It was obvious that the man was very reluctant.
Unfortunately, the situation left him with no choice. Since the Crystal Unit Executives were either absent or refusing to show up, he had to rely on Kashiwagi.
He could only hold his nose and accept the deal.
What else could he do? It wasn't like he could just retreat. He'd already failed by not taking this block quickly enough. If he retreated now, he would probably spend the rest of his life mining in the Underdome.
After swallowing Jackal Gang, Team Snagem certainly wouldn't be short on talent. At the very least, they wouldn't miss someone like him.
Under Kashiwagi's command, the experienced Team Snagem members and subordinates quickly took control. Though many were unhappy about it, one look at Kashiwagi and his Aggron was enough to shut them up instantly.
Standing over two meters tall, the steel beast radiated a terrifying pressure. Humans aside, even regular Pokémon didn't dare to lock eyes with it.
By now, the sky had gradually grown dark.
The megaphones were set up once again, blasting a constant stream of noise into the air.
"Do not engage in pointless resistance! Surrender now and we will provide hot food and water! We even have medical support!"
"Team Snagem guarantees that your personal safety and property will not be harmed!"
"Your comrades have already surrendered!"
The sound drowned out everything else. This noisy spectacle breathed new life into the exhausted Crystal Unit troops.
As was his habit, Kashiwagi headed for the highest point in the sector with Otsuka. This time, however, he brought along a few Jackal Gang members. It made it easier to convince others to surrender and saved his own Pokémon the trouble of wasting energy.
To his surprise, the vantage point was completely unguarded. They reached the top of the street without any trouble.
"Is that the territory of another Top Executive over there?"
He pointed toward a specific direction. In the dim twilight, he could clearly see many glowing lights from biker gangs circling the area.
"Yes, that belongs to Master Kojiro", one of the Jackal Gang members answered quickly. The others who missed the chance to speak looked annoyed.
"I see. So he's the one letting them through..",
Kashiwagi murmured.
This block, which the Crystal Unit was responsible for, bordered the territory of Kojiro, the last remaining Top Executive of Jackal Gang. For those smaller gangs to reach this place, they had to pass through Kojiro's turf first.
Without his permission, how could they move so freely?
"Ryuka wanted to test Kojiro, but it looks like Kojiro decided to test us instead".
Kashiwagi shook his head and looked at the Jackal Gang members with a playful glint in his eyes. "By the way, why don't the members trapped here just retreat to Kojiro's side? It's pretty clear by now that you can't win."
"That... that's impossible. Master Kojiro and Boss Roki hate each other. If anyone from Roki's unit goes over there, they'll just have their Pokémon taken away. Then they'll be thrown into the mines to dig until they die. Our families would suffer too," someone said gloomily.
Ah.
The same kind of internal power struggle found in Team Snagem.
Kashiwagi knew that wherever there were people, there would be drama. Still, hearing that nearly every faction was busy sabotaging itself made him want to roll his eyes.
"Very well."
He looked at the Jackal Gang members. "I have a difficult task for you. Go and convince the remaining members here to surrender. Tell them the truth. Tell them their boss is finished."
The men looked at each other. No one dared to take the job. They knew that if they ran into any of Roki's diehard fanatics, they would be torn to pieces.
"If you succeed, you'll be my people from now on. I can't promise much, but nobody in Team Snagem dares to mess with me. That means nobody will mess with you or your families. Do you understand?"
Kashiwagi continued his persuasion. "This is a once in a lifetime chance. Do you know why I chose you out of all the prisoners? I think you have talent that the others lack. Or do you want to be low level thugs forever?"
Seeing that words weren't enough, he gestured to Otsuka.
Otsuka immediately pulled a stack of cash from his bag and set it before them. "I know you don't care for empty talk. You can have the money upfront, but remember that a real future is something you have to fight for!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the men scrambled.
"Me! I'll do it!"
"I'm going too!"
They fought to grab the cash before heading deeper into the district with determined faces.
Once they were gone, Otsuka asked worriedly, "Is this okay? What if they just take the money and run?"
"As long as one or two of them do what I asked, it's not a failure."
Kashiwagi couldn't read their minds, so he simply applied his resources where they might do the most good. He would leave the rest to fate.
"Let's go. We have one more thing to settle."
Kashiwagi headed downstairs and found the Crystal Unit squad leader who still had some fighting strength left. "Follow me. I'm going to stop those small gangs from bothering us again."
"Me?" The squad leader pointed at himself, looking left and right.
"Who else? How much fighting force is even left here? Or would you rather I go alone?" Kashiwagi raised an eyebrow. "Are you dreaming, or am I?"
"But..."
"No buts. I'm the boss right now. Either you listen to me, or I let them keep harassing you. Your choice."
He stared at the squad leader, his piercing gaze instantly making the man cave.
"Fine."
"Excellent."
Kashiwagi smiled. By taking away the last remaining leader of the Crystal Unit, things would be much easier once Ryuka's other squad leaders arrived.
It didn't matter if the Crystal Unit didn't value this place. The Sand Unit did, and that was enough.
-----
The border between Kojiro's and Roki's territory.
The area was a chaotic mess of roaring engines, loud music, and shouting. But suddenly, the deafening background music cut out.
"What? The Crystal Unit sent reinforcements? Who is it?"
A biker with a mohawk(hairstyle) frowned, looking sternly at his panicked subordinate.
"It was too dark to see clearly! All I saw was a fast, yellow Pokémon that could fly! It took out Big Brother Faqi in a flash!"
The two survivors from the earlier clash with Kashiwagi's group spoke over each other, unable to identify the newcomer.
Then, another group returned.
"Boss! It's Demon-wood!" someone yelled.
The moment that name was spoken, the engine revs and shouting died down significantly.
To mid-level organizations like Team Snagem or Jackal Gang, an Executive was just a high ranking officer. But to these street bikers, Kashiwagi, who possessed the strength of an Executive, was a figure they could only look up to in awe.
"No way! Doesn't Demon-wood have a grudge against the Crystal Unit?"
The mohawk leader's first instinct was disbelief, but he didn't have much time to doubt it. Kashiwagi was already approaching with his men.
Even though there were only about twenty or thirty of them, they moved with the presence of a hundred man army. Of course, every eye was fixed on the person at the very front.
Seeing him, the bikers began to back their vehicles away, making the mohawk leader look quite foolish.
"What are you afraid of! We have Master Kojiro's territory right behind us! I don't care how tough Demon-wood is, he wouldn't dare provoke Master Kojiro!" the leader shouted to rally his men.
Kashiwagi reached the crowd of rowdy youths and instinctively reached for a Poké Ball.
"Demon—"
"Wait!"
Before he could speak, the mohawk leader let out a sudden cry.
"Wait for nothing. Fairy Wind!"
Kashiwagi had no interest in chatting with these losers. Mawile shot forward from the sidecar of the vehicle like a bolt of lightning!
Mid-flight, the massive horns behind Mawile's head snapped open to reveal a Poké Ball.
Pop!
The ball opened and Chansey hit the ground, her eyes glowing with a brilliant blue light.
"Gravity!"
Boom!
An invisible field of force slammed down on the hovering motorcycles. The hovering bikes were instantly crushed against the pavement, pinned down so firmly they couldn't rise an inch.