"No, wait—the older Bin brother might be pursuing us right now. We need to move immediately, or we'll waste Amaha-san and Rize-san's efforts to save us!"
Banjou quickly realized they shouldn't be standing around.
Of course, they didn't know the older Bin brother had already been dealt with by Kurona and Nashiro.
They could soon escape Aogiri's patrol range. As long as they didn't run into Noro or Ayato outside, they'd be fine.
Even after leaving the patrol range, they didn't dare rest, continuing until they'd escaped Ward 11 entirely.
But they couldn't rest for long either—they wanted to settle down in Ward 20.
It wasn't that they needed to trouble Anteiku. With their circumstances, even a random abandoned shack in Ward 20 would be better than life under Aogiri.
...
The moment Rize and the Yasuhisa sisters dealt with the Bin Brothers, Byakuya immediately received feedback.
[Ding! Host has completed Option 2 "Save Banjou and his Ward 11 companions." Reward: 50 Fusion Points!]
With the Bin Brothers gone, Banjou and the others were naturally saved.
Otherwise, according to the original timeline, most of them except Banjou would have died horribly at Yamori's hands—including that mother and son. Even the "drag queen" Nico had shown enough pity to give them quick deaths.
Gaining another 50 Fusion Points, Byakuya took the opportunity to check his system panel.
[Host: Amaha Byakuya]
[Identity: Human]
[Age: 18]
[Fusion Target: Uchiha Madara]
[Fusion Progress: Lv3 (0/2500)]
[Equipment: White Mask (in use), S+-rated Quinque "13's Jason," B-rated "Thorn," B-rated "Scorpion 1/56"]
[Abilities: Mangekyo Sharingan, Hashirama Cells Lv3, Taijutsu Lv3, A-rank Ninjutsu "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Caterwaul," Transcription Seal, Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence...]
[Fusion Points: 662 (Cumulative: 1,272)]
[System Shop]
Byakuya noticed he could now afford the "Uchiha Gunbai."
In this Aogiri Tree operation, the enemy he was most wary of wasn't actually Aogiri's ghouls—it was Manager Yoshimura.
The Uchiha Gunbai would probably prove very useful, given its strength was comparable to an SSS-rated koukaku Quinque.
Of course, this didn't mean the Gunbai's upper limit was only SSS-rated—it was simply that this world's Quinque rating system maxed out at SSS. There was no higher classification available.
[Ding! Host has purchased "Uchiha Gunbai." 500 Fusion Points consumed. Current remaining Fusion Points: 162!]
After the purchase, his equipment list updated immediately.
[Equipment: Uchiha Gunbai, White Mask (in use), 13's Jason, Thorn, Scorpion 1/56]
...
At this very moment, massive numbers of CCG investigators and armored vehicles had surrounded Aogiri Tree's entire base in Ward 11. Armed helicopters circled overhead.
Aogiri's base consisted of eight buildings. Aside from the rear facing the sea, three sides were surrounded by forest. This terrain made breaching Aogiri's base significantly more difficult for the investigators.
"Due to concerns that the operation may affect civilians, nearby residents are being guided by police to designated evacuation points."
"The on-site commander for this operation is Special Class Investigator Marude Itsuki. Regarding this large-scale operation, Special Class Marude has expressed strong confidence."
Commander-in-Chief Marude was being interviewed by embedded war correspondents.
"We will stake our lives to protect the residents' safety. But that only accounts for 99%. The remaining 1% depends on everyone's cooperation. We will definitely reclaim peace for Tokyo's Ward 11—"
On the live broadcast, Marude exuded confidence.
But the moment the reporter walked away, his expression darkened.
Their assault wasn't going smoothly. It was now 11 PM, three hours since the operation began.
Aogiri's resistance was fiercer than anticipated. They'd even seized firearms from the Ward 11 CCG branch. With territorial advantage, guns, and koukaku ghouls shielding the shooters from bullets, the first wave of regular investigators had suffered heavy casualties.
There were ghouls within Aogiri capable of teaching others to use firearms, and their marksmanship wasn't bad. The CCG investigators had been pushed into a bitter stalemate.
"Why can't we break through?"
Suzuya asked, puzzled.
"Because we can't hit those ghouls. A frontal assault isn't working, and the rear by the sea is too risky with unknown ambush potential."
Amon explained.
"...Iwa-san, how's the front line?"
Shinohara asked Kuroiwa nearby.
"Still locked in combat. Marude's already lost his patience."
Kuroiwa said. "Given this terrain, a frontal breakthrough is most efficient. But breaking through right now is extremely difficult..."
Just as Kuroiwa said, Marude was extremely frustrated.
He grabbed the rifle from an investigator lying prone nearby and fired a shot, instantly killing a ghoul in the building.
"You clumsy idiots! Even kids playing video games are better than you!!"
Marude finally snapped and started cursing.
"Marude-san, do you have a sniper rifle? Lend me one."
At that moment, Byakuya appeared behind Marude without warning.
Marude nearly jumped. "Oh, it's you, Amaha. A sniper rifle?"
He glanced over at a guy who'd been aiming a sniper rifle for ages without seemingly knowing who to shoot at. "Hey! You over there, lend your sniper rifle to Rank 1 Amaha."
These idiots were too slow anyway. Better to let Amaha use it. He was also curious what Amaha was planning.
Sniper rifle in hand, Byakuya immediately aimed at certain figures high in the building.
That was Aogiri's sniper team—and the biggest obstacle to the CCG's assault. Most notably, their leader "Scope" was the marksmanship instructor who'd trained Aogiri's other ghouls.
With his vision and perception, Byakuya didn't need a scope or binoculars to locate Aogiri's sniper team. He'd trained with firearms at the Academy.
BANG!
His first shot went straight for Scope's head, blowing it apart.
Though ghouls weren't so easily killed, this would at least prevent him from sniping the advancing investigators for now.
The other snipers were affected too—their leader had been shot.
The sniper fire from above suddenly went silent.
"Oh! Nice work, Amaha!"
Marude immediately recognized the impact of Byakuya's shot. He began barking orders: "Move in! Everyone move in! If you can't break through, you're all going home!!"
...
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