The petite young woman before him had wild green hair cascading past her shoulders, a slender frame, and eyes like polished emeralds.
Despite her youthful, almost adolescent appearance and height of barely five feet, she was actually twenty-four years old.
And her true nature stood in stark contrast to her delicate exterior.
If Rize Kamishiro was brutal, Eto Yoshimura was in another league entirely.
Born from a human-ghoul union, Eto was a natural one-eyed ghoul—unlike artificial half-ghouls like Ken Kaneki would become. She was currently the only natural-born half-ghoul in existence.
Her power far exceeded ordinary ghouls. Publicly, she was considered the strongest ghoul alive—and among the most savage.
Byakuya felt a jolt of surprise. Running into Eto just walking down the street?
But he quickly reasoned it out. This probably wasn't coincidence. His unusual contact with Rize must have drawn Eto's attention.
In the original story, Aogiri Tree had always sought to capture Rize because of her identity. As the "One-Eyed Owl" who founded Aogiri—and as Yoshimura's daughter—Eto harbored deep hatred for the Washuu Clan. Naturally, she'd take interest in Rize, who held a special position within that family.
"Hey there~ You should watch where you're walking."
Eto spoke first, her tone playful.
"Thanks for the warning. I'll be careful."
Byakuya responded normally, showing no sign of recognizing her.
"Take care~"
Humming a cheerful tune, she strolled away.
Just a passing stranger, apparently.
If Byakuya didn't know better, her casual "take care" would have meant nothing.
But knowing Rize's secrets, the implication was crystal clear.
This confirmed it: their "chance" encounter was absolutely because of Rize.
A brief exchange—just a few words—but the real concern was that he was now likely under surveillance by Eto and Aogiri Tree.
Only surveillance, though. Like her father Yoshimura, Eto wouldn't act rashly against Rize. The Washuu threat kept her from moving personally—at most, she'd send subordinates like Yamori to do the capturing.
"I know..."
Byakuya murmured in response to her playful warning.
Quiet, but Eto heard it. Not that he minded.
She didn't look back, but a small smile curved her lips.
Interesting~
This guy who'd approached and even confessed to Rize wasn't as simple as he appeared.
Yet despite her extensive intelligence network, she had absolutely no information on him.
She could tell from his scent he wasn't a ghoul. So what was he? Human? Something else? Which faction did he belong to? And why was he reading her debut novel, Dear Kafka?
Eto found herself growing increasingly curious about this stranger.
...
Byakuya arrived home.
His residence was also in Ward 20—Yoshimura's territory, the safest area in Tokyo.
Since Japanese universities typically don't provide dormitories, students either rent apartments or commute from home. Living close to Kamii University made things convenient.
Passing a mirror, Byakuya paused. He'd been curious whether his appearance had changed after transmigrating.
His body felt the same, but his hairstyle had definitely changed—much longer than before. Had his facial features changed too?
Looking in the mirror: same features.
Sharp brows, striking eyes, handsome without losing an edge of intensity. While his face didn't particularly resemble Madara's, his hairstyle was clearly from the same template—just shorter, roughly like Obito's "Red Night" look without the trailing length.
With that hairstyle plus Madara's Sharingan, even without identical features, the resemblance would be unmistakable.
Speaking of which—his one-tomoe Sharingan had remained deactivated.
He willed it active. Crimson flooded his irises, a single tomoe appearing in each eye.
Instantly, his vision and perception sharpened dramatically. Like having entirely new eyes.
The Sharingan was fully integrated with him—he seemed to have inherited Uchiha bloodline traits, able to activate or deactivate it at will.
After briefly experiencing its effects, he switched it off. No need to keep it running constantly—it would drain chakra and invite trouble.
In this world, human society harbored deep hostility toward ghouls for obvious reasons. The Sharingan's crimson looked too similar to a ghoul's kakugan. Walking around with red eyes would cause mass panic at minimum, with endless complications to follow.
...
After cooking himself dinner, Byakuya finished Dear Kafka that night before showering and going to bed.
[Ding! Host has finished Dear Kafka. Reward: 1 Fusion Point!]
...
The next morning.
Before heading to school, Byakuya returned Dear Kafka to Anteiku as promised.
Since Touka also had school, Manager Yoshimura himself handled the transaction.
"Your deposit, in full. Please count it."
Yoshimura smiled warmly, his tone gentle.
No one would guess this kindly old man was the SSS-rated ghoul "Non-Killing Owl," whose very name struck fear into humans and ghoul investigators alike.