Under the moonlight, Charizard glided in from the distance, finally hovering in the sky above the Sea Shrine.
Natsui, holding Maya, leaped from its back and landed steadily on the balcony.
The curtains swayed in the wind, and the shattered pieces of the broken glass were still scattered where they had fallen, reflecting a faint light under the moonlight.
The sound of the rushing whirlpool continued to flow tirelessly. Other than that, it was extremely quiet. If not for the messy aftermath of the battle, who would have thought that such an event had occurred in such a short time?
To prevent Maya's fair and soft feet from being cut by the glass shards, Natsui had no choice but to carry her into the room.
The shards shattered under Natsui's shoes, breaking into even smaller pieces.
Gently placing Maya on the bed, Natsui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he hadn't done much, just riding Charizard to chase them down, anyone who stayed up this late instead of sleeping and ran back and forth over such a distance would feel mentally and physically exhausted.
Fortunately, the matter was finally over.
"Alright, it's safe enough here now," he said with a smile. "After those Team Rocket guys were driven off, they probably won't be back to bother you for a while."
"So they were Team Rocket," Maya nodded, her expression downcast. "Although I've heard their name for a long time, today was the first time I've encountered them. I just didn't expect that not only were they targeting the Sea God, but the scepter in my hand was also their target."
At this point, she looked at Natsui with a solemn expression. "I know I've said it before, but I must say it again now. Thank you so much for what you did. If it weren't for you, I can't imagine what would have happened..."
"You really don't have to be so polite," Natsui shook his head. "It was my Gengar that happened to discover them while wandering around; otherwise, I wouldn't have known they had infiltrated this place. And since I saw them, of course I couldn't just stand by and do nothing."
He said it without any shame, apparently forgetting that he had hesitated quite a bit before leaving.
Actually, looking at it from another perspective, if he hadn't intervened, Team Rocket would have just stolen the scepter and left. Maya could have just woken everyone else up, and with the capabilities of Ash and his friends, getting the scepter back would have been an easy task, and Maya would never have been in danger.
If it had turned out that way, things would have been much simpler.
But regardless, since it had already happened and had been resolved satisfactorily, there was no need to think about what might have been.
In the room, the two fell silent, and the atmosphere seemed to become a bit strange.
After this incident, Natsui noticed that the way Maya looked at him had changed.
How to put it? Her gaze contained something, a bit like Sabrina's in the past, and a bit like Erika's now.
He didn't dare to stay long. Mainly, after holding her for so long and feeling her soft body, he needed to go out and cool down.
"It's very late. You should have someone clean this up quickly, and then get some rest."
He hastily left this sentence, then turned and walked out, leaving Maya with a cool view of his back.
And behind him, Maya said nothing, just watching him with a peculiar gaze until he disappeared beyond the door.
...
The next morning, as everyone was having breakfast in the great hall, Maya briefly told the unsuspecting Ash and his friends about being attacked by Team Rocket the previous night.
As for the specific details and how she was rescued, she only touched upon them briefly and didn't elaborate.
Only then did Ash and the others learn that such an event had occurred last night!
"Those Team Rocket guys are just too despicable! How dare they launch a night raid on Miss Maya!" Brock slammed the table angrily, then his tone shifted to one of concern. "Miss Maya, you weren't hurt, were you?"
"I'm fine." Maya shook her head, glancing at Natsui without leaving a trace as she spoke. "Thanks to Mr. Natsui's timely rescue, the incident didn't become more serious."
Hearing Maya mention him, Natsui brought the food on his plate to his mouth with a fork, his eyes straight ahead, as if she wasn't talking about him at all.
However, for such a big commotion to have occurred last night without Ash and the others noticing, it could only be said that the Sea Shrine was indeed very large, and the sound from the whirlpool had prevented the noise from his battle with Team Rocket from reaching their rooms.
Erika's gaze shifted back and forth between Natsui and Maya. As a woman, she had a keen sense that what happened last night was probably not as simple as Maya had described.
But both of them were acting normally at the moment, so she couldn't tell anything.
After they finished breakfast, Maya personally escorted them to the shrine's main gate.
Looking at the group about to depart, Maya said with a grave expression, "Last night's incident made me realize that the Team Rocket situation has become urgent. Stealing my scepter was likely just one part of their plan. We must resolve this as soon as possible. We absolutely cannot let them capture the Sea God!"
"Leave it to us." This time, it wasn't just Brock; even Ash and Misty made a promise. "Please don't worry, Miss Maya, we will absolutely not let them succeed!"
Seeing their confident expressions, Maya also showed a smile.
"I believe in you. I'll be waiting here for your good news!"
After leaving the Sea Shrine, the group went to the port and found a small boat heading to Silver Rock Island.
According to the clue provided by Maya, the last time the Sea God was seen was in the waters near Silver Rock Island.
Silver Rock Island is one of the four major islands in the Whirl Islands archipelago, located in the northeast. Its area is relatively small, far smaller than Red Rock Island, which they had just left.
Kasado City is the only city on Silver Rock Island. The entire island got its name from its rich deposits of silver rock. It is said that badges made from silver rock have a certain protective effect and can bring good luck. But because it's so famous, many people in the city sell counterfeit goods made from fake silver rock.
After setting out from the port, Natsui and his friends immediately encountered difficulties.
The sea was not calm today, and the weather was a bit gloomy. With the strong winds and waves, the small boat swayed incessantly.
Except for Ash and Misty, Natsui, Erika, and Brock all felt a bit dizzy from the rocking. In the end, Natsui had no choice but to send out Charizard to carry him and Erika through the sky. The dizziness then subsided a bit.
Fortunately, the two islands were very close. They had only sailed east for two or three hours before they arrived in the waters near Silver Rock Island.
And as soon as they arrived, the weather suddenly changed again, becoming sunny and pleasant once more.
------------------------
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.