Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
The Psychic Mark allowed Sato's mental power to grow considerably in a short time. Combined with the fact that the Team Aqua member he had captured did not have particularly strong willpower, Sato's use of Hypnosis during interrogation was a complete success.
From the clues this Team Aqua member provided, Sato learned the exact location of a nearby Team Aqua base. It was hidden underground on a barren island more than ten nautical miles southwest of the Floating Market.
He also learned the base's rough structure, its daily garrison numbers, and who was currently in command.
The Team Aqua base was built beneath the island, with a total of five levels. The lowest level contained an undersea port designed for submarines to dock and depart with ease.
At present, the base was under the unified command of a Team Aqua officer named Hague. Judging by the descriptions, this officer likely possessed the strength of an Elite Four–level Trainer.
Because the base was underground on a barren island surrounded by endless ocean, even with occasional supply ships bringing materials from the mainland, resources there were very scarce.
As a result, the base had only about a hundred personnel stationed at any given time.
However, because of the Floating Market's importance, those stationed here were all Team Aqua elites. Each one was skilled in naval combat and often took on the role of pirates, giving them fearsome fighting power.
The captured Team Aqua member's name was Haito. Although he was an unremarkable figure in the base, he still possessed the strength of an elite-level Trainer.
If not for the overwhelming difference in power between him and Sato—and the fact that he had been ambushed—he likely would have managed to send a distress signal.
After extracting all the useful information, Sato ended Haito's life without hesitation. He stripped him of his Team Aqua uniform and took his storage gear as well.
From the interrogation, he had confirmed that nearly all of these Team Aqua members had their hands stained with the blood of innocents. Killing them weighed nothing on his conscience.
A few minutes later, Sato donned Haito's Team Aqua uniform and placed a Ditto-forged mask of Haito's face over his own. Then, with the help of Swampert, he slipped into the sea.
According to Haito's information, there were still five other Team Aqua members currently performing management tasks at the Floating Market. Like Haito, they conducted remote oversight while stationed in the waters outside the market.
Sato's next step was to track down the other four Team Aqua members. The area around the abandoned ship wasn't large, so he had Swampert circle the waters. Before long, they located another Team Aqua member.
This man's Pokémon was a well-developed Lanturn, at least one and a half times the size of Sato's own. It was obvious that the twin bolts of lightning that had appeared earlier had come from this Lanturn.
At that moment, Sato—disguised as Haito—approached him with a friendly wave.
Although the Team Aqua member was puzzled as to why Sato's Pokémon was a Swampert rather than a Tentacruel, he did not immediately suspect him or launch an attack.
But hesitation leads to defeat. By the time Sato and Swampert closed to within a meter, the outcome was already sealed.
With a sudden ambush, Swampert felled the level 42 Lanturn in a single punch, knocking it out instantly. The Team Aqua member himself was paralyzed by a Mean Look from Duskull, who appeared without warning.
Sato repeated the trick, disguising himself as different Team Aqua members in turn. One by one, he quickly eliminated the remaining four.
"Six external managers of the Floating Market disappearing at once… The Team Aqua base will definitely send people to investigate. That will be my chance to sneak inside."
After interrogating and finishing off the last of the five, Sato used Teleport to return to the deck of the abandoned ship. Staring southwest across the sea, he silently reviewed his plan.
Yes, from the moment he had pried information from Haito, Sato had already devised his infiltration strategy.
The plan was simple: lure the snake from its hole. Once it emerged, he would slip inside disguised as one of them. The bait, of course, was the five Team Aqua members he had just eliminated.
In truth, this plan was an open scheme.
For Team Aqua, the Floating Market was a golden goose. Its importance was obvious. Unless faced with extreme danger, there was no way they would abandon such a lucrative stronghold.
As Sato had expected, when the five managers failed to report back for an extended period, the base commander dispatched a six-man squad to investigate.
These six were clearly not ordinary grunts. Both they and their Pokémon carried a thick scent of blood, their presence radiating a crushing aura of violence.
At their head was a burly man with a face covered in tattoos and a sailor's axe in his hand. The bloodlust from him and his Feraligatr was overwhelming, like two demons of the sea.
They immediately silenced several troublemakers through sheer slaughter—indiscriminately killing victims along with perpetrators.
Their brutality was horrifying, but the effect was undeniable: order in the chaotic Floating Market, which had unraveled during the absence of management, was instantly restored.
Afterward, under the tattooed man's orders, one member stayed behind to maintain control, while the rest spread out through the surrounding waters to search for the missing five.
"What a heavy stench of blood… These must be the 'Blood Axe Squad' Haito mentioned. Strong indeed. Judging from the levels of their Pokémon, each of them has at least pseudo–Elite Four strength—and the real thing, not inflated reputation."
Blending into the crowd, Sato forced himself to adopt the same fearful expression as everyone else, though his heart was grim.
Most criminal organizations maintained an elite strike squad, their sharpest blade to sweep aside obstacles.
The team he was now watching—drenched in bloodlust—was one of the most infamous strike squads of the local Team Aqua base.
From the intel of the six eliminated grunts, Sato knew each of these men was an executioner. They acted as pirates, annihilating entire ships, crews and all, with merciless efficiency.
All six were on the Hoenn League's A-rank wanted list, each among the most notorious criminals alive.
The tattooed giant leading them was called Kux, known by the nickname "Blood Axe."
That name came from a battle where he slaughtered more than thirty foes in succession, his axe dripping with gore.
Though the other five lacked his infamy, they were still fearsome Trainers in their own right. Bounty hunters, League Trainers, innocents—the dead left in their wake were beyond counting.