Chapter 45: Returning with a Full Harvest
"I'm being serious here, stop slandering me," Chiya said, sounding quite exasperated.
"How is it slander? I'm clearly praising you for having such a sweet tongue," the Wrath Devil replied, her voice carrying a playful, teasing lilt.
"...Fine, I'm done talking to you."
Chiya chose to "mute" their mental link. However, this was the first time he had sensed a flicker of genuine cheerfulness in the Wrath Devil's tone; she no longer sounded as lifeless and gloom-ridden as she usually did. Did this mean his words had actually made an impact?
Shortly after, Chiya led his team members downstairs.
"All devils inside the apartment building have been subjugated. We'll leave the cleanup of the scene to you," Chiya informed the police. He had already called Tokyo Public Safety, and they would be sending specialized vehicles to collect the devil corpses.
"Understood. Thank you for your hard work."
The police moved in to process the scene.
"Special Division 1 really is something else. It took them less than ten minutes to finish a devil that the private sector couldn't handle."
"And look at them—none of them seem to have a scratch on them. They're on a completely different level than the private hunters."
The officers chatted as they entered the building. It wasn't their first time cooperating with Public Safety, but the efficiency of this operation was staggering even by their standards.
Meanwhile, the four members Chiya had stationed outside realized the mission was over. The entire group prepared to return to headquarters.
Since they were traveling in two cars, the members in the vehicle without Chiya began to gossip.
"I didn't do a single thing this mission. I was just standing outside looking at the scenery, and then suddenly—it's over."
"Tell me about it. Inside the building, it was basically Vice Captain Otonashi hunting the devils all by himself. We barely helped at all."
"Hey, wait. The Vice Captain took them all on alone? You've got to be kidding. The police said there were a ton of devils in there!"
"No joke. Not only did his martial arts put ours to shame, but his devil power is the strongest I've ever seen, bar none!"
A small argument broke out inside the car. Those who had been guarding the perimeter hadn't witnessed the combat firsthand, so they found it difficult to believe. Eventually, they were convinced—after all, they had experienced the Vice Captain's martial prowess themselves during training, and their teammates had no reason to lie.
This once again shifted their understanding of just how deep their Vice Captain's strength truly was.
"Honestly, I don't feel like I participated at all. It's like it wouldn't have mattered if we were there or not."
"I feel a bit guilty, but overall, it's a good thing. At least we weren't in any danger, haha..."
In the other car, Chiya was busy allocating his attribute points. He had harvested a total of 60 points this time, making it a "full harvest" indeed.
[Ding! Allocation complete: Vitality +26, Strength +16, Speed +16!]
[Strength: 46]
[Speed: 46]
[Vitality: 150]
Without even realizing it, his "Vitality" attribute had reached the 150 mark.
"I feel like my Vitality is getting pretty high now. Given the chance, maybe I could try out Susanoo..." Chiya thought to himself.
Susanoo was the ultimate ocular jutsu of the Mangekyō Sharingan, a pinnacle of both offense and defense. Beyond that, who wouldn't want to pilot a "giant energy mech"? It was undeniably cool.
However, the "Kamui" Susanoo requires both eyes to manifest. He could only imagine how terrifying the drain would be to activate Susanoo with dual Kamui. He hadn't dared to entertain the thought before, fearing the consumption would simply kill him on the spot.
After all, even Kakashi needed the Six Paths Power provided by Obito to manifest a Perfect Susanoo. With his current "Vitality" strength, Chiya was certainly nowhere near the level of Six Paths Power.
Still, Susanoo has several stages. If I start from the initial ribcage form and progress stage by stage, I should be able to handle it. Chiya made a mental plan. I tested the cost of the Wrath Devil's power today; next time, it's Susanoo's turn.
As for Genjutsu, he seemingly couldn't use it. The principle of Genjutsu involves using one's own chakra to disrupt the target's chakra flow, but he had no chakra, and in the world of Chainsaw Man, neither did anyone else.
Before long, Chiya and his team returned to the Tokyo Public Safety headquarters. Because they had departed so early, it was still before 9:00 AM. Most devil hunters hadn't even clocked in for work yet.
However, Hayakawa Aki and Himeno were already there, sitting in the lounge area of the lobby. Uncharacteristically, Himeno hadn't waited until the last possible second to show up for her shift.
Seeing Chiya walk through the entrance, Himeno immediately waved. "Otonashi-kun, over here!"
Chiya turned to his team members. "I have something to attend to. You guys head up first." He then walked over to the lounge.
Himeno gestured for him to sit on the sofa beside her. "I heard you led a team out on a mission. Finished so soon?"
"Yeah, it went smoothly," Chiya nodded.
"Was it a devil with Gun Devil flesh?" Aki asked.
Before Chiya could answer, Himeno chimed in, "Of course. Public Safety only deploys that many people at once when the target is a devil empowered by Gun Devil flesh."
"I see." A subtle change in expression crossed Aki's face.
He wanted to be assigned to these subjugation missions as soon as possible. Currently, his days consisted of patrolling with Himeno-senpai and his nights were spent training martial arts at the Special Division 3 base. He felt like his progress was plateauing. The fastest way to grow was through life-and-death combat with devils; though dangerous, he didn't fear the risk.
"Himeno-senpai, is there any way for me to get through this rookie phase faster?" Aki couldn't help but ask.
"What are you thinking? The higher-ups have already decided to have Captain Kishibe personally oversee your special training. Usually, only rookies with high potential get that privilege. It means they think highly of you," Himeno explained. "So for the next three months, besides patrolling with me, you'll be undergoing special training with the Captain."
Aki looked surprised. "...Understood."
He could accept this. At least he would get stronger quickly through specialized training instead of just patrolling all day with nothing to do.
"By the way, let's have a celebratory banquet tonight! To celebrate Otonashi-kun's successful first mission as a leader," Himeno suddenly proposed.
"Senpai... you just want an excuse to drink, don't you? We have work tomorrow," Aki said sharply. Through their time together, he had already figured out Himeno's character—she was both a drunkard and a heavy smoker.
"Heh~" Himeno remained thick-skinned despite being called out. She giggled, "It's fine! Can't you just come to my place tomorrow morning and wake me up?"