"Should I go help?"

Rize asked, standing beside Byakuya.

"Up to you. Go if you want."

Byakuya said.

He was holding back because Eto had asked to take her revenge personally.

"Then I won't."

Rize said casually.

She'd only come along with Byakuya to watch. The battlefield didn't seem to need her, and she wasn't particularly interested in fighting anyway.

"Tch!..."

Kaiko sensed the situation deteriorating and immediately changed tactics. "You lot hold off this One-Eye! I'll use 'Kuzen' to eliminate that fire-breather first!"

Tatara wasn't a major threat, but he was annoying. One careless moment could mean death by incineration.

The black-clad figures swarmed Eto while Kaiko turned toward Tatara.

The SSS-rated "Owl" wasn't limited to one combat form.

Besides the long blade for melee, it had a ranged form and a separation form.

In ranged form, countless smaller blades sprouted from both edges of the sword like shark teeth, capable of firing ukaku projectiles.

Tatara tried to melt the incoming projectiles with his flames.

But Tatara's greatest weakness—his slow speed—became apparent...

Kaiko's ukaku barrage was merely a distraction. His "Kuzen" had already shifted to separation form—part maintaining the melee blade while another part burrowed underground.

As Tatara unleashed his flames, a blade burst from beneath his feet. With his reactions slowed during the attack, he couldn't possibly dodge this sudden underground strike.

Fortunately, Yoshimura understood his own arm's capabilities. At the critical moment, he body-checked Tatara aside—otherwise Tatara's entire kakuja body might have been impaled!

But having pushed Tatara away, Yoshimura couldn't dodge himself. The separated "Kuzen" shattered half his kakuja armor and damaged his kakuhou to some degree—though not fatally...

"Mr. Yoshimura!"

Tatara called out in concern.

"Don't worry about me. Go help Eto."

Yoshimura said immediately.

As he spoke, his shattered kakuja armor was already regenerating.

As long as the kakuhou wasn't critically damaged, a kakuja of his caliber could regenerate instantly.

"...Kuzen, this is your last chance. Swear loyalty to V again—like you did back then!"

Kaiko's expression remained calm, as if everything was under his control.

Facing Kaiko's threatening ultimatum, Yoshimura shook his head without hesitation.

Over twenty years ago, he'd submitted to V Organization's coercion to protect himself and Eto, murdering Ukina with his own hands.

Now Kaiko wanted him to betray Eto the same way. That was absolutely impossible.

Even without Byakuya present, he would never fail Eto again...

In this moment, Yoshimura responded with a shotgun blast of kagune. Massive black projectiles hurtled toward Kaiko.

"Damn you! Then die alongside your child!"

Kaiko dodged narrowly and roared in fury.

Kaiko was the strongest among V Organization. The other black-clad figures, while Special Class-level, were somewhat outmatched against Eto.

The One-Eyed Owl at her late-stage peak in the original story had dispatched all V members except Kaiko in moments before being instantly killed by Furuta. (Note: This might be due to power scaling issues...)

Current Eto wasn't yet at her peak form, but these black-clad figures still posed limited threat to her.

She just couldn't crush them instantly. With each wielding an S-rated Quinque, keeping her occupied was already an achievement.

The situation evolved into Yoshimura, Tatara, and Noro against Kaiko with his "Kuzen."

...

Seeing the stalemate continue, Byakuya decided to act. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Prolonging this would only give Arima time to arrive with Squad Zero.

Though Arima was technically on Aogiri Tree's side, finishing before his arrival would be ideal.

Byakuya descended smoothly onto the battlefield.

His appearance startled Kaiko.

He didn't recognize the figure immediately, but quickly realized this must be the recently emerged "Madara"—the strange kakugan, mask, and attire matched the descriptions.

"You're 'Madara'?"

Kaiko demanded.

Byakuya didn't respond. A Susanoo manifested around him, instantly growing to its second stage.

A chakra-cloaked upper body with four arms gripping four swords swung toward the black-clad figures.

"BOOM—!!"

From Susanoo's appearance to the four-sword slash—it all happened too fast, too suddenly. Most couldn't dodge in time and were cleaved apart, limbs flying.

[Ding! Host defeated a "V Organization Member." Reward: 60 Fusion Points!]

[Ding! Host defeated a "V Organization Member." Reward: 70 Fusion Points!]

[...]

In this instant, Byakuya reversed the entire battle.

And he gained massive Fusion Points.

With a single strike, the vast majority of black-clad figures were either dead or crippled—effectively neutralized.

Having done just this much and no more, his Susanoo dissipated.

"Eto, I'll leave that one to you."

Byakuya called to her briefly, then vanished.

Yoshimura and Eto could handle Kaiko together now. This would satisfy Eto's desire for personal revenge.

Finding himself suddenly alone on the battlefield, Kaiko was stunned.

Moreover, "Madara's" words suggested he'd been deliberately left alive—for Yoshimura and his daughter to deal with personally.

"Thank you, Byakuya..."

Eto looked up toward where Byakuya had been. He'd already returned to his original position.

...

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