District 7.
By the time Kenji arrived in the Seventh Ward, it was already the following afternoon.
Despite not sleeping a single wink through the night, his mind remained remarkably sharp, entirely devoid of fatigue.
He found a local spot to grab some food and replenish his energy.
As for the money, it had naturally been looted from the ghouls he slaughtered the previous night.
Even though those monsters fed on humans, they still had to blend into human society, meaning they required cold, hard cash just like anyone else.
Swallowing the last octopus takoyaki ball from his skewer, Kenji drifted aimlessly along with the crowded pedestrian current.
At this moment, he was facing a slight logistical dilemma.
He clearly remembered from his past life that a prominent figure named Big Madam operated in Tokyo Ghoul, and that her notorious “Ghoul Restaurant” was located somewhere here in District 7.
But District 7 was massive—where exactly was he supposed to start looking?
Guess I’ll just have to hunt down a random ghoul tonight and beat the location out of them.
Having formulated a plan, Kenji decided to find a place to rest up and wait out the daylight hours before making his move.
Tatap!
Tatap!
Tatap!
”CCG operation!
Clear the area!”
Suddenly, the heavy, rhythmic thuds of tactical boots sprinting against concrete echoed from a distance.
Accompanied by a harsh, authoritative roar, the surrounding pedestrians instantly scattered in a panic.
Kenji looked up.
Two columns of heavily armed personnel clad in full tactical combat gear rushed past, followed closely by several armored infantry vehicles.
Flanking the rear of the formations were a handful of official CCG members, each gripping a metallic Quinque briefcase.
Among them, one individual stood out with stark, chaotic white hair.
His face was gaunt, withered, and hollow-eyed.
He moved with frantic, single-minded haste, completely oblivious to his surroundings.
Mado…
Kureo?
Staring at the man’s distinct appearance, the name instantly surfaced in Kenji’s mind.
On the other side of the street, the rushing Mado Kureo seemed to abruptly sense something.
His head snapped up violently, his erratic gaze locking onto Kenji’s exact coordinates—yet the space was already vacant.
There was only a crowd of ordinary citizens huddled together, nervously whispering among themselves.
”Is that the CCG?
Looks like they’re heading out for another major operation!”
”When on earth are they going to completely wipe out those damn ghouls?
I don’t even dare step out of my house at night anymore!”
”I know, right?
The worst part is that those monsters look exactly like us, yet they view us as livestock.
It’s absolutely terrifying…”
”Was it just my imagination?”
Mado Kureo muttered, pulling his gaze back.
His abrupt, hyper-vigilant halt caught the attention of the young man running right beside him.
”Uncle, what’s wrong?” Mado Shuichi asked out of curiosity.
Looking at his nephew, Mado Kureo slowly shook his head, his face twisting slightly.
“It’s nothing.
Perhaps it was just an illusion.
For a split second, I felt an incredibly unique, heavy gaze locking onto me.
But when I looked over, there was nothing there.”
”Huh?
Even an Associate Special Class Investigator like you couldn’t spot them, Uncle?”
Hearing this, Kureo replied indifferently, “It doesn’t matter who or what it was.
Just ensure you are entirely prepared for tonight’s operation.
Understood?”
”Yes, sir!”
Back in the shadows, Kenji silently stepped out from behind a concrete pillar only after ensuring the two had completely walked out of sight.
Impressive perception.
Is it because of the Quinque he’s holding?
Furthermore, he had clearly overheard their brief exchange.
The CCG has a major operation tonight?
Then it’s guaranteed to be a ghoul extermination raid.
The only major ghoul faction of consequence in District 7 is the Ghoul Restaurant.
Could they be heading there?
Running the variables through his head, Kenji immediately resolved to shadow them.
Regardless of whether this specific CCG strike force was targeting the Ghoul Restaurant or not, their destination was guaranteed to be crawling with ghouls.
Tailgating them as a free navigation system was infinitely more efficient than wandering aimlessly on his own.
With his mind made up, Kenji tightened his grip on the concealed [Gilded Cloud] and quietly melted into the shadows behind the advancing CCG unit.
After trailing the CCG forces for roughly two hours, the sky gradually deepened into night, and Kenji began to notice a shift in the operational scale.
The strike team he had initially followed was merely a minor vanguard.
As they pushed deeper toward the outskirts, more and more tactical CCG units began converging from different sectors, swelling into a massive, heavily armed military column.
Their operational trajectory was locked dead onto an ancient, secluded estate situated deep in the wilderness of District 7’s outskirts.
They’re actually moving to decapitate the Ghoul Restaurant right now?
Kenji was genuinely surprised by the sheer volume of manpower the CCG had mobilized for this raid, and a calculated theory quickly formed in his mind.
This deduction wasn’t baseless; aside from the sheer size of the deployment, he had just spotted another highly familiar canon figure embedded in the vanguard.
CCG Special Class Investigator, Shinohara Yukinori!
His iconic, blocky hairstyle made him instantly recognizable even from a distance.
”Yo!
Associate Special Class Mado!
Long time no see!” Shinohara greeted Kureo with a hearty smile, simultaneously clapping a firm hand onto young Shuichi’s shoulder.
”Shuichi, you just graduated from the academy this year, right?
Work hard out there!
Strive to become just like your uncle!”
”Don’t look down on your uncle just because his official rank is stuck at Associate Special Class.
In terms of raw combat merit, he qualified to be promoted to Special Class ages ago, it’s just that—”
”That’s enough!
Let us go over the operational deployment blueprint for tonight’s raid.
This time, we must completely uproot that den of filth!” Kureo abruptly cut Shinohara off, his face hardening into a stiff, macabre expression.
Without waiting for a response, he walked away stiffly and climbed into a black tactical command vehicle.
Shinohara opened his mouth to speak, but watching Kureo’s retreating back, he merely let out a helpless sigh and shook his head.
”Shuichi, you really need to give it your all out there.
Your uncle personally took you under his wing for this operation; make sure you support him well!”
”Yes, sir!” Mado Shuichi guaranteed with burning excitement, giving a crisp nod.
His uncle hadn’t always been this twisted and obsessive.
But ever since that specific tragedy, his uncle’s hatred and absolute loathing for ghouls had warped into a terrifying, borderline insane drive.
Shuichi desperately hoped he could grow strong enough to help liberate his uncle from that bottomless pit of agonizing pain.
Soon, complete darkness enveloped the landscape.
Kenji stood perched in the distance, silently observing the massive estate ahead.
The pristine, pale moonlight washed over the dark, yellowing walls of the ancient castle.
To a regular observer, the estate appeared to be nothing more than an eccentric historical landmark, but Kenji knew better.
This was District 7’s notoriously depraved underworld hub: The Ghoul Restaurant.
True to its name, the Ghoul Restaurant was an exclusive, high-society dining club catering strictly to ghouls.
The mastermind pulling the strings behind this operation was none other than the S-rate ghoul, Big Madam!
Every single night, this castle hosted grotesque underground auctions where living humans were put up for bidding, with wealthy ghouls acting as the clientele.
The human who fetched the highest astronomical price at the end of the auction would be dragged onto the stage and brutally dismembered alive, cooked, and consumed by the ravenous audience in a sickening, frenzied banquet.
Now, humanity’s enforcement arm had locked its sights onto this cancer.
Today, the CCG had successfully amassed enough overwhelming firepower to flatten the entire operation in a single, decisive swoop.
To guarantee success, the CCG had deployed a certified Special Class Investigator, Shinohara Yukinori, alongside an eccentric Associate Special Class who possessed the raw lethality of a Special Class, Mado Kureo.
Backing them up was a massive cohort of First Class and Second Class investigators.
This concentrated firepower was more than enough to completely steamroll the Ghoul Restaurant, whose highest defensive ceiling was merely an S-rate ghoul.
In reality, if Mado Kureo hadn’t explicitly pulled strings and demanded to be assigned to this raid, Shinohara would have been the solitary high-ranking investigator present.
Within the CCG, everyone was intimately familiar with Kureo’s psychological baggage.
Despite possessing the undisputed martial prowess of a Special Class, he deliberately chose to remain at Associate Special Class.
Ever since his beloved wife was brutally slaughtered and devoured by a ghoul, his hatred had transcended mortal limits.
Consequently, whenever a large-scale extermination campaign was authorized, Kureo was always the very first to break down the door.
Time ticked away, second by second.
Kenji, however, had absolutely zero interest in waiting for the CCG to initiate their tactical breach.
He had only trailed them to use them as a living GPS.
Now that the Ghoul Restaurant’s coordinates were firmly locked down, there was absolutely no reason to hide behind the CCG’s coattails.
If he waited for them to move, those government investigators would end up stealing his precious hoard of experience points.
Furthermore, Big Madam was a critical tether to the plot—meaning her death was paramount to him harvesting substantial World Force!
He had to personally guarantee that Big Madam died by his own hands; letting her escape was not an option.
If his memory served him correctly, the original timeline dictated that Big Madam would successfully slip through the CCG’s net during this chaotic raid.
Therefore, Kenji had no intention of synchronizing his assault with the CCG.
He was going to blitz the castle right now!
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