Ken Kaneki initially did not know that Yoshimura and Touka Kirishima would appear, as his original purpose for appearing here was simply to protect his friend, Hideyoshi.
But after Yoshimura and Touka Kirishima appeared, he had no choice but to make a move.
To him, Yoshimura was his guide after becoming a 'Half-Ghoul,' the one who taught him how to survive as a Ghoul, and Touka Kirishima had helped him several times. At this moment, seeing the two of them in a dangerous situation made it impossible for him to just sit by.
Undoubtedly, Ken Kaneki's appearance was unexpected by everyone except Hideyoshi Nagachika.
Nimura Furuta was even more surprised that the 'traitor' who was about to be executed was actually rescued, but after a moment of astonishment, he stared straight at Lancer.
"Lancer! You actually colluded with 'One-Eye' to rescue 'The Owl'?! You disappeared with One-Eye for nearly 15 minutes during the 'Auction House Subjugation Battle,' and afterwards, according to the investigation, your communicator was temporarily shielded. Speak! What exactly did you do!"
Nimura Furuta at this moment was almost ecstatic. Since the 'traitor' had been rescued and there was no chance of retrieving him, he might as well take advantage of him. This was the perfect way to firmly establish the accusation against Lancer.
Lancer, on the other side, was speechless for a moment. He didn't expect that his unintentional act of meeting Ken Kaneki would now become the so-called 'evidence,' and what made him even more helpless was that he and the opponent did belong to a 'secret meeting.' For a moment, he didn't even know how to respond, as he himself was not a person who was good at speaking.
But Lancer silence gave Nimura Furuta an even better excuse.
"Special Class Arima, there is absolutely something wrong with Lancer. We must capture him!"
If Kishou Arima was merely obliged to protect Nimura Furuta due to his duty before, his expression now gradually became serious. Undoubtedly, in his opinion, Lancer reaction was enough to show that he had a problem.
As for the magnitude of the problem and the method of handling it, he was not qualified to draw a conclusion, and the only person qualified to give a verdict was one person — Washuu Tsuneyoshi.
Looking at Kishou Arima, whose eyes were gradually becoming sharper, Lancer expression also became somewhat ugly. What he originally thought was just a boring farce by a ridiculous clown now seemed to have reached an irreparable point due to various 'accidents'.
Lancer at this moment felt like shouting a certain Chinese internet meme about serving his country and needing to see his superior, but in the end, he gave up, because he couldn't be sure that the so-called 'Superior (General Chairman)' would handle the matter impartially. You should know that the opponent had already sent Kishou Arima to monitor him.
And Nimura Furuta, seeing this scene, decided to add fuel to the fire.
"Associate Special Class Lancer, since we have already discovered your problem, do you think we would still prepare new equipment for you? Of course, besides the certain Dr. Kimi Uikanae, whom you have already won over~"
New equipment?
Lancer suddenly looked down at the 'Arata' series armor he was wearing. You should know that he was not an idiot. He had already checked the armor after obtaining it. There were no extra things installed inside the armor. Could it be that there were some hidden dangers that the 'System' could not detect?
Seeing Lancer look down at his body, Nimura Furuta seemed completely unconcerned, and even did not forget to explain a few more words to Lancer.
"Don't worry, all 'Arata' series armors are the same, but they have a similar hidden danger, which I believe you have already discovered. The Kagune of an SSS-rated Ghoul is extremely aggressive. Just like the Quinque in your hand, they will instinctively prey on everything once their activity reaches a certain level, it can be the enemy, or it can be the wielder. So, guess what? Did our CCG prepare something that can activate the 'Arata Series Armor'?"
When the opponent finished the last sentence, Lancer face changed drastically, and he immediately tried to take off the armor he was wearing. But when he put his hands on the collar, he found that the entire armor had unconsciously activated. Then he heard Nimura Furuta's signature laugh.
"Haha~! Associate Special Class Lancer, you wouldn't think that I would be like those bosses with holes in their heads, specifically explaining things to the opponent before a major battle, would you?"
Undoubtedly, his deliberate explanation just now was merely to use an inevitable secret to buy time, and undoubtedly, his plan succeeded.
"Ah ah ah!!!"
After the biological armor, which was originally enough to withstand SSS-rated Ghoul attacks, was completely activated, countless sharp Kagune began to attack Lancer body. Some of the Kagune had even pierced into his body, attempting to seize the blood inside him.
The Kagune at the collar even forcefully pierced into his neck, and fortunately, Lancer was already clutching his collar and managed to pry it open, otherwise, the consequences would have been even more unimaginable.
"First Class Investigator Nimura Furuta! Stop quickly!!"
Kureo Mado, who had been restrained by Nimura Furuta's subordinates before, could no longer sit by. When the opponent said he was going to take Lancer back before, he was still considering how to use his relationship with the General Chairman to speak up for Lancer. After all, he had long sensed Lancer anomaly, but because of trust, he had never indicated it to others, and even now he was still willing to vouch for Lancer. But what he didn't expect was that the opponent did not seem to be planning to take Lancer away, but wanted to kill him here?
But when he prepared to rush up, several Quinque were pointed at his body.
Looking at the Investigators surrounding him, Kureo Mado's face, which had somewhat returned to normal due to the great revenge being avenged, became even gloomier at this moment.
He could swing his sword without hesitation and cut Ghouls in half, but when facing his colleagues, he couldn't bring himself to strike. It could even be said that most of these Investigators had been taught by him, and some of them were people he knew. Naturally, he couldn't make a move against these people.
But fortunately, his shout drew Nimura Furuta's reaction. At this time, the opponent turned around with a helpless smile on his face.
"Associate Special Class Mado, don't worry, although the 'Arata Series Armor' has flaws, it is not a real Ghoul after all. Please rest assured. After that 'traitor' loses the ability to resist, Special Class Arima will go and take it off him. However, he will probably suffer a bit during this time~"
It sounded like the opponent didn't intend to kill him, but such words were only for listening. Who could guarantee that the timing would be perfectly controlled?
After explaining to Kureo Mado, Nimura Furuta stopped talking and instead looked at Lancer below with his hands clasped behind his back, a dangerous light flickering in his eyes.
Originally, the reason he decided to make a move on Lancer was simply because Lancer was an unstable factor in his opinion, likely to interfere with his subsequent plans. For the success of his upcoming plans, he had to eliminate these unstable factors in advance, but what he didn't expect was that his unintentional action actually led him to discover a 'treasure'!
He didn't know what Lancer abilities were, but he knew that as long as he could utilize them well, it would be more beneficial to his subsequent plans.
Moreover —
Secretly glancing at the gloomy Kureo Mado and the furious Koutarou Amon behind him, he realized that he might also be able to use them as bait to control other Investigators?
'This no-cost business is really a huge profit.'
Looking at Lancer, whose blood was continuously seeping from his wrists, neck, and thighs, Nimura Furuta couldn't help but show a delighted smile.
— — — — — —
After Ken Kaneki covered Touka Kirishima to rescue Yoshimura, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he followed the two of them back to the vicinity of the big pit after those Investigators returned to defense under Nimura Furuta's order.
Undoubtedly, if an ordinary person's kidney was pierced, it would be an almost fatal injury, as that is one of the vital organs of the human body, but this was not the case for a Ghoul. The massive injury made it almost impossible for Yoshimura to restrain his urge to eat, but at the same time, the Ghoul's instinct for survival was rapidly repairing his body.
Although his strength was inherently weaker than his Half-Ghoul daughter, not to mention that his strength had dropped significantly due to years of maintaining survival by eating carrion instead of preying, as an SSS-rated Ghoul, he wouldn't be weak to where.
However, the injury on his body was secondary. What made him most unbearable was his daughter's refusal to accept his help and her action of attacking him, and he had just personally witnessed Lancer kill her.
As the saying goes, 'No sorrow is greater than the death of the heart.' This was pretty much his situation at this time.
He knew that what his daughter had done made it impossible for her to survive, but he still chose to appear here. In fact, his purpose was not to save her, but to hope that he could die in front of her.
The reason the opponent became like this was because of his abandonment back then. The incident had happened, and he was powerless to change it. Besides repaying her with his own life, he didn't even know what else he should do.
But at this time, he found that even that simplest 'death' was already too late…
Unlike Yoshimura's reaction, Ken Kaneki and Touka Kirishima beside him did not have much of a reaction. After all, the two had no direct relationship with 'The Owl'. Even though the two of them felt sympathetic towards the opponent due to Yoshimura's experience, they completely discarded that subtle sympathy when the opponent injured Yoshimura.
At this time, the two of them were more focused on whether to go and save Lancer. Temporarily putting aside the subtle feelings Touka Kirishima herself hadn't noticed, in their opinion, the 'Ghoul food' that Lancer controlled was very crucial. But before they could make a decision, a new change occurred.
Lancer armor suddenly activated, and Touka Kirishima, who was previously full of doubt, blurted out a sentence…
"Father?!"
This seemingly simple word shocked Ken Kaneki beside her, who widened his eyes, and finally couldn't help but sigh inwardly — 'As expected of the CCG's stud, Lancer!'