Sendai Colony

Outside the Sendai Colony.

In a nearby high-rise.

Sasaki and Iguchi, members of the Occult Club, were observing the Sendai Colony from a distance through binoculars.

From the shock on their faces.

It was clear they had also seen Kaneki, Okkotsu, and Kinji Hakari appear out of thin air.

There they were.

Each holding a crow in his arms.

"Kaneki?"

Sasaki gasped.

Of course she knew Ken Kaneki. Not only did she know him, they were classmates.

"Hi!"

Kogane appeared before the three of them. "I'm Kogane!"

"A PVP survival game called the Culling Game is underway inside this barrier. Once you step inside, you will become players too."

"Do you wish to enter the barrier?"

"Let's go."

Kinji Hakari ignored Kogane and looked at the black barrier ahead.

"Be careful..." Kaneki warned. "Someone inside might be camping out for us."

Before coming here.

He had already explained the Culling Game's mechanics to the two of them, including that people might camp at the spawn points.

Okkotsu nodded, gripping his sword.

Then.

The three entered the Sendai Colony together.

Seeing them enter the black barrier left Sasaki and Iguchi stunned.

Having received special treatment from Kenjaku.

The two naturally understood that this barrier called the Culling Game was an arena where people slaughtered one another.

They had never imagined...

That those three would actually dare to enter.

After entering the barrier, Kaneki found that the other two had vanished from his side. Even the crow in his arms was gone.

Seeing this.

Kaneki instinctively summoned Nue to steady his rapidly falling body, hoping to find the others from the air.

Just then!

He sensed a powerful surge of cursed energy.

He immediately dismissed Nue and switched to [Limitless], just as a cursed energy blast shot toward him.

This was...

Ryu Ishigori's [Granita Blast]!

The next second!

The unstoppable, cannon-like blast of cursed energy struck Ken Kaneki, who offered no resistance.

Boom!

A deafening crash rang out.

Ryu Ishigori stopped releasing cursed energy, and visible white smoke rose from the cannon barrel fashioned from his hair.

On his face.

His smile was mixed with solemnity.

Kaneki, who had been hit by [Granita Blast], remained unscathed, hovering in midair.

Without the Six Eyes.

His control over [Limitless] was only mediocre.

The attacks he could unleash with it were weaker than those of [Malevolent Shrine] and [Star Rage].

So.

Most of the time.

He chose to disregard [Limitless].

"That guy should've made enough noise..." Kaneki murmured.

With that.

He looked down over the buildings below, but saw no sign of Angel.

However.

He did spot the pink-haired Takako Uro.

She was pretty, with a great figure too.

From different directions, the two identified the technique Kaneki was using at the same time. "Limitless!"

The Nue from earlier.

Both of them had witnessed that as well.

In other words...

Not only did this guy possess an astonishingly vast reserve of cursed energy, he also wielded [Ten Shadows Technique] and [Limitless].

Two cursed techniques?

No!

He should have three!

The two quickly deduced that Ken Kaneki's innate technique must allow him to acquire other techniques.

However.

Kaneki paid neither of them any attention.

He kept searching for Okkotsu and Kinji Hakari.

Angel wasn't here with him, which meant she was somewhere else.

Soon.

He found a crow flying toward him.

"Caw!"

The crow cried out, pointing its head in one direction.

Kaneki immediately understood. Using [Blue]'s attraction, he sped in the direction the crow indicated, remembering to reach out and take it along as he passed.

Seeing this.

Ryu Ishigori and Takako Uro both froze for a moment.

Then, without consulting each other, both pursued Kaneki in the direction he had left.

As soon as Kinji Hakari entered the Sendai Colony, he also realized he had been separated from Okkotsu and Kaneki.

He hadn't expected...

To be this lucky.

The moment he entered the Sendai Colony, he spotted Angel, along with the six ancient sorcerers surrounding her.

It was hard to say whether his luck was good or bad.

He noticed that Kenjaku, Uraume, and Tachibana Mio were not among the six.

In other words...

Those three had most likely gone to the Tombs of the Star Corridor.

Then...

He felt an intense sensation of being targeted.

He looked in the direction it came from.

On the most distant high-rise stood a middle-aged man in a kimono, his eyes closed as he drew his Japanese Longbow to its fullest.

Not six, but seven!

Whoosh!

Something whistled through the air.

A sharp arrow formed from cursed energy shot toward him at tremendous speed.

"That won't hit me..."

As he spoke.

Kinji Hakari dodged aside, only to discover that the arrow moved with him, locking onto him again.

Now.

He had nowhere to run.

Kinji Hakari clamped both hands tightly around the arrow.

The Eight-Headed Arrow dragged his body violently backward, slamming him straight into a high-rise and throwing up thick clouds of dust.

In Japan.

"Ya" meant the arrow of a bow.

And the Eight-Headed Arrow originated from Japan's god of war, Hachiman, the guardian deity of warrior clans and archery.

It symbolized fortune in war and the defeat of enemies!

Then...

One of the samurai, rather than drawing his sword, gripped a small iron ball, coated it in cursed energy, and hurled it at the high-rise where Kinji Hakari had landed.

At that moment.

The crow arrived as well.

Through their electronic devices, Mei Mei and the others clearly saw ripples forming in the space around the iron ball.

This attack.

Was nowhere near as simple as it seemed.

"Kin..."

Deep concern appeared on Kirara Hoshi's feminine face.

As the iron ball slammed into the high-rise.

Boom!

A deafening crash erupted.

The entire high-rise was caught in the impact and collapsed, burying Kinji Hakari beneath it.

This was... Vibration!

The observers recognized that power.

Dense dust billowed upward, obscuring everything inside.

"Is he dead?"

Dwarf, one of the six, asked.

"Who cares if he's dead?" the only woman said with a smile. "Just hit him again and we'll find out."

As she spoke.

She forged a palm-sized iron ball out of thin air and tossed it to the samurai. "Catch..."

The samurai caught it casually.

After infusing it with cursed energy, he hurled it into the dust.

At that critical moment!

A bloodied figure burst out of the thick dust, dodging the samurai's finishing blow.

It was none other than Kinji Hakari.

Boom!

He had barely left when another deafening crash sounded behind him, and the ground shook violently.

Then.

He ripped off his ruined shirt.

Looking at the only woman among the six, he wondered, Is she Uro?

He had heard their conversation too.

Though he hadn't seen it firsthand, she most likely possessed [Construction Technique].

"Reverse Cursed Technique, huh..."

Seeing Kinji Hakari's wounds heal, the group realized he could use Reverse Cursed Technique.

He had learned Reverse Cursed Technique while swapping bodies with Okkotsu.

That was right.

He had undergone Soul Exchange too.

After swapping with Okkotsu, both his cursed energy output and his cursed energy reinforcement had improved significantly.

That included Barrier Technique as well.

Otherwise.

Without opening his domain and hitting the jackpot, he would have struggled to withstand the pair's combined, explosive attacks.

Just then.

He also noticed that the archer had not fired another arrow.

Instead, the man was staring at him.

Then the familiar sensation of being targeted returned.

"So that's how it works..." A wild grin spread across Kinji Hakari's face.

He had figured out the prerequisite for activating the man's technique.