[Ding! The host has defeated the SS-rated ghoul "Uta."]
[Reward: 40 Attribute Points!]
Yomo Renji had thought that the black-clad investigator would take advantage of Uta's loss of rationality and use him as a distraction.
But instead, his opponent had eliminated Uta first.
Clearly, he never saw Renji as a threat to begin with.
At that moment, Renji went all out.
He couldn't just leave Uta behind, nor did he want Uta to die here.
At full strength, Renji was on the same level as a half-kakuja Uta.
His lightning-based kagune allowed him to compensate for the power gap between himself and a half-kakuja.
But that also meant he still wasn't a match for Uchiha Byakuya.
In just a short exchange, Renji's kakuhou was critically damaged.
However, Byakuya had severely held back. He hadn't damaged Renji's kakuhou to a lethal extent.
If a one-kakuhou ghoul suffered irreversible kakuhou damage, they would never regenerate, the only thing awaiting them was death.
[Ding! The host has defeated the SS-rated ghoul "Yomo Renji."]
[Reward: 40 Attribute Points!]
At this stage, both Uta and Renji were still quite young; neither had reached SS+ level yet.
It would take about three more years, or more specifically, before Yoshimura Kuzen took Renji to Anteiku.
Back then, Renji was at his absolute peak, after living in Anteiku and surviving on rotting meat, his strength had never improved again.
By this point, "Owl" in Byakuya's hands was still completely undamaged.
As expected of an SSS-rated Quinque.
He was just about to feign delivering the finishing blow.
Renji, though unable to move, still lifted his head and glared at him with fierce, defiant eyes.
He showed no fear of death.
"Nice look," Byakuya remarked indifferently.
The SSS-rated Quinque, "Owl," came slashing down.
But just at that moment-
A massive hole suddenly burst through the ceiling of the abandoned chapel directly above him!
"Rumble!!"
A huge figure crashed down from the debris and smoke, plummeting directly toward Byakuya.
The latter calmly took a few steps back, effortlessly dodging the ambush.
This massive figure was none other than the SSS-rated ghoul "Owl."
But not the "Non-Killing Owl."
This was; "The One-Eyed Owl."
"Hehehe~ I'm here."
"The One-Eyed Owl" let out a gleeful, eerie laugh and immediately launched a barrage of ukaku projectiles at Byakuya.
Byakuya sidestepped, easily dodging the attack.
However, his expression remained completely calm.
He wasn't surprised at all.
After all, "The One-Eyed Owl" was here because he called her.
This was all a staged act, a show Byakuya had asked Eto to put on for him.
As Byakuya dodged the attack, the One-Eyed Owl swiftly grabbed the fallen Renji and Uta.
Renji was already severely injured, and being roughly picked up like that made him groan in pain.
Uta, on the other hand, was already half-dead and could barely make a sound.
Without hesitation, Eto took both of them and left at high speed, vanishing from the chapel.
"Couldn't you be a little more gentle…?"
Byakuya muttered softly to himself, making a rare small complaint.
On the other side, any ghoul who dared to attack Arima was instantly killed.
With both of its SS-rated leaders defeated, the ghoul group "Clowns" was obviously no match for Arima.
But in reality; even if Uta and Yomo were still fighting, Arima could have wiped out all members of the "Clowns" by himself.
Realizing that both the black-clad and white-clad investigators were absurdly powerful, the remaining ghouls all lost their nerve.
Even Uta and Yomo had lost, and against that black-clad investigator, they didn't even stand a chance.
How the hell were they supposed to win?
Fear spread through the remaining ghouls; some had already fled.
And those who were too slow or hesitant; Byakuya had already given them enough time.
He, Arima, and Eto weren't just covering up for themselves against humans; they also had to avoid exposing themselves to ghouls they couldn't fully trust.
Besides, he and Arima also had to bring back some captives.
If they returned empty-handed, unless Kaiko was a complete idiot, he'd definitely start asking questions.
"Apologies."
Byakuya spoke these seemingly ambiguous words to the remaining ghouls.
Because if they didn't escape in time, he'd have no choice but to send them to Cochlea.
At least as long as they weren't tortured, they wouldn't have to face those insane interrogators.
And frankly, there was no need to interrogate these ghouls.
If there were interrogations then he, as the captor, would be the one in charge.
[Ding! The host has defeated an "A+ rated ghoul."]
[Reward: 8 Attribute Points!]
[Ding! The host has defeated a "B-rated ghoul."]
[Reward: 3 Attribute Points!]
[...]
In the end, Byakuya and Arima rounded up a group of "Clowns" members.
And in the process, Byakuya also gained a considerable amount of attribute points.
Adding in the ghouls that the Inaba Squad had been guarding, the operation had resulted in over fifty captives ranging from B-rated to S-rated, all belonging to the "Clowns."
"Let's head back."
Byakuya and Arima escorted the Inaba Squad back to the CCG Headquarters in the 1st Ward.
Although they hadn't managed to capture or eliminate the leaders of "Clowns," the organization had suffered a crippling blow.
Its leaders were gravely injured and on the verge of death, and a large number of its members were captured.
For the time being, the "Clowns" wouldn't dare act up again.
Moreover, the sheer speed of their operation was considered a major accomplishment.
CCG investigators had also examined the site.
They confirmed that "The One-Eyed Owl" had indeed appeared.
Byakuya's flawless acting ensured that no one suspected a thing.
As for promotions, Arima Kishou, having eliminated a large number of "Clowns" members, including one S- and one S -rated ghoul, was officially promoted to First-Class Investigator.
Additionally, he was now eligible to equip two Quinques: an S- and an S-rated weapon.
Among Inaba Squad, Inaba Warai and Ui Koori had performed exceptionally well, earning promotions to First-Class Investigators, while the rest of the squad remained at Rank 2.
And then; Uchiha Byakuya.
CCG Chairman Washuu Tsuneyoshi kept his promise.
Byakuya, having successfully completed this mission was officially promoted to Special-Class Investigator.
Additionally, he was assigned to remain in the 4th Ward, tasked with cleaning up any remaining ghouls.
More importantly; he was to investigate the whereabouts of "The One-Eyed Owl" and the leader of "Clowns."
Little did they know; "The One-Eyed Owl" was sleeping in Byakuya's house every single night.