Chapter 270: What Does 1000 Minus 7 Equal? Raging Aogiri Tree!
"Are the tears on your face meant to provoke my pity?"
If Gecko could face his death calmly, like a strong individual, perhaps Xia Shang might have looked upon him with a bit more respect.
As for now... the Dark Knight behind Gecko seemed to understand Xia Shang's meaning. He suddenly drew his long saber, then raised his hand and stabbed it through Gecko's head, ending his sinful life.
Looking at the wide-eyed Gecko, Xia Shang took the two kakuhou handed over by the Dark Knight. "I'll leave the rest to you, Rize."
After finishing the snack, Xia Shang withdrew his three clones, leaving only one to continue hunting ghoul with Rize Kamishiro.
Speaking of which, he hadn't properly explored this world yet. Thinking this, Xia Shang slowly walked towards a black sedan in front of the villa.
Boom! Accompanied by the roar of the engine inside the car, the black sedan drove further and further away in Rize's line of sight! "He's truly a monster." Even though she herself wasn't a human, she called Xia Shang a monster. However, this was indeed Rize Kamishiro's most genuine idea at the moment.
"This monster's strength is at least SSS-rank, and it seems his clones are also very strong."
Rize Kamishiro glanced at Xia Shang's clone beside her with the corner of her eyes. At this moment, her brain was rapidly working. "How can I escape from under this monster's nose? A direct confrontation is definitely impossible. Gecko's strength is similar to mine, and he couldn't even defeat one of the opponent's clones; it was practically a crushing defeat. It seems the only option is to notify the One-Eyed Owl and have it eliminate this monster."
What she was thinking of at this moment was the leader of the Aogiri Tree, the boss known as the 'One-Eyed Owl' by the CCG.
Gecko's death would definitely enrage the higher-ups of the Aogiri Tree. By then, facing the Aogiri Tree mobilized in full force, even this monster would die... right?
"What are you thinking about? Just eat." Xia Shang stroked Rize Kamishiro's head and brought her in front of Gecko's body. "Your strength is really too weak, you're not even a half-kakuja, which makes the kakuhou inside you completely devoid of nutrients."
Rize Kamishiro lowered her head to look at her neck, only to see it wrapped in rope again. She clenched her jaw tightly, her molars grinding together with a creaking sound.
Damn guy! I must kill you, then cut you into countless pieces, store them in the refrigerator for later enjoyment.
......
On the other side, Touka rescued the severely injured Kaneki and his friend and best buddy Hideyoshi Nagachika from Nishiki Nishio.
Returning to the Anteiku Cafe.
Touka shook her head at Store Manager Yoshimura. "I didn't find that guy, but I found Kaneki, who was attacked by Nishiki Nishio."
"Could I trouble you for a cup of coffee, with some milk, please?"
At this moment, a customer pushed open the glass door of the cafe, interrupting their conversation.
"Alright, please wait a moment." Kuzen Yoshimura said with a smile, looking at Xia Shang.
Touka, who was standing nearby, subtly frowned after seeing Xia Shang, who was wearing a black trench coat. For some reason, the man in front of her gave her an extremely dangerous feeling. Moreover, a faint smell of blood lingered on him; it seemed he had recently been stained with blood. Could he also be a ghoul? Touka discreetly wiped the tabletop for Xia Shang.
"First time here?"
Touka, who was usually not good at socializing, asked, which was rare for her.
Xia Shang, who always kept a smile on his face, replied while observing the layout inside the cafe, "I've heard of this cafe for a long time, but this is indeed my first time visiting."
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
After about three or four minutes, Store Manager Yoshimura placed a steaming hot cup of coffee on the table in front of Xia Shang.
"It might be a bit hot, please enjoy it slowly." Xia Shang lowered his head, looked at the brown, steaming coffee in the cup, and smiled. To be honest, he had wanted to taste the skill of the SSS-rank ghoul, the Non-Killing Owl, for a long time.
He picked up the coffee and took a small sip.
"Mmm, it's smooth on the palate, with a complex bitterness. It's a good cup of coffee." Xia Shang said, satisfied, as he put down the coffee in his hand. When he looked up again, he had already returned to his original appearance.
"It's you!"
Touka's eyes suddenly switched to kakugan, and she looked at Xia Shang with hostility.
"Touka, how can you be rude to a guest?" Kuzen Yoshimura's expression didn't change, and he spoke gently to Touka with a benevolent look.
Then, he turned to look at Xia Shang, his eyes narrowed in a smile, and said, "Thank you for your compliment. I'm truly happy about it. Providing guests with a satisfying cup of coffee is the purpose for which I founded this cafe."
"The coffee is very good, and the atmosphere here is also very nice." Xia Shang sat at the bar counter, slowly savoring the coffee.
Kuzen Yoshimura was called the 'Non-Killing Owl' because he was unwilling to cause harm to humans, and in his battles with CCG investigators, he never killed. Over time, he came to be known as the 'Non-Killing Owl' by the CCG.
But who would have known that this kind-faced old man before them was once the "Cleaner" of the ghoul V organization? In pursuit of ultimate strength, he massacred humans and devoured ghoul on a large scale, eventually undergoing evolution to become a kakuja with kakuhou covering his entire body.
"Non-Killing Owl... how do you manage to restrain yourself from going berserk?" Xia Shang suddenly asked softly.
"Store Manager."
A trace of anxiety flashed in Touka's eyes.
Given his strength, capable of slaughtering a large number of ghoul and controlling and restraining Rize Kamishiro, he must be a guy with formidable combat power.
Kuzen Yoshimura cast a reassuring look towards Touka.
"You just need to restrain the killing intent in your inner self, or try not to use your strength as much as possible." Kuzen Yoshimura truthfully told Xia Shang his method.
After hearing this, Xia Shang nodded thoughtfully.
"You are a strong person; at least, it's difficult for ordinary people to do that."
"No, all ghoul can do it, like my staff, for example. It depends on your heart, whether you have truly let go of desires."
"Would you like another cup?" Kuzen Yoshimura asked when he saw Xia Shang's coffee cup was empty.
"Thank you, I'll trouble you for another cup."
Xia Shang pushed the coffee cup towards Kuzen Yoshimura.
"How about I trade you some information for the kakuhou inside you?"
If he remembered correctly, the kakuhou inside Kuzen Yoshimura should be ukaku, while he only had koukaku. Even if he successfully underwent evolution to become a kakuja, the type of kakuhou inside him wouldn't change. At this point, he would need to analyze and fuse other kakuhou. The first choice, of course, would be the kakuhou of the strongest. As far as he knew, the strongest ukaku ghoul currently was the old man in front of him, Kuzen Yoshimura.
"I'm sorry, but for now, I just want to focus on running this cafe properly. I apologize."
Kuzen Yoshimura politely refused.
(end of chapter )