During the Indigo League Conference, far away in Saffron City, Mismagius disguised as the Team Rocket squad leader was walking through the base.
Around Saffron City, there were a total of eight Team Rocket branch bases. The one where Mismagius was stationed could only be considered average in scale.
In this branch base, Carter's position wasn't particularly high, but he was at least a minor officer of sorts.
At present, the Carter that Mismagius was impersonating was under the command of Ariana, one of the Team Rocket executives, and mainly responsible for carrying out missions in the Kanto Region.
Not long ago, Archer, another Team Rocket executive, was arrested by the police. Team Rocket went to great lengths to rescue him. Because of the failure of that mission, Archer lost much of his previous authority. Carter, who was originally supposed to be under Archer's command, somehow ended up working for Ariana instead.
"There hasn't been any valuable intel lately."
Mismagius, mimicking Terrance's tone, felt quite puzzled. Things had been far too quiet on Team Rocket's end recently, completely unlike their usual style.
If Team Rocket didn't stir up any trouble, then with Mismagius's current position, it wouldn't be able to easily gather more information.
Should it use illusion skill? The risk was too high.
Perhaps Mismagius's grumbling had an effect, because suddenly, an emergency order came to this Team Rocket branch base, calling all squad leaders to a meeting.
Upon receiving the order, "Carter" immediately set aside his work and headed for the meeting room.
The person responsible for managing these squad leaders was the head of the branch base, who also serves as the captain of the Team Rocket members in this branch, with a status second only to the executives of Team Rocket Headquarters.
Five minutes later, in the meeting room, nine elite members wearing Team Rocket uniforms were seated around a large round table. Their expressions varied, but they all shared one thing in common—a look of confusion as they stared at the woman at the head of the table, hoping to understand the reason behind the urgent meeting.
The woman in the lead seat had medium-length purple hair that casually draped over her shoulders. Her slightly slanted bangs brushed just past her eyelids, giving her an overall calm and composed appearance.
She was the leader of this Team Rocket branch and the superior of the eight squad leaders seated below her.
"Headquarters has sent word to assemble a team of elite members from the eight Saffron City branches to carry out an important mission."
"The mission is to provide support in escorting some researchers and transferring research results."
"Could it be that our research lab has been discovered?" one squad leader asked, voicing their doubt.
"The higher-ups didn't say, but I guess that's probably it. It's said that those research results are extremely important, irreplaceable, and highly valuable. I believe the reason we're being sent is to ensure the safety of both the research data and the researchers," the female captain, who held the dominant position among the group, spoke.
"This clearly shows that the mission is extremely dangerous, so if you want to participate, think carefully. Of course, the rewards for this mission are very generous. I won't even mention the point rewards, but every member who takes part in this mission can take part in the next promotion assessment, with an additional 20% score bonus."
At those words, all eight squad leaders below revealed eager expressions. Compared to a promotion, danger didn't seem like much; after all, they had already prepared themselves for danger the moment they joined Team Rocket.
In Team Rocket, promotion meant everything. Reaching the level of executive was the dream of almost every Team Rocket member. At that level, the privileges and treatment were things everyone deeply envied.
"Carter," that is, Mismagius, quietly listened to everything. He felt that this mission was strange, though he couldn't pinpoint what exactly was off. In any case, each branch in Saffron City was required to send three members, totaling 24 people. At the same time, elite members from branches in other cities would also be dispatched, and the plan was likely to form a super-elite team of over a hundred members.
From the size of the lineup alone, one could tell just how important this mission was.
Mismagius's branch had three available spots. Captain Xilan would take one of them, and the remaining two would likely be contested among the eight squad leaders.
"You can also pass this opportunity to the members under your command, provided they possess the strength required for this mission. This time, the mission standards require a certain level from the Trainer. The assessment criteria are with me, but overall, it requires the three strongest members from each branch to participate." Xi Lan spoke.
"When will the selection take place?" one squad leader asked.
"We must reach the designated location by tomorrow morning, so not only must we select quickly, we also need to depart as soon as possible."
The eight squad leaders all looked grave. As squad leaders, their strengths were quite similar. If selection was based on strength alone, none of them had a definite advantage.
"Does anyone not wish to participate?" Xilan asked.
No one responded.
"Then who wishes to participate?"
After exchanging glances, all eight expressed their desire to participate.
"In that case, let's follow the usual rules," Xilan said with a wave of her hand. "Two of the spots will be decided through duels among you. The remaining one is mine. I assume no one intends to challenge me?"
She looked at the eight squad leaders below her as she spoke.
"Of course not. You're the strongest in this branch, there's no doubt about it," one middle-aged squad leader said with a laugh, clearly flattering her.
Soon after, internal battles began within the branch to determine each person's strength.
Among them, Carter that Mismagius was impersonating secured a spot effortlessly using only a single Beautifly. No one dared to challenge him again.
"What's with that butterfly? Why is it so strong?" one Team Rocket squad leader exclaimed in shock.
"That's a Beautifly from the Hoenn region, similar to Kanto's Butterfree. Still, I didn't expect this member absorbed from Hoenn's organization to be this powerful."
The squad leaders murmured among themselves, surprised by Beautifly's strength. In truth, Beautifly had only used less than a tenth of its full power. Not only did it easily defeat the others, but it also performed the battle in such a way that even the captain couldn't see through it, skillfully maintaining just the level of a squad leader. It had to be said, the coordination between Mismagius and Beautifly was brilliantly executed.
"I remember your name is Carter, right? You've got impressive strength," Xilan said, showing a satisfied expression after watching Mismagius command Beautifly in battle.
If her own branch's members were strong, then their voice would carry more weight when cooperating with other branches. This newly transferred squad leader having the ability to dominate the others was something Xilan hadn't anticipated.
"Thank you for the praise, Captain."
"Carter" withdrew Beautifly and offered his thanks.
The selection continued, and after Carter's strength was acknowledged, a black-haired young man in his early twenties successfully passed by defeating the others.
At this point, the three members from this branch who would participate in the mission were officially confirmed.
TN: Hey guys, I've picked up a new One Piece novel. You can search it: One Piece: The Undying King.
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