Dimensional Kaguya Ōtsutsuki

The world was exactly as Kaguya suspected—it was indeed the world of Tokyo Ghoul. The coffee shop was none other than the "Anteiku" from the original story. The reactions of its inhabitants also aligned perfectly with her expectations. In particular, the shop owner seemed to have caught onto something, which was likely why he came down from upstairs. Though his stance appeared casual, Kaguya noticed that he had subtly positioned himself in front of Touka Kirishima, shielding her.

It seemed like the people here were not to be underestimated.

While she still had no clear idea about the system's mission, Kaguya was beginning to form a plan.

At that moment, a petite figure came running toward her and collided with a thud.

"Ah!"

A soft cry escaped as the small figure tumbled to the ground, landing in a crouch.

"That hurts…"

The girl—no, more like a little girl, likely not even ten years old—had short golden-brown hair, fair skin, and delicate features that hinted at her future beauty. She sat on the ground, clutching her head in pain.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Kaguya extended a hand to help her up.

However, the little girl refused her offer, quickly standing up on her own. She gave Kaguya a wary glance, stepped back several paces, and then turned to run away.

This left Kaguya bewildered. Did she look like a bad person? She had always thought of herself as exuding a friendly and approachable aura.

Oh well. There was no point in dwelling on it. Her current priority was to find a place to rest. While her immense mental strength meant she wouldn't truly feel exhausted, habits were hard to break, and this time of day always made her feel sleepy.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom echoed from a distant building. Kaguya's brow furrowed slightly.

It was already 11 PM. The once-busy streets were now much quieter, with only a few stragglers here and there. The vibrant, colorful neon lights continued to illuminate the city, painting it with dazzling hues.

At this late hour, it was unlikely to be a construction project. Normal people wouldn't venture out at this time either—unless they wanted to become a ghoul's late-night snack.

That left only one possibility.

Kaguya's lips curved into a smile. Lightly pressing the ground with her foot, she shot forward like an arrow leaving its bow, her figure a streak of light disappearing into the distance.

"Dammit! How dare you run away! That's mine! It's mine!" An enraged voice broke the silence of the night.

With a deafening crash, a hulking man smashed his fist into a thick steel girder, twisting it into a warped, mangled shape.

"Damn it… I'll get you. I'll get you!"

As his heavy breathing filled the air, the man emerged from the shadows. The neon lights of an advertisement board illuminated his figure—tall, broad-shouldered, and brimming with knotted muscles, resembling a human tank. A white mask covered his face, revealing only his bloodshot eyes.

"What's this? It's already over? I was hoping for a good show."

A voice as clear and ethereal as the wind rang out unexpectedly.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" The muscular man spun around and growled. "There!" He stomped the ground and charged in the direction of the voice, swinging his massive, knotted fist.

With a resounding boom, chunks of shattered concrete flew everywhere. Twisted steel rods shot into the air, and amid the swirling dust, a lithe silhouette somersaulted gracefully, tracing a perfect arc before landing gently atop a raised platform.

"My, how unfriendly. I was just passing by—was that really necessary?"

Standing before the muscular man was a silver-haired girl wearing a fox mask. Her long hair flowed like a waterfall in the night breeze as she balanced effortlessly on a steel beam.

"Hah! I thought it was her, but it's just some little girl who doesn't know her place." The muscular man sneered, turning away dismissively. "I don't have time to waste on a brat like you."

"What a bad temper. If you're too irritable, you might get your arms and legs broken." Kaguya wagged her finger teasingly. "By the way, what's your name again? Let me guess… Tiger? No, Shrimp? Hmm… Maybe Lizard?"

"You're the first person bold enough to talk to me like that. I have to admit, I admire your courage." The muscular man's bloodshot eyes locked onto Kaguya.

"You're the first person to talk to me like this as well," Kaguya replied, her white fingers lightly tapping her mask. A playful smile graced her lips. "And let me tell you, the last people who did… Well, let's just say the grass on their graves is already this tall." She gestured with her hand, indicating a rather impressive height.

"Ahahahaha!"

The muscular man burst into raucous laughter, his deep voice booming like thunder. After a moment, he said, "You're really something else. I've never met anyone quite like you. Fine. You've piqued my interest. I was going to let you go, but now I've changed my mind."

"I haven't encountered a toy like you in a long time," he continued, cracking his knuckles menacingly. "Before we play, though, how about you give me those two arms, those two legs, and all ten fingers?"

"Big guy like you, playing with tiny toys? Do you enjoy pretend tea parties too?" Kaguya smirked. "You're just adorable."

"Do you even know who I am?" the man snarled, his bloodshot eyes narrowing. "No matter. Once I rip you to shreds, you'll find out soon enough."

"Would anyone care about an ant underfoot?" Kaguya shrugged, raising her hands in mock helplessness.

"Interesting. So interesting. You're just too interesting." The man's crimson eyes gleamed with an unsettling light as his smile twisted into a grotesque grin. "I'll make sure you really enjoy what's coming."

"Thank you for the consideration," Kaguya replied, lifting something in her hand and waving it slightly. Her smile was serene as she said, "By the way, is this your trash? Tossing junk anywhere isn't very polite, you know."

The moment the man's eyes landed on the object in Kaguya's hand, his crimson pupils shrank dramatically.

In Kaguya's hand was nothing other than an ordinary pair of pliers. The only unusual aspect was its material—it was far harder than steel, crafted from something that seemed anything but ordinary metal.

The burly, muscular man before her was not a stranger to Kaguya. If she wasn't mistaken, this was Yamori, the deranged sadist infamous for his love of torturing others. In the original Tokyo Ghoul, he tormented Ken Kaneki relentlessly before being killed in retaliation.

What a truly disgusting individual, Kaguya thought, wrinkling her nose in disdain.

"How did you get that?" Yamori's pupils shrank dramatically, his bloodshot eyes flaring with anger as more crimson veins surged across them. "Give it back! That's mine! Give it back!"

Without waiting for a response, Yamori launched himself at Kaguya like an arrow, his massive frame moving with surprising agility. In a heartbeat, he closed the distance, his meaty fist swinging straight for Kaguya's head.

Just as the fist was about to connect, Kaguya's lips curled into a faint smile. Her figure blurred, disappearing with a sharp whoosh before Yamori's attack could land.

"What?!"

Yamori's eyes widened as he hastily stopped his advance, scanning the area frantically. The silver-haired girl was gone, her presence as if it had evaporated into thin air. A foreboding unease began to gnaw at the edges of his mind.

"Hey, big guy! What are you looking at?"

A playful, melodious voice rang out from behind him. Yamori spun around, his massive body moving with startling speed. Raising his powerful arm, he instinctively swung his massive fist toward the source of the voice.

Before his strike could land, however, Kaguya's own fist had already shot forward like a bolt of white lightning.

Boom!

The air reverberated with the impact, and gusts of wind rippled outward. Yamori glanced upward, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "You think you can fight me? You're too green, little girl."

To his apparent satisfaction, Kaguya's fist had been stopped by his bulging, muscle-bound arm.

"Is that so?" Kaguya's smile widened slightly. "If one punch isn't enough, how about a few more?" Retracting her hand, her eyes glinted with a cold light.

For reasons he couldn't quite place, a deep and primal fear suddenly bloomed in Yamori's chest. Memories of the torment he endured in the interrogation room began flooding back, triggering a storm of rage instead of retreat. A surge of adrenaline coursed through him, and his kagune, a red-and-blue scaled tail, burst from his back, morphing into an armored helm that encased his head—his Rinkaku fully unleashed.

Yamori tilted his head back and let out an ear-splitting roar. His voice thundered through the night as he charged forward with explosive force. The ground beneath his feet shattered, and his immense frame broke the sound barrier as he closed the gap in an instant, his massive fist aimed directly at Kaguya.

"Die! Die! Die!"

"One 'die' is enough. Did you really think repeating it would make it come true? You're such a naïve little child. Let me teach you the proper way to say it." Behind her fox mask, Kaguya's lips curved into a mocking smile. In a soft, deadly tone, she said, "Die."

The word had barely left her lips when an overwhelming barrage of translucent fists erupted around her. The strikes roared through the air like a tsunami, hurtling toward Yamori with crushing force.

Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.

"What?!" Yamori's face contorted in sheer disbelief. "This can't—!"

His protest was cut off as the barrage of chakra-infused punches crashed down on him like a meteor shower.

Crack!

A sickening sound echoed as the first punch struck his mask, shattering it like a brittle eggshell. Fragments of the mask flew outward in all directions.

But the assault didn't stop there. The fists continued raining down, relentlessly pummeling Yamori's face.

Boom!

Blood sprayed into the air as Yamori's brutish features twisted grotesquely under the relentless onslaught. His flesh rippled and peeled back in grotesque, slow-motion waves, leaving his face a mangled, unrecognizable mess.

Finally, with a thunderous bang, Yamori's colossal body was sent hurtling through the air like a cannonball. He crashed into a distant wall, leaving behind a massive, human-shaped crater. Spiderweb cracks spread across the surface of the wall as chunks of debris rained down.

Scarlet blood mixed with fragments of white teeth splattered into the air, creating a gruesome mist.

Thud!

Yamori's broken body crumpled to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Dark red blood oozed from his wounds, pooling around him and staining the earth with its foul stench.

"This… This is impossible…" Yamori croaked, struggling to lift his battered head. His eyes fixed on the approaching silver-haired girl, terror twisting his features.

Kaguya walked toward him with the elegance of a predator, her every step deliberate. Reaching his side, she placed her foot on his head and pressed down, grinding it into the ground with a cruel smile.

"I told you, didn't I? To me, you're just a brat playing house. No, you're worse than that—not even as good as a child playing with toys."

She crouched down slightly, her voice dropping to a whisper. "In my eyes, you're nothing more than an ant. No matter how strong an ant thinks it is, it's still just an ant."

"An… an ant?" Yamori's eyes widened in disbelief. If she'd said this earlier, he would've laughed and torn her apart. But now…

Kaguya straightened and, with one swift motion, delivered a sharp kick.

Boom!

Yamori's massive body was launched like a ragdoll, crashing into a steel pillar with a deafening clang. The impact bent the metal column out of shape.

Splurt!

Yamori coughed up a mouthful of blood, his breaths ragged and labored. His entire body was a patchwork of injuries, inflicted by Kaguya's overwhelming attack. Even his kagune-enhanced durability couldn't withstand such brutal force. He slumped helplessly, his broken form barely clinging to life.

"What a disappointment," Kaguya said with a sigh. "I thought you'd last a bit longer. But it seems even a few hits were too much for you."

"Who… Who are you?" Yamori gasped out, his voice trembling with fear. To him, this silver-haired girl was no longer human—she was a monster, wielding unimaginable power without even revealing a kagune.

"Who am I?" Kaguya tilted her head thoughtfully before replying with a smirk, "Call me Akatsuki."

"Akatsuki…" Yamori muttered, the name unfamiliar and strange. He had never heard of such a person or group before. But there was no time to dwell on it as the silver-haired girl approached him again.

"I warned you—bad tempers get their owners' arms and legs broken," Kaguya said lightly, her voice dripping with mockery. She raised her foot and brought it down with force.

Crunch!

"AAAAARGH!" Yamori's scream tore through the night as pain seared through his body.

"You see? I told you it would break." Behind her fox mask, Kaguya's serene smile radiated a chilling warmth.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

Accompanied by a series of sharp, crisp bone-cracking sounds, Yamori let out an agonized scream, his voice hoarse and raw, barely able to hold out. His massive body writhed uncontrollably, desperate to escape the demon who loomed over him. Unfortunately, it was all in vain.

"I think that's enough," Kaguya dusted off her hands, though they were spotless to begin with. "Thank you for helping me feel so much better."

After thoroughly venting her frustrations on this pitiful creature, Kaguya felt her pent-up annoyance dissipate entirely. For that, she decided she wouldn't kill him—for now. After all, wasn't it a shame to destroy such a fun toy?

Yamori, however, was already at death's door. His eyes were glazed, blood seeped from his nose and mouth, and his body was a mangled heap of broken bones. Were it not for the faint shivers occasionally coursing through him, one might have thought he was already dead.

"Maybe I overdid it," Kaguya remarked offhandedly, leaning closer with a tone devoid of any actual remorse. She crouched down, pulling out the pliers she had taken from him earlier, and gave them a casual wave in front of his face. "This thing? I doubt a cripple like you would need it anymore. Let me help you dispose of it."

With a flick of her wrist, Kaguya's fingers clenched.

Crack!

The pliers crumbled into fragments like brittle glass, and as her hand relaxed, the shattered remains clattered to the floor.

Yamori's pupils constricted in terror, his body trembling like a leaf. His wide, bloodshot eyes stared at the silver-haired girl before him, their gaze filled with nothing but raw fear. The sight of the pliers being reduced to scrap so effortlessly robbed him of the will to resist.

Though his fury had vanished, his heart clenched painfully, gripped by an invisible hand as his breaths grew shallow. His dread surged to an unbearable crescendo.

"I had initially planned to kill you," Kaguya said softly, leaning closer. Behind her fox mask, her crystalline eyes gleamed with a cold light that sent shivers down Yamori's spine, like an icy flood pouring over him.

"But then again," she continued, standing upright with a light chuckle, "killing you would feel like such a waste. As weak as you are, you're still not completely useless."

If anyone had dared speak to Yamori this way in the past, they'd have been torn to shreds before finishing their sentence. Yet now, hearing Kaguya's voice, he let out a faint sigh of relief. At least it seemed she wouldn't kill him—yet.

But then her next words made his heart leap into his throat again.

"Still," Kaguya mused, her white fingers tapping the edge of her mask, "keeping you alive doesn't seem all that useful either." Her gaze shifted back to him, her voice calm yet filled with a subtle menace. "You're with Aogiri Tree, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes," Yamori stammered, nodding frantically.

"Good," Kaguya said, the faint edge of a smile audible in her voice. "Here's what I want you to do—take a message to your organization. Tell them to surrender and swear loyalty to me. If they do, I'll consider forgiving their past crimes."

"What?" Yamori's jaw dropped in disbelief. Had he just heard her correctly? No one had ever spoken of Aogiri Tree with such disdain.

Aogiri Tree wasn't some trivial gang. It was a powerful group of ghouls that had once terrorized even the CCG's strongest investigators. Only the intervention of someone like Arima Kishou had managed to push them back. For her to speak so casually about making them submit—it was madness.

In the past, Yamori would've laughed and ripped her to pieces for her arrogance. But hearing it from this fox-masked girl felt… disturbingly natural, as though it were an inevitable fact.

"If they refuse," Kaguya added, crouching down so her words were almost a whisper, "the Akatsuki will personally seek them out… and eliminate every last one of them."

Behind her mask, her crescent-shaped eyes seemed to smile, but Yamori felt no warmth—only an overwhelming chill that made his entire body tremble uncontrollably.

"Do you understand?" Kaguya asked, her voice light yet brimming with quiet menace.

"Y-Yes," Yamori croaked, blood bubbling at the corner of his lips as a violent cough racked his body. A fresh spurt of crimson splattered the ground.

Lucky for him, ghouls were remarkably resilient; otherwise, he'd already be dead. Even so, his recovery felt agonizingly slow, leaving him teetering on the brink of death.

"You look like you won't last much longer," Kaguya said, tapping her mask thoughtfully. "And if the CCG finds you, it'll mess up my plans." Her tone shifted, laced with a hint of annoyance. "Fine, let's fix you up."

Raising her pristine hand, Kaguya splayed her fingers. A faint glow of chakra pulsed from her palm, bathing Yamori's broken form in a warm, soothing light.

As the energy seeped into his body, Yamori braced himself, convinced she was about to end his life. But after a moment, he noticed something unusual—his pain was fading. His shattered bones mended themselves, and the numbness in his limbs began to ebb. Slowly, he found he could move his arms and legs again.

"There. That should do it," Kaguya said nonchalantly. "Now stop lying there like a corpse and get up."

Yamori blinked in disbelief but instinctively obeyed, rising unsteadily to his feet. He glanced down at himself, stunned to find that his injuries were completely healed. Even his fractured bones had been reset perfectly. It was as though his ordeal had never happened.

"This… this is…" Yamori muttered, awe and confusion battling in his mind.

"Quit wasting time and leave," Kaguya snapped, her tone sharp. "And don't forget what I said, you useless fool. If you dare disobey me…" Her voice trailed off ominously as she turned her back on him, her silver hair swaying lightly as she walked toward the building's exit.

Yamori remained frozen in place, his emotions in turmoil. Relief at being alive warred with the icy fear of what he had just experienced. The sheer power this girl had displayed defied everything he knew. She was no ordinary ghoul—she was something far more terrifying.

And yet, as her back disappeared into the distance, a reckless thought crept into his mind. He clenched his fists, debating whether to strike. She had just healed him. Her guard might be down. If he attacked now, maybe, just maybe, he could—

No. Yamori hesitated, sweat beading on his forehead. She was far too strong. If he failed, he'd be dead for sure. Yet the lure of revenge gnawed at him. If he could kill her, it would be a massive victory for Aogiri Tree.

The conflict raged within him, his legs trembling under the weight of indecision.

As he debated, the silver-haired girl had already vanished into the shadows of the night. Yamori finally exhaled, his body slackening with relief. He had chosen not to act. Only now did he realize his clothes were soaked with sweat, his legs nearly giving out beneath him.

Just as he prepared to leave, a faint, chilling voice drifted through the air.

"I thought you'd try something."

Yamori froze mid-step, his blood running cold.

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