But in Byakuya's eyes, Tatara's speed was nothing special.
Even without activating his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he could clearly track Tatara's movements.
He immediately transformed 13's Jason into cannon form and took aim at Tatara.
Tatara assumed that maintaining his forward momentum would prevent him from being hit. The next instant, he realized his opponent had predicted his trajectory!
By the time he reacted, it was far too late. The powerful blast struck him dead-on.
BOOM!
The overconfident Tatara hadn't released his kagune, which meant he took the hit with just his flesh.
Compared to the incredibly tough kagune, a ghoul's body was far more fragile.
While a ghoul's physique far exceeded a human's, Quinques were made from ghoul kagune and kakuhou—their lethality could easily pierce through a ghoul's natural defenses.
Even Eto Yoshimura wouldn't risk taking a hit from 13's Jason with her bare body.
Half of Tatara's upper body was instantly blown into a bloody mess. But his regeneration was powerful enough—the destroyed portion began rapidly reforming before their eyes.
Even so, he didn't dare underestimate his opponent anymore. He immediately stopped, not daring to continue his approach.
"Tch!..."
Tatara glared at Byakuya with vicious eyes, a sinking feeling in his gut.
This investigator was different from the others. He seemed extremely difficult to handle.
"First Class Amaha!" Seeing that Byakuya had immediately put that terrifying ghoul on the back foot, Takizawa couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"Be quiet. Don't distract him..." Akira's expression was deadly serious.
"What's the big deal..." Takizawa was a bit annoyed, but obediently shut his mouth.
After all, Akira was right. He shouldn't be so loud. If he distracted First Class Amaha and caused him to get injured in combat, he'd be the greatest sinner of this entire operation!
"Noro." Tatara called out.
Noro immediately coordinated with Tatara to launch a combined assault on Byakuya.
A kagune tipped with a giant maw lunged toward Byakuya while Tatara attacked from another direction.
Byakuya reached back and unstrapped the Uchiha Gunbai. He intended to end this quickly.
Tatara and the giant-mouthed kagune were attacking from two sides rather than front and back. The Gunbai could perfectly block both attacks and absorb them...
Uchiha Reflection!
Seeing his opponent standing there motionless with a massive war fan, Tatara gradually sensed something was wrong. But by the time he tried to retreat, it was too late.
Byakuya thrust the Gunbai forward with both hands, deflecting both Tatara and the giant-mouthed kagune. Then he released the absorbed force as a terrifying gale that swept toward Tatara and Noro.
Sensing extreme danger, Tatara had no choice but to release his kagune to protect himself. He hadn't wanted to casually reveal his kagune, especially his kakuja form...
Noro didn't particularly care. His regeneration was extraordinary—in the original story, he was only defeated because Urie's Quinque "Nutcracker" happened to counter him perfectly.
In that instant, the gale sent both Tatara and Noro flying while ravaging their bodies.
As he was blown away, Tatara quickly made a decisive judgment. He had recognized this investigator's true strength.
There was no denying how troublesome he was. Under normal circumstances, he and Noro couldn't defeat him. Going kakuja might give them a chance.
But until the final battle, he didn't want to reveal his kakuja form this early. Letting the CCG know in advance would be disadvantageous.
Therefore, weighing the pros and cons, Tatara decided to retreat with the gale.
Noro naturally wouldn't act on his own either.
After the wind subsided...
Tatara withdrew his kagune into his body. Even with the kagune's protection, his entire body was a bloody mess, his clothes torn to shreds.
Noro, on the other hand, had already fully regenerated.
"Can't be helped. Let's wait here for now..." Tatara murmured.
He sat on the ground, waiting for his body to regenerate.
Once that investigator left, they would proceed to the predetermined rendezvous point to meet the "One-Eyed King."
[Ding! Host has repelled SS-rated ghoul "Tatara." Reward: 50 Fusion Points!]
[Ding! Host has repelled SS-rated ghoul "Noro." Reward: 50 Fusion Points!]
[Ding! Host has defeated an "Aogiri Tree ghoul." Reward: 10 Fusion Points!]
[...]
This was "repelled" rather than "defeated," so the Fusion Point reward was lower.
As for the ordinary Aogiri members accompanying Tatara and Noro, they had been instantly swallowed by the gale...
Byakuya didn't pursue them. He didn't want to waste time on Tatara and Noro.
"How are you two? Everything okay?"
He turned back to Akira and Takizawa.
Especially Takizawa—he had been so scared by Tatara that he'd wet himself...
"S-still okay..." Takizawa nodded, somewhat embarrassed.
He had only just noticed the state of his pants...
There was no way he'd mention something so humiliating. He didn't want Byakuya or Akira to know, so he kept quiet about it entirely.
Fortunately, it was still raining. His whole body was already soaked, making it harder to notice.
In reality, however, Byakuya had noticed immediately. He simply didn't say anything out of consideration for Takizawa's feelings.
"I'm fine." Akira nodded as well.
Suddenly, as if possessed, she reached out to touch Byakuya's face—perhaps to check if he had any wounds.
Just then, Byakuya looked up and saw a massive Susanoo descending onto a nearby building. That meant his other self had begun.
BOOM—!
The sheer size of it landing created an enormous commotion.
Akira's hand had nearly touched Byakuya's face when the sudden, startling noise interrupted her.
She instinctively looked up, stunned by the terrifying figure atop the distant building. Her hand froze in midair.
Takizawa stumbled and fell on his rear again, gaping. "Wh-what is that thing...?"
...
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