"Our 'King' is also your CCG's Chairman. We have come under the command of the 'King.'"
Tatara and Noro led a group of "Aogiri Tree" members to the CCG headquarters.
This was something Uchiha Byakuya had instructed them to do, to form an alliance with the CCG.
Not only could it reduce the casualties on both the CCG and Aogiri Tree's sides, but it also served as early preparation for team coordination after the "Dragon War" ended.
Noro was essentially an extension of Yoshimura Eto, after all, he was a being supported by Eto's kagune.
In other words, every move made by the CCG and Aogiri Tree was under the watchful gaze of Eto.
"We naturally trust Chairman Uchiha."
Marude Itsuki stepped forward without the slightest hesitation and extended his hand toward Tatara.
But the situation was more than a bit awkward, because Kousuke Houji was also present.
Although Kousuke Houji was currently only a Provisional Special-Class Investigator, his strength was no less than that of an ordinary Special-Class Investigator.
It was just that his merits hadn't yet reached the level required for promotion.
The awkwardness stemmed from the fact that Kousuke Houji had once assisted the Chinese ghoul investigator squad in eliminating the Chinese ghoul organization "Chi She Lan."
Moreover, he had killed Tatara's biological brother, Yan. Therefore, Tatara and Kousuke Houji were mortal enemies.
At this moment, Tatara also noticed Kousuke Houji. A flash of killing intent instantly flickered in his eyes.
But his expression remained calm, and in an equally calm tone he said, "Once this war is over, let's settle our old score properly."
This was a life-and-death battle, so for now, he was forcefully suppressing his personal hatred.
But that didn't mean he would let bygones be bygones after the war was over. To be precise, there was no room for reconciliation at all.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to Japan in the first place.
Tatara had already made up his mind: only one of them, he or Kousuke Houji would live to see the end.
"Mm…"
Kousuke Houji responded with a low grunt.
It seemed he, too, understood Tatara's resolve.
And with that, the CCG and Aogiri Tree officially formed an alliance.
At the same time.
Byakuya and Eto were falling downward from the top of the Tokyo Skytree.
Both of them had calm expressions, as even falling from such a height posed no threat to them.
The Dragon clearly possessed a degree of sentience, seemingly controlled by one of the Washuu clan members who served as the Dragon's core.
At this moment, several enormous tentacle-like appendages emerged from the Dragon's body and lashed toward Byakuya and Eto.
Eto was about to transform into her kakuja, but Byakuya stopped her.
Slightly puzzled, Eto looked toward him and immediately saw that his eyes had turned into blood-red pupils.
She realized what Byakuya was about to do.
The next instant, an ethereal Susanoo descended.
He bypassed both the initial and first forms, and Byakuya's Susanoo instantly advanced to Second Form.
The second form of Susanoo not only possessed a relatively complete upper body, but was also clad in the Susanoo armor. It could wield Yasaka Magatama, as well as its own "exclusive weapon."
(ps: Since the dual-Kamui's Susanoo has never been shown in any form except the fully completed version, let's use Shisui's as a rough reference.)
The second form is considered the highest "cost-performance ratio" Susanoo form, "cost-performance" referring to the balance between ability and energy consumption.
The consumption of the second form wasn't as high as that of the previous form, yet its abilities were more than sufficient.
The sudden appearance of Susanoo sent shockwaves throughout the nation.
Although it wasn't as gigantic as the "Dragon," it was still an enormous, never-before-seen monster.
More importantly, the countless people watching on their screens had no idea whether the Susanoo was a friend or foe.
"What's that thing? Has another monster appeared?!"
"It can't be! That creature, that Dragon thing is clearly attacking it."
"So it isn't our enemy? There's no way a ghoul in kakuja form would look like that, right? I've heard that ghouls who transform into monstrous forms always end up looking like beasts but can they really become this huge?"
"You all didn't look closely. That is the CCG's Chairman, I just saw him fall from the Tokyo Skytree. I nearly thought he was about to commit suicide."
"What?! This monster is actually the CCG's Chairman transformed? So he's helping us fight that… 'Dragon' thing!"
"..."
A frenzy broke out online, in public screens and forums alike, people were wildly discussing the situation.
Now that the truth about the Washuu Clan was basically known to the world, even if the new CCG Chairman turned out to be a ghoul, it wasn't such a shocking revelation anymore.
Whether the CCG's Chairman was human or a ghoul, being able to transform into such a gigantic giant completely shattered everyone's understanding.
If ghouls could all transform into monsters like this, then what chance would the humans have at all?
"That giant, could that be Byakuya-nii? So awesome!"
Kirishima Touka, watching the TV, reacted with excitement.
"Hmph, my Papa is awesome, isn't he?"
Little Mayu proudly declared from beside her.
Kaneki Ken, however, was completely dumbfounded.
He never expected that the Nii-san who had always been so good to him would be capable of such a transformation.
Kirishima Hikari and Kirishima Arata were also witnessing Byakuya's power for the first time with their own eyes, even though it was via a TV screen, they could still feel the oppressive force radiating from him.
"Byakuya is insanely strong. Our normal ghoul kakuja forms hardly even exceed 5 meters in height,"
Kirishima Hikari exclaimed in awe.
"By the way, isn't Uchiha-kun a half-human? To think a half-human could do this…"
Kirishima Arata remarked.
But even more shocking was yet to come, for Byakuya certainly wouldn't stop at the second form.
The "Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan" mission requires him to attain the Karasu Tengu form, that is, the fourth form.
After Byakuya used his second-form Susanoo to easily break free from the grasp of those "Dragon" tentacles, he then, with a mere thought, transformed his Susanoo immediately into its third form.
Building upon the second form, the third form grew a lower body and acquired a pair of legs, and both Byakuya and Eto shifted from the bottom to the top portion of Susanoo.
The height of Susanoo then more than doubled, almost reaching around 50 meters in height.
"Are you crazy?! It's still growing!"
"Is this really a ghoul's kakuja form?! I've never heard of such a terrifying form before!"
"I doubt I'll ever have another chance to see such a stunning sight in my life, it's as if something out of a novel or manga, utterly absurd!"
"..."
It wasn't just that it had grown larger, it had more than doubled in size.
Although, in the face of the Dragon that affected the whole of Tokyo, it still seemed somewhat insignificant, this was certainly not the absolute limit of Susanoo's potential.