Su Xiao picked up the kagune on the ground, and a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Kakuhou (SSS Grade)]
[Origin: Tokyo Ghoul]
[Quality: Green]
[Type: Material]
[Rating: 24 (Note: Green items range from 10 to 30.)]
[Description: Yoshimura Kuzen's kakuhou, usable for equipment crafting or implantation into the body. (When implanted, there's a 10% chance of becoming a ghoul, an 89% chance of death, and a 1% chance of unknown mutation.)]
[Selling Price: 2500 Paradise Coins]
...
Though Su Xiao hadn't managed to kill the manager, he had at least obtained the manager's kakuhou.
An SSS-grade kakuhou was extremely rare in the world of Tokyo Ghoul, only found in the bodies of a few ghouls. The manager had lost one of his kagune, but this didn't mean he had lost his ability to fight.
Ghouls like the manager had multiple kakuhou in their bodies. The manager had eight, while his daughter, Eto Yoshimura, had ten in total.
Su Xiao stored the kakuhou in his inventory. Its value was significant. Even if he didn't have it made into a Quinque at CCG headquarters, he could sell it in Reincarnation Paradise for a decent price.
Su Xiao had asked before, and learned that forging a Quinque would cost at least 3000 contribution points. Right now, he was in dire need of points, so he wouldn't invest in forging one.
Materials, though usually worth less than finished weapons, were easier to sell. Finished weapons were limited in their uses, while raw materials could be used by craftsmen to forge specific items.
Su Xiao planned to store these valuable materials and sell them for Paradise Coins once he returned to Reincarnation Paradise.
"Boom..."
The Aogiri Tree building tilted again, though it wouldn't fully collapse just yet.
The current situation was that the CCG had successfully broken into the Aogiri Tree base, driving out most of the ghouls inside. Out of the more than 500 ghouls, over 400 had been exterminated, leaving only a few survivors.
"Hurry! Evacuate from the Aogiri Tree base! Move it!"
Marude Itsuki's voice echoed in the combat channel. This was a public channel, and only Marude, as the battlefield commander, had the authority to speak.
"Shinohara, White Night are you guys alright?"
Shinohara Yukinori was being helped along by someone, having sustained serious injuries during his fight with the Manager using 'Arata'.
"I'm fine. I won't die for a while," Su Xiao said as he stood up, but a sharp pain shot through his abdomen.
"Let's get out of here. This mission is over—we've won."
Shinohara Yukinori and Kuroiwa Iwao both smiled. Victory in battle meant the 11th Ward had been reclaimed and was once again human territory.
"Special Class Kuroiwa Iwao, Second Unit is requesting emergency support. They're being hit by a small ghoul counterattack—about sixty ghouls."
Kuroiwa's expression changed. He immediately helped Shinohara and headed downstairs to provide aid. Amon and Hirako Take, who were less injured, had already gone ahead.
Su Xiao held his abdomen, walking slowly forward. His abdominal wound was severe. Though he wouldn't die from it, it did limit his combat abilities.
Just as Su Xiao was about to leave the balcony, he saw two figures jumping from a distant rooftop.
From their direction, it didn't seem like they were coming for him, just passing through.
Su Xiao narrowed his eyes to get a better look at the two figures—or rather, three.
Leading the way was a white-haired man of average build, wearing a mask that only revealed one eye. He was carrying a blue-haired girl on his back.
"Is that... Kaneki Ken?"
Following behind Kaneki was a man wearing yellow glasses—his senior, Nishio Nishiki.
Kaneki had undergone a transformation, evolving from a weakling to a ghoul at around the S to SS level.
Unfortunately for them, the route they were taking led them straight toward Su Xiao.
Kaneki only glanced briefly at Su Xiao, not paying him much attention. He saw that Su Xiao was a CCG investigator and also noticed his injuries.
Kaneki's eye was cold, his pupils dull, with a hint of lifelessness in them.
"Be careful…"
The girl on Kaneki's back, Touka Kirishima, recognized Su Xiao and murmured weakly.
Touka had encountered her brother earlier and been severely beaten. Though he hadn't killed her, she was still badly injured.
"Kaneki, stop. Let's not get too close to that human."
Kaneki paused, looking at Nishiki in confusion.
"That guy's the CCG's Black Reaper. He's terrifying."
Nishiki quickly scanned the area, looking for another way to escape. Unfortunately, Su Xiao stood directly in their path.
"It's fine. He's badly hurt—seriously injured," Kaneki said, continuing forward while keeping an eye on Su Xiao to avoid a surprise attack.
"What an arrogant brat," Su Xiao thought, his gaze turning dangerous as the night breeze blew through his short hair.
If Kaneki and his group hadn't passed so close to him, Su Xiao wouldn't have bothered with them. But their cocky attitude made him itch to act.
Su Xiao stood in the center of the rooftop, which was over twenty meters wide. To escape, Kaneki and the others would have to cross it and jump to a nearby building.
They couldn't leave from the ground because there were too many CCG investigators below. No matter how much stronger Kaneki had become, he wasn't a match for the thousands of CCG members down there.
Even Eto Yoshimura wouldn't dare challenge such a large force.
The distance between the two sides gradually shrank—twenty meters, fifteen meters, ten meters.
Su Xiao stood still, holding his katana, Dragon Flash, with one hand while clutching his abdomen with the other. Blood seeped through his fingers.
"Drip, drip."
His blood dripped onto the rooftop as if he had given up, not attacking Kaneki and his companions.
But when Kaneki was only six meters away, a faint smile appeared on Su Xiao's lips.
Touka, lying on Kaneki's back, saw Su Xiao's smile.
At that moment, she felt a bone-chilling fear, as if she had been stripped naked and left defenseless in front of this man.
"Run...!"
Before Touka could scream, Su Xiao moved.
With a powerful push off the ground, Su Xiao ignored the pain in his abdomen and closed the gap between them in just three steps.
Dragon Flash cut through the air, letting out a whistling sound.
"Slash."
A spray of blood erupted, along with a few strands of white hair.
Su Xiao's blade slashed across the side of Kaneki's face. The pain in his abdomen had slowed the strike slightly, or it would have taken Kaneki's head clean off.
Kaneki staggered back a few steps, a crack forming in his mask.
It was only then that Kaneki realized that Su Xiao had already reached him, and he was wounded.
"Pity I didn't take your head," Su Xiao muttered.
Blood seeped through Su Xiao's fingers as the recent attack had aggravated his abdominal wound.
Panting heavily, Su Xiao stared at Kaneki.
"Did you really think you could just walk past me like that? You're delusional."
Even injured, Su Xiao was confident he could take down Kaneki and his companions.
Kaneki's facial wound healed quickly, and he set Touka down on the ground.
"Nishiki-senpai, protect Touka. I'll deal with this investigator."
Nishiki released his kagune, positioning himself in front of Touka.
"Kaneki, we should run! Don't fight this human—it's too dangerous!"
Su Xiao's swift and deadly strike had filled Touka with fear.
"It's okay. I'm not the same as before. I'll protect the ones I care about. Sometimes, you have to abandon one thing to protect what matters most. Right now, I have to kill him to protect you."
Kaneki didn't really want to flee. Su Xiao's ghost-like speed made him realize that running would only get them killed faster.
The battle was about to begin: a severely injured Su Xiao versus Kaneki Ken.
Even injured, a tiger is still a tiger.
(End of Chapter)
*********************************
Translator's Note :- I am Not that familiar with a lot of the fictional worlds mentioned in the story. So if I make a mistake naming something please correct me by writing a paragraph comment on the mistake. Thank you.