"The capture is complete. Notify the doctor to take over."
With that, the leader calmly withdrew his scales, gave a cold order, and walked off without another word.
The soft-spoken Ghoul yawned, mumbled something about needing rest if he wanted to open the next day, and disappeared into the shadows.
The petite Ghoul pulled out her phone and called the so-called "doctor" to collect the "goods." After a brief conversation, the rest of the group scattered and vanished into the night.
All of this played out under Shiro Sakamaki's silent watch. Every word they spoke was recorded clearly in his memory.
He might not have watched much of the original story, but he still remembered this pivotal moment: the purple-haired woman—Rize Kamishiro—and the timid-looking boy beside her—Kaneki Ken.
This was the beginning of it all.
The next part of the story was easy to predict. After the ambush, someone would come under the pretense of emergency medical treatment. And then, under the surgical lights, that doctor would perform a transplant. Rize's organs would be implanted into Kaneki, turning him into a half-Ghoul.
As for Rize Kamishiro herself, she would be secretly imprisoned, force-fed to regenerate, only to be harvested repeatedly as living material.
But Shiro didn't plan to intervene—not to save her, at least.
He could understand the plight of the Ghoul species. But understanding did not mean forgiveness.
They were predators of humanity. Even if some were pitiful, the vast majority were killers. If left unchecked, they'd devour the world.
Besides, he had another reason to stay out of it.
He strongly suspected that this same doctor had something to do with Tomoya Aki's transformation into a Ghoul. And the origin of this twisted species... now that was something Shiro was truly interested in.
A race that could sustain itself for days on a single meal, possessed terrifying strength and resilience, and needed no logistics on the battlefield? That wasn't evolution—it was engineering.
In a world painted in blood, they were almost too perfect.
But for such a biologically impractical species—dependent solely on human flesh—it was improbable they'd evolve naturally. Which raised the real question: Where did they come from?
Now, he had the chance to dig deeper. As long as he followed this trail, he'd reach the doctor. The one man who had dedicated his life to researching Ghoul physiology. He might know something others didn't.
Still, Shiro didn't plan to let Itori go so easily. While she wasn't particularly powerful, her intelligence network could prove useful later.
With a whisper of energy, he left a mark on her shadow—a tracking technique unique to his fusion of Rashomon and shadow movement. As long as the mark remained, he could find her anywhere.
Then, he slipped into Rize Kamishiro's shadow, gently channeling a sliver of life energy into the barely breathing Kaneki Ken beside her. He didn't want this butterfly effect spiraling too far—at least not yet.
Soon after, the high-pitched whine of sirens pierced the night. Two ambulances screeched to a halt. Paramedics rushed in.
With the help of power tools, they sawed through the collapsed pipes and managed to extract the two victims. Rize's injuries looked horrific, but she would live. Kaneki, on the other hand, was barely hanging on—just a whisper away from death.
Shiro shook his head slightly. Hit by falling steel from a high-rise and still alive… That's protagonist luck for you.
If it had been anyone else, they'd have skipped the hospital and gone straight to the crematorium.
Elsewhere, in a hospital's cold, dimly lit lab, a twisted grin split the face of Dr. Akihiro Kanou.
"The last specimen escaped before I could get full data. Killed before I could observe properly... pathetic," he muttered, eyes gleaming with a cruel light. "This time, I'll make sure to savor every moment."
Not long after, Kaneki and Rize arrived at the hospital. Shiro remained concealed in the shadows, silently watching.
Just as expected, Kanou claimed that Kaneki's organs were too damaged to save, while Rize had already succumbed. He used that as an excuse to perform the transplant. Rize's body was wheeled off to the morgue.
Later that same night, once the hospital had quieted, Kanou snuck into the morgue, stole Rize's body, and brought her to his private lab.
"Hehehe… perfect material," he whispered, setting her on the cold steel table.
But a second voice suddenly echoed through the room, cold and clear:
"Perfect, huh? But have you thought about what'll happen if someone finds out?"
Kanou flinched violently. That voice—who?
"This is a private lab," he muttered, scanning the room. "No one else comes here except…"
"Don't bother looking."
The voice was right behind him now.
Kanou spun around—and there, slowly emerging from his own shadow, was a man in a bathrobe and slippers.
Shiro Sakamaki.
"W-Who are you?!"
"I think the better question is: what will happen to you if this place is exposed, Dr. Kanou?" Shiro asked casually, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeve.
Kanou's mind raced. He'd been too caught off guard to register it earlier, but now he realized: this man wasn't normal. He'd stepped out of a shadow.
This wasn't just a random intruder. This was a transcendent.
"If this gets out… I'll die," Kanou admitted slowly, then hissed, "But you won't be safe either. They'll come for you."
Shiro gave a cold, amused chuckle. "You think I'm afraid of the Clowns?"
Kanou froze.
Clowns… Only a few people knew about their real influence. And this man brushed them off like pests.
"I'm not here to kill you," Shiro continued. "I don't care about your experiments. This little lab of horrors doesn't mean anything to someone like me."
Kanou's eyes narrowed. "Then why…?"
"I want one thing: information." Shiro leaned in slightly. "Tell me where the Ghoul seeds came from."
Kanou's face tightened. "I don't know their true origin. I'm just a facilitator. They come to me—I help them. That's it."
Shiro nodded, already expecting that answer.
"I figured. But you're in a unique position. You'll come into contact with them again. And when you do…" His eyes sharpened. "You'll tell me everything. Understood?"
Kanou exhaled slowly. The tension in his chest loosened. He was going to live.
As long as he was useful, this man wouldn't kill him.
And he could live with that.
To be used meant to be valuable. It was better than being discarded.
As for revenge? Kanou wasn't foolish enough to think about it.
Even within the shadowy V organization, there were barely any Transcendentals. They were a different breed entirely. And this one—this Shiro—was something else entirely.
The way he melded into the darkness, silent and deadly… If he wanted Kanou dead, he wouldn't have known until it was over.
So instead, Kanou offered a small, professional smile. "Understood. I'll be in touch when the time comes."
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