Just as Byakuya's group was making their way deeper into the underground laboratory, several figures suddenly appeared above them.
It was "Eto," Naki, and his underlings.
Naki had originally been the leader of the Ward 13 ghoul organization "White Suits." After following his "Big Bro God" Yamori's footsteps into Aogiri Tree, the White Suits members continued to follow him.
The two burly men in white suits behind him were his underlings.
At this moment, "Eto" was wrapped head to toe in white bandages as usual, sitting up there with her little feet swinging back and forth.
"Hm..."
Naki had originally wanted to give these "Doves" a surprise as his entrance, but the Dove at the front had already spotted them from Aogiri Tree.
"Bit of an ordinary entrance, but whatever."
Naki leaped down with his underlings, landing in front of Byakuya's group. He declared: "The crazy sigh-entist belongs to us."
"It's 'scientist.'"
From above, "Eto" corrected Naki's mistake like a retort.
"The escaped Ward 13 inmate 'Naki,' an Aogiri Tree executive. Feels like he could make excellent Quinque material..."
Seeing this, Akira's expression turned cold, her eyes becoming particularly sharp.
"Prepare for combat."
Byakuya said evenly.
"...Hm?"
Naki suddenly felt a vague sense of familiarity with this "Dove" in front of him.
It was clearly an unfamiliar face he'd never seen before. Why did it feel familiar?
Could it just be his imagination?
Naki was distracted by Byakuya.
The main issue was that he wasn't close enough—he could only catch a faint scent. If they were in close combat, he might have remembered.
But that was only a "might." After all, his intelligence was lacking. The one who had crushed him before was a ghoul capable of becoming a kakuja, while Byakuya before him was an investigator. That alone was enough to short-circuit his brain.
Taking advantage of Naki's distraction, Akira seized the initiative, using her whip-form Quinque to wrap around Naki's body.
"Gah?"
Only then did Naki snap back to attention.
But it was too late to break free. Akira immediately slammed him violently against the wall.
BANG!
With a tremendous crash, he nearly broke through the wall.
But this didn't cause any substantial damage to an S-rated ghoul with such thick skin. It just made Naki look rather disheveled.
Just then, "Eto" suddenly made her move as well.
She had been sitting above, but at some point had descended to ground level. Her speed was ghost-like—ordinary human eyes couldn't even track her movements.
Kiyoko had intended to fire a tracking round at Naki from her Quinque, but "Eto" suddenly appearing before her made her hesitate.
This thing... when did it come down?!
She immediately realized this small-statured creature was no ordinary opponent.
But realizing it was one thing—she had no ability to resist "Eto."
In the instant "Eto" passed by Kiyoko, multiple wounds appeared on her arms and thighs.
However, as a Special Class investigator, Kiyoko's high alertness allowed her to instinctively block most of the attack with her Quinque even without seeing "Eto's" movements. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten off with just injured arms and thighs.
But her Quinque was now damaged and temporarily malfunctioning.
This was an S+ rated ukaku Quinque, yet it had been so easily damaged by the opponent. Kiyoko was shocked.
The biggest problem now was that without her Quinque, she had almost no combat capability left.
But "Eto's" true target wasn't Kiyoko—it was Byakuya.
To be precise, passing by Kiyoko just now was merely an offhand move to neutralize the woman's combat ability.
"Eto" then charged straight at Byakuya. His expression remained calm and composed as the 13's Jason in his hand instantly transformed to shield form to block her attack.
However, "Eto" suddenly leaped up—so fast that ordinary people couldn't even see her afterimage—and landed directly on Byakuya's shoulders.
It seemed like she was about to use her legs to snap Byakuya's neck.
But before "Eto's" legs could exert force, Byakuya moved faster. The 13's Jason in his hand had already shifted to sword form and thrust at "Eto" sitting on his shoulders.
"Eto" leaped up again, dodging the strike, then landed steadily and ran lightly toward a certain passage.
"Kurona, Nashiro—provide backup for Akira and protect Special Class Aura."
After giving these instructions, Byakuya immediately chased after "Eto."
Though Kiyoko's Quinque was temporarily malfunctioning, Akira plus Kurona and Nashiro should be more than enough to handle Naki and his underlings.
After chasing for a while, "Eto" stopped in a location with no surveillance cameras.
"Long time no see, Amaha-kun~"
"Eto" stood there and waved at Byakuya, completely dropping her earlier hostile demeanor.
"It hasn't been that long..."
Byakuya's tone was cold. The Quinque in his hand hadn't been put away as he slowly approached "Eto" step by step.
"Don't be so scary. I only made that woman temporarily unable to fight. Those minor injuries will heal easily, and her 'weapon' can be repaired without any problem."
"Eto" leaned casually against the nearby wall and sat down, stretching out her legs as if wanting to rest.
Byakuya knew this as well. Otherwise, he would have stopped "Eto" the moment she moved to attack Kiyoko.
It was just that he'd thought "Eto" would at most damage Kiyoko's Quinque. The meaningless external injuries "Eto" had added were why he'd been cold just now.
Byakuya then leaned against the wall next to "Eto."
"So you're here for Kanou too."
Byakuya asked evenly.
"Mm. I need that doctor, so would you let me have him?"
"Eto" asked Byakuya.
She knew perfectly well that if Byakuya tried to stop her, obtaining Dr. Kanou would be very difficult.
"Sure, but you'll need to grant me one request of my choosing."
Byakuya's answer came without the slightest hesitation, as if he'd planned all of this beforehand.
"Eto" nodded slightly. "No problem. But no lewd stuff, okay?"
...
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