"Ghouls can only obtain nourishment by eating humans."
"And their tongue structure is completely different from that of humans, so human food is almost impossible for them to swallow."
"The tongue structure is different… human food tastes unbearably fishy and foul."
These two sentences, which Kaneki had heard on the news, echoed endlessly in his mind.
"No… I'm human!"
He suddenly roared and staggered away, breaking into a run.
"Tch, damn it. He didn't lose control after all."
"That kid's got more restraint than I thought."
The ghoul following him cursed under his breath, then hurriedly kept up, tailing him from afar.
"I'm human… I'm human… I'm not a ghoul…"
Kaneki muttered the words over and over as he ran.
After wandering aimlessly for nearly half an hour, his nose suddenly twitched.
A peculiar fragrance drifted into his senses.
"Grrrr "
His stomach let out a deep, rumbling growl.
"What is that smell…?"
"I've never smelled it before, but it feels strangely familiar like food my mom used to make."
"Warm… comforting…"
For the first time in days, Kaneki smelled something that was actually fragrant.
Driven by instinct and curiosity, he sprinted toward the source of the scent.
"There has to be something nearby that I can eat…"
"Where is it? Where is it?!"
He muttered frantically as he ran.
At some point, his left eye had already turned uncontrollably crimson, the Kakugan fully exposed.
He darted into an alley, weaving through twists and turns.
After knocking over a trash can, he finally felt it
"It's close. It's right here…"
Saliva spilled uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth.
Turning the final corner, Kaneki froze completely.
Ahead of him, a ghoul was crouched over a human corpse, feasting greedily.
And the intoxicating aroma that had driven him here
Was coming from the human flesh and blood on the ground.
"A ghoul… a human…"
"I was actually drawn here by the smell of a corpse…"
Tears streamed down Kaneki's face.
Thud.
He dropped heavily to his knees, despair consuming him whole.
The noise startled the ghoul who was feeding.
When the ghoul noticed Kaneki was one of his own kind, he hesitated and spoke:
"A ghoul? What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"My name's Kazuo. I haven't eaten in a long time either… I can share "
As he spoke, the ghoul dug out a chunk of flesh from the corpse and extended it toward Kaneki.
He never finished his sentence.
Suddenly, a foot came out of nowhere and slammed into his head.
BOOM!
The ghoul's skull exploded.
Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere
spraying all over Kaneki's face.
"Seriously… how dare you mess up my feeding ground?"
A brown-haired man wearing casual clothes and glasses stepped into view.
It was Nishio Nishiki.
After Rize's death, this area had been claimed by him as his personal hunting ground.
Just like lions and tigers, ghouls had territories
and any intruder would be expelled mercilessly.
The ghoul named Kazuo had just been executed for trespassing.
Kaneki stared at Nishio, his eyes filled with terror.
"Huh? There's another one here I've never seen before?"
"And what's with you, why is only one of your eyes red?"
Nishio approached slowly, his voice icy.
"Tch, disgusting."
"Do you know what happens when you trespass on someone else's territory?"
"You do know, right?"
He grabbed Kaneki by the throat and slammed him against the wall.
Two crimson Kakugan stared coldly into Kaneki's face.
"N-no… I don't know!"
"I really don't know anything I was just passing by!"
Kaneki struggled to speak.
"Hah?" Nishio sneered.
"Let me put it this way."
"If I slept with your wife and you caught us, and I told you nothing happened would you believe me?"
"That's exactly how stupid you sound right now."
"So what do you do to trash like that?"
"You kill them."
"So I'm going to kill you."
Just then
From the ledge above them, Fushimi Kyo stood, holding a limp figure in one hand, calmly looking down.
After leaving Anteiku, Kyo had picked up on a sneaky ghoul with his keen sense of smell.
He captured the ghoul alive and, after some intense questioning, learned that he had been tailing a ghoul named Kaneki Ken.
That was why Kyo appeared here now.
He wanted to see for himself how different Kaneki had become after turning into a one-eyed ghoul
and how this boy would eventually grow into the new One-Eyed King.
There was also another reason.
According to the original trajectory of events, a ghoul named Nishio Nishiki would appear here.
His strength wasn't impressive but killing him should be just enough to help Kyo scrape together the 500 evolution points he needed.
Below, Nishio continued arrogantly:
"Since you disturbed my feeding ground, even if I kill you, you won't have any complaints, right?"
A kagune slowly emerged from his lower back, ready to end Kaneki's life.
At that moment
A corpse dropped from above and smashed into the ground not far from them.
Both Kaneki and Nishio froze, turning their heads instinctively.
"A body…? From above?"
Nishio looked up
And saw a figure descending from the sky.
KABOOM.
The man landed heavily, leaving two deep footprints in the ground.
"Now this is entertaining," Kyo said lazily.
"Ghouls killing each other?"
"Go on. Keep going. I'll watch."
He stood a short distance away, arms crossed, watching with amusement.
"Bastard, who the hell are you?" Nishio demanded, frowning.
With a ghoul's sense of smell, he could easily tell
The person in front of him was human.
But a human who dared to stand before him so brazenly, without fear?
That was abnormal.
At that moment, Kaneki recognized Kyo.
Knowing how strong he was, Kaneki desperately pleaded:
"Please save me!"
"Oh? You know him?" Nishio scoffed.
"No wonder you're sticking your nose in."
"Fine. After I kill him, you're next."
Nishio clearly hadn't experienced real consequences yet his arrogance was blatant.
"I don't know him," Kyo replied calmly.
"I'm just more interested in you."
"To be precise your kagune is something I could use."
Kyo smiled faintly.
Then his figure vanished.
Before Nishio could even react
A fist slammed into his abdomen.
PFFTSH!
A massive hole instantly opened in Nishio's stomach.
"Y-you… how are you this strong?!"
Nishio stared in disbelief.
With just one punch, his kagune core had been critically damaged.
Behind him, his kagune dissolved slowly into a mist of blood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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