Eto sat directly on Byakuya's lap, staring intently into his eyes.
"How did you do that just now? That ability is totally cheating!"
She asked with great interest.
Byakuya naturally understood what she was referring to.
"That's just the power of my eyes. As for the details… those are a secret."
Even though he knew Eto was curious, he had no intention of revealing too much about his Dual Kamui.
"Well… then at least show me again, okay?"
Eto adjusted her request to something lighter.
"Fine."
This time, Byakuya didn't refuse. "But first, get off me. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Okay~"
Eto agreed in words, but instead of getting off, she simply shifted from his lap onto his back.
She clung to him from behind, positioning herself for a closer look at his ability.
"..."
Byakuya decided not to comment.
With a thought, his Mangekyō Sharingan activated.
Using only his right eye, he opened a swirling spatial vortex, withdrawing just one of the Quinque briefcases.
After all, this was just a demonstration.
"So it just pops out from your eye like that?"
Eto could feel the brief moment of spatial distortion, and her voice carried a sense of amazement.
"That's right. And I can also send it back in."
As he spoke, Byakuya demonstrated again, transferring the Quinque briefcase back into his Kamui dimension.
He used his ocular ability three times in succession. Fortunately, with his current physicslity and RC cell levels having reached a considerable threshold, this level of expenditure was negligible.
"It's like watching a magic trick! Except magic tricks are fake, and yours is real."
Eto still hadn't had enough. "Show me more of your eye's abilities!"
"I'd rather not. If I use them too frequently, it takes a toll on me."
Byakuya replied with a hint of embarrassment.
"Alright then. But hurry up and change your Kakugan back; if Mayu sees it, that could be a problem."
Eto reminded him.
They weren't sitting next to Mayu, and her attention was entirely absorbed by the television, so she hadn't noticed anything yet.
Byakuya promptly deactivated his Sharingan, returning his eyes to their normal black color.
That night, once again, Byakuya found himself playing the role of both human pillow and sandwich filling.
As the CCG's 2nd Ward Bureau Director, Byakuya had some business to handle in the ward today.
Eto, meanwhile, stayed home with Mayu.
As for Aogiri Tree's expansion into the 19th Ward, Tatara and Noro were more than capable of handling it. There was no need for her to get personally involved in such a minor matter.
Around the time office hours ended, Byakuya had just finished his tasks as well.
On his way to the subway station, he happened to pass by a combat scene.
With his extraordinary vision and perception, he spotted a CCG Investigator struggling against a ghoul from a considerable distance.
The investigator was on the verge of defeat.
However, the ghoul didn't seem intent on killing him; instead, they were trying to capture him alive.
Byakuya immediately retrieved the black-and-gold case of his koukaku Quinque, STK, from his Kamui dimension and charged forward at high speed.
"Tch! Another 'Dove'?"
The ghoul furrowed his brows. His face was obscured by a mask, making his expression unreadable.
"Well, getting two 'goods' at once isn't bad either."
Without hesitation, he unleashed a long-range attack with his ukaku; countless short, blade-like blue kagune shards shot toward Byakuya.
By this time, the black-and-gold case in Byakuya's hands had already transformed into its combat-ready Quinque form—an enormous black-and-white shield resembling the wings of a butterfly.
The shield absorbed the incoming barrage of ukaku projectiles, saving Byakuya the trouble of dodging. Instead, he simply charged straight toward the ghoul.
Seeing his attack completely neutralized, the ghoul finally realized that this opponent was far more dangerous than he had initially assumed.
But by the time he understood, it was already too late.
Or rather, even if he had realized earlier, it wouldn't have changed his fate because against Uchiha Byakuya, there was no other path but death.
As Byakuya closed in, STK instantly shifted from shield mode into sword mode.
In the blink of an eye, the Quinque became a massive black-and-white double-edged greatsword.
One slash!
The ghoul had no time to escape. He was cleaved cleanly in half.
[Ding! The host has defeated an "A-Rank Ghoul."]
[Reward: 6 Attribute Points!]
Although this was his first time using STK, Byakuya found it both comfortable and satisfying.
If his SSS-rank Quinque Owl was the ultimate killing machine, then STK was the perfect balance of offense and defense.
"Spe.. Special Class Uchiha?"
At that moment, the CCG Investigator who had nearly been captured finally recognized Byakuya.
He had been convinced that he was doomed, certain that he would be tortured to death. Yet, against all odds, Special Class Uchiha had appeared to save him.
Byakuya glanced at the investigator; a relatively young man. It was no wonder he had struggled against an A-Rank ghoul.
In reality, under normal circumstances, it usually took an Associate Special Class Investigator to deal with an A-Rank ghoul.
A-Rank ghouls weren't weak, Byakuya was just overwhelmingly strong.
"Are your injuries serious?"
Byakuya asked.
"N-No, they're just minor wounds."
The young investigator shook his head.
In truth, he was only lightly injured because the ghoul hadn't been trying to kill him. Instead, the ghoul had merely disarmed him, knocking away his B-Rank Quinque.
"Special Class Uchiha, I have something to report!"
The investigator's expression suddenly turned serious.
"That ghoul didn't kill me because he planned to take me as 'merchandise.' He also mentioned something about an auction…"
"I see. Understood."
Byakuya's expression remained calm.
After all, the moment he had heard the ghoul mention "goods," he had already guessed the connection; this was likely related to the Auction House from the original story.
Simply put, it was an underground auction held by ghouls.
And the auctioned "items" were humans.
Any kind of human could be sold in these ghoul-run auctions; celebrities, CCG investigators, ordinary civilians. There was nothing they wouldn't dare put up for sale.
Take Suzuya Juuzou, for example.
The latter had been abducted as a child and was rumored to have been auctioned off at one of these events before being purchased and raised by an SS-Rank ghoul known as Big Madam.