Ding~ Detected host's first acquaintance with a major plot character, Kishibe, system rewards three points.
This world's female Kishibe looked quite beautiful, wearing the classic Public Safety leader uniform—just like Makima. Her figure's outline was faintly visible under her clothes, though her exact shape couldn't be seen. However, because her jacket was left open, the 'jelly' on her chest was clearly visible: large and full, though slightly smaller than Makima's, more akin to Hayakawa Aki's.
In the original work, Kishibe should've had a scar near her mouth. But this world's version had none. Her red lips were clean, save for a few wine stains clinging to their edges.
Kishibe had loose, shoulder-length yellow hair—not deliberately styled, very casual and natural—but her inner strands were jet-black. As for her expression, she had none. Most people in the Chainsaw Man world were expressionless, and Kishibe was no exception.
Ding~ Detected Kishibe's curious emotion, system rewards 10 points.
Kishibe walked to the entryway, her gaze falling on Renji.
Renji was about to speak, but Kishibe raised a finger to hush him.
"You're Renji, right? Just looking at the photos didn't give the same impression. But standing here in front of you now… there's definitely something different about you. It's truly strange."
After speaking, Kishibe picked up the wine bottle in her hand, aimed the mouth at her lips, and tilted her head back to drink—though her gaze remained fixed on Renji.
After drinking, she continued.
"I'm Kishibe, a Devil Hunter from Special Division 1. Makima asked me to train these two."
She pulled open her coat and took out a few blood bags.
"The training started last night and has continued until now. These two just got conceited, thinking they had set up a flawless trap to take me down… but I broke it easily. Look at them, still wearing those smug expressions—completely idiotic."
Renji picked up Denji's head and aligned it with his neck. Kishibe tore open the blood bags and began pouring blood into Denji's and Power's mouths one after the other.
Both of them reacted instantly.
First, strange cries escaped their throats, then they suddenly sat up.
"I was killed again!"
"Old woman! That doesn't count! You ambushed us! I want to—Renji?!"
Ding~ Detected Denji's happy emotion, system rewards 10 points.
Denji spotted Renji standing behind him. His previously angry little face instantly lit up with excitement. He immediately ran over and threw his arms around Renji, pressing himself tightly against him. He rubbed back and forth against Renji like an overexcited puppy, giggling foolishly and completely ignoring Kishibe, who had just killed him moments ago.
Unexpectedly, before Kishibe could speak again, Power jumped in, clearly upset.
Ding~ Detected Power's angry emotion, system rewards 20 points.
"Hey! Denji, you bastard! Who gave you permission to cuddle my pet?! I haven't even allowed that yet!"
Power stood off to the side, baring her teeth as she reached out to pull Denji's arm, trying to separate him from Renji.
"So noisy! What pet or not pet! Renji isn't your pet! Why do I need your permission to hug him?! It's none of your business! Let go of me! You're a stinky woman too! Don't touch me! So disgusting!"
"What?! Denji! Human! How dare you talk to me like that?! You're asking for death!"
The two immediately began pushing and pulling at each other, dragging Renji back and forth between them. Finally, Renji had to shove Denji away and firmly tell them to knock it off.
Only then did they quiet down, though Power's expression still radiated strong disapproval.
Kishibe calmly re-fastened the remaining blood bag and stuffed it back into her clothes.
"If you have nothing to do, go back to the hospital and rest while you still can. If you have questions, call Makima."
Renji nodded.
Amidst Denji's whining and Power's continued bickering, he left the house, exited the building, hailed a taxi, and headed to the hospital.
Inside the cab, Renji hesitated for a moment, then decided to call Makima. After all, she was his official superior.
"But now that I think about it… how did I even get Makima's contact info? Who set that up for me?"
Renji dialed. Within three seconds, the call connected.
"Is that… Makima… Miss?"
On the other end, in her office, Makima put down her documents and leaned back in her chair.
"Yes, Renji. Have you met Ms. Kishibe?"
"Yes, I just met her. I'm really sorry, Miss Makima. I didn't notice your previous calls."
"Hmm. It's fine. It wasn't that urgent. Just… some people lurking in the shadows lately—gangsters, devils, whatever—they seem unusually interested in your body. I have full confidence in your strength, of course. But the people around you… they're another matter."
Renji was 99.9% sure that Makima knew he was a man—she just never brought it up. Hearing her say that, he couldn't help but smile.
He nodded, then listened as Makima continued.
"Denji and Power are too weak. If it weren't for you, they would have already been trapped inside the white paper and taken away. That's why I asked Ms. Kishibe to train them. You have a close relationship with them—especially with Denji—but this is rigorous training. I thought I should inform you in advance, but unfortunately, you didn't answer any of my calls."
"I see, I understand. It's okay. I care about Denji and Power, but they're also active Public Safety personnel. I get it—this is part of the job."
Renji was already preparing to find a polite excuse to end the call, but Makima suddenly added:
"Oh, one more thing—regarding why my contact information is in your phone. Do you remember that party a while ago? You took Himeno to the restroom to vomit, but you left your phone on the table. That's when I saved my number into your contacts. I had planned to tell you after the meal, but you'd already left. I'm really sorry for using your belongings without asking."
"It's fine, it's fine. On the contrary, I'm kind of happy. I just started working a few days ago and already have my direct superior's contact info. That's a pretty good start."
"Me too. Well then, I'll let you go. I still have some things to prepare—there's an important mission tomorrow. It's a retaliatory operation for this recent gangster incident. Please be careful, Renji."
"Okay."
Renji ended the call, leaned back in the taxi seat, and looked out the window, zoning out as the city lights passed by. After a long pause, he sighed.
"It really feels different from what I imagined. Everything's so serious. When I first came to this world, I thought it'd be a cheerful, light-hearted place, like KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!… Seriously."
He slumped deeper into his seat.
"I guess there's no helping it. The Chainsaw Man worldview is just like this... so much death."
It was almost 9 PM by the time Renji returned to the hospital ward. He opened the door and stepped in.
Hayakawa Aki was already awake, sitting on the balcony with a cup of tea in hand, quietly reading the newspaper.
Himeno was still fast asleep. Her sleeping posture was rather messy, her cheeks flushed red and a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth—clearly dreaming about something.
"Renji, you're back?"
Aki heard the door and turned around.
Renji couldn't be bothered to change into a hospital gown. He just collapsed face-first onto the hospital bed, his cheek pressed into the pillow.
"Mm… I'm back…"
"You got a minute?"
"Yeah, I do."
"It's like this. Some people from Kyoto came over recently, and I want to take this opportunity to apply to Miss Makima to contract with other devils. My current strength just isn't cutting it. I can't do anything useful in critical situations."
Renji suddenly jolted upright, as if struck by lightning.
"That makes so much sense! You're absolutely right! I should go too! How could I forget something like this?! I want to see those devils! No—wait—I mean, I want to contract some devils too!"
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