Seeing Cain's reaction, Giovanni realized that it was not the case, that he had guessed wrong, but he did not conceal anything.
"Before coming here, didn't I tell you that I wanted to discuss something with you?" Giovanni said.
Cain nodded, without interrupting.
"I also saw the video of the battle between you, Drake, and the people of the Sacred Church. Although the bishop of the Sacred Church who appeared at the end concealed his appearance, upon seeing him I was able to more or less deduce his identity. I believe that... when he appeared, I was not the only one who guessed who he was."
"T-that... what exactly is the identity of the bishop of the Sacred Church?"
Giovanni knew the bishop of the Sacred Church? That was something Cain had not expected at all.
But Giovanni did not answer Cain's question. Instead, a meaningful smile appeared on his face.
"In some time, you should also come to know. It doesn't matter if I don't say it now. I can only tell you one thing: do not underestimate him!"
"Just like you... do not dare underestimate me either."
"Even though you now possess this level of strength, you have not allowed yourself to become arrogant because of your talent, and your attitude toward me remains just as respectful. That is because you know that your current strength is still not comparable to mine."
"Although I do not know exactly how you came to understand my strength, or in what aspect you clearly saw the power that I possess, I am not too surprised that you know. After all, you even know that I use Beedrill!"
"You should know that I have probably not shown Beedrill in front of others for more than ten years. Not only have I not used it, I have not even summoned it. Even within Team Rocket, the number of people who know that I have a Beedrill does not exceed the fingers of one hand, and all of them are my absolute confidants."
Giovanni's words carried a special meaning.
"The first time I saw you, I knew that your ambitions were not small, that you were not someone willing to settle for mediocrity. That is why I helped you establish yourself within the League."
"It's just that I did not expect you to perform far better than I imagined, to the point of surpassing everyone's expectations, including my own. But it does not matter. You and I are different. Your ambition is the pursuit of strength, while what I seek is absolute power."
"In essence, we have no conflict whatsoever. In fact, if we join forces, both of us can obtain what we desire!"
"That is also the main reason why, even knowing what your so-called Team Heaven has been doing in Hoenn, or rather, what it plans to do, I have turned a blind eye and taken no action."
"Or did you really believe that I had no one in Hoenn? If the Sacred Church can infiltrate every region and organization, why could I, Giovanni of Team Rocket, not do the same?"
This was probably the time Giovanni had spoken the most in front of Cain, and also the time he had explained himself the most thoroughly.
The main reason was that Cain's current strength had earned Giovanni's recognition.
As he listened to all of this, the surprise in Cain's heart continued to grow, wave after wave, each higher than the last.
One could only say: worthy of being the greatest dark hero of the Pokémon world. Were his judgment of people and his decisiveness truly among the very best in the Pokémon world?
Cain knew that Giovanni possessed enormous ambition. Even before meeting him personally, he already understood him to some extent. But he had never imagined that Giovanni, after only meeting him a few times, would be able to understand him seventy or eighty percent.
That ability to read people alone was already something that ordinary individuals could not match.
Just as Giovanni had said, both his ambition and Cain's ambition were immense.
But the two ambitions were different. Giovanni believed in absolute power; as long as his power was sufficiently great, the entire world could belong to him.
Cain, on the other hand, believed in absolute strength. As long as his strength was powerful enough, no matter what force or organization it was, he could destroy it with a simple gesture.
Those were the ambitions of the two of them. One could not say that one was correct and the other wrong.
They were two completely different paths. As long as they reached the summit, they could truly obtain what they envisioned.
Moreover, their ambitions did not conflict. They could even complement each other, at least until either of them reached their limit.
That was why Giovanni had not placed too much importance on the matter of Team Heaven.
After all, it was nothing more than a single region. How could Giovanni's heart be satisfied with only one region?
Using the two great regions of Kanto as a foothold, devouring the entire Pokémon world was not impossible, as long as he achieved the objective he was pursuing next.
Although the two sought different things, Giovanni would not neglect improving his own strength, and Cain would not give up the benefits and resources provided by Team Heaven.
Now, the relationship between the two was quite clear: Giovanni was the primary figure, and Cain the auxiliary.
It had to be admitted that Giovanni's charisma was truly immense. From the bottom of his heart, Cain had never thought of betraying Team Rocket; at least, he would not do so before his strength reached a certain level.
For someone already in a leadership position to say words like "cooperate" to a subordinate — what kind of breadth of mind and what kind of magnanimity was required to encompass so much?
It was no wonder he believed that the current League was already rotten and had begun to decline.
Cain said nothing. He simply gave a slight bow to Giovanni, expressing his stance.
Seeing Cain's gesture, Giovanni said something that completely shocked him.
"If that is the case, then with your strength, it is already sufficient. This position has never existed in my Team Rocket, but creating a new one especially for you — what problem would there be?"
"Cain, would you like to become the deputy leader of Team Rocket?"
Giovanni stood up. In Cain's eyes, at that moment, he was almost like a figure radiating light.
He almost overlapped with a certain image in his mind, of someone who liked to say: "Gurararara, become my son!"
The feeling conveyed by both figures was practically the same.
(End of Chapter)