Alright. So. First.

I received fanart! Novirp13 was kind enough to create fanart of a scene in Chapter 5. And it's absolutely gorgeous - the art is amazing. I'm still slightly in awe lmao. A massive thanks to them. The link is in my profile if you'd like to check it out.

Enjoy the chapter!


Minutes after Kakashi strolled out of the CCG Center, the CCG Headquarters had quickly issued a gag order on the events of the battle. The entire fight was to be classified as a Class 13 Secret. For reference, the scale only went up to 5. Everyone was expected to maintain the utmost confidentiality regarding the mission. Needless to say, the CCG did not want anyone finding out what the hell happened in the 20th Ward CCG Center.

And naturally, the information was quickly leaked because all the researchers and scientists gave absolutely no fucks whatsoever about Class 13 Secrets and confidentiality and whatnot. Hey, in their defense, they had just witnessed a ghoul break the laws of physics like they were KitKats. Freaking out was understandable.

Of course, they didn't have any malicious intentions when leaking the information. They had simply shared the surveillance footage with their fellow scientists, researchers, and even professors in an attempt to try to make sense of the world again, hoping for some logical explanation.

Unfortunately, no logical explanation could be found - only more traumatized scientists.

Being unable to come up with any reason for Kakashi's abilities other than holy fuck he knows black magic, the scientists did the only thing they could think of.

They uploaded the surveillance footage to the Internet.

The CCG tried to stop it, they really did, but... Well, they only realized the footage was leaked in the first place because one executive saw it trending on social media.

It was an unmitigated disaster.

Approximately an hour after the fight had ended, millions of people had seen Kishou Arima, the strongest CCG Investigator and the Reaper of the CCG, get anally penetrated by Kakashi without consent in full HD.

The public immediately went into an uproar. The CCG's PR department wept with all the extra work they would have to do in order to restore public faith in the CCG.

And if the public went into an uproar, then the more private ghoul society went into...

Well. It was a bit difficult to describe, but it would be best put as -

What the actual fuck?

「」

Touka and Kaneki were completely silent when the video ended.

"Umm - " Kaneki began.

"Shhh," Touka interrupted, making the shush gesture. "Please stop talking."

Kaneki complied, looking at Touka curiously. He couldn't tell what she was thinking - her expression was utterly unreadable.

"He actually beat him," Touka finally murmured. "The CCG's Reaper..."

Kaneki scratched his cheek a bit embarrassedly. "Yeah, but did he really have to choose such an... undignified way of ending the fight?"

"It's Kakashi," Touka said as if that explained everything. "Did you really expect anything else?"

"Well... yes. When I met him the other night, I certainly didn't expect him to - "

"Oh just shut up."

And yet, despite her harsh tone, Kaneki couldn't help but notice the slight glimmer of hope appear in Touka's eyes.

「」

Yoshimura stared at the television. A cup of coffee sat on the counter next to him. It was cold.

"Kakashi," he murmured. "You did it. You crazy son of a bitch, you did it."

「」

"This... may be a problem for us."

"Fuck fuck shit fuck fuck fuck - "

「」

"Magnificent!" Tsukiyama flung his arms out wide, throwing his head back and laughing joyously. "Spectacular! Beautiful! Absolutely splendid! Oh, I need to feast tonight to celebrate this."

「」

Yamori stared at the screen, his face pale.

"Holy shit. Thank god I cooperated."

「」

"Oh? This is quite the development," Uta said, cold amusement entering his eyes. "Perhaps it's time for me to join in on the fun."

「」

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Eto, are you alright?" Tatara asked, his expression calm."You've been laughing for quite some time now."

"I - I'm fine," Eto gasped out between peals of laughter. "He - he actually did that to Arima - " she broke down into another fit of giggles. "I feel bad for him. His reputation must be in the gutters by now."

Then, she replayed the video for the fifth time in the row.

「」

Amon clenched his fists tightly as he walked down the hallway of the CCG Center, a stormy expression on his face. He had just been released from the hospital and had immediately returned to the CCG Center. Fortunately, he had only sustained a few minor injuries; Kakashi hadn't taken them seriously enough to actually do any real damage. Of course, while Amon was fine physically, psychologically...

Well. Needless to say, he wasn't exactly in a good mood right now.

He gritted his teeth in anger and frustration. With Arima's defeat, the CCG had suffered a crippling blow. Now, with their trump card taken out, they were forced to bow down to Kakashi - at least until another plan could be created.

Morale must be at an all-time low. Amon knew that he definitely felt terrible. After all, what was the point of fighting if justice meant nothing against overwhelming power?

However, he needed to stay strong. He was a Rank 1 Investigator, a pillar of the organization. All the analysts and agents and scientists were relying on him and the others. They must all be scared and worried right now after seeing Kakashi's victory. He needed to showcase his unfaltering strength and indomitable will in order to reassure them, to encourage them, to inspire them.

Even in the face of defeat, he wouldn't waver in the slightest. He would keep on advancing forward no matter what.

Steeling his expression, he nodded a single time before he pushed open the doors and strode in with a determined look on his face -

"All praise Kakashi-sama! Slayer of Arima! Lord of the CCG! Connoisseur of fine literature! "

- and Amon Koutarou promptly blinked.

There was no way he just heard that right. Maybe his injuries were worse than the doctors had initially thought.

"He is our Lord and Savior, come to release us from the mortal chains of science and ascend to a higher realm!" A scientist proclaimed fervently.

Amon stared at the scene in front of him in abject bewilderment. "Huh?" he frowned deeply, trying to make sense of the situation in front of him.

The researchers and scientists were preaching loudly with a religious fervour, unholy gleams in their eyes as they continued exalting Kakashi and denouncing the CCG.

"What is happening?" Amon breathed in complete bewilderment.

Shinohara came up beside him, rubbing his face tiredly. "That's an excellent question," he said, his expression pained. "I'm afraid we may be witnessing the start of a new religion."

Amon paused for a second before turning around to stare at him. "What."

Shinohara shrugged helplessly. "You know the saying, 'if you can't beat them, join them'?"

"Yeah..." Amon nodded slowly.

"Well, after seeing Kakashi break multiple laws of physics on a whim, all the scientists and researchers began freaking out. The general consensus was that perhaps they shouldn't be on the opposite side of a guy with the literal powers of a god," Shinohara looked distinctly uncomfortable as he recounted what had transpired.

"At first, we thought they were just terrified, which was understandable, so we didn't think much of it. We had more important things to worry about. But one thing led to another, and by the time we realized that maybe something was actually wrong, it had already resulted in this."

He gestured at the scene in front of him, in which a group of researchers was currently chanting "PHYSICS IS HIS BITCH! PHYSICS IS HIS BITCH!"

"The world's going mad," Amon muttered with growing horror. "The world is actually going mad."

"Au contraire, monsieur," a scientist interjected, appearing out of nowhere, "We simply recognize who's the higher power here. Small hint: it's not the CCG."

"It's not Kakashi either!" Amon snapped. "He's not a god. He's just a ghoul with a few extra... powers."

The scientist raised his eyebrow. "Riigghhhtttt," he drawled skeptically. "Remain blind, fool." And he left, probably on his way to try to convert another agent.

Amon stared after him with the oddest urge to punch him in the face. He probably would have, if not for the threat of a lawsuit, or worse, HR involvement.

"They're going to get punished so hard for this," he muttered.

Shinohara coughed awkwardly. "Umm... Not exactly." Amon whirled onto him, and Shinohara raised his hands defensively. "They've already all resigned - officially, they're here to 'collect their belongings'. And... while it's frowned upon, it's not strictly illegal to announce your support for ghouls. We can only take action if they actually do something."

"Then kick them out! They're obviously not here to collect their belongings!"

Shinohara coughed again. "Well... We don't exactly want to do anything to antagonize them. We're still hoping to re-employ them. We kinda need them, after all..."

"So we can't do anything while they're glorifying Kakashi in the halls of the CCG Center?!" A vein pulsed in Amon's neck.

"No," Shinohara answered with a regretful shake of his head. "No, we can't."

"Unbelievable," Amon shook his head in stupefied amazement. "This is unbelievable - " his eyes bulged with shock and fury.

"THEY'RE BRINGING IN A LITERAL 3D-PRINTED STATUE OF KAKASHI?! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!"

「」

Kakashi hummed a cheerful tune as he strolled up the side of the building. Initial reconnaissance had revealed some rather potent defenses in the building's passages - clearly, the people in charge had spent a much larger portion of the budget on this building than the 20th Ward CCG Center's. Which made sense, seeing as this was the primary CCG Headquarters that housed all the executive members.

Fortunately, he could easily bypass all the enhanced security by just not actually entering the building. Chakra truly was a wonderful thing.

He tilted his head as he brought up the mental image of the building's layout - he had hacked into the city hall's mainframe and memorized the building's blueprints. Well, okay, perhaps "hacked" wasn't the best term to use. A combination of henge, genjutsu, and social engineering would be more apt. After all, the weakest link in any cyber defense was the human one.

Of course, if anyone asked, he would just say he was extremely good at guessing passwords.

At any rate, he stepped exactly eight point two meters to the left, then one point four meters upward, before coming to a stop outside of a large floor-to-ceiling glass window.

A quick earth jutsu later, and he literally melted through the walls, appearing on the other side. He was inside a large, expensive-looking office, with a walnut wood interior, genuine leather seats, and several glasses of aged wine in a display case.

The only man inside still hadn't noticed him, thanks to the genjutsu cloaking his body.

Kakashi quickly strolled around to the other side of the desk, placed his hands in his pockets, assumed an unassuming posture, and dispelled the genjutsu.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted cheerfully with an eye-smile.

To his credit, the man didn't even look startled at his appearance. He simply glanced up at Kakashi and blinked once. The man was old with long white hair and a white beard.

Kakashi immediately increased his guard upon noting the man's age. Oftentimes, the older one was, the more dangerous they were.

"You're Kakashi," the man stated, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Aww, you recognized me!" Kakashi smiled. "I'm flattered, I really am - "

He paused as the man's scent finally registered to him.

Wait.

Hold up.

Back the fuck up.

What.

"No way!" Kakashi exclaimed with pure, unadulterated glee. "There's no way this is true. Just to be absolutely clear, you're Tsuneyoshi Washuu, yes? The current Chairman of the CCG?"

The man furrowed his brows but nodded. "Yes. I do not fear you, Kakashi - "

He was interrupted when Kakashi burst into delighted laughter.

"Oh, this is just hilarious," Kakashi chuckled. "I see now why Arima told me to seek you out."

"What are you talking about?" Tsuneyoshi demanded.

"Ah, it's nothing too important," Kakashi waved his hand dismissively before an amused gleam entered his single visible eye. "Just the minor fact that the Chairman of the CCG is a ghoul himself."

There was a moment of silence as Tsuneyoshi regarded him. "Your sense of smell is good," he finally said before his eyes morphed into kakugans. "Now that you know my secret... What do you want, Kakashi?"

"Honestly? At first, I was going to try to take a leaf out of Naruto's book and try to convince you with words. But after finding out that you're a ghoul..."

Kakashi's mind raced with the new possibilities, dozens of plans being conjured in the span of seconds. Hmm... Yes, that would work...

He eye-smiled at the leader of the CCG. "I'm going to have to get back to you on that."

With that, he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Tsuneyoshi regarded the spot where Kakashi had stood.

"Well. Fuck."

「」

"You are not going to believe what I just found out."

"Did you just discover that the CCG was controlled by ghouls?"

Kakashi blinked. "Yes..." he said slowly before tilting his head. "You already knew that?"

Yoshimura nodded as he poured out two cups of coffee. "I used to work for a ghoul organization called V. The Washuu clan and V have a long-standing alliance with each other, which was how I knew."

"Huh," Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. "And I presume there's a good reason as to why you never informed anyone of the CCG's heavy corruption?"

Yoshimura chuckled bitterly. "The Washuu clan has immeasurable political and financial power that dates back centuries, not to mention the full force of V backing them. And besides, who would've believed me? Unfortunately, there was nothing I could've done."

"I see," Kakashi said before changing the subject. "Hey by the way, out of curiosity, how did you know that I had discovered the CCG was controlled by ghouls?"

"It was a wild guess," Yoshimura admitted, "though there was a pretty good chance I was correct. After all, you had just defeated Arima. Logic dictates that you would go up the chain of command after that. In this case, the Chairman of the CCG. And I can't imagine him being able to hide his true nature from you."

"Not bad, not bad," Kakashi sipped his coffee, relishing the pleasant aroma. A minor genjutsu obscured his face. After becoming a ghoul, his appreciation for good coffee had grown exponentially. For a moment, he simply relaxed and enjoyed the delicious taste.

Then, he set his coffee cup back down and eye-smiled at Yoshimura.

"Anyway, I'm about to take down the Washuu clan and the CCG - and by extension, topple the entire social order of Japan and possibly the rest of the world. You in?"

Yoshimura blinked, his face going blank. It took him several seconds to regain his composure. "I appreciate the offer. However... I am an old man now, way past my prime," he said regretfully. "All I wish to do is run my coffee shop in peace. I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I hope that doesn't anger you."

"Nah, it's fine. No hard feelings," Kakashi reassured. "There's a reason I asked you instead of ordering you."

Yoshimura nodded before hesitating. "However... I may know someone who would definitely be interested in joining you."

"Oh?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"I..."

A look of heavy consternation appeared on Yoshimura's face, as if he was debating something with himself. Finally, he gave a long-suffering yet resigned sigh.

"I know I'll regret this, but... I'll introduce you to my daughter."

「」

"I finally get to meet you, Ka-ka-shi~"

Kakashi eye-smiled in greeting. "Yo." He took a moment to take in her appearance. Her face and entire body were wrapped in bandages. A hood covered her head, and she had pale green eyes.

"I love what you did to Arima," she continued, her voice full of amusement.

"Always glad to meet a fan," Kakashi grinned. "You must be Yoshimura's daughter."

She stiffened. "He told you that?" she asked, her tone slightly hesitant.

Kakashi nodded. "Yup. Why, was it supposed to be a secret?"

"No, not really. I'm just a little surprised." She recovered quickly. "I'm Eto Yoshimura, the leader of Aogiri Tree."

"So I've been told," Kakashi sat back in his soft leather seat. They were in a break room in Anteiku. Yoshimura had left them alone to talk in private after bringing them coffee. "Before we begin, allow me to first ask you something."

He regarded her with an expression that gave nothing away. "What do you wish to achieve?" he asked simply.

Eto hummed. "Two things. I wish to bring down the CCG and the Washuu clan, as well as create a world where ghouls and humans can coexist peacefully with each other. A world where ghouls won't be hunted down like animals for no reason other than the fact that they were born a ghoul."

Kakashi blinked. "Wait, seriously? That's your goal?"

Eto nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Huh," Kakashi shrugged. "What a coincidence. That's exactly what I wish to accomplish as well."

He could see Eto smile underneath her bandages. "Well, you know what they say. Great minds think alike, and all that."

Kakashi chuckled. "Hear, hear. At any rate, I'm glad that our goals align. That means that I can skip the negotiations and jump straight to the fun part."

He leaned forward. "Help me - "

"Done."

Kakashi paused. "You didn't even hear my request yet."

Eto laughed. "I don't need to. Kakashi, I don't think you quite realize that by this point, you can command me to do literally anything and I will do it if it will help achieve my dream. This is the closest to peace we've been since the dawn of civilization itself - a once-in-a-millennium situation. There's no way I'm letting this chance pass by."

"Fair enough, I suppose," Kakashi nodded. "In which case, do you know of any ghouls who are popular in the human world? Preferably capable of influencing public opinion easily?"

Eto stared at him. "You know," she said breathlessly, "I think we were made for each other."

Then, before Kakashi could come up with a response to that, Eto took off her hood and unravelled the bandages around her face to reveal a rather pretty woman that Kakashi swore he recognized. But from where?

Kakashi snapped his fingers as he remembered. "You're that author," he recalled. "I saw a picture of you when I was browsing the bookstore to acquire some, er... reading material."

Eto smiled. "Indeed. My human alter ego is Sen Takatsuki. I'm a famous author with a large audience," she said all this matter-of-factly. "Influencing public opinion should be no problem, whether through an interview or even the release of a new book."

Kakashi smiled. "Perfect." Then he paused, casting another glance at her. The bandages covering her body had become loose, and...

His eyebrows rose.

Oh.

"... you're not wearing any clothes underneath those bandages, are you."

She giggled. "Now that's a secret."

"Ah," Kakashi coughed. "Moving on... Could you please command your organization - Aogiri Tree - to not do anything in the next few months while I enact my plan? If they make any aggressive actions, it could be detrimental."

"Consider it done," Eto nodded before asking a question of her own. "Are you a one-eyed ghoul?"

Kakashi tilted his head. "Honestly? I have no idea."

Eto frowned. "What? How do you not know?"

"I haven't activated my kakugans yet. Or my kagune." At Eto's incredulous look, he held up his hands defensively. "Hey, I've only been a ghoul for a few weeks. Give me a break."

"So it's true," she muttered. "You're a human turned into a ghoul. Tell me, do you know of a man named Kanou?"

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "You mean Akihiro Kanou, that one former CCG coroner?" She tensed up and nodded. Kakashi shook his head. "No, I don't know him."

Eto frowned. "Wait, then how did you know he was a former coroner?"

Kakashi waved his hand dismissively. "I memorized the names of all the CCG employees, past and present."

Eto blinked. "... all of them?"

"All of them," Kakashi confirmed. "I know every member's file by heart."

Information was, after all, the most important tool in a shinobi's repertoire. It was also the most underestimated. Even something as simple as knowing how many enemies there were can turn the tide of an entire war. The moment Kakashi had gained access to the CCG's database, he had spent a good portion of time memorizing everything about its members. It wasn't too hard - he was a genius and a highly proficient speed-reader to boot.

"That's... impressive," Eto steepled her fingers. "But getting back to my point... How do you feel about becoming the One-Eyed King? The symbol of hope for all ghouls?"

Kakashi made a face. "One-Eyed King? I'll pass. Besides, I feel like calling myself a 'king' will send the wrong message."

Eto nodded slowly. "Very well."

"Now then..." Kakashi stood up. "It was nice meeting you, but I gotta run. I still need to go talk to my friends at the CCG. I'm sure they'll be extremely interested in the Washuu clan..."

"Friends?" Eto tilted her head. "You have friends?"

"I take offense to that," Kakashi said mildly. "I'll have you know that I'm actually an exceptionally likeable person."

Eto laughed. "Of course, of course. Oh, and one last thing."

She smiled at him.

"Are you single?"

Kakashi blinked.

"... yes."

"I see," Eto hummed but didn't continue. "Alright then. Keep in touch."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, bemused, but he didn't question it.

He vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Eto reclined back in her chair, taking a sip of coffee. A satisfied smile spread across her face. "That went well."

A knock sounded on the door before Yoshimura came in. He regarded the leaves on the floor with a slightly annoyed expression before looking at her. His expression softened. "Eto, can we talk?"

Eto's smile became fixed. "Talk? What is there to talk about, manager?"

Yoshimura winced. "I deserved that."

"You deserve so much more," she whispered, her smile falling from her face. She stood up and began to leave but then paused when Yoshimura spoke.

"I had no choice, you know," he said softly. "V would've targeted you if they knew that you were my child. I left you in order to protect you."

Eto was silent for a moment. "I know," she finally said. "I still don't care though."

Yoshimura gave a heavy, regretful sigh. "I suppose forgiveness is out of the question?"

Eto whirled on him. "Since there seems to be some confusion, let me make it perfectly clear," she hissed. "You may be my father, but I care nothing for you. In fact - no, I take it back. You ceased being my father the moment you abandoned me because of your own weakness."

Yoshimura glanced away, the pain evident on his face. "I see," he whispered quietly.

There was a long moment of silence.

"But..." Eto began, her tone softer than before. "While you may no longer be my father... You do make some rather delicious coffee. The best coffee I've ever had, as a matter of fact. So you do have that going for you, at the very least."

Yoshimura looked back at her, his eyes slightly wide. "Eto..." Then he broke out into a beaming smile. "I see. Then, another cup?"

"Gladly."


So I finally finished the manga the other day. It was... an experience lol. It had some great moments in it though - the scene with Hinami and Akira was so damn good. The sheer feels...

Thanks for reading, and please review!