison time wouldn't be out of the question.
This could not be allowed to happen.
"Money?" Nathan scoffed. "Do I look like someone who's short on money?"
His tone was dismissive, filled with disdain.
"What do you want, then? Women? Pokémon? Resources? Say the word—we'll give you anything, just… don't release that video!" the Liberty Union contestant practically begged, his voice trembling with dread.
He was completely unraveling now, clearly at his wit's end. Why? Why did Nathan have to show up here, at this moment?
If he had just waited two more days, everything would have been over, their plan complete. But instead, Nathan had appeared right when they were finishing the deal—and worse yet, he had recorded everything.
Now, everything they'd schemed for was ruined.
And he, once a celebrated top seed from the Liberty Union, would return home not as a hero—but as a criminal.
"Sorry," Nathan said coldly, "but I don't lack for anything you're offering. Nor do I want it. So be good boys and come back with me."
With that, he climbed onto his Flygon.
Under the continued control of Suicune, the two men remained trapped in their water prisons and were dragged back with Nathan toward the main island.
By the time they arrived, both men were hoarse from shouting. Their throats were raw from yelling, pleading, trying to talk Nathan down—but he had ignored them completely.
He didn't say a word to them the entire way back.
Because some people only understand one kind of treatment—and these two had earned exactly this.
They regretted everything now.
If they had known this would be the outcome, they would've chosen to just lose to Nathan outright. At least then it would've only been a lost match—no disgrace, no scandal, and certainly no prison time.
But now?
Not only were they disqualified forever from competitive play—they would be returning home to face charges.
--------------------------------
Meanwhile, back on the Ganginian and Liberty Union teams' respective islands, panic was beginning to set in.
Once it became apparent that their two operatives had suddenly gone missing, the rest of the players were deeply unsettled.
There were only two plausible explanations.
The first possibility was that the two had taken the money and run. After all, this was a billion Pokécoins. Not just anyone could resist the temptation of such a staggering amount. Disappearing with that much money was at least somewhat understandable.
If that were the case, while the others would be furious, it would still be a tolerable outcome.
After all, the plan had technically succeeded—Nathan, the most dangerous opponent, was disqualified. The disappearance of two individuals, while regrettable, was an acceptable loss.
But if the second possibility was true—that the two had been captured—then things would spiral into disaster.
Because in that case, it wouldn't be Nathan getting banned.
It would be the Kingdom of Gangin and the Liberty Union.
Permanent disqualification. For others, such a punishment might sound exaggerated, a joke even.
But when applied to themselves?
It was a full-blown tragedy.
After waiting over a dozen hours without any word, and with no sign of the two returning, Samuel finally lost his composure.
"That bastard… if I get my hands on him, I'll make sure he pays dearly!"
Seated on his Pokémon, Samuel was clearly in a foul mood, fuming with impatience and unease.
At such a critical moment, how could something like this happen?
Just when he had begun to relax and feel confident in their victory, everything suddenly went sideways.
He flew straight to the Ganginian team's island.
After a quick conversation, he confirmed that the Ganginian players had also not seen their operative return.
Now Samuel was seriously panicking.
He could only pray in his heart: Please, please let them have just run away with the money. Please don't let it be Nathan who caught them.
Because if it was the latter, then everything was over.
Wanting to confirm his suspicions, Samuel made a bold decision—he would go see Nathan directly.
If Nathan truly had captured the two operatives, then he would need to find a way to resolve this—fast.
As he arrived at the main island, he spotted Nathan casually strolling along the beach.
"Oh? Isn't this the proud seed player from the mighty Liberty Union—Samuel? What brings you to my humble beach today?" Nathan asked cheerfully, clearly amused.
Seeing Nathan so relaxed and smiling made Samuel's heart sink.
At a time like this, Nathan was joking?
If he hadn't caught the two men, there's no way he'd be this calm. No way at all.
Which could only mean one thing: the worst had come true.
The tables had completely turned.
It was no longer Nathan who faced a ban—it was them, the Liberty Union and Gangin.
"Nathan, did you take the two of them?" Samuel asked through gritted teeth, his eyes fixed angrily on him.
"Take them? What are you talking about? Did you lose your Pokémon or something?" Nathan replied innocently, feigning confusion despite clearly understanding the implication.
He wasn't going to let Samuel manipulate the narrative.
Because now, he held all the cards.
He had the people, he had the evidence, and now he was curious—just how would Samuel try to save face?
Would he beg?
Or try to buy them back?
"Don't play dumb, Nathan. You know exactly what I mean. Those two vanished, and they're obviously in your hands!" Samuel snapped, trying to maintain his composure while his mind raced.
Sure, he had used the Ganginian team to do the dirty work, but now that things had blown up, his own future was on the line.
One wrong move, and he would never recover his reputation.
Force wouldn't work—not against Nathan.
The best move now was to negotiate, get his people back, and salvage what he could.
Nathan gave a half-smile. "Oh… you mean those two little rats? Yeah, I did catch a couple rats. You want 'em?"
He looked at Samuel with mock curiosity, clearly enjoying the moment.
If you regret it now, why did you act like such a schemer in the first place?
Would it have killed you to just lose a match with dignity?
Just then, Evelyn walked over to talk to Nathan about something unrelated.
But when she saw Samuel—the very man who had falsely accused them—her expression darkened instantly.
Enemies meeting face-to-face—how could there not be sparks?
"Oh, what's going on here? It's barely morning and someone's already flinging sh*t around. Disgusting," Evelyn spat, not holding back in the slightest.
Having been so shamelessly framed, there was no way she would be polite.
Her words made Samuel's face flush red with humiliation.
This woman was a brute—loud, sharp-tongued, and completely unbecoming of a "lady."
But with the upper hand currently in her and Nathan's hands, he didn't dare lash out.
He couldn't even afford to respond.
"Miss Mist, perhaps I was mistaken before. But surely we can sit down and talk things over rationally, can't we?" Samuel finally said, forcing a fake smile as he swallowed his pride.
He was truly backing down now.
Because if this scandal came to light, he was done for—even if he tried to push the blame onto others.
As team leader, there was no way he could dodge all the responsibility.
Both Nathan and Evelyn exchanged glances and chuckled.
"Talk? No need," Nathan replied coldly. "Just go back and wait for the official ruling in two days. That's all."
He didn't give Samuel the slightest bit of face.
At this point, what was there to discuss?
If Nathan hadn't been cautious and recorded the transaction, he'd still be scrambling to prove his innocence right now.
And now Samuel wanted to talk?
Only a fool would agree to negotiate.
"Nathan… come on. We're both smart people. There's no need to take things this far," Samuel said, biting down his rage as he forced another grin.
He was the top trainer of the Liberty Union —when had he ever been treated with such humiliation?
But with the leverage completely in Nathan's hands, all he could do was endure.
Nathan didn't even bother responding.
He simply turned his back and walked away with Evelyn.
They didn't even look at Samuel again.
Samuel clenched his fists and shouted toward the sea in frustration.
His furious roar echoed far across the ocean.
Nathan and Evelyn heard it—but they just laughed and didn't look back once.
"Nathan… you forced me into this!" Samuel growled, then immediately flew back to the Liberty Union team's island.
Once there, he packed up in haste and left with his Pokémon.
His departure left his teammates deeply unsettled.
They could all sense that something terrible was looming.
--------------------------------
Two days flew by in the blink of an eye.
On the day of the ruling, Nathan arrived at the main island, bringing the two captured men with him.
"Referee, this video is a full recording of our business discussion. Both video and audio are intact and unaltered," Nathan said, handing over his phone confidently.
The referee accepted the phone and passed it to the technical staff for verification.
He then turned and looked at the two restrained individuals at Nathan's feet, his expression puzzled.
Noticing the judge's confusion, Nathan chuckled lightly.
"I caught them in the act while they were making the trade. You can interrogate them yourself," he said matter-of-factly.
It took only half an hour.
The staff returned with Nathan's phone, along with the verification report.
The verdict?
The video was completely authentic. Not a single trace of editing.
(End of Chapter)