Chapter 297: Kakuhou Fusion! Completing the Final Puzzle Piece
Meanwhile, in Kano's Lab located in Tokyo's 6th Ward, Akihiro Kanou, wearing a white lab coat, had just finished a surgery.
At this moment, he calmly watched the experiment subject on the operating table, its body constantly twisting in pain, his expression showing no change.
"Ah!!"
The experiment subject, its limbs restrained by steel hoops, roared ferociously at Akihiro Kanou. Saliva dripped profusely from its fanged mouth, and its normally human eyeballs had transformed into incredibly scarlet kakugan.
Bang! Bang bang!! The experiment subject's body began to twist and swell. It struggled madly, its hands repeatedly slamming forcefully against the operating table beneath it.
However, the operating table, made of special steel, was extremely hard. Even the muscle-bound experiment subject couldn't destroy it, no matter how hard it tried.
"Failed again."
Akihiro Kanou held a notebook, observing the experiment subject's changes while lowering his head to record the experiment data.
Failure was a common occurrence for him.
In the past two months, he had overseen at least three hundred surgeries. The only successful individuals so far were Hinami Fueguchi, Matasaka Kamishiro, Nimura Furuta, and the twins Kurona and Nashiro Yasuhisa. This clearly showed how low the success rate of the surgery was.
"Is Akihiro Kanou still inside?" Xia Shang, walking into the laboratory, looked at Rize Kamishiro, whose face had become somewhat rounder.
After a long period of nourishment, this guy's face had even become round.
"Since going in this morning, he's only come out twice: once to use the restroom, and once for lunch," Rize Kamishiro mumbled indistinctly, holding a straw in her mouth.
To save Rize Kamishiro time eating, Akihiro Kanou had specially invented an oral nutrient solution for her. Its effect was similar to directly consuming ghouls.
"I advise you to let him rest. Otherwise, I'm genuinely worried he might suddenly die one day. Oh, by the way, I have good news for you: I'm now an SSS-rated ghoul." Rize Kamishiro walked up to Xia Shang somewhat proudly, summoning several bright red kagune.
"He's a doctor, a very pure doctor. He knows his own body's condition."
Through the source material, Xia Shang understood Akihiro Kanou well. His purpose was to 'break the birdcage of the world.' This didn't just refer to the rule of the Washuu Clan, but also the chasm between humans and ghouls. Akihiro Kanou's ideal was to achieve harmonious coexistence between humans and ghouls. He saw hope in One-Eyed Ghouls, which was why he dedicated his entire being to the research of ghouls.
For this, as long as he could achieve his ideal, he could discard ethics, morality, and social norms at will. He was more like a shell, a shell controlled by an ideal.
Xia Shang didn't have much to say about this; as long as the other party could be used by him, that was enough.
Beep beep beep!!!
A rapid ringing suddenly sounded from the laboratory's ceiling.
Upon hearing it, Rize Kamishiro put down the nutrient solution in her hand and walked towards the operating room.
Soon, she dragged a modified body wrapped in kagune out of the operating room and skillfully sealed it within a tank inside the wall.
"The quantity is almost sufficient. It should meet the conditions for Rize's dragonization." Akihiro Kanou, who had walked out of the operating room with Rize, took off his mask, revealing an extremely tired face.
"You've worked hard."
Xia Shang's gaze swept across Akihiro Kanou's face, then turned to Rize Kamishiro. "But it's not time yet. I need Rize Kamishiro to do me a small favor."
"Come with me." He then led Rize Kamishiro into a sealed room. The room was entirely bright silver, and the surrounding walls were covered with a layer of metal.
"You should know what I want."
"Here you go." Facing this guy who had no sense of romance, Rize Kamishiro had none of the playful mood she had when toying with Ken Kaneki back then. Instead, she honestly dug out the kakuhou from her body and handed it to Xia Shang.
"From now on, you just need to keep providing kakuhou until I tell you to stop."
Xia Shang opened the Panel, preparing to complete the final puzzle piece.
[Rinkaku fusion in progress, current fusion progress is 2%]
For the next two days, Rize Kamishiro repeatedly dug out her kakuhou. At first, she was a bit unaccustomed to it, but after a while, she became numb.
...
"Snatching Rize Kamishiro from the King of Dark Mist's hands, that's a difficult mission."
In a villa located in the core area of Tokyo 1st Ward, Kashi, the leader of the V organization, wearing a black fedora and a black suit, dressed like a mafia boss, said with a fake smile.
He was Kishou Arima's master, and also Kuzen Yoshimura's former direct superior.
His appearance was somewhat strange. His pale face had no eyebrows or beard, as if he were wearing a human skin mask. No matter which angle you looked from, it gave you an awkward feeling.
"Rize Kamishiro is very likely in Akihiro Kanou's Laboratory. That laboratory was once CCG's territory. The previous manager was Anju Nanami. After Anju Nanami died, it was abandoned by the CCG. According to my investigation, Anju Nanami's house was bought by Akihiro Kanou. It's highly probable that he discovered the secret passage hidden underground in the house, leading to the laboratory."
Tsuneyoshi Washuu stood in front of the window, his back to Kashi, and said.
"I'm not asking you to have a direct confrontation with the King of Dark Mist. The King of Dark Mist is currently in the 11th Ward, while the laboratory is located in Tokyo's 6th Ward. As long as you're fast enough, you can easily complete the mission."
Tsuneyoshi Washuu was almost certain that a traitor had appeared within the Washuu Clan. Otherwise, the King of Dark Mist couldn't possibly know so much of the Washuu Clan's dark history, or even use it to threaten him.
"Understood." Kashi bowed slightly, then turned and walked towards the villa.
As soon as he left the villa, he called Nimura Furuta.
"As you expected, that old man wants me to take action personally and snatch Rize Kamishiro from the King of Dark Mist's hands."
"That's his only choice. Only with Rize Kamishiro can he have the qualification to negotiate with the King of Dark Mist." Nimura Furuta knew very well that even if Tsuneyoshi Washuu used all his trump cards, he couldn't threaten the King of Dark Mist. Therefore, he could only place his target on Rize Kamishiro.
"You don't actually want to work for him, do you?"
"Are you kidding me? I'm not that foolishly loyal guy, Kishou Arima. I'm a Half-Human. Rize's dragonization only brings me benefit."
"Just wait for the information. The Washuu Clan should be destroyed as well."
Nimura Furuta finished speaking and hung up the phone.
He had already noticed that in the past two days, there were many unfamiliar faces in his surroundings. It seemed this old man, Tsuneyoshi Washuu, had still discovered some clues after all.
"Mr. Kanou, please hand the mobile phone to the King of Dark Mist." He then called Akihiro Kanou.
(end of chapter )