"It seems you've already discovered the Washuu's true identity—they're not humans but a ghoul clan."
Yoshimura finally revealed some of what he knew. "Those RC Detection Gates have also been tampered with by them. It's essentially a 'whitelist.' The sisters were implanted with Washuu kakuhou, so they fall within the whitelist's range."
"As expected of you, Manager. You know quite a lot about the inner workings. By the way, how much do you know about Aogiri Tree?"
Byakuya suddenly shifted topics.
"Aogiri Tree... I don't know much about them..."
Yoshimura immediately deflected the topic without hesitation.
After all, this matter concerned his daughter. He didn't want to give the V organization any opportunity to target her.
So regardless of who asked, he would never respond to questions about Aogiri Tree. This was the only way to avoid all risks.
And indeed, in the original series, Yoshimura never betrayed his daughter until the very end—even when V threatened him with death.
The V organization had always known Yoshimura was hiding in Ward 20 running his "Anteiku." They never intended to interfere as long as he didn't do anything harmful to the Washuu Clan's interests. After all, Yoshimura had done plenty of work for the Washuu during his time as a "Cleaner." But eventually, V gradually realized that the "One-Eyed Owl" was actually Yoshimura's daughter.
A natural-born half-ghoul represented both immense temptation and a great threat to the Washuu Clan. Years ago, a natural-born half-ghoul had appeared within the Washuu Clan itself—one who despised the family's actions so much that he nearly destroyed the Washuu entirely. That person was the true original "One-Eyed King"—the one who became the "Dragon" in the underground world.
Unlike Kishou Arima, who was Aogiri Tree's first-generation One-Eyed King but was a half-human rather than a natural-born half-ghoul—two completely different concepts.
As for why it represented temptation: the Washuu Clan's various activities—like the branch families that specifically bred half-humans, and the abandoned human modification experiments—were all aimed at creating a controllable natural-born half-ghoul.
Think of it this way: if a natural-born half-ghoul's bloodline continued, future Washuu members could become infinitely closer to humans. They would possess both a ghoul's absolute power and a human's lifestyle habits, no longer needing to secretly consume investigators' corpses. This perfectly aligned with the Washuu Clan's pursuit of becoming human.
So the Washuu Clan desperately wanted to capture Yoshimura's daughter—both to eliminate a threat and to potentially incorporate her half-ghoul bloodline.
But Yoshimura would rather die than reveal his daughter's whereabouts, enraging the V organization. Meanwhile, the human investigators at the CCG had also noticed that the current "Owl" was noticeably smaller than the "One-Eyed Owl" they'd seen ten years ago. With V's guidance, the CCG finally understood there were two "Owls." Thus the SSS-rated "Non-Killing Owl" title was born, to distinguish it from the other SSS-rated "One-Eyed Owl."
The anime's depiction of Eto running to the CCG to inform on her father was pure fabrication. In reality, Yoshimura's defiance unto death enraged the V organization. If he had actually revealed Eto's location, Anteiku would never have been subjugated by the CCG. The Washuu Clan wasn't so petty as to target Yoshimura when he was quietly hiding in Ward 20—after all, he'd done quite a bit of work for them during his time as a Cleaner.
Though it couldn't be denied that later, when Yoshimura was defeated, Eto took advantage of the Washuu's punishment of Anteiku to stage a play with Arima. The real purpose was to capture Yoshimura as new experimental material, then create the "Pineapple King" Takizawa Seidou to further pave Kaneki's path to the "One-Eyed King" throne...
"Alright, that's about all I wanted to discuss with you, Manager. Thank you for talking with me."
Byakuya cordially concluded his conversation with Yoshimura.
"It's nothing. I didn't really say much..."
Yoshimura smiled.
"The CCG will soon launch a major subjugation operation against Aogiri Tree in Ward 11. I'll be participating in this battle. But there's no telling if Aogiri Tree might send people to Anteiku again to capture Rize-san. When that time comes, I entrust her to everyone at Anteiku."
Byakuya made this request to Yoshimura.
But his words actually had another purpose...
In truth, he wasn't worried about Rize at all. He knew Aogiri Tree had split into two groups—one attacking Cochlea prison in Ward 23, the other defending Ward 11 against the CCG. They had no spare capacity to come capture Rize.
Knowing this full well, he'd deliberately said these words to Yoshimura for a different reason.
Put simply, what he was really emphasizing wasn't protecting Rize—it was that he himself would be participating in the battle...
"No problem. We'll do our best to protect Kamishiro-san."
Yoshimura agreed to Byakuya's request.
But certain thoughts had already begun forming in his mind...
After Byakuya went downstairs, Yoshimura lingered upstairs for a while.
The reason was Byakuya-kun's final words.
Byakuya-kun had twice routed enemies and protected Anteiku's staff, demonstrating formidable strength. In Yoshimura's estimation, aside from that young man from ten years ago, Byakuya was on par with any Special Class investigator.
That young man from ten years ago would likely participate in the Ward 11 Aogiri Tree operation as well. Combined with Byakuya, the Aogiri members stationed in Ward 11 would stand no chance against the CCG's assault.
Yoshimura naturally knew about Aogiri Tree's "diversion tactic" to attack Cochlea prison in Ward 23—this was clear from the original series. Otherwise, why would he have deliberately blocked the Special Class investigators the CCG dispatched? He could have simply stormed into Aogiri's base and rescued Kaneki. The few executives Aogiri left in Ward 11 combined couldn't match him.
In the original timeline, blocking Special Class investigators Shinohara and Kuroiwa was killing two birds with one stone: ensuring Kaneki wouldn't be discovered and killed by the CCG while also providing cover for his daughter's assault on Cochlea. At the time, the CCG still believed Yoshimura's "Owl" was Aogiri Tree's "One-Eyed King."
Now the question was: if that young man from ten years ago—Kishou Arima—participated, along with Byakuya as another Special Class-level combatant, the forces Aogiri had left in Ward 11 would be completely overwhelmed. Once the CCG swiftly defeated the Ward 11 Aogiri forces and discovered the "One-Eyed Owl" wasn't there, they'd quickly realize Aogiri's scheme. The V organization might mobilize as well...
Then Eto would be in danger.
Worried for his daughter's safety, Yoshimura found himself having the same thought as ten years ago—he would once again take on the guise of the "One-Eyed Owl" to draw the CCG's attention, especially that of the Washuu Clan...
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