Tokyo Ghoul: Starting with Kamui!

Once the digital copy of Dear Kafka was ready, Uchiha Byakuya had the print shop owner send it to his email.

That way, he could access the file directly on his computer when he got home.

Afterward, he handed the original manuscript back to Yoshimura Eto.

"Yoshimura-san, you should keep the original. Also, you might want to think of a pen name. Most authors have one that represents them."

"A pen name..."

Eto fell into brief contemplation before quickly making up her mind.

"Takatsuki Sen. I'll use that name."

"Takatsuki Sen, huh... That's a great name."

Byakuya praised with a smile.

"Then from now on, I'll address you as 'Takatsuki-sensei.'"

"Alright, then. I should head back to the publishing house and get back to work. After I get home later, I'll go through Takatsuki-sensei's manuscript again and see if I can provide some useful editing notes."

After saying his goodbyes, Byakuya turned to leave.

But after taking just a few steps, something occurred to him.

He turned back and handed Eto a 10,000-yen bill.

"Almost forgot—Takatsuki-sensei, use this to get by for a few days. My paycheck isn't coming in for a bit, so things are a little tight on my end for now."

"This is already more than enough. Thank you."

Eto accepted the money without hesitation, offering a rare genuine word of thanks.

"By the way, do you have a phone? If not, I'll buy one for you. Otherwise, it'll be hard to stay in touch."

Byakuya had budgeted for this already.

"I don't have a phone."

Eto admitted.

So, Byakuya bought her a phone under his name.

Of course, he also took care of the monthly phone bill.

After they parted ways, Eto returned to her base of operations—the hideout of Aogiri Tree.

Aogiri Tree was a Ghoul organization she had recently founded.

Although its membership was still small, it had already begun to establish itself as a rising power.

On the surface, Aogiri Tree claimed to exist for the protection of Ghouls who were being hunted by humanity, positioning itself in direct opposition to the CCG.

However, their current hideout was incredibly run-down—just an abandoned, decaying building surrounded by weeds and trees.

It was so remote that no ordinary humans ever passed by.

"Whoa! That's amazing!"

"You actually earned 10,000 yen in just one day?! How'd you do that...?"

"As expected of Yoshimura! She was insanely strong when we raided the CCG branch, and now she's even great at making money...!"

The moment Eto revealed the 10,000-yen bill, the other Aogiri Tree members gasped in awe.

For most Ghouls, earning money legally was next to impossible.

Many of them lacked proper identification, making it extremely difficult to find legitimate work.

To make matters worse, more public areas were beginning to install RC detection gates.

These gates could scan RC Cell levels, and since a Ghoul's RC Cell Count was completely different from a human's, any detected Ghouls would immediately trigger an alarm—exposing their identity.

Over time, human society was making it harder and harder for Ghouls to survive.

"This money should last us at least a few days. We need to distribute it wisely."

Eto declared.

"Tomorrow, I'll go buy some essential supplies we can actually use."

Yoshimura Eto addressed the other Aogiri Tree members.

Every other member of Aogiri Tree, except for Eto herself, was a Pure Ghoul—meaning they could not consume human food and had no choice but to hunt humans for sustenance.

Eto, however, was a unique exception—not just in Tokyo, but possibly in the entire world.

She was the only known naturally born Half-Ghoul.

In this world, there were two hybrid existences:

Half-Humans – Born from a human and a Ghoul, but fundamentally more human than Ghoul. They lacked Kakugan, Kakuhou, and Kagune, could eat normal food, and possessed superior physical abilities compared to humans—but suffered from a drastically shorter lifespan.

Half-Ghouls – Also born from a human and a Ghoul, but more Ghoul than human. They possessed a single Kakugan, a Kakuhou, and a Kagune, and could even consume human food like normal humans. Their lifespan was also identical to a human's.

In theory, Half-Ghouls had the highest potential for power.

However, in the Half-Human category, there existed an outlier—a bug in the system.

That man's name was Arima Kishou.

Later that night, Eto sat alone in the dilapidated hideout of Aogiri Tree.

The manuscript for Dear Kafka rested beside her, untouched.

Instead, she held an old notebook in her hands.

A notebook left to her by her father, filled with writings from her mother.

"Mother... I won't run away like Kuzen did."

She thought to herself, tilting her head back slightly.

She needed more power.

She needed more allies.

Aogiri Tree had to grow stronger—or they would never stand a chance against "them."

Meanwhile.

Uchiha Byakuya didn't actually return to Shoei Publishing.

Instead, he made a trip to CCG's 2nd Ward Branch.

In the world of Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo was divided into 24 Wards.

The CCG Headquarters was located in Ward 1, known as the Commission of Counter Ghoul Main Office.

Shoei Publishing was situated in Ward 2, which was also home to one of CCG's branch divisions.

Aside from Ward 1 (CCG HQ) and Ward 24 (the mysterious underground labyrinth), every other ward had its own local CCG division.

Byakuya was officially stationed at the CCG 2nd Ward Branch, and he had come back to confirm some information.

Passing through the RC Cell Detection Gates, he used his CCG Investigator credentials to access the database.

CCG's system contained a wealth of public intelligence—information available to all CCG Investigators.

Naturally, Byakuya could access it too.

As he browsed the records, he muttered to himself:

"I see… So the 'One-Eyed Owl' has already attacked the 2nd Ward Branch twice... and even led an assault on the 23rd Ward Ghoul Detention Center."

With this, Byakuya confirmed exactly where he was in the timeline.

The One-Eyed Owl—Yoshimura Eto—was not originally classified as an SSS-rated Ghoul.

Her threat level rose over time.

Initially, Eto was ranked S after killing First-Class Investigator Kuroiwa Takehito in Ward 3.

Since First-Class Investigators were only one rank below Special-Class, CCG recognized her combat strength as exceeding that level.

(Side Note: CCG Investigator ranks, from lowest to highest, are:

Rank 3 Investigator

Rank 2 Investigator

Rank 1 Investigator

Senior Investigator

Associate Special-Class Investigator

Special-Class Investigator (The highest rank.)

Among Special-Class Investigators, there were varying power levels.

However, at this point in the timeline, Arima Kishou had not yet reached Special-Class, meaning most current Special-Class Investigators were roughly equal in strength.

After her initial classification as an S-rated Ghoul, Eto launched a surprise attack on the 2nd Ward CCG Branch, killing dozens of investigators.

Due to the feather-like Kagune covering her entire body, she was codenamed "Owl."

Because she had only one Kakugan, she was further labeled as the "One-Eyed Owl."

As a result, her threat level increased from S to SS.

Then, Eto led a massive Ghoul assault on the 23rd Ward Ghoul Detention Center, freeing countless imprisoned Ghouls.

Her threat level was raised once again—from SS to SSS.

And most recently, Eto had launched her second attack on the 2nd Ward CCG Branch.

However, this time, she was seriously injured by Kuroiwa Iwao, who was still a Senior Investigator at the time.

Kuroiwa had landed a devastating blow to her most critical organ—her Kakuhou.

With her Kakuhou severely damaged, Eto was forced to retreat.

Meaning; At this very moment, Yoshimura Eto was still suffering from a near-fatal injury.