Huh?
This mission took Byakuya by surprise because it aligned almost perfectly with what he had already planned.
His original idea was to wait until Furuta Nimura and Kamishiro Rize had grown a bit older, then recruit them into the Zero Squad.
But now, the system was directly asking him to take them as disciples right away.
"This system mission, it's actually more impatient than I am."
That said, this did give Byakuya a new perspective.
If he could successfully take them as disciples, he could achieve the same goal.
At the end of the day-whether it was recruiting them into the Zero Squad or taking them as disciples, the core purpose was still the same: To free them from the Washuu Clan's grasp while slowly dismantling the Washuu Clan from within.
"But honestly, it probably won't be long before we meet again."
At that moment, Byakuya added a casual remark.
"Really?! That's great!"
Furuta's face lit up with joy.
At that moment, Rize suddenly spoke up.
"Byakuya-Nii, can you bring me another plushie next time? I accidentally broke the last one... played too rough with it."
Of course, at this point in time, Rize's name was not yet "Kamishiro Rize."
She also wasn't given the Washuu surname because if she had been, she wouldn't have been thrown into the Sunlit Garden.
Her real birth name was never revealed in the original story.
So, Byakuya had always referred to her as just "Rize."
But in his mind, he had already accepted her as Kamishiro Rize.
Even the system used this name when issuing missions.
"Alright but Rize, you should really try to take better care of your things."
Byakuya advised her.
Due to her lineage, Rize wasn't just any normal ghoul.
She carried the blood of the Washuu Clan but unlike the rest of them; She was a pure-blooded ghoul, without any human ancestry.
Because of this, her physical constitution and kagune were naturally superior.
Her Rinkaku kagune was undeniably powerful.
In the original story-both Kaneki Ken and later Furuta Nimura had their kakuhou organs transplanted straight from Rize.
However, Rize herself never fully demonstrated her potential.
She was too obsessed with eating humans and never practiced cannibalism.
And more importantly-before she could even mature properly, she had already been taken out by Furuta Nimura's schemes.
Back then, when that steel beam accident happened, the beams that "coincidentally" fell on Rize?
That was Furuta's doing.
By that time, Furuta Nimura had already changed.
He was no longer the naïve boy he was now.
The years of unfair treatment by the Washuu Clan, combined with his own extreme need for control had twisted him completely.
It was he who had gone to great lengths to help Rize escape from the Sunlit Garden and the Washuu Clan.
But after escaping, Rize had never cared about him.
All she did was cause destruction and prey on humans wherever she went.
And worse-she always seduced human boys, took them on "dates," and then brutally tortured and devoured them.
Unable to accept all This, Furuta finally snapped.
More accurately-he had completely lost faith in this world.
His plot to drop the steel beams on Rize wasn't just out of revenge.
It was part of his "Dragon" plan-his ultimate blueprint for recreating the world from scratch.
His real goal was no different from that of Arima Kishou and Yoshimura Eto; To change the world.
And just like Arima and Eto, he saw potential in Kaneki Ken, the most successful artificially created half-ghoul.
In fact-compared to Arima and Eto, Furuta executed his plan even more successfully.
Not only did he destroy the Washuu Clan, he also pushed Kaneki Ken and Rize towards becoming "Dragons," ultimately using Ken Kaneki's power to reshape the entire world.
"I got it."
Rize nodded.
"I'm leaving now."
Before leaving, Byakuya lightly patted Furuta on the shoulder.
His view of Furuta wasn't as simple as just labeling him good or bad.
Besides, Furuta's change in personality would only come years later. Right now, he was just a young boy striving to prove himself.
After bidding farewell to Furuta and Rize, Byakuya went to find Arima Kishou.
Since Arima had come to the Sunlit Garden with him, he wasn't far.
When Byakuya arrived, he happened to see Arima patting the head of a small pink-haired girl, as if saying goodbye.
Judging by her hair color, Byakuya immediately recognized her-Ihei Haru.
At this time, Ihei Haru was still very young, probably around six or seven.
According to the original story, this was the period when she first met Arima and began looking up to him.
Having her head patted, as if receiving praise from Arima himself, Haru's face lit up with happiness.
Byakuya waited for a moment until Haru, still smiling brightly, left. Then he walked up to Arima and said, "Let's go. I have something to discuss with Kaiko."
Arima nodded slightly.
The two of them then went to meet Kaiko.
"Kaiko-san, I've found two highly promising candidates and wish to take them as my disciples, training them as future members of the Zero Squad."
Byakuya got straight to the point.
"Who are they?" Kaiko asked.
"Furuta Nimura and Rize."
Byakuya answered directly.
Kaiko fell silent for a moment before saying, "Nimura is fine but as for Rize, I suggest you reconsider; If anything happens to her, the Washuu family won't let it slide."
He didn't outright refuse because, on paper, Rize was still officially recognized as just another Sunlit Garden half-human.
From a formal standpoint, there was nothing preventing Byakuya from taking her as a disciple.
But Rize's true role as a "Mother" was known only to a select few, including Kaiko himself.
He hadn't informed Byakuya or Arima about this yet, so he could only give Byakuya a vague warning.
"If anything happens, I'll take full responsibility."
Byakuya replied firmly.
"Do as you wish then. But be mindful-Rize's movements will be restricted to the Sunlit Garden, CCG headquarters, and its surrounding areas. Furuta, on the other hand, has no such restrictions. Just be careful."
Kaiko reminded him.
He wasn't particularly suspicious of Byakuya.
In his eyes, Byakuya had proven himself increasingly reliable.
Moreover, he was aware that Byakuya had already been interacting with Furuta and Rize multiple times in the past.
This wasn't some sudden, out-of-place decision.
Both Furuta and Rize had immense potential-one was Washuu Tsuneyoshi's illegitimate son, and the other possessed the purest Washuu bloodline.
There was no doubt about their talents.
Yet, due to various circumstances, both held extremely low status within the family.
Even Kaiko himself found this reality somewhat regrettable, though he, too, was merely a puppet of the Washuu clan.
After all, he was also a former half-human from the Sunlit Garden.
"Understood. I'll come back tomorrow."
Byakuya nodded.
Recruiting Furuta and Rize as his disciples turned out to be far easier than he expected.
The only real restriction was that Rize's activities would be monitored by the Washuu, but that was a minor issue.