Regarding how to deal with Tetsuya, the three Elite Four actually showed a trace of hesitation.
"If you ask me… just kill him directly!" Tōkichi said. Recently, his temper had indeed been quite bad, as if he could snap and kill someone at any moment!
Ryosuke shook his head and said, "It's absolutely impossible to make a move here. Him being by Pryce's side makes it difficult to act, but that's only secondary. You all know Pryce's strength. Even if the three of us join forces, we might not be his opponent…
If Pryce catches any evidence against us, we would instead fall into a passive position. At that time, let alone bringing him down… we might end up being brought down by him!"
Tōkichi and Maiko both swallowed nervously. They knew their own limits… maybe.
"…Are we just going to let this go? And also not deal with Pryce anymore!? You all know how much loss he has caused us over the years!" Tōkichi reminded.
Ryosuke was also furious, but he still let out a long sigh and said, "Dealing with Pryce is not something that can be done overnight. As for this Tetsuya, sigh… there is no way to eliminate him right now. Once the Elite Four Challenge is over, he will no longer interfere with our interests, so there will be no need to kill him."
"Hoho…~ I think it's very necessary!" Maiko said with a light laugh.
Tōkichi and Ryosuke once again focused their attention on her.
"Maiko, what are your thoughts?"
"As for this Tetsuya kid, after finishing the 'event' and leaving the Johto League Headquarters, he indeed will no longer affect our interests. However, killing him has a great advantage…
It will make Pryce uneasy!
Think about it. If Pryce's student dies in the wilderness or disappears without a trace, what will he think?" Maiko said.
"He will definitely suspect that we did it," Hattori Tōkichi said.
"Exactly~" Maiko continued. "He is already well aware that we intend to overthrow his Elite Four Position. So what we need to do is make him suspect that we did it, while having no evidence to prove that it was us!"
Tōkichi nodded and said, "So Pryce can only keep this anger bottled up, yet he can do nothing to us! I think sooner or later he will develop depression, tōhoho."
"That's secondary. The key point is to make him form a sense that as long as he remains an Elite Four, his students and relatives are not safe. If we can force him to step down on his own, wouldn't that be even better~?"
After Maiko finished speaking, the three of them could not help but burst into laughter.
"Maiko's method is indeed… clever 'although somewhat forced', but how can we completely remove all evidence? It's impossible for us to act personally, and we cannot use anyone connected to us. With Pryce's ability, if he pursues it to the end, we definitely will not be safe. But using others is also not reliable," Tōkichi raised a difficult problem.
Indeed, if the one who killed Tetsuya was someone connected to these three Elite Four members, as long as Pryce investigated thoroughly, he would definitely find clues. Moreover, such a dangerous task was not something anyone would dare to take lightly, and the three would also have to live in constant fear. If the one who died in the wilderness were an ordinary person, it would be one thing, but this was Pryce's student.
The entire room suddenly fell silent. No one could think of a suitable candidate. Killing Tetsuya was easy, but doing so without leaving any trace was extremely difficult!
Moreover, no one could guarantee that the person sent would be absolutely loyal. After all, the one at stake was Pryce's student.
Suddenly, Ryosuke stood up and said, "Shadow Team!"
"…Shadow Team?"
"Yes, Shadow Team! This is an extremely secret underground organization with immense power. It can be said that it has influence everywhere. It mainly deals in underground activities such as human trafficking, hired killings, and Black Market transactions, and it also maintains connections with underground organizations in various regions.
It is said that many members of dark forces like Team Rocket were bought from Shadow Team. So as long as we pay enough commission, the Shadow Team can definitely eliminate Tetsuya without leaving a trace. Even if Pryce investigates in the future, it will have nothing to do with us."
After Ryosuke finished speaking, he immediately received agreement from Tōkichi and Maiko. In fact, all three of them had leverage held by Shadow Team.
At the beginning, Shadow Team had disguised itself as ordinary merchants to offer big bribes to these League executives, including luxury cars, beautiful companions, and mansions. Then, under the identity of Shadow Team, they gathered evidence against them.
That was why Shadow Team could operate in various regions without being heavily suppressed. Sometimes, to deceive the public, they would only inflict superficial damage without truly being harmed.
"I will find a way to contact Shadow Team. When the time comes, the commission will be split equally among the three of us," Ryosuke said.
"Then it's settled. As long as we can suppress Pryce, any amount of money is worth it!"
'Sigh… it still feels a little forced…'
---◓---
The next day, Tetsuya and the other three Elite Four students were making intensive preparations for the competition. For Tetsuya, it was simply about completing the task quickly and making a name for himself in the League. After all, according to his life plan in this life, he would officially enter the League's view at least at the age of twenty. By then, his records would also include a result from the Elite Four Challenge.
The other three naturally wanted to showcase themselves as much as possible. As Elite Four students, they had an inherent sense of superiority. To please their teachers and mentors, and gain more resources, the only way was to bring esteem to their teacher.
The Elite Four members were naturally also preparing for the three-day tour and Elite Four Challenge starting tomorrow. Of course, aside from Pryce, the other three were all carrying out secret plans. Today, the Dark-type Elite Four Kurokawa Ryosuke took leave due to feeling unwell.
The position of the Elite Four was already very high, but above them was the Champion. The current Champion was the head of the Dragon Tamer Clan from Blackthorn City, Siegfried Wataru, who was also the father of Lance, the "Dragon Master" who would become famous throughout Kanto ten years later.
However, although Siegfried was powerful, he was henpecked. His wife was from Celadon City and was the current Grass-type Elite Four of the Kanto Region.
Later, due to a feud with Johto's Grass-type Elite Four Maiko, no woman could tolerate her husband working under the same roof every day with someone like Maiko. Moreover, that woman was not exactly respectable, and her reputation had long been ruined… under family pressure, Siegfried had no choice but to transfer to Kanto and become an Elite Four member there.
Later, their son Lance also remained in Kanto, so many people only knew Lance as a member of the Kanto Region Elite Four and did not know that he originally came from Blackthorn City in Johto.
Above the Champion was the League Council, composed of highly respected Trainers, all of whom were Champions who had made outstanding contributions to the League.
The president of the Kanto Region's League Council was Charles Goodshow, and the vice president was the renowned Samuel Oak. It was precisely due to the efforts of these two that the Kanto League remained prosperous for a long time, and in the following twenty years, it even annexed the Orange League, leaving the Johto League only able to rely on the Kanto League.