Giovanni no longer believed he would continue appearing in Edward's movies or television dramas. After all, he had already been sentenced to life imprisonment, and once he grew old in the future, he would ultimately face the death penalty as well. This feeling of simply waiting for death—if not for Giovanni's firm and unyielding will—would have crushed him long ago.
Giovanni had never feared death itself.
What terrified him was the waiting—that suffocating, oppressive process of waiting for death. That was what truly made him uncomfortable.
Edward could see Giovanni's disdain, but he didn't say anything. After all, he had never truly expected Giovanni to step back into the world again anyway. In fact, if Giovanni did ever reappear, that would be the truly terrifying situation. At that point, Edward would have to figure out a way to capture him again—and accomplishing that would be extremely difficult.
Team Rocket still survived in the future, even if they were suppressed so thoroughly they could barely breathe. A criminal organization managing to remain alive under the League's crushing pressure was, in itself, nothing short of a miracle.
Edward chatted with Giovanni a little more, but it was obvious that Giovanni had no intention of talking. He remained silent the entire time. Seeing this, Edward had no way to continue and could only end the conversation for now. As for how to handle Giovanni afterward, he would deal with it later. At this moment, Edward didn't think Giovanni would provide any useful information anyway.
This guy clearly didn't feel like talking.
"Before we part ways for good… can you tell me something?" Giovanni suddenly spoke, looking straight at Edward. "My identity being exposed, did it have anything to do with you?"
Edward was slightly taken aback. He had assumed Giovanni no longer intended to speak at all. He hadn't expected Giovanni to still be curious about this matter.
If it had been anyone else asking, Edward might have told the truth. But facing Giovanni—a troublesome man with considerable strength—Edward chose instead…
"Huh? Your identity being exposed has anything to do with me?" Edward showed an exaggeratedly confused expression. Giovanni studied Edward's face carefully but didn't detect anything unusual. Perhaps… it really wasn't Edward.
But if it wasn't Edward, then who had exposed him? Giovanni genuinely couldn't figure it out.
Only a few people knew his true identity—mainly the high-ranking officers of Team Rocket. But those officers wouldn't betray only him specifically. And so, Giovanni had circled around the possibilities countless times and still found no answer. His suspicion toward Edward existed only because the script Edward once wrote for him was so outrageous it made Giovanni wonder if he was being deliberately sabotaged.
But looking at Edward's expression now, Giovanni began to feel it probably wasn't him after all.
"…Hmm?" Giovanni suddenly thought of something. Edward was an acclaimed director—one who preferred casting only actors with exceptional acting skills and possessed a distinct personal style. Under such circumstances, was there not a possibility that Edward was simply… acting? Acting as himself?
If Giovanni couldn't see through it, that would be normal.
Still, Giovanni considered himself quite capable of reading people. After all, as the leader of Team Rocket, he had rarely misjudged anyone. The only exception had been the bizarre chemistry of that irritating trio.
Giovanni turned away and left. After thinking it over, he concluded that unless a high-ranking officer betrayed him, the chance of his identity being exposed was very low. Once his plan succeeded and he escaped prison, he would then investigate who among them was loyal, and who was a traitor. If by then Team Rocket had already been wiped out in one go, it would prove that the high-ranking officers were the moles, replacing him only to destroy Team Rocket entirely.
But if Team Rocket still existed, and everyone passed his investigation, then no matter how unlikely it seemed… Giovanni would suspect Edward.
"…Zoroark."
Sitting inside his car, Edward pulled out his phone and called Zoroark. Ever since he left the prison, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Giovanni didn't seem like someone who had given up. It felt more like he was pretending.
And so, Edward couldn't help wondering:
Did Giovanni have some kind of other plan?
Perhaps… an escape plan?
If Giovanni escaped, would he suspect Edward?
Edward understood all too well: intelligent people tended to harbor deep paranoia. For a man like Giovanni—who lived his whole life on a knife's edge—that paranoia would be comparable to Emperor Palpatine himself. The thought made Edward uneasy, and so he decided he needed to settle the problem proactively.
Waiting for others to make the first move was not Edward's style.
He preferred to act first.
"Boss, do you have instructions for me?" Zoroark answered quickly.
"Hire five elite teams and have them stationed around the prison I visited earlier," Edward said in a low voice. He was alone in the car, so he had no fear of anyone overhearing. "If Giovanni is rescued, they are to immediately eliminate the problem."
Zoroark was startled. Five elite teams—the monthly expenses for that wouldn't be small. Was this truly worth it to deal with one man locked in a prison?
Zoroark didn't know.
But as a secretary, her only duty was to obey.
She nodded and accepted the order. The cost of maintaining five teams was indeed high, but for a wealthy man like Edward, it was nothing more than pocket change.
After giving Zoroark his orders, Edward finally felt slightly relieved. He genuinely didn't dare underestimate this matter. Giovanni gave him a strange feeling—who knew what hidden trump cards Giovanni might have?
If Giovanni escaped, Edward didn't have the time or energy to guard against him every day. It was far too difficult to guard against a thief forever. Better to make preparations in advance and resolve the matter thoroughly.
With five elite teams, Edward felt that unless Team Rocket mobilized its entire organization, there was no way they could break Giovanni out from a League-run prison.
"But…"
Edward suddenly remembered something—a detail he had previously forgotten.
The Rainbow Rocket.
Rainbow Rocket was a villainous organization introduced later. Its power was absurdly high. In the games, its main purpose was nostalgia—the group was basically an all-star ensemble of past villains, many of whom had successfully captured legendary Pokémon and fulfilled their dreams.
And at the head of that group, the one who united all those villains from different worlds… was Giovanni himself.
Edward vaguely remembered that Giovanni first captured Mewtwo, did something afterward, and then crossed into alternate timelines, gathering the strongest villains of multiple worlds to use Ultra Necrozma's power to fuse all parallel worlds together.
Of course, he was eventually defeated by the game protagonist.
Still, the thought of facing those people made Edward's stomach ache. Considering that possibility, Edward decided he needed to be even more cautious. Hiring five teams was costly, but it was far better than anything that could happen if he underestimated Giovanni.
He didn't want any accidents.
"With five elite teams plus the League's own heavy security—if Giovanni still manages to escape… then honestly, I'll have nothing left to say." Edward shook his head. He had already done everything he possibly could. Now it was a matter of fate.
Of course, there was one more, far simpler solution:
He could just kill Giovanni.
If Giovanni died, none of these calculations or future possibilities would matter. In the current Pokémon world, resurrecting a human being was extremely difficult—essentially impossible.
But since the League had already issued its sentence, it was unlikely they would change it unless some new crimes were discovered.
Edward paused.
New crimes?
He thought of Mewtwo.
Mewtwo lounged around every day, barely doing anything. No one else knew its true identity—only Edward, and Giovanni as well. Giovanni definitely hadn't reported Mewtwo. Checking the records, Edward confirmed that Mewtwo had indeed never been mentioned.
"In that case…"
Edward felt a stir of interest.
If he added the Mewtwo incident, could Giovanni be sentenced to immediate execution?
Perhaps it was worth a try.
But for now… he still needed to finish writing One Missed Call 3.
Just as he was about to start writing, he noticed a trending post online:
[One Missed Call 3! Final Plot Summary! (Contains Spoilers)]
The post recounted an elaborate, dramatic plot filled with atmospheric horror, twisted deaths, and a climactic rooftop showdown—claiming it came from Ghost Films and obtained directly from Edwardo!"
"…I almost believed it." Edward twitched helplessly. Edwardo and Edward—if someone wasn't paying attention, the names did look similar. It was an easy mistake to make.
Still, Edward couldn't help laughing bitterly. As he became more famous, imitators and clout-chasers naturally appeared online. He didn't mind as long as they didn't go too far. If they truly crossed the line, he would have no choice but to take action. Thankfully, so far no one had been that outrageous.
(End of Chapter)