Ghoul: Starting with Sharingan

On the Beach

The beach was bustling with people today—though to be fair, it likely always was.

Some of the folks from the 20th Ward were playing in the water, others were building things in the sand, and many lounged in beach chairs, enjoying the sun and the view.

Byakuya had bought several beach chairs earlier, and now he and Eto were stretched out side by side, sipping on coconut juice and other tropical drinks.

Just then, Eto pulled a bottle from her bag — something that looked suspiciously like sunscreen.

She gave the bottle a little shake, her lips curling into a sly smile.

"I'll leave this to you~"

"Leave what to me?"

Byakuya didn't quite catch on immediately.

"Isn't it obvious? Help me put on the sunscreen."

With that, Eto rolled over onto a towel beside him, lying on her stomach.

"..."

Byakuya froze for a moment.

Well… this just got interesting.

But he quickly shook off any stray thoughts, opened the bottle, and poured some lotion into his hand.

Starting with her back, he carefully rubbed it in…

He touched pretty much everything — things he should, and things he probably shouldn't.

Yet Eto didn't seem the slightest bit embarrassed. Instead, she calmly enjoyed the moment like it was the most natural thing in the world.

But then, from a distance, a sudden scream rang out.

It was unclear whether it was a case of Dragon Orphans or ghouls causing trouble.

Byakuya figured it was unlikely the Dragons Orphans had spread this far already. More likely, it was just some rogue ghouls stirring up chaos.

He squinted in the direction of the scream, and thanks to the enhanced vision of his eye, he quickly spotted a group of ghouls dressed in matching outfits.

It wasn't just a few troublemakers — it was an organized group.

"What's going on over there?"

Eto asked, still lying on her towel but clearly aware of the disturbance.

"Looks like a ghoul gang showed up. Probably here to start trouble"

Byakuya replied.

"I see… well, that's unlucky for them" she said with a calm smile.

"Everyone here! Listen up!"

A ghoul leapt onto a higher platform, shouting to the crowd.

Everyone on the beach turned their attention toward him.

"Hand over ten women and ten children, and we'll let the rest of you live. Otherwise, you all die!"

The ghoul yelled with arrogant confidence.

"What?! Is that guy a ghoul? And those others dressed like him… we're surrounded!"

"Aren't there investigators who patrol this area? Why aren't they doing anything?"

"There are too many of them. Even if one or two investigators noticed, they'd never risk showing up. They might've already been taken out..."

"So what do we do? Just hand over the women and kids?!"

"…"

Panic spread rapidly through the crowd.

Yoshimura watched the scene unfold, his brow slightly furrowed.

It made sense. Right now, only Tokyo had achieved a tenuous peace between humans and ghouls. Places farther out, especially this far from the city, hadn't made much progress yet.

A fight seemed inevitable...

No one wanted to die, of course, but so far, no one had been willing to push the women and children forward either.

The ghouls, meanwhile, weren't rushing anything. They were waiting to watch the show.

They wanted to see the ugly side of humanity — whether some cowardly man would willingly sacrifice his wife and children to save his own skin.

"We'll sweeten the deal" the lead ghoul announced from above. "If any man willingly hands over his wife and child, he alone will be allowed to leave safely."

So far, no one had stooped that low.

But the longer the tension dragged on and the more fear gripped their hearts, the more likely it was that someone would break.

The ghouls were just waiting for that moment — eager to witness humanity's descent.

But really, this wasn't about humanity being uniquely cruel. When faced with life-or-death choices, some ghouls would make the same decisions.

This wasn't human nature. It was simply the nature of any intelligent being faced with desperation.

Then, a girl with green hair stepped forward.

She was the first.

"Oh?"

The lead ghoul raised an eyebrow. A woman had stepped up?

Now came the question — did she count as one of the women or as one of the children?

The green-haired girl was none other than Eto.

Byakuya stood off to the side, expressionless. He wasn't worried about Eto in the slightest.

The ones who should've been worried were the ghouls.

Next, Minami stepped forward.

Then Irimi, followed by Hikari.

Touka found the situation amusing and grabbed Kaneki by the arm, dragging him over to where their mom was standing.

Mayu, Suzuya, and Ayato weren't far behind.

Even Roma tagged along, looking like she thought this was all hilarious.

"So many volunteers already" the lead ghoul sneered. "Just five more women and five more kids. We'll give you another thirty seconds. If the quota isn't met by then, no one gets out alive."

He had deliberately shortened the countdown to ratchet up the pressure.

They hadn't yet seen the outcome they were hoping for — and they weren't going to leave disappointed.

Everyone on the beach was on edge now.

Some were secretly hoping someone else would step up—even if the thought was despicable. No one wanted to die.

And yet… up to this point, not a single man had actually offered up his own family.

That's when Eto began walking again — straight toward the lead ghoul.

The ghoul noticed her movement and barked a warning,

"I suggest you stay put. Move again, and you'll be the first I eat."

But Eto only grinned.

Her body suddenly began to swell and distort. In seconds, she transformed into the towering, 12-meter tall form of the One-Eyed Owl.

The ghoul froze, his brain seemingly crashing at the sight of such an enormous kakuja.

Eto bent down and loomed over him, her owl form grinning, eyes gleaming with amusement.

"So tell me again—"

Her voice came out in a twisted chuckle.

"—who was it you said you were going to eat?"