"Well, whatever." Eto Yoshimura sat beside Akuto, her hands propped up behind her.
"Where should I start..."
"We, the Aogiri Tree, are an organization dedicated to finding a way for Ghouls to live legally."
"Roughly~ that's how it is."
Akuto was not annoyed, turning his head to look at Eto Yoshimura.
"So, you want to create a 'King' of Ghouls to lead you in negotiations with humans?"
Visibly, Eto Yoshimura's pupils constricted!
"No need to be nervous."
"To be precise, I have no interest in your ridiculous plan."
Eto Yoshimura gradually relaxed, tilting her head as she looked at Akuto. "Does Mr. Akuto think I will fail?"
"Why don't you tell me what your definition of success is?" Akuto reached out and hooked his arm around Eto Yoshimura's neck, his tone chilling. "If I were to kill you right now, and then kill several Ghouls every day from now on..."
"In exchange for balance, would you agree?"
Eto Yoshimura's instinct was to refuse. However, she suddenly froze!
She understood; Akuto was warning her!
Even if she succeeded, so what?
A King of Ghouls would emerge, and they would revolt together, taking down the CCG and the Washuu Clan of the Higher-Ups.
And then what?
Ghouls and humans are naturally opposing species.
"They eat corpses." Eto Yoshimura pretended to be cute and actively leaned into Akuto's embrace.
"You would agree... no, that's not important." Akuto smiled helplessly. "Even if some people agreed to give their corpses to you as food,"
"How can you be sure all Ghouls would be willing to eat corpses?"
Eto Yoshimura's body stiffened for a moment.
"So you see, humans are unwilling to give the corpses of their loved ones to Ghouls as food."
"And some Ghouls are unwilling to eat corpses."
"Even if your so-called 'King' could suppress them for a few decades, what happens when the King dies?"
"The war would still continue, and might even intensify due to long-standing oppression and hatred. Your actions cannot change anything."
Eto Yoshimura remained silent for a full five minutes. "Then does Mr. Akuto have any ideas? If I approve, it wouldn't be impossible for me to be your pet~"
Eto Yoshimura leaned in close, her face less than three centimeters away from Akuto's.
Akuto's eyes suddenly darted toward Eto Yoshimura's single crimson kakugan.
"I don't much like being threatened."
"Hee-hee~" Eto Yoshimura stood up and spun around. "The finger is with the Washuu Clan."
"This intelligence comes from a mysterious member of the Washuu Clan."
"Does Mr. Akuto know about the Washuu Clan?"
Eto Yoshimura still wanted to use information to manipulate Akuto.
"Arima Kishou, is it?"
Hearing that Akuto knew about Arima Kishou and even their cooperation, Eto Yoshimura lowered her head helplessly.
"Honestly... Mr. Akuto really knows a lot."
At this moment, Akuto was actually quite overjoyed. He hadn't expected the whereabouts of the finger to fall into his hands so unexpectedly.
And it didn't conflict with his previous plans at all!
"I do have a plan, but my goal is the finger."
"This doesn't conflict with your goals, so be my pet, and I'll help you solve your problem."
"I'll also take you to see a much larger world."
Eto Yoshimura stared intently at Akuto.
After a few breaths, Eto Yoshimura suddenly grinned.
"No can do~"
"Although Mr. Akuto is very powerful, it's not enough."
"The chips aren't enough."
Akuto lit a cigarette, his eyes devoid of emotion, like a pool of stagnant water. "Then come back when you feel I have enough chips."
"That day won't be too far off."
"Until I kill you, you can look for me anytime."
"Then it's a promise."
Eto Yoshimura waved goodbye to Akuto. "I'll try my best not to be killed by Mr. Akuto."
Then Eto Yoshimura skipped away
..
..
A few hours later, in Miko's world.
After school in the afternoon, Miko and Hana walked out of the school arm-in-arm, chatting and laughing.
Since learning how to fight, Miko was no longer so afraid of evil spirits; even if she couldn't beat them, she could escape.
So her life had become much easier.
However, a look of melancholy could still occasionally be seen on Miko's face.
"Wow! What a beautiful car!"
"Amazing! I've never seen a car like that before!"
"It looks so expensive!"
The students at the school gate were buzzing with discussion. For some reason, Miko's heart rate gradually accelerated.
She looked toward the school gate, but there were too many people to see anything.
Miko's pace gradually quickened, and before she knew it, she was running.
"Miko! Wait for me!"
Miko squeezed through the crowd, panting. When she saw the familiar face leaning against the car, tears immediately fell.
"Akuto-kun!"
Miko ran all the way and then jumped onto Akuto, hugging him like a koala. "Why did you only just get back... I couldn't even contact you..."
"Let's go home." Akuto placed Miko on the ground.
"Mhm!"
The luxury car sped away.
Leaving Hana bewildered in the wind, frozen like a statue as she held the gesture of reaching out to call Miko.
That evening, the Yotsuya Family prepared a feast, and the whole family sat at the dining table.
"Akuto-kun, was your trip successful?"
"It was alright, though I encountered quite a few troublesome things." As Akuto spoke, he took out several gift boxes and handed them over.
"These are souvenirs."
Touko opened hers to find a complete set of gold jewelry with very beautiful craftsmanship.
Kyosuke's was a complete set of classic literature books, and the little guy's face visibly darkened.
Miko's gift was more special—a briefcase. "Akuto, this is..."
"A quinque, a special weapon. It's made from the limbs of Ghouls and can fully adapt to your strength."
Both Miko's and Akuto's strengths were far too terrifying.
Ordinary weapons couldn't withstand their power at all.
But a quinque could barely be used.
"This one doesn't have a fingerprint lock; it opens with the press of a button." Miko pressed it curiously, and the next moment, a long blade emitting a crimson glow popped out!
The blade was very long, reaching about 170 centimeters, and relatively narrow, making it very suitable for Miko's use.
"This is..."
Miko swung it a few times curiously and found it very handy!
"Wow!! Such a cool weapon!"
"Brother! I want one too!"
"Kyosuke, stop fooling around, you're still too young!"
Miko pressed down on Kyosuke's head and put the weapon away with a blush.
"I like it very much."
"But do Ghouls really exist in the place you went?"
"What are those?" Kyosuke poked his head out.
Akuto gave a casual explanation and then went upstairs to Tozuka's home.
Tozuka's souvenir was also a quinque, but it was a Koukaku with very strong defensive capabilities.
At the very least, ordinary guns and cannons in this world wouldn't be able to break it.
Tozuka was so moved that he shed tears and repeatedly pledged his loyalty.
Akuto was in no hurry to return, choosing instead to rest here.
..
.
Meanwhile, in the Ghoul world.
Mado Akira had looked for Akuto many times, but she hadn't seen him at all.
The car was still in the underground garage, but the person was gone.
This made Akira quite worried, but unfortunately, she couldn't contact him.
At the coffee shop, just as the plot dictated, Tsukiyama Shuu lured Kaneki Ken away, planning to eat him.
However, after discovering that Kaneki Ken was a One-Eyed Ghoul, he regretted it.
He didn't want to share such a delicacy.
So, in the end, he let Kaneki Ken go back.
During this time, it was worth mentioning that a human woman found Kaneki Ken, searching for the whereabouts of Nishio Nishiki.