"It seems that Byakuya's true strength far exceeds our imagination..."
At this moment, Yoshimura Kuzen also speculated that the owner of this giant "Kakuja" was Uchiha Byakuya.
Previously, his impression of Byakuya was still stuck at the time when Byakuya cut off both of his kakuja's arms.
However, the absolute power Byakuya displayed today had completely overturned his understanding.
First of all, Byakuya was a half-human, yet he could undergo a Kakuja transformation to such a degree. This alone was already unbelievable to him.
At this moment, Yoshimura Kuzen directly deactivated his Kakuja form. Looking at the battlefield, which had been devastated beyond recognition, he could tell that the battle between Byakuya and V had already ended.
"I never expected this either... It feels like I never truly knew him at all..."
Arima Kishou couldn't help but sigh.
Besides Arima and Yoshimura Kuzen, two other investigators had also arrived at the scene.
They were the two Associate Special-Class Investigators stationed at CCG's 1st Ward.
They wanted to question Arima about what had happened, but just as they were about to speak, they were instantly stunned by the giant before them.
"T-This... What is this? Is this a Kakuja...?"
In an instant, their fighting spirit completely disappeared, their faces filled with fear.
This was not an enemy they could handle!
They had witnessed the power of half-Kakujas before, and even those had already given them immense trouble. Let alone a fully evolved Kakuja that far surpassed half-Kakujas, and one with such an exaggerated size.
These two Associate Special-Class Investigators didn't want to disgrace themselves by fleeing in battle, but at the same time, they didn't have the courage to step forward and face the gigantic "Kakuja."
Byakuya simply ignored these two; his only targets were the Washuu Clan.
As long as these ordinary human investigators didn't recklessly provoke him, he wouldn't do anything to them.
Now that Kaiko and the black-clad operatives from V had been completely annihilated, Byakuya immediately deactivated Susanoo.
From beginning to end, he had been holding Yoshimura Eto in this position.
"Next, it's time to settle accounts with the Washuu Clan."
Uchiha Byakuya spoke with a calm expression.
If he wanted to overthrow the Washuu Clan's rule, there was no other choice besides using force.
"You bastard! You had such overwhelming power and didn't say anything earlier? You made me think you were really dead!"
Now that the battle had ended, Eto finally let out a sigh and complained in a slightly resentful tone.
Before this, she had never imagined that Byakuya's strength could reach such a level. He had wiped out the entire "V" organization in an instant.
With this terrifying power, overthrowing the Washuu Clan wouldn't be an issue at all.
If she had known earlier that Byakuya was this strong, she wouldn't have had to worry about whether her ideals could be realized.
"I hadn't expected this either... In any case, I'm sorry."
Byakuya immediately apologized for this misunderstanding.
He knew that because of this, Eto had been determined to avenge him, putting herself in grave danger.
"Don't ever do this again. If something really happens to you, what am I supposed to do?"
Eto stared straight into Byakuya's eyes.
Although there was almost no expression on her face, a faint tremor could be heard in her voice.
Byakuya could tell that his "death" had caused a great emotional disturbance in Eto.
If this had been under normal circumstances, Eto would never have acted so recklessly.
"I understand. From now on, if I plan to do something like this, I'll consult you first."
Byakuya nodded sincerely as he spoke.
His original intention was to avoid making Eto and Arima worry about him, so he had handled Furuta and Rize alone. After all, he was indeed capable of dealing with the Washuu Clan by himself.
He just hadn't expected Kaiko to so carelessly assume he was dead, which had resulted in the opposite effect.
Watching Byakuya and Eto's affectionate interaction, Yoshimura Kuzen smiled in relief.
Eto had found someone she loved, and they could understand each other, for that; he was truly happy for her from the bottom of his heart.
In contrast, even as her father, he hadn't been able to support Eto's ideals. All he had accumulated over the years was a deep sense of guilt.
"Are you going to stay here and recover, or continue moving with me?"
At this moment, Byakuya asked Eto.
"Of course, the latter."
After speaking, Eto released her embrace around Byakuya.
"I've almost fully recovered, there's nothing to worry about."
"Alright."
Immediately after, Byakuya nodded toward Arima and Yoshimura Kuzen.
Together, they charged into the stronghold of the Washuu Clan's higher-ups.
"These guys sure ran fast. Looks like only a few of them didn't have time to escape."
Byakuya and his group had already searched through the CCG's upper ranks but had only found a handful of members from the Washuu Clan.
The most critical figures; General Chairman Washuu Tsuneyoshi and Bureau Director Washuu Yoshitoki had already disappeared without a trace.
Most likely, when Byakuya was battling the V, the sight of his Susanoo had alarmed them. The moment they realized the situation was bad, they had fled immediately.
There was nothing to be done about that.
After all, unlike in the original story, where Nimura Furuta had meticulously planned for years, leading both CCG and V away before suddenly launching a massacre under the guise of "The Clowns," Byakuya had chosen to directly engage the V head-on.
No matter how arrogant the Washuu Clan was, they wouldn't be foolish enough to sit around and wait for their demise.
But Byakuya had no need to set up a long-term scheme like Furuta.
With his absolute strength, he could take action immediately, why waste unnecessary time?
His goal had already been achieved. He didn't need to slaughter the entire Washuu Clan; hunting down the remaining members was only a matter of time.
The Washuu Clan's downfall was already counting down to its final moments.
"P-Please... Please don't kill us..."
The few captured members of the Washuu Clan didn't even dare to resist.
Though they were all natural-born Kakujas, not every Kakuja was as powerful as Yoshimura Kuzen or Eto. Even among Kakujas, there were strong and weak ones.
The Washuu Clan, having long relied on consuming investigator corpses; essentially rotten flesh and constantly dreaming of becoming human, belonged to the weaker category.
Moreover, they had already seen Uchiha Byakuya's terrifying power through the surveillance system.
Standing beside him were two SSS-rated "Owls" and Arima Kishou himself.
Under these circumstances, resisting was nothing short of suicide.
"Fine. I won't kill you, but you will have to obey my orders."
Byakuya spoke indifferently.
"Yes! I will absolutely follow your commands!"
One of the Washuu members immediately agreed.
The others quickly followed suit; regardless of what they had to obey, staying alive was always better than dying.
"When the time comes, I'll need you to make a public appearance in the media and reveal your kakugan."
A faint threat laced Byakuya's cold tone.
"It's a simple task. You're not going to tell me you can't do it, are you?"