Eto's Kakuja arm wrapped around the half-dead Hoito Roma.
With the flight ability of her Ukaku Kagune; she soared straight out of Cochlea through the destroyed ceiling.
Of course not every Ukaku Kagune ghoul could achieve this level of flight.
Perhaps only the Non-Killing Owl and the One-Eyed Owl were capable of such aerial maneuverability.
The First-Class Investigator on the ground, powerless and paralyzed by fear could do nothing but watch as Roma was taken away into the skies.
Meanwhile; Byakuya had reached the deepest section of the underground passage.
Aside from a few scattered ghoul corpses littered around the place, there was nothing else.
It seemed that every remaining ghoul had already been taken away by Aogiri Tree.
Which was exactly what he wanted.
"Looks like they all escaped, what a shame."
Donato Porpora sighed theatrically.
As if he were mocking Byakuya; completely unaware that this entire scenario had been Byakuya's plan from the very beginning.
The latter simply ignored him.
Without another word, he turned around and headed back into Cochlea.
He still needed to "deal with" a few remaining loose ends.
By now, Eto should have already taken Hoito Roma away.
[Ding! The Host has defeated an S-Rated Ghoul.]
[Reward: +10 Attribute Points!]
[Ding! The Host has defeated an S+-Rated Ghoul.]
[Reward: +20 Attribute Points!]
[...]
Less than half an hour later.
Byakuya and Arima had completely cleared out the remaining ghouls inside Cochlea.
As for the ones who had escaped; most of them had been forcibly recruited into Aogiri Tree.
Byakuya finally had a moment to breathe and so, he checked his RC Cell Count.
Due to the strain of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Susanoo, and Kamui; his reserves were now running quite low.
Fortunately, RC Cells were capable of self-recovery.
Even the RC Cell Storage Device could regenerate it's own stored RC Cells with some time.
In other words; the Storage Device was a perfect solution for his RC Cell threshold issue, allowing him to eat normal food without any of the usual side effects.
There were zero drawbacks.
His ocular power had also been depleted but thanks to his high Physicality stat, his recovery speed was significantly faster.
In return-he had gained a massive amount of Attribute Points.
Compared to what he had gained; his expenditure was negligible.
However, for now Byakuya and Arima needed to remain at Cochlea; until the control system was fully restored they had to stand guard.
Just in case another group of ghouls tried to launch a follow-up attack.
As for the captured ghouls, they were easy to deal with.
During the battle, they had already lost their combat capability.
Even if their bodies could regenerate, all it took was a dose of RC suppressors to completely inhibit their strength.
Once the control system was repaired, they could simply be thrown back into their original cells.
At the same time; all available CCG personnel from various branches were being deployed to reinforce Cochlea.
After the control system was finally restored, Byakuya and Arima's mission was complete.
There were no further attacks on Cochlea that night.
CCG Headquarters, Sunlit Garden.
Inside the First-Class Conference Hall; CCG Bureau Director Yoshitoki Washuu was meeting with Kaiko.
"Even though the One-Eyed Owl appeared in the 13th Ward-"
"The primary mastermind behind this attack-wasn't actually the Owl?"
"Aogiri Tree...has another Kakuja-level ghoul?"
Aogiri Tree already had the One-Eyed Owl, which was troublesome enough.
Now, out of nowhere-another ghoul, even stronger than the Owl, had suddenly emerged.
For the first time in history-a single ghoul organization now had two SSS-rated ghouls.
It was an unprecedented threat.
"By the way, I heard this new ghoul is also 'One-Eyed'?"
Kaiko found this particular detail intriguing.
"Mm. The reports mention this Kakuja only exposed one Kakugan."
"Don't tell me we've got another possible Half-Ghoul?"
Yoshitoki's headache worsened.
Decades ago, the First One-Eyed King had nearly brought the Washuu Clan to the brink of collapse.
And now-they faced not one, but two potential Half-Ghouls.
"I've always doubted that Yoshimura Kuzen was the One-Eyed Owl but I had no proof."
"And now, this new one is even more troublesome."
Kaiko's voice grew cold.
"Regardless of whether they are Half-Ghouls or not, Aogiri Tree must now be classified as the highest-priority extermination target."
"Leave it to Byakuya and Kishou."
"If that bastard hadn't destroyed Cochlea's control system and vanished..."
"Byakuya and Kishou might have taken him down on the spot."
It was clear Kaiko had complete confidence in Uchiha Byakuya and Arima Kishou's abilities.
Little did he know they were the true masterminds behind the Cochlea raid.
Neither Yoshitoki nor Kaiko harbored even the slightest suspicion toward Byakuya.
After all; Byakuya and Kishou had been the first to arrive at Cochlea, and had made significant contributions in securing its defenses.
Besides, Byakuya, in his Red Masked persona, looked completely different from his normal self.
And his Susanoo-mistaken for a Kakuja transformation; bore no resemblance to any known Washuu bloodline traits.
If a Half-Human underwent Kakuja transformation, it meant they had received an RC Cell implant.
But all RC Cell implant surgeries were exclusively conducted by the CCG and the Washuu Clan.
If Byakuya had undergone such a procedure, there would have been a record if it.
All these factors completely eliminated Byakuya as a suspect.
"Byakuya and Kishou, huh..."
"Right now, they're the only ones we can rely on."
Yoshitoki, too, deeply recognized Byakuya and Kishou's strength.
V's operatives were powerful, but couldn't be deployed easily.
Even Byakuya and Kishou operated under the CCG's banner rather than V's.
"It feels like the ghoul from today is the true 'King' of Aogiri Tree."
"And he's also One-Eyed."
"His Kagune type is unknown for now but we'll tentatively classify him as an SSS-rated threat-"
"The One-Eyed King."
Yoshitoki spoke in a grim tone.
As Byakuya Uchiha earned the title of "One-Eyed King"- he was also awarded CCG's Special Commendation Medal for his outstanding performance in defending Cochlea.
Meanwhile; Arima Kishou was promoted yet again; officially becoming an Associate Special-Class Investigator.