Hearing this, Akira looked at Byakuya with something stirring in her expression.
But she quickly composed herself—now wasn't the time to get distracted.
"I understand. I'll leave it to you, First Class Amaha."
Akira spoke with cool composure.
She gripped her Quinque tighter, pushing all distracting thoughts aside to focus entirely on the ghouls before her.
Her response put Byakuya somewhat at ease.
What he didn't notice was that this time, Akira had used slightly more formal language than before.
...
Under Byakuya's constant protection, Akira's performance steadily improved.
She was doing far better than earlier, and she'd eliminated several ghouls herself.
This operation served Byakuya's purposes on multiple fronts: primarily farming Fusion Points, but also earning considerable merit.
The Ghoul Restaurant had always been a headache for the CCG. Due to the difficulty of investigation, they'd only managed to destroy it once in several years.
The second time was Byakuya's infiltration. Including tonight, this would be the third.
Besides himself, Akira would also receive credit—helpful for her promotion to First Class.
Everyone won except the unfortunate ghouls.
Tsukiyama had earned trust. Byakuya had gained Fusion Points and merit. Akira had gained merit too. A three-way victory.
But these ghouls were far from innocent. They were all regulars at the Ghoul Restaurant—that's why they'd been close enough to Tsukiyama to be lured here. Given their crimes, death was well-deserved.
[Fusion Points: 2,300 (Cumulative: 3,310)]
By now, not a single living ghoul remained in the Ghoul Restaurant. Byakuya and Akira had eliminated most of them; a few had fled quickly enough when they saw things going south.
Byakuya checked his current Fusion Points. This raid had netted him roughly two to three hundred points—a very solid haul.
With just 200 more Fusion Points, his Fusion Progress would advance to Lv4.
At that point, at minimum, his Sharingan would evolve into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. His chakra, Hashirama Cells, and taijutsu would all improve significantly. As for new jutsu, that was harder to predict.
"How are you feeling? Still holding up?"
After the battle, Byakuya checked on Akira.
"Mm, I'm fine."
Akira was breathing hard.
But thanks to Byakuya's protection, she was virtually uninjured—just some tears in her clothing. Her black stockings had a few holes in them, nothing more.
"Good to hear. Let's head back. It's getting late."
Byakuya said.
The two left the underground area.
On the surface, Byakuya first checked on the investigator assistants and staff.
"Thank you for maintaining surveillance so late. You didn't have any physical confrontations with any ghouls who escaped, did you?"
"No, not at all! Wait—those people who ran out in a panic were ghouls?"
Since they weren't certain whether those fleeing figures were ghouls, they hadn't tried to intercept them.
Byakuya nodded. Good—he'd been worried the escaped ghouls might harm the people outside.
"Yes, they were Ghoul Restaurant members. The Restaurant has been destroyed. I'll leave the scene cleanup to your Ward 7 investigators and staff."
"Understood! We'll report to Fura-san immediately! Should we leave anyone here to continue surveillance?"
"No need. It's late—go get some rest. Fura-san can handle the arrangements from here."
With Byakuya's permission, the assistants and staff withdrew.
"That was terrifying... We observed dozens if not a hundred ghouls entering that place today, and First Class Amaha and his partner just wiped them all out..."
"His partner seems to be a Rank 2 investigator—apparently some famous top rookie. Very capable and very beautiful."
"A Rank 2 rookie probably couldn't contribute much. That means First Class Amaha took down all those ghouls practically single-handedly!"
"Well, he's the one who drove back the One-Eyed Owl. His strength is already at the top tier of the CCG."
"..."
They couldn't help marveling as they left.
Meanwhile, Byakuya and Akira took the subway back to Ward 20.
When they arrived at the Ward 20 Branch, it was around 8 PM.
Shinohara and Suzuya were still searching for intelligence on the Binge Eater. Koori Ui and Rikai weren't in the office.
Akira planned to write a report on the day's events before heading home.
Byakuya finally looked through the Ghoul Restaurant intelligence he should have reviewed yesterday. Sure enough, the documents mentioned that couple's theme restaurant—but he'd been slacking off yesterday...
"First Class Amaha, I've finished my report. I'll be heading home now."
Akira placed her report on Byakuya's desk as before.
"Get some good rest. Don't wear yourself out."
However, just as Akira was gathering her things to leave, a pair of colleagues from their shared office came over with an invitation.
"First Class Amaha, Rank 2 Mado—we'd like to invite you both out for a late-night snack. Are you free tonight?"
This pair was also a male superior and female subordinate—a middle-aged First Class investigator and a young Rank 3 investigator.
The young woman looked somewhat embarrassed. She greatly admired Akira and especially Byakuya, so her superior had come to extend the invitation on her behalf.
Despite Akira's cold demeanor, her looks and abilities made her quite popular within the CCG.
As for Byakuya—he hardly needed explanation. He was practically flawless in every way, with absolute strength to match. Like Arima, he was admired by many investigators.
"...Mm..."
Akira glanced at her watch. "8:09 PM. If we can finish before 9, I'll go."
Byakuya felt a jolt of surprise. Akira actually agreed?
This was bad.
Because...
"Wonderful! And you, First Class Amaha?"
The young woman's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Akira's gaze also shifted toward him.
But Byakuya was in an awkward position—he'd promised Rize last night that he'd come home and try her cooking...
...
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