After the special strategy meeting concluded, the roster for the "Ward 11 Special Countermeasures Unit" was also announced.
「Kuroiwa Iwao | Age 39 (Deputy Commander)」
「Special Class Investigator | Affiliation: Ward 13」
「181cm/85kg | Blood Type: A」
「Quinque: (Koukaku) New Proto / (Rinkaku) Kuroiwa Special」
「——————」
「Shinohara Yukinori | Age 37」
「Special Class Investigator | Affiliation: Ward 20」
「185cm/92kg | Blood Type: O」
「Quinque: (Koukaku) New Proto / (Bikaku) Oni Yamada No.1」
「——————」
「Amaha Byakuya | Age 18」
「Rank 1 Investigator | Affiliation: Ward 20」
「178cm/65kg | Blood Type: O」
「Quinque: (Half-kakuja) 13's Jason / (Rinkaku) Thorn / (Bikaku) Hiruko 1/76」
「——————」
「Suzuya Juuzou | Age 19」
「Rank 3 Investigator | Affiliation: Ward 20」
「160cm/47kg | Blood Type: AB」
「Quinque: (Bikaku) Scorpion 1/56」
「...」
These were the members listed in the "Ward 11 Special Countermeasures Unit"—over a dozen people in total, though not all were combat personnel. For instance, Commander-in-Chief Marude would be directing operations from Ward 1 headquarters.
"Houji-san, the roster for the Ward 11 Special Countermeasures Unit is out. Why am I the only one left behind?"
Takizawa Seidou looked at the roster on the desk, clearly dissatisfied. "In terms of combat skills... I'm certainly not as good as that top-ranked Mado guy, but I have resolve and confidence!"
"Takizawa-kun... let it go."
Houji Kousuke tried to console him.
"But! Houji-san, I want to fight too!"
Takizawa was frustrated.
"Even though the Ward 11 operation is extremely important, we can't neglect defense of other areas. This was Marude-san's carefully considered decision."
Houji comforted him: "This ward has been entrusted to the two of us, you know. We should be proud of that."
"..."
Takizawa was silent for a moment, but looking at one particular name on the roster, he couldn't help saying: "Juuzou is only Rank 3 right now. I'm... forever second..."
Takizawa had always been overshadowed by top-ranked Akira Mado, perpetually coming in second.
Now Suzuya, a Rank 3 investigator, got to participate in the operation, while he—a Rank 2 who'd graduated second in his Academy class—could only stay here. It threw him off balance.
If there was any consolation, it was that Akira Mado hadn't been assigned to participate either.
...
Meanwhile...
Shinohara was also reviewing the roster. "Hmm... quite a few investigators from headquarters on this list. Shows how seriously Maru is taking this operation."
The listed investigators were essentially all elites. Only Suzuya lacked notable achievements, but he'd been selected because of Chairman Washuu's high regard for him. The last rookie specially recommended by the Chairman had been Kishou Arima—and everyone knew how capable Arima was now.
"But Ward 23's defensive forces have become rather thin, haven't they? I hope it'll be alright..."
Amon was also reading the roster, murmuring to himself: "As expected, Suzuya is the only Rank 3..."
"As long as he can be useful. Marude-san probably considers Juuzou's 'utility value' high enough."
Shinohara remarked.
"Speaking of which, where did Suzuya go?"
Amon hadn't seen Suzuya for a while.
"Hmm... probably playing on some rooftop somewhere?"
Shinohara guessed.
At that moment, Suzuya was indeed on a rooftop, wobbling along the edge railing in some strange dance, seemingly unconcerned about accidentally falling off.
"Rei-chan, there seem to be lots and lots of ghouls in Ward 11. Looks like I'll get brand new Quinques soon—how exciting~"
Suzuya talked to himself. Actually, he'd developed a second personality and was conversing with his other self, "Suzuya Rei."
"If you're not a good child, 'Mama' will scold you~"
...
Byakuya naturally wasn't idle either. His will had been submitted and was now stored at CCG headquarters.
He was currently discussing the Ward 11 operation with Koori Ui.
"We'll be breaching Aogiri Tree's patrol perimeter from the 12 o'clock direction, eventually linking up with Shinohara-san and Kuroiwa-san to jointly assault Aogiri Tree's base. That's the plan, but we'll likely encounter Aogiri executives along the way."
Ui analyzed based on current intelligence. "The relatively threatening 'Jason' has already been eliminated by you. That guy was extraordinarily brutal—every investigator he targeted was thoroughly tortured before being discarded like garbage. Plus, we had no idea he was a half-kakuja until now. It's fortunate you dealt with him, otherwise this operation would've had far more casualties."
"The one we need to watch out for most now is their leader, the 'One-Eyed King.' Though he hasn't personally appeared in recent years, he's most likely the 'One-Eyed Owl' from ten years ago who inflicted massive damage on the CCG. Even with Kuroiwa-san—who seriously wounded the One-Eyed Owl back then—participating, this is still an extremely dangerous enemy we absolutely cannot underestimate."
"Next are 'Tatara' and 'Noro,' both rated SS+. Tatara comes from 'Chi She Lian,' a ghoul organization from China that's already been annihilated. I feel like Houji-san should've participated in this operation too, since he led the team that destroyed Chi She Lian. As for Noro, there's very little intel—we only know his regeneration is extraordinarily terrifying."
Ui also briefly analyzed Ayato Kirishima and the Bin Brothers, though these three executives posed far less threat than the ones mentioned above.
Aogiri Tree was arguably the strongest ghoul organization the CCG had ever faced—assuming Aogiri's full force was in Ward 11. No one inside the CCG could have anticipated that Aogiri would attack Cochlea prison in Ward 23—except for Byakuya and Kishou Arima...
"Truly a formidable operation..."
Byakuya merely offered a sigh in agreement.
...
On the eve of the Aogiri Tree operation, Yoshimura and Yomo were having a private discussion upstairs.
"Are you really going, Yoshimura-san?"
Yomo asked gravely.
"Yes. I'll leave the coffee shop in your care for now."
Yoshimura was dressed in a dark red robe and wearing a black hat he hadn't worn in years—the same hat he'd worn during his V organization days.
All V organization members typically dressed in black suits with black hats. Though Yoshimura had left V over twenty years ago, he still habitually dressed this way when going out.
"Understood..."
Yomo asked no further questions, simply nodding slightly.
Meanwhile, at CCG headquarters in Ward 1, the participating investigators were completing their pre-battle preparations.
Marude wore the "Commander-in-Chief" insignia on his arm, grinning darkly as he shouted: "Playtime with the ghoul brats begins now! Peace On Death! Kids, repeat after me!!"
"P.O.D!"
"P.O.D!"
"..."
Countless fully-equipped investigators chanted in unison, their fierce expressions as if ready to tear apart the enemies they'd soon face. The overwhelming momentum greatly boosted morale.
Kuroiwa Iwao, Shinohara Yukinori, Byakuya, and the entire Ward 11 Special Countermeasures Unit stood at the front of the formation, the roaring voices of the investigators behind them thundering in their ears.
"So which side dies?!"
"Ghouls!"
"Ghouls!"
"..."
"That's right!! Now then, you trash, go kill!! This is a golden opportunity for promotion! Hahaha—"
Spurred on by Commander Marude, armored vehicles, armed helicopters, and over a thousand investigators surged toward Ward 11!
...
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