"If you really want to repay me, the organization I've just established happens to need people. You could join under your identities as the Devil Ape and Black Dobers. Rather than calling it absorption, it's more like a partnership."
Byakuya said. "Of course, if you're unwilling, you can refuse. It's fine with me—truthfully, you don't need to repay me at all."
He certainly wouldn't force Irimi and Koma. If they were willing, that would be great. If not, he wouldn't press the matter.
"An organization? Is it the mysterious organization that appeared during the big battle with the CCG?"
Koma immediately asked.
"I heard about that too. Besides Aogiri Tree, an unknown ghoul organization also appeared. Apparently, it really spooked the CCG commanders."
Irimi added.
"It's called a mysterious organization, but it's actually almost all people you know—including Touka-san."
Byakuya said with a smile.
"I see... Now I understand."
Both Irimi and Koma grasped the situation.
It was just Rize and the others.
Only now did Irimi and Koma realize that Touka and Rize had also joined the battle that day...
"Wait, I almost forgot the main topic..."
Koma steered the conversation back. "Regarding Amaha-san's request—if we can't even fulfill this much, how can we talk about repayment?"
"That's right. Besides, we're all family anyway."
Irimi smiled. "You could say Anteiku operates in the 'shadows' now, while Amaha-san's organization is in the 'light'—but it's still all the same people."
"Correction: it should be ':re' now. 'Anteiku' is in the past."
Koma pointed out.
...
And so, the Devil Ape and Black Dobers ghoul groups both became part of the Akatsuki Organization.
[Ding! Host has expanded the Akatsuki Organization to 20 members. Reward: 20 Fusion Points!]
[Ding! Host has expanded the Akatsuki Organization to 50 members. Reward: 50 Fusion Points!]
[Ding! Host has expanded the Akatsuki Organization to 100 members. Reward: 100 Fusion Points!]
In an instant, the Akatsuki Organization's membership exceeded one hundred, and Byakuya received the corresponding Fusion Points for each milestone.
Following the recent Owl Suppression Operation, the Devil Ape and Black Dobers had suffered significant casualties, but their combined numbers still exceeded one hundred.
This was quite impressive. After all, even Aogiri Tree—currently considered the strongest ghoul organization—only had a few hundred members. During the Ward 11 Aogiri Tree Suppression, over two hundred of them had been eliminated.
At this moment, Byakuya suddenly realized he hadn't checked his accumulated Fusion Points in a while. He opened the System panel to take a look.
[Fusion Points: 2,520 (Cumulative: 6,000)]
He could see that from the Owl Suppression Operation until now, he had earned nearly two thousand Fusion Points. That battle had been especially rewarding—he remembered having only seven or eight hundred before.
However, Byakuya wasn't in a rush to spend these Fusion Points.
His current strength was already unmatched anyway. Whether or not he added points made little difference now. Everything from here on was for activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
First, he needed to raise his Fusion Progress to Level 5. At that point, he should be able to evolve from the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to the Rinnegan—one of the prerequisites for activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Just the Rinnegan alone would require another 5,000 Fusion Points to reach Level 5.
Then there were the Nine Tailed Beasts, the Gedo Statue, and so on—all of which would burn through Fusion Points.
But Byakuya wasn't worried. As long as he accumulated enough Fusion Points, he would eventually gather everything he needed. Compared to that, everything else was trivial.
I'll save these two thousand-plus Fusion Points for now. If I really need them, I can use them later...
Byakuya thought to himself.
...
Just as Byakuya was reading with Hinami, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated and rang. Little Hinami, sitting on his lap, was startled.
"Huh?! What's that...?"
Hinami nearly jumped up.
"Sorry, that's my phone."
Seeing little Hinami's slightly flushed cheeks, Byakuya smiled awkwardly.
"Oh..."
Little Hinami shyly lowered her head. As for why she was shy... well, those who understood would understand...
Before answering, Byakuya glanced at the caller ID and discovered it was from Eto Yoshimura.
"Hello, is there something you need, Takatsuki-sensei?"
Byakuya answered.
Takatsuki-sensei...?
Hearing "Takatsuki-sensei" from her brother's mouth, Hinami immediately became curious.
She leaned back against Byakuya, her ear positioned just below his phone, able to hear the conversation.
Byakuya naturally didn't mind letting Hinami listen to his conversation with Eto.
"Still calling me 'Takatsuki-sensei'? Shouldn't you be calling me 'Yoshimura-san'?"
Eto's voice came through.
"That works too, though I think 'Takatsuki-sensei' rolls off the tongue better."
Byakuya replied.
Yoshimura-san...
Hearing this, Hinami became confused. She remembered the Manager was also named Yoshimura. Why would Takatsuki Sen-sensei share the Manager's surname?
Was it a coincidence, or... was Takatsuki Sen-sensei the Manager's daughter?
"Also, little Hinami is right here listening. You can probably imagine her confused expression right now."
Byakuya added.
"Oh, Hinami-chan is there too? Hahaha. Looks like she doesn't know yet—about my relationship with that old man Yoshimura."
Eto laughed.
"Yeah, but she probably knows now."
Byakuya responded.
"Oniichan, is 'Takatsuki-sensei' really the Manager's daughter?"
Hearing her brother and "Takatsuki-sensei" teasing her, Hinami immediately asked.
Before Byakuya could answer, Eto spoke first. "That's right. Surprising, isn't it? That I'm actually that old man's daughter."
"Mm... I really didn't expect that. I've never seen 'Takatsuki-sensei' at Anteiku..."
Hinami said.
Of course, little Hinami didn't know about the past between Yoshimura and Eto. Only a handful of people knew those things—Yoshimura had only really told Byakuya.
Eto's voice took on a wistful tone. "Yeah, I never went there... I'll come by in a couple of days to see you, Hinami-chan."
...
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