"The person you love?"
Kaiko was momentarily stunned.
His first assumption was that the "One-Eyed Owl" was referring to Ukina.
After all, it was they who had driven the latter to her death.
He never even considered that the "beloved" Eto spoke of was actually Uchiha Byakuya.
"Well, it's up to you. Do you want revenge for Ukina, or do you want to stay alive?"
Kaiko said casually.
Yoshimura Eto couldn't be bothered to waste words on him.
Even though she was facing two or three dozen black-clad operatives, she charged in without hesitation.
Because these men were her most direct enemies; the V Organization.
In a world like Tokyo Ghoul, the more powerful the combatants, the faster their fights end.
Prolonged battles that drag on for half a day?
They simply don't exist.
"So, there's no room for negotiation…?"
Kaiko's lighthearted demeanor vanished, replaced by a cold expression.
The black-clad operatives under his command attacked the One-Eyed Owl simultaneously.
V was composed entirely of Special-Class level fighters, and there were at least twenty or thirty of them.
Even with her current kakuja form, Eto couldn't take them all on.
Only the late-stage version of the One-Eyed Owl from the original story had the power to defeat V; at least when Arima Kishou and Furuta Nimura weren't present.
Eto's kakuja had multiple forms.
Her "Aogiri Tree" era wasn't even her strongest.
Her final form appeared during the Cochlea Assault Battle, when Kaneki Ken defeated Arima Kishou and became the last One-Eyed King.
That version had a colossal body, estimated to be at least ten meters tall.
It had six legs and two kakuja arms, making it several times larger than the version seen in the Aogiri Tree arc.
The One-Eyed Owl's Final Form at full power, could instantly slaughter multiple Special-Class V operatives with undeniable ease.
However, she was eventually killed by Furuta Nimura, who had been implanted with Rize's kakuhou.
At that point, power levels had become completely ridiculous.
But that was more than a decade from now.
Right now, the One-Eyed Owl wasn't strong enough to take on the entirety of V all on her own.
After slaughtering a few black-clad operatives, Eto was overwhelmed by the surrounding enemies.
Kaiko then used his SSS-rated ukaku quinque to blast apart her kakuja armor.
Eto's human form was completely exposed.
"Oh? So you're actually a girl, Kuzen really had an unruly daughter. I suppose I'll have to educate you in his place."
As Kaiko spoke, he reloaded another RC Condensed Shell.
His SSS-rated ukaku quinque was immensely powerful.
However, its biggest flaw was its long cooldown time, after all, he needed to wait a bit before firing a second shot.
But Eto's regeneration had already slowed.
Her kakuja armor had been completely shattered.
In her human form, she had nowhere to escape.
She could only watch as another RC Condensed Shell hurtled toward her.
"..."
Though she felt unwilling to accept this end, a faint smile still appeared on Eto's lips.
At the very least, she had avenged some of her enemies; she had done something with her life.
She didn't close her eyes in fear, but faced death head-on.
At the very least, in these final months of her life, she had met Byakuya.
Her entire life had not been nothing but tragedy and suffering.
And yet, in the end; there had still been moments of happiness and joy.
The only regret…
Was that she would never have the chance to look back on those memories ever again.
"Byakuya, I'm coming to join you…"
Eto murmured softly.
But just then, a certain silhouette appeared right before her, naturally; it was Uchiha Byakuya's figure.
"…Am I too late?"
Eto let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
She hadn't expected that, in the final moments of her life, she would have such a childish hallucination; one so vivid that she could even hear his voice.
"You bastard… even in death, you're still teasing me?"
She sighed wistfully.
She had wanted to at least die with some dignity.
At that exact moment, Byakuya turned his head slightly.
His eyes; both of them had opened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
His left eye locked onto Eto.
His right eye… opened a swirling spatial vortex.
The incoming RC Condensed Shell was instantly absorbed into the Kamui dimension.
"Huh?"
The explosion that was supposed to end everything… never happened.
In fact, there wasn't any sound at all.
Kaiko frowned in confusion.
A moment later, he finally noticed something unusual; a figure had appeared before the One-Eyed Owl.
Focusing his gaze, he realized who it was.
Uchiha Byakuya?!
"Byakuya?! But you were supposed to be-?!"
Kaiko's face froze in shock.
Not just him, the other black-clad operatives were also completely stunned.
They had seen it with their own eyes; this kid had been blown to bits, completely reduced to nothing.
If he had escaped… there was no way they wouldn't have noticed it!
How the hell did he do this?!
"You all thought I was dead, didn't you Unfortunately for you… I'm alive and well."
Byakuya said calmly.
Eto, still in shock, looked up at him.
She had finally processed what was happening.
She wasn't dreaming.
The Byakuya standing before her… was real.
"You… you're actually alive?"
For a moment, Eto felt as if she were still stuck in some dream.
She couldn't quite believe that the person before her was the real Byakuya.
"Of course I am."
Byakuya turned around and reached out, lifting her from the shattered kakuja shell.
At that moment, Eto finally accepted the truth.
If this were just an illusion, there was no way she would feel such a vivid and familiar touch.
"…Are we running?"
She quickly regained her composure, her expression calm and collected.
She didn't blame Byakuya for not telling her he was alive.
She didn't complain or get emotional; acting as if nothing had happened at all.
The priority, for now was how to deal with V.
She could tell that Byakuya had no intention of retreating.
So she continued, "If we're not running, then put me down. I don't want to slow you down."
"It's fine. Holding you like this is actually safer."
Byakuya replied.
"…Is that so? Well, suit yourself."
Eto didn't know what he had planned.
But this bastard always managed to pull off the impossible.
So, inexplicably, she fully trusted him.
She could only hold on a little tighter, wrapping her arms around Byakuya's neck.
At that moment, Kaiko finally noticed something odd about Byakuya's eyes.
They were blood-red, just like a ghoul's kakugan!
But he realized it too late.
In the next instant, a massive, ethereal blue form emerged; Susanoo!
Towering ribcages and colossal arms materialized immediately, shielding both Byakuya and Eto within.
But Byakuya didn't stop there.
The gigantic blue ribcage rapidly expanded outward, its form growing at a terrifying rate!