At this moment, Uchiha Byakuya and Yoshimura Eto had already arrived at Aogiri Tree's base.
Although the 24th Ward was an underground labyrinth, it was ultimately built by ghouls using their kagune.
Creating a hideout capable of housing a few dozen people in a given location wasn't particularly difficult.
"Eto is finally back!"
"But... who's that guy next to her? Is he one of us?"
"He should be, right? Otherwise, Eto wouldn't have brought him here."
The members of Aogiri Tree murmured among themselves as they observed the masked newcomer.
Seeing the red tiger-striped mask on Byakuya's face, they instinctively assumed he was a ghoul.
In truth, as a half-human with Washuu blood, Byakuya did possess ghoul lineage to some extent.
"Everyone should be here, right?"
Eto came to a stop, her light footsteps ceasing as she turned toward the gathered members. With a mischievous yet solemn tone, she declared, "Tonight, I have an important announcement: Aogiri Tree's One-Eyed King has arrived."
One-Eyed King?
The members exchanged bewildered glances.
In their understanding, Eto, known to the CCG as the One-Eyed Owl, was already the leader of Aogiri Tree.
So why was there suddenly another One-Eyed King?
Standing nearby, Tatara furrowed his brows in confusion. "Eto, what is this about?"
Noro, as usual, remained silent.
"No need to panic."
Eto lifted her right hand and gestured toward the masked figure beside her. "This man... is our true King."
The moment she finished speaking, Byakuya's Mangekyou Sharingan activated.
The twin sickle-shaped tomoe of his Double Kamui began to spin before locking into place.
Eto, still looking toward the crowd, hadn't noticed the change in his eyes.
Then, in the next instant, a powerful presence emanated from Byakuya's body.
A massive ribcage of translucent blue-green energy manifested around him, enclosing his figure. The skeletal structure towered over him, standing at roughly two meters tall.
(Think of Madara's initial Susanoo form.)
This was the initial stage of Susanoo, a technique that materialized chakra into a protective construct.
However, due to Byakuya's adaptation of RC cell energy in place of chakra, his Susanoo had undergone a strange mutation.
A normal Susanoo had a semi-transparent, ethereal quality, something that wavered between the material and immaterial.
But Byakuya's Susanoo had become fully tangible, resembling an advanced kagune transformation.
It looked less like a chakra construct and more like an actual kakuja manifestation.
Then, under his deliberate control, the skeletal structure expanded, growing two fully formed blue-green arms on either side.
"This is... a kakuja?! Just like Eto's kakuja!"
The members of Aogiri Tree gawked in horror and awe.
Byakuya's transformation resembled a kakuja so closely that it left no doubt in their minds.
Although the initial form of Susanoo did not fully enclose his body, meaning it didn't perfectly match the definition of a complete kakuja, it was still far beyond the level of a mere half-kakuja.
Even in the original story, Yoshimura Kuzen had deteriorated so much with age that he could no longer achieve full-body kagune coverage, yet he was still an SSS-rated kakuja known as The Non-Killing Owl.
Among those present, the sharper-witted members wasted no time.
One by one, they dropped to their knees, pledging allegiance to their newly revealed One-Eyed King.
The other members quickly followed suit, fearing for their lives.
They might not have fully understood how powerful this so-called One-Eyed King was, but since Eto, the strongest in their eyes, had personally acknowledged him, then he must be even stronger than her!
At this moment, it wasn't just the members of Aogiri Tree who were stunned; even Eto herself was startled by Byakuya's sudden "kakuja transformation."
Wasn't this guy supposed to be a half-human?
He didn't even have a kakuhou, so since when could half-humans kakuja-fy like ghouls?
Or… had this damn perverted liar been deceiving her this whole time?
That seemed like the only logical explanation.
Meanwhile, Tatara still hadn't processed the situation.
A supposed "One-Eyed King" had suddenly appeared, and he, too, was a kakuja.
After a brief moment, Byakuya deactivated the initial form of Susanoo.
His purpose in revealing it was simply to establish dominance over the other Aogiri members, erasing all doubts and avoiding unnecessary trouble.
And just as he had anticipated, the intimidation effect worked perfectly.
In the world of Tokyo Ghoul, even the initial form of Susanoo was more than shocking enough.
Moreover, maintaining the initial form didn't consume too much energy; it was something he could sustain for short periods without issue.
As long as he didn't push himself into more advanced forms such as the first, second, third, fourth, or even the full-body stage, then he would be fine.
Any of those higher forms would be far beyond what his body could currently withstand.
With their doubts completely silenced, Aogiri Tree's members fully accepted Byakuya as their One-Eyed King.
Later, Byakuya met privately with Aogiri Tree's executives.
Originally, Aogiri had only two high-ranking officers: Tatara and Noro.
But now that Eto herself had taken on an executive role, their leadership had expanded to three.
"Eto, care to explain what's going on?"
Tatara finally spoke up, unable to contain his curiosity.
"He's the black-haired, black-eyed CCG investigator from the 2nd Ward attack; the same one who's also a Cleaner from V."
Eto revealed the truth.
Since she fully trusted Tatara and Noro, she saw no reason to keep them in the dark.
Byakuya also understood this, so he did not stop her.
To further cooperate, he reached up and removed his red tiger-striped mask, revealing his usual black eyes, as his Mangekyou Sharingan had already reverted to normal.
"…So it's you."
Tatara immediately recognized him.
Of course, he remembered the two CCG investigators from the last attack.
But he never expected one of them to also be a Cleaner from V.
"I told you before, if it weren't for him letting me go, I'd already be dead."
Eto continued, "His ideals align with mine. And he's even stronger than I am. So if anyone deserves to be Aogiri tree's true King, our One-Eyed King; it's him."
"I see."
Tatara finally understood the bigger picture.
He knew Eto wouldn't lie about something like this, so he accepted it completely.
And with that, he pledged his allegiance to the One-Eyed King, kneeling on one knee before Byakuya.
Noro, ever silent, followed suit, kneeling without a word.
With that, Tatara and Noro withdrew, leaving only Byakuya and Eto in the room.
At that moment, Eto ripped off the remaining white bandages from her face, revealing a dangerous smile.
"So, Lying Lolicon-san, are you finally going to explain yourself properly?"
She leaned in slightly, her sharp eyes narrowing.
"Just what the hell was that?"