Bellflower Mountain.
Once barren, dry, and gravel-strewn, the desolate mountain had been completely transformed by the roots of the World Tree.
Streams now flowed through the valleys, while vibrant moss and flowers grew upon the cliff faces.
The air was fresh and sweet, yet carried a strangely dangerous aura, as if behind every blade of grass lurked some new form of life.
At the very heart of this transformed nature lay an immense lake, so clear it perfectly reflected the sky above.
At its center stood a blue-and-white crystalline structure:
Cerulean Gym.
The lake's surface was mirror-smooth, perfectly capturing its outline.
Gentle and serene, yet it made one's hair stand on end.
At this moment, Hikari's Wife stood before the gym entrance, her expression grim to the extreme.
She had been standing there for two full days.
Without sleep.
Without food.
Without water.
Even more terrifying was the overwhelming weakness that washed over her the moment she regained her senses.
She had no memory of what had happened during those two days.
Her mind held only a vague blankness.
When she awoke from her daze, Misty stood at the entrance, smiling at her as if their conversation had just begun.
"You... used Genjutsu on me?"
Hikari's Wife's voice trembled, yet was filled with killing intent.
Misty maintained her sweet smile:
"From the moment you expressed your desire to go to the Land of Rain until your official assessment, these two days of emptiness... count as your failure to pass the test."
She tilted her head slightly, her tone as gentle as a spring breeze:
"This is also an essential ability for a Trainer—adaptability to nature, to Pokémon, to illusions."
Hikari's Wife clenched her fists tightly.
The sounds of wind, waterfalls, and insects from around Bellflower Mountain flooded her ears,
seeming to mock her with every whisper.
Misty said softly:
"I've made it very clear. Only by gaining my approval do you qualify to enter Cerulean Gym."
"And only by obtaining the Cerulean Gym Badge... do you qualify to enter the Land of Rain."
She raised a hand, pointing toward the distant land:
"You've seen it too, haven't you? The Land of Rain has already separated from the Shinobi World."
"There are only three ways to enter there."
"Rock Gym, Cerulean Gym, Flame Gym."
Hikari's Wife gritted her teeth:
"What about Iemitsu? What have you done to him?!"
Misty fell silent.
In that moment, her smile vanished, her clear blue eyes open and terrifyingly calm.
"He isn't dead."
"He's probably in the Land of Rain... becoming a Trainer."
Hikari's Wife was pushed to the brink of fury.
"Don't joke with me like that!!!"
"My husband is a Sand Ninja! There's no way he would join your absurd organization!!!"
Her roar echoed across the lake's surface.
Two puppets behind her suddenly unfolded,
eight steel wires, poison needles, and fierce wind mechanisms instantly locking onto Misty.
"Die!!!"
The moment the puppets lunged, the lake suddenly fell silent.
As if the entire Cerulean Lake was holding its breath.
Misty remained standing in place, tilting her head slightly:
"...Gyarados."
"If you please."
BOOM!!!
A massive pillar of water suddenly erupted from the lake's surface.
Rising from the water column was a colossal aquatic beast capable of crushing any ninja's spirit—
Gyarados.
Its blue scales shimmered with a cold metallic gleam,
crimson eyes blazing like a demon lord awakening from the ocean's abyss.
A deafening draconic roar shattered the air.
Mountainous waves surged,
crashing violently against Hikari's Wife!
Her puppet and control threads were instantly severed,
her body sent tumbling across the ground by the tidal force.
She struggled to her knees, gasping for breath.
Misty smiled faintly. "Your devotion to your husband is... touching."
Hikari's Wife stared bewildered at the girlish figure before her, finally responding after a moment's thought: "If you let me seal all your Chakra, I'll take you to the Land of Rain to see your husband."
"Don't joke with me!"
Misty stepped back as Gyarados summoned a storm, driving away the Sand Ninjas before she calmly added: "If you change your mind, come find me. I'll arrange a meeting with your husband."
With that, Misty turned and entered the Gym.
Land of Earth Frontline.
Dust clouds swirled above earth fractured into countless ravines.
Dozens of Rock Ninjas lay scattered—some kneeling while panting, others slammed against cliff faces, immobilized.
At the epicenter stood only two figures: Brock and Onix.
Onix coiled across the terrain, its boulder-like body radiating oppressive energy,
every tail whip tearing fresh fissures in the ground.
Brock stood with hands on hips, sunlight glinting off his dark skin, his grin overwhelmingly bright:
"Is this the extent of your Will of Stone? Far from sufficient!"
His casual tone carried the weight of a lecture to children.
The Rock Ninjas flushed with rage. One charged forward, only for Onix to burrow underground and erupt behind him, smashing him away with a Rock Throw.
Boom!
Crash!
Each impact earthquaked the terrain.
Brock shook his head ruefully:
"To pass my Pewter Gym Assessment, you must be like rock, like steel, like mountains."
"You're still nowhere close."
Furious but powerless, the ninjas could only watch as a dry, timeworn voice spoke behind Brock:
"Hmph... Brat. You seem to look down on the so-called Will of Stone."
The voice held no anger, yet carried a gentleness more dangerous than any threat.
Brock froze and turned.
A stooped but terrifying middle-aged man approached slowly.
Though physically small, his presence distorted the air like a true mountain.
He raised his right palm, gathering a blinding white light.
The sound of disintegrating air echoed across the battlefield.
"It's Dust Release!!!"
The light condensed into a perfect geometric shape,
rotating slowly in Ōnoki's palm.
Brock observed the form without retreating, instead breaking into an excited grin:
"My, what an impressive technique."
Dust Release: Original World Detachment Technique!!!
The white light detonated.
The cubic geometry expanded into a domain of annihilation, shredding air, dust, and even space itself.
Facing this mountain-erasing beam, Brock flashed a near-manic smile: "FASCINATING!!!"
He stomped the ground.
The earth shattered as if struck by a giant's fist.
And just before the Dust Release light domain was about to engulf him, Onix let out a long roar, its body coiling violently as dozens of tons of rock serpent plunged into the ground.
BOOM!!!
The earth beneath their feet instantly collapsed, as if a massive hole had been torn open.
Dust surged inward from all directions, and the ground began to churn like a tsunami.
Brock shouted:
"Quicksand Abyss!"
The rock layers within hundreds of meters were rapidly churned by Onix,
solid earth transforming into a flowing river of sand,
sinking, devouring, and collapsing into a giant vortex.
As the white light of Dust Release barely touched the edge beneath Brock's feet,
"Hmph... Did you dodge it?"
Amidst the earth-shaking tremors, Brock leaped out from the abyss once more, his eyes blazing:
"Come on, old man! The real battle has only just begun!!"
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