Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
To be honest, Hanmo never expected that even after his strength was severely reduced, Baku would still be so terrifying. The moment he saw his own Crawdaunt knocked out with a single punch from Sato's Swampert, he knew Baku was not someone he could mess with.
At the same time, the anger in his heart was instantly washed away by the imposing aura Sato was exuding at that moment, leaving only a strong fear of death.
Like most members of Team Aqua, Hanmo was a Water-type specialist. His Crawdaunt was his strongest Pokémon, yet it had been no match for Baku's Swampert. If even Crawdaunt couldn't hold its own, then sending out the rest of his Pokémon would be nothing but offering them up as fodder.
As someone who usually disliked Baku's arrogance, Hanmo knew the kind of person he was. Ever since his head had been badly injured by an enemy, Baku hadn't been normal. He was a madman.
And a madman's thoughts couldn't be predicted. Following his usual habits, if anyone made a move against him, Baku would, without hesitation, kill them.
What's more, according to Team Aqua's rules, since Hanmo had struck first, even if Sato (disguised as Baku) killed him now, he wouldn't face any punishment. He would even have the right to claim everything Hanmo owned.
So when Hanmo realized "Baku" still had a shred of reason, he instantly backed down.
In order to survive, Hanmo was willing to throw away all dignity. Right there in front of everyone, he did as Sato demanded — he fell to his knees and kowtowed.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three loud strikes sounded. He had hit his head with such force that his forehead immediately turned purple and swollen.
"You really are shameless, Hanmo. Looks like women have stolen all your courage, hahaha~~~"
"But don't think for a second that this matter is over between us."
Sato hadn't expected Hanmo to fold so quickly, dropping to his knees without hesitation. Still, he stayed in character as Baku, sneering arrogantly at him first before twisting his face into a vicious grin and issuing a threat.
As soon as he finished, he pulled an axe from Baku's storage gear, its blade still stained with dried blood.
Hanmo's heart burned with humiliation, but fear dominated him. And when he saw Sato take out Baku's infamous axe — the one that had drunk the blood of countless enemies — a deadly sense of crisis swept over him.
"This is a misunderstanding, Baku! How about 10,000 contribution points, plus a wild Lapras?"
Desperate to save his life, he quickly offered something of substance.
"20,000 contribution points. If you can't do that, I'll kill you right here, then take it myself."
Sato didn't know exactly how many contribution points Hanmo had, but by using Baku's own savings as reference, he could roughly guess how much an elite like Hanmo should hold. So he deliberately opened his mouth wide with the demand.
Hanmo's face instantly went pale. He didn't have that many. Though he'd earned plenty of contribution points over time, he'd squandered much of it chasing women. At present, he had just over 16,000 left.
"Fine, I'll transfer 15,000 to you now. The rest… I'll get it to you within half a day."
But when he saw Sato motioning the axe toward his neck, his eyes flashed with madness. He hurriedly agreed.
Right then and there, in front of Sato, he transferred 15,000 contribution points to Baku's ID card, then reluctantly handed over a Net Ball.
"Get lost. And next time, open your eyes and shut your mouth."
Satisfied, Sato pocketed the spoils, threw down that one line, and turned to leave. He didn't spare another glance at Hanmo, whose expression kept shifting as he stood frozen in place.
As soon as "Baku" left, the crowd that had gathered dispersed. Several others in Team Aqua elite uniforms had been watching the whole time. They looked after Sato's retreating figure with relief in their eyes.
But when they turned to look at Hanmo — who had been the first to act bold — their expressions were full of gloating.
Because so many had witnessed it, word spread fast through the Team Aqua base: Hanmo had tried to humiliate Baku, only to be humiliated himself. Before long, he became the laughingstock of the entire base.
At the same time, the rumor that Baku's strength had been crippled was shattered. Those who had been restless after hearing such gossip quickly fell silent.
...
"Now what do you want to do? Honestly, if it were me, I'd have thrown that guy Hanmo into the ocean to feed the fish already."
Half an hour later, inside Team Aqua's base command room, a bald man in an elite's uniform spoke mockingly to the greasy old man beside him, who wore a white lab coat.
The bald man was Hague, the top leader of this base. The old man was Dr. Peter, Team Aqua's chief scientist. Together, they were the two most important figures here.
At the moment, the screen in front of them was replaying the entire scene of Sato's confrontation with Hanmo.
It was worth noting: Hanmo was currently one of Dr. Peter's bodyguards. As the saying goes, "when you beat a dog, you look at the owner." By humiliating Hanmo, Sato had, in some sense, slapped Dr. Peter's face as well.
"Hmph. I don't care about Hanmo. But does this Baku still see me as his superior? You have to teach him a lesson. The fewer mad dogs we have running around this base, the better."
"You handle it. If I'm in a bad mood, research doesn't progress well. My work efficiency suffers when I'm upset."
At that, Dr. Peter's face twisted slightly. After cursing Hanmo as useless in his heart, he turned on Hague with a sharp, commanding tone. When he finished, he flicked his sleeve, scowled, and stormed out of the command room.
"Hmph. Damn old bastard. Still treating this base like it's his. If the boss hadn't said you were useful, I'd have thrown you into the ocean trench long ago."
Hague's cheerful face turned cold as soon as Peter left. Watching the old man go, his thoughts grew venomous.
Still, as the base leader, he clearly knew who weighed more between Peter and Baku.
In his eyes, Baku might still have a fairly strong Swampert, but his strength was no longer worthy of the Blood Axe Squad. So he quickly made his decision.
"Someone, come here! Spread my order: Baku humiliated a teammate in public and behaved with extreme impropriety. Strip him of his Blood Axe Squad membership, and confine him to the base for one month."
After making up his mind, Hague immediately summoned a subordinate and issued the order.
"Wait. Also tell Baku that I'm granting him special permission to choose two Pokémon for free from the base storage."
In the end, to avoid chilling the hearts of his men completely, Hague decided to throw Baku a small bone as compensation.