"You're the one in charge here?"
Kashiwagi grabbed the Jackal Gang squad leader, glancing at the terrified faces surrounding them. He hadn't expected so many stragglers to be holed up in this building.
"...I am," the squad leader managed to choke out. He was a loyal follower of Roki and the person unlikely to surrender voluntarily.
But faced with a total loss, he couldn't find the will to resist. As his eyes locked onto Kashiwagi's face, he recoiled in horror. "It's you! Team Snagem's Demon-wood!"
"The name is Kashiwagi. Stop with the nonsense."
Kashiwagi frowned. He hadn't realized his alias had spread so far that people could link his face to the name. "Sing", he commanded.
Chansey stepped out from behind, her feet splashing on the wet floor. She began to sing a gentle melody for the horrified Jackal members. They tried to bolt, but Aggron's massive frame loomed over them as he stepped forward, freezing them in their tracks.
Before long, they fell to the ground in a deep slumber.
"Otsuka, get up there and set up the machine."
Kashiwagi directed Otsuka to the roof while he pulled rope from his pack to bind the captives, systematically stripping them of their Poké Balls and stashing them in his bag.
Then, he rode Aggron back down to the lower floors.
To his surprise, no one had tried to flee. Despite the building being attacked, the residents remained, throwing their hands up the moment they saw Kashiwagi.
"I surrender! I surrender!"
"We give up! Please don't kill us!"
The cries were desperate. Many knelt on the ground, bowing their heads repeatedly. Kashiwagi looked at their faces and realized they were likely the families of official gang members, that explained why they hadn't been used as shields outside.
"Sing", he said to Chansey, who was perched on Aggron's back.
The Jackal members hidden in the crowd paled. They were willing to surrender, but they were terrified of falling asleep, who knew if they'd ever wake up? A few tried to resist, but they were no match for Chansey's lullaby, and their Pokémon were quickly pinned down by Aggron.
Once the temporary signal tower was active, Kashiwagi regained communication with the outside world.
"Area suppressed. Send in the cleanup crew."
He stepped out onto the roof and looked down. The view point was incredible, any large-scale movement in the surrounding area was clear as day. A mob was hard to hide, but one or two individuals were much easier to lose in the alleys. No wonder they had sent him and Otsuka in alone.
-----
With Kashiwagi's guidance from above, Team Snagem quickly moved into the sector. With the high ground secured, the district was essentially in their pocket.
But this was only the beginning. Everyone knew the real battlefield was the Underdome; the surface was just for the small fry. As long as they followed the High Executives' tactics, taking a district was relatively simple.
Sure enough, it went exactly as Kashiwagi predicted.
In less than three hours, the entire district was suppressed. Nearly a hundred official Jackal Gang members had surrendered, along with five squad leaders. There was no sign of a High Executive. This allowed the peripheral members to sweep the area without fear, searching for secret tunnels or hidden hostiles.
The other two districts were still in the heat of battle, handled by the Rock and Crystal Units. Since they hadn't called for help, Kashiwagi's team didn't interfere. Besides, they had plenty of work of their own.
"Any reports of people abusing prisoners or looting property?" Kashiwagi asked Naruhisa in a low voice.
Naruhisa's expression flickered with hesitation before he nodded. "Yeah... quite a lot. How do you want to handle it?"
"Go teach them the rules. The rule that says: don't do what you're told not to do. Make them spit out whatever they took. Whatever they did to the victims, do it back to them," Kashiwagi said calmly.
Naruhisa hesitated. "Is that... a good idea?"
According to everyone's expectations, once a district was taken, the subordinates were allowed to pocket some "spoils" while the leaders turned a blind eye. Everyone gets rich, everyone is happy.
"Don't you get it? It's not that I'm banning them from taking anything, it's that they're taking too much," Kashiwagi looked at him flatly. "And besides, I don't like seeing that mindless cruelty. You should know that by now. Since I'm the strongest one here, things go by my rules."
"...Got it!" Naruhisa nodded and led his men away to deal with those who had crossed the line.
After they left, the other squad leaders under Ryuka approached. "Sorry about that. Thanks for stepping up to play the 'bad cop.' It wasn't convenient for us to intervene."
"We appreciate it."
"Things really do go smoother with you helping out", they said in succession.
Kashiwagi returned the smile. "It's how it should be. Besides, I've always hated people who don't listen. You can't change a mindset overnight, so for now, we'll just have to make them remember the rules through pain."
The squad leaders nodded in agreement.
For some in Team Snagem, basic values like 'don't bully the weak' or 'don't burn and pillage' were foreign concepts. You couldn't use reason and logic to flip their worldview in an afternoon. You had to use things they understood: pain, discipline, and "The Rules."
Of course, this made him a target for resentment. Blocking someone's path to easy money is a great way to get hated.
But Kashiwagi knew how to turn that hate into a twisted kind of "love."
With the approval of the other squad leaders, he took a portion of the confiscated wealth and distributed it among the peripheral members who had worked hard and stayed within the lines.
Then, he made them a promise.
"If you can pass the official member exam, I'm willing to take you in. You've likely heard about how I run things."
Kashiwagi addressed the peripheral members, whose eyes were now burning with focus. "Soon, I will become a High Executive. When that happens, I'll need men. The team might even lower the promotion requirements. That'll be your chance to become my subordinates."
Over the last few months, the news that he rarely took "tributes" from his underlings had spread alongside his fame. Some called him a fool while others said he had a bright future and didn't care for chump change. But either way, everyone knew that serving under a boss like him would be a dream. No one wants to give up a cut of their hard-earned blood money.
Besides, this boss wasn't stingy, he just had some "weird" rules.
As soon as Kashiwagi finished playing the role of the generous benefactor, he transformed from a "tyrant" into a "good big brother with quirks." People in Team Snagem were nothing if not practical.
In an instant, the peripheral members were buzzing with excitement.
Until—
A terrifying vibration struck.
Kashiwagi couldn't find the words to describe the sensation. He felt as if he were standing on a giant cracker that was being snapped in half. The earth instantly split into countless massive fissures, and several people fell in before they could even react.
"Save them!"
He shouted, but he couldn't even keep his footing. He had to rely on Chansey's power to lift himself into the air. From above, he watched as the entire world began to violently thrash.
He realized the truth.
It was an earthquake!
RUMBLE...!!