Chapter 21: Culling the Herd
After Giovanni killed Musashi, the recruits watching the spectacle immediately looked to the Team Rocket grunts, expecting them to intervene.
In truth, most of them hoped the grunts would execute Giovanni on the spot. He was too terrifying, killing without batting an eye. He was an enemy no one wanted to face. If he could be eliminated now, it would be for the best.
They were destined to be disappointed.
Two grunts walked over, but under the fervent gazes of the crowd, they merely picked up the Poké Ball of Musashi's fallen Charmander and dragged his bloated corpse to the side.
The standard Poké Ball contained a small amount of healing stimulants, enough to keep a Pokémon alive. The human, however, was disposable.
Giovanni hadn't been entirely sure he would get away with killing Musashi— but when the grunt had confirmed the rules were now different, he knew he had the green light. He had been right.
He turned to his new followers, who were still standing frozen over their defeated opponents. "Don't just stand there," he commanded. "Kill them."
They had promised to help him, but this? They hesitated.
Giovanni shattered their defenses with a few cold words. "If you don't kill them now, they will kill you later. You've already made them your enemies. What do you think this is? A game?"
Katsu was the first to act. He didn't fully understand the complexities of the situation, but he understood the logic. He twisted the neck of the boy he was holding. A sharp crack echoed in the silent chamber.
With Katsu leading the way, the other recruits' hesitation vanished, replaced by a savage survival instinct.
Musashi's former followers began to plead. "Giovanni... Brother Giovanni, spare us! We were just following him! We can follow you now!"
Giovanni acted as if he didn't hear them, his gaze fixed on his own recruits. "What are you waiting for? I don't mind finishing the job for you." The Weedle at his feet shifted, its stinger aimed at his hesitant followers. The message was clear.
They didn't dare hesitate any longer. They gritted their teeth and finished off the children in front of them. If they didn't, they would be next.
Only then was Giovanni satisfied.
From a hidden observation room, Madame Boss, who had witnessed the entire scene, spoke with interest. "Giovanni, you say? This child is quite promising."
Miyamoto, standing behind her, replied, "Indeed— but if not for you, he would have died in Viridian Forest."
"You seem to think highly of him," Madame Boss chuckled.
"My opinion is not important," Miyamoto replied, her tone professional. "What matters is whether he can become the sole victor."
Madame Boss didn't press the issue. She trusted Miyamoto implicitly. Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought her to help select the next leader. In terms of seniority and loyalty, Miyamoto herself was a candidate to succeed Madame Boss— but she lacked the ambition and ruthless vision required to lead Team Rocket to true dominance.
There had been another candidate, but Madame Boss had eliminated him from the running long ago. He was ambitious, but too impulsive. If Team Rocket were handed to him, he would likely launch a premature war against the League, dragging the entire organization into the abyss.
"Where is Archer?" Madame Boss asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Hasn't he returned yet?"
"He has returned, Boss," Miyamoto replied. "But I'm not sure of his exact location. You know he strongly opposes the candidate plan."
Madame Boss patted Miyamoto's arm. "You know that even without this plan, he could never be the next leader of Team Rocket."
"I know," Miyamoto said with some concern. "But he will almost certainly cause trouble. He will try to sabotage your plan."
Madame Boss, however, was unfazed. "Let him. The future of Team Rocket must be forged in storms— a little setback is nothing." She gestured towards the monitor. "Let's go. It's time to settle my children down."
"Yes, Boss."
Back in the main chamber, Giovanni's actions had triggered a chain reaction. The orderly lines devolved into chaos as other recruits began to turn on each other. Amidst the slaughter, Team Rocket grunts moved calmly, collecting the Poké Balls of the fallen. The bodies were left where they lay.
In the center of the chaos, Giovanni was an island of deadly calm. No one dared to approach him. The other recruits instinctively cleared a path around him, fearing that his gaze might fall upon them.
In a situation this chaotic, the weak naturally gravitate towards the strong. The twenty-odd recruits Giovanni had "saved" now huddled around him, their sense of dependence already solidifying.
Giovanni didn't mind. Their presence saved him some trouble. He was already difficult to deal with alone; with a gang of twenty surrounding him, he was untouchable.
But the more secure one feels, the more likely trouble is to strike.
Whoosh!
A black, star-shaped object flew silently from the crowd, aimed directly at the back of Giovanni's head. It was a poisoned shuriken, a killing blow.
But Weedle, its senses honed by days of targeted training, detected the moving object instantly. It spat a thick wad of String Shot, intercepting the shuriken in mid-air and wrapping it in a sticky cocoon. By the time it reached Giovanni, it was just a harmless ball of white silk.
Giovanni's head snapped in the direction the shuriken had come from. He saw him: an inconspicuous boy in the crowd, frail and weak-looking, even more so than Giovanni had been— beside him was an unhealthy-looking Ekans.
Yet this boy, out of everyone here, projected an aura of genuine threat.
A ninja, Giovanni realized. From one of the hidden villages. This boy had the patience and discipline of a natural assassin.
He had waited until now, until the chaos was at its peak and the greatest threat—Giovanni—had revealed himself. He wasn't just eliminating a rival; he was trying to assassinate the king.