"Alright then..."
At the moment, Byakuya didn't have anything pressing to do. Simply lying down and resting seemed like a good option.
With the death of the Dragon and the dispersal of the Dragon Orphans, the 'Dragon War', also known as the 'Tokyo Defense War' had officially come to an end.
Although many buildings had been destroyed, and even some parts of the city's landscape had been altered, there were no casualties. Given the circumstances, this was the best possible outcome.
The destruction of Tokyo's structures and terrain was partly due to the Dragon resurfacing from the underground world and partly due to Byakuya's own attack, his Karasu-tengu form Susanoo slash that struck down the Dragon.
Essentially, it was as if they had exchanged Tokyo's reconstruction costs for the highly valuable medical resources provided by the Dragon's Cells.
And their medical value was extraordinary.
In the original timeline, even someone like Shinohara, who had been rendered comatose, was later awakened. If not for the rapid advancements in medicine, it was uncertain how long he would have remained unconscious.
Not to mention, many previously incurable diseases could now potentially be conquered.
This was due to the same regenerative principles that granted ghouls their remarkable healing abilities.
As for Tokyo's reconstruction funding? That was not an issue at all. The Washuu Family was filthy rich, and the Prime Minister's office had the means to handle the situation.
After all, back when the First One-Eyed King had completely sunk Tokyo underground, they still managed to rebuild an entirely new Tokyo above it.
Compared to that, this level of damage was nothing. It was nowhere near as catastrophic as what had happened back then.
"The battle is over. Leave the rest to the others and take some time to recover."
Eto gently placed her hand on Byakuya's forehead.
However, to her surprise, his forehead was no longer damp with sweat.
She had assumed that such an extreme Kakuja transformation would have left him utterly exhausted, and she wasn't wrong. But what she hadn't expected was Byakuya's extreme recovery ability.
In reality, he didn't even need a long recovery period, by tomorrow at the latest, he'd be completely fine.
"Yeah..."
Byakuya didn't say much. At least for now, he genuinely did want to rest.
Today had been his first attempt at using his Karasu-Tengu form Susanoo, and it had felt quite straining.
It was difficult to maintain, but at the very least he could activate it.
To unlock the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he still one more mission to complete.
The remaining mission would probably happen sooner, it was likely going to be the easiest of them all.
Since today's test run of slaying the Dragon had gone smoothly, he was no longer all too worried about the future.
Meanwhile, back in the 24th Ward, Yoshimura Kuzen and the others in Anteiku were busy clearing out the corpses of the Dragon Orphans.
After seeing what Eto had done earlier, they realized that these creatures could actually be consumed as food and not just that, but eating them could enhance their strength.
So, they decided to preserve the bodies and see if they could serve as a substitute for human flesh.
CCG Headquarters.
The CCG investigators and the Aogiri Tree ghouls had successfully driven off the Dragon Orphans in their area as well.
A wave of cheers and relief swept through the ranks.
However, countless more of these creatures were still roaming the city.
"Even though the Dragon has fallen, these monsters don't seem to be affected by its death. The battle isn't truly over yet..."
Marude Itsuki's expression was grim as he watched the creatures retreat into the distance.
"At least they aren't particularly strong as individuals... but who knows if they'll evolve?"
"We'll probably need to continue working with Aogiri Tree. There's no way the CCG alone can handle such an overwhelming number of creatures."
"Honestly, our Commissioner-General is also Aogiri Tree's leader. That makes cooperation a lot easier."
"..."
The CCG investigators understood the situation clearly, for now, it was best to maintain the alliance with Aogiri Tree rather than start internal conflicts.
If they weakened themselves fighting each other, the Dragon Orphans would only seize the opportunity to wipe them out.
On the Aogiri Tree side, the ghouls had the same idea.
They followed the commands of the One-Eyed King; Uchiha Byakuya.
And since their King was also the head of the CCG, it made them more inclined to trust the investigators, at least a bit more than otherwise.
"It looks like we're not going to settle this fight right away."
Hoji Kousuke muttered as he glanced at Tatara.
Tatara remained silent for a moment, then said:
"... We'll talk after we finish eliminating the Dragon Orphans."
Thus, the CCG and Aogiri Tree's alliance would continue.