"Hahaha..."
Shiro also laughed and shook his head. He was not surprised.
His identity and habits were completely different from Hunter T's. Even after obtaining some fragments of Hunter T's memories and using his psychic powers to imitate Hunter T's voice, the difference was still too obvious to anyone who truly knew Hunter T.
What surprised Shiro was something else.
"Butler, you didn't even pretend to believe me. What makes you so confident?" His voice turned cold as he spoke.
If the butler in front of him could not give him a satisfactory answer, Shiro would have no choice but to send him to meet the real Hunter T.
"I naturally know how dangerous this is. Perhaps it would have been better for me to pretend I knew nothing and cooperate with you."
As he spoke, the old butler stood up straight. He was not very tall, but his neatly kept half-gray hair and energetic appearance made him look trustworthy.
"Allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Ken. I originally came from Kanto, and I have been managing this estate for nineteen years." Ken placed one hand in front of his chest and bowed. "Mr. T was not a promising employer. But now, my lord, I sincerely wish to work for you."
Shiro remained silent for a moment as he calmly observed the man and continued thinking.
His psychic powers could naturally tell that the butler was sincere… He sincerely wanted to stay alive, and he sincerely wanted to improve his position.
But what could Butler Ken actually do for him?
Continue managing the estate?
Shiro could not help asking, "Are you a trainer?"
Ken immediately straightened up and answered, "Of course not. However, I know a little about commanding Pokémon in battle. When I was young, I worked in the Battle Frontier."
Shiro nodded in satisfaction.
Not a trainer, but he could command Pokémon.
That meant he could make use of the Pokémon he had confiscated. With so many Gym and Elite-level Pokémon, he could simply give him a couple to train, and he would have an Gym-level trainer.
Shiro slowly asked, "Butler Ken, do you know who T and I really are?"
Ken replied seriously, "I would be glad to hear it."
"Have you heard of the Hunters Guild?"
"The Hunters Guild..."
Butler Ken froze for a few seconds before his expression quickly cleared up. After hearing the words "Hunters Guild" and connecting them with Mr. T's name, it was not difficult to figure out that Mr. T was also a member of the Hunters Guild.
"Then, you are also a Hunter—"
Before Ken could finish, Shiro raised his hand and interrupted him, "Do you want to join the Hunters Guild, Butler Ken?"
Ken frowned slightly as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
"You are..."
He was connected to Hunter T, could easily deal with Hunter T, and could speak so confidently about the Hunters Guild. Could the person standing before him be the rumored new leader of the Hunters Guild?
"Are you Hunter W?" Ken asked cautiously.
Shiro did not deny it. He simply asked again, "Do you want to join the Hunters Guild?"
Ken immediately became excited and agreed without hesitation, "Of course. I would be honored to serve you!"
"Good..." Shiro paused before continuing, "Before that, I need you to help me with something."
"Yes!" Ken bowed again. "Please give me your orders."
Shiro did not hide anything and spoke directly. "I need all of Hunter T's shares in Devon Corporation. Now that he is dead, do you have any way to get them?"
Ken showed no surprise. Instead, he carefully thought about it before explaining everything step by step.
"According to Hoenn's local laws, if Mr. T died unexpectedly and his death is confirmed, his assets will be inherited by his relatives and descendants. But if he has no relatives, the assets will be taken back by the Hoenn League. In reality, they will probably end up in the Hoenn Chairman's pocket."
"The higher-ups in the Hoenn League are keeping a very close eye on Devon Corporation's shares. Most of them are shareholders themselves."
"If you want Mr. T's shares, you will probably need some connections within the League. Alternatively, the shares could be openly transferred to a League official you can trust."
After listening, Shiro fell into thought.
League officials?
Wasn't he a League official himself?
As for the possibility of being suspected of having improper connections with certain organizations after transferring the shares... Who in the League did not have such connections? It was not particularly important.
"A League official I can trust? Of course there is one..." Shiro said calmly.
"As long as your person holds the status of at least an Elite Four member in Hoenn, I can guarantee that there will be no problems with the rest," Ken said confidently.
Shiro gave a slight nod. He stood up and waved to Butler Ken behind him before leaving the room together.
* * *
Ever Grande City, League Headquarters.
On the lower floor entrance, Drake sat comfortably on the steps with a cigarette between his teeth. In front of him stood an old and heavy iron door.
Painful cries and groans continued to come from inside.
About fifteen minutes later, the iron door opened. Watson stepped sideways through the gap while sighing and removing his gloves.
Drake spat out the cigarette butt and said in a heavy voice, "You didn't get anything useful?"
Watson looked helpless as well. "I used every one of my little electrical gadgets on that Aqua Executive. He told me everything he could, whether it was something he should have said or not. I even confirmed through hypnosis with Psychic Pokémon that he really wasn't hiding anything."
"Not only does he know nothing about Kyogre's location or the Blue Orb, he doesn't even know anything about the strange gathering of wild Pokémon along the beach in Lilycove City."
After hearing this, Drake stomped hard on the still-glowing cigarette butt.
"Damn it!"
How could they fail to get useful information from Matt, one of Team Aqua's SSS trios and one of its three Executives?
That damn Archie! That bastard had even kept his closest subordinate in the dark!
"We should get moving, right?" Watson sighed.
Drake could do nothing but turn around and head upstairs.
Just then, the communication device at his waist began to buzz.
After answering, a staff member from the Finance Department spoke from the other end. "Elite Drake, we have a question regarding the transfer of shares in Devon Corporation... The League Chairman has already approved it."
Drake sounded impatient. "What's the problem with something like this? That old bastard already agreed. How could I disagree? It's not like the Stone family sold the company to Team Aqua... What else is there?"
"Uh..." The staff member hesitated. "The person receiving the shares is Professor Shiro."
"Hmm?" Drake suddenly became alert. "Shiro?"
"Yes, Professor Shiro..."
"Forget the damn share transfer. Keep Shiro here! We have an urgent mission later. Don't let him leave!"
After saying that, Drake hurriedly hung up and rushed upstairs, crossing several steps at once.
Behind him, the slightly overweight Watson wore a troubled expression as he hurried after him. He wanted to ask Drake to wait, but he could not bring himself to say it.
Of course, even if he did, Drake would not pay him any attention.
**
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