But secrets don't stay buried for long.
Ukina sensed the change in him and eventually uncovered the truth—that he was a ghoul.
In that moment, Yoshimura Kuzen fell into despair. He thought everything was over. He even prepared himself to kill Ukina to silence her. That was V's iron rule—and the law of survival in the ghoul world.
But Ukina's response defied his expectations. After fear came struggle, and, finally… acceptance. She accepted that he was a ghoul, and even accepted his love. They broke through the boundary between their kinds and truly came together—and conceived a child.
The joy was brief. A deeper despair followed.
Between a ghoul and a human, a fetus cannot receive the RC-cell nutrients it needs from the mother and is fated to die in the womb.
He told Ukina this in anguish, thinking she would give up. But this seemingly gentle woman showed a fierce—one might even say mad—maternal love. To keep the child, she began to eat like a ghoul during her pregnancy. As a human, she swallowed the flesh and blood of her own kind, enduring an ordeal that defied common sense.
She succeeded.
She gave birth to a healthy baby girl—a natural-born one-eyed ghoul, unheard of until then. They named her… Eto.
The miracle didn't last.
By chance, Yoshimura discovered Ukina's hidden notes and realized she was no ordinary reporter. She was secretly investigating V and had unearthed some of the massive, shadowy organization's core secrets.
V's power was far beyond anything he could resist alone. Soon, the organization learned of Ukina—and of his "betrayal." The order came down, cold as ice: execute Ukina with his own hands, their final test of his "loyalty."
On one side were the wife he loved and their newborn daughter. On the other was an unfathomable organization and its unfeeling blade. He wasn't strong enough then, and he lacked the courage to sever himself from V for Ukina's sake. He knew that even if he fought to the death, he couldn't possibly protect the infant Eto.
In agony and despair, he made the decision he would regret for the rest of his life.
He killed Ukina with his own hands—trading her death for a sliver of hope that their daughter might live. It was the last thing he ever did for V.
After that, burdened with endless guilt and ties he couldn't cut completely, he sent young Eto to be raised in the relatively safer 24th Ward. He kept only Ukina's bloodstained notebook—the sole keepsake of his late wife, and an eternal curse upon his own cowardice.
…
Sent away, Eto grew up in loneliness and distortion. She was born strong, preternaturally bright. Upon reaching adulthood, she began writing under the pen name Takatsuki Sen, venting the darkness and isolation in her heart through words.
At the same time, to protect ghouls who struggled to survive like herself—and to gain the power to take revenge on V and this twisted world—she secretly founded the radical militant group Aogiri Tree, acting under the disguised identity of the cadre "Eto."
At eighteen, with overwhelming strength, she slaughtered the CCG's Special Class investigator in the 3rd Ward. The incident shocked the entire CCG, which classified her as an S-rated ghoul.
A month later, she launched an even larger surprise attack, dealing heavy damage to the 2nd Ward's CCG branch. Because of her distinctive feathered kagune, she was given the codename "Owl." And because she bore only one kakugan, she became known as the "One-Eyed Owl," her threat level raised to SS.
When Yoshimura heard that the One-Eyed Owl had reappeared, he understood at once: it was his daughter.
To conceal Eto's true identity and protect her from being targeted by V and the CCG, he chose to become "Owl" himself and struck a CCG branch, taking the crimes—and the SSS-level threat rating—onto his own shoulders.
He thought he was protecting her. But to Eto, it was nothing more than a coward's belated, hollow compensation. She hated him—for killing her mother Ukina with his own hands to save himself and "protect" the burden she represented. She hated his cowardice and abandonment back then. That hatred seeped through her like poison, becoming the engine that drove her to grow stronger—and to destroy.
With a cold face, Eto laid out the hatred she carried. Rei Ao had torn open the truth like a bleeding wound, exposing it to everyone present. Kirishima Touka, Irimi Kaya, Koma Enji, even Yomo Renji stared, dumbstruck, shaken to the core.
None of them had imagined that the kindly manager had such a past—still less that the terrifying One-Eyed Owl was the manager's daughter.
"…I'm sorry."
Yoshimura closed his eyes in pain, too spent to defend himself. Any words felt pale and laughable in the shadow of Ukina's death. He was indeed a coward—a sinner.
"Heh."
Seeing him like that, Eto let out a sneer. In the look she threw him, there wasn't a shred of the feeling a daughter should have for her father—only scorn and a hatred that would not melt.
"What's the point of saying any of this now? Coward."
Her voice was hoarse and frigid.
Yoshimura's lips moved, but all that came out was a powerless sigh.
Eto refused to look at him again, as if another glance would stain her eyes. She refocused on Rei Ao, that single eye filled with a gravity and scrutiny she had never shown before.
"You…"
She spoke slowly, voice low.
"Who are you, really?"
"Why do you know so much—secrets so deep that even V might not know them?"
"What is that power you wield? What is your true aim?"
It was the question on everyone's mind, Arima Kishou's included. The man's appearance was uncanny. Everything he had shown was far beyond their understanding. His gaze felt like that of a god looking down on ants. The feeling left them completely unmoored.