Dimensional Kaguya Ōtsutsuki

"What… What is going on?" Akira gasped, her eyes wide with astonishment.

Just moments ago, she had clearly seen Kaguya being impaled through the chest, with blood spurting vividly. Her heart had sunk into despair. Yet now, at the last moment, the situation had reversed, leaving her to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was close, way too close."

At that moment, a clear and slightly soft voice rang out behind them. Tsukiyama and Akira quickly turned their heads.

From the distance approached a black-haired girl, her small hand patting her chest in a gesture of lingering fear.

"You—"

Even with his steady composure and experience with countless bizarre scenarios, Tsukiyama was stunned by the strange turn of events.

"I really thought I was done for," Kaguya said, offering Tsukiyama a faint smile. "Thanks for the hospitality just now."

"This… This is impossible," Tsukiyama muttered, stepping back, his voice trembling with disbelief. "I clearly—"

"Clearly what?" Kaguya's lips curled into a smirk. "Clearly killed me?"

What had actually happened was this: just as Tsukiyama's attack was about to strike, in a split second, Kaguya used Amenotejikara, successfully switching places with Naki, who had just pulled Kaguya's blade out of his neck. The unlucky Naki, freshly injured, found himself impaled again, this time skewered on Tsukiyama's kagune like a piece of meat on a skewer.

"It hurts! It hurts so much! I'm about to cry! What the hell is going on? Why does bad luck keep happening to me?" Naki wailed, his face streaked with tears as he gritted his teeth in frustration. "Even Big Brother Yamori is dead, so why—why is this happening?"

"Idiot," Tsukiyama muttered, wrinkling his nose in disdain. "Even the smell of this meat is disgusting. Eating someone like you would definitely give me indigestion. How could such a repulsive creature exist in this world?" With a flick of his arm, Tsukiyama sent Naki flying like a ragdoll. He crashed into a distant wall with a heavy thud.

Kaguya unconsciously nodded in agreement, for once sharing the same sentiment as Tsukiyama.

"And now," Tsukiyama turned back toward Kaguya, his gaze burning with intensity. A sly smile spread across his face. "It's your turn. I don't know where you learned those techniques or what connection you have to that person, but I regret to inform you that you won't be leaving here today."

"Just you?" A mocking cold smile spread across Kaguya's jade-like face as she said, "Do you really think you alone can stop me?"

"If it were before, I certainly wouldn't have had the ability to keep you here. But now, it's different." Tsukiyama Shuu's lips curled into a smug grin.

"And what's different now?" Kaguya said sarcastically. "Have you gone from being an ant to a cockroach? Is that enough to make you so excited?"

"People like you humans can't possibly understand," Tsukiyama said with a smile. "But this time, I'll be generous and tell you, since you won't be alive much longer."

"Tell us what?" Kaguya's delicate brows furrowed slightly.

Tsukiyama's smile deepened as he said, "The secret to ghoul evolution is simple: the quality of the food consumed. The better, the more exquisite the food, the stronger one becomes. Not just a little, but exponentially stronger. I didn't plan on wasting such a rare delicacy so soon, but now… it seems the timing is just right. I'll savor you bit by bit."

As he finished speaking, Tsukiyama pulled a thumb-sized glass vial from his pocket. The bottle sparkled like crystal, refracting beautiful light. Yet what caught more attention was the liquid inside.

A crimson liquid swirled within, shrouded in a faint mist. Under the hazy moonlight, it radiated an enchanting glow, enough to mesmerize anyone. It was unmistakably human blood.

"This, the divine food granted to us by God," Tsukiyama said, pressing the vial against his cheek with an expression of fanatical ecstasy. It was as if he held a priceless treasure. "This is the most delicious sustenance in the world, something only the divine has the right to touch."

Watching his behavior, Kaguya felt a shiver of revulsion. Goosebumps prickled her skin as she turned to Akira and whispered, "Is he mentally ill? Something's definitely wrong with his head."

"Probably," Akira whispered back, covering her mouth.

"Hmph," Tsukiyama turned his head, his voice cold. "Fools like you could never understand its value. You are unworthy to possess it. Now, let me show you its true power."

With great care, Tsukiyama removed the stopper from the glass vial and brought it to his nose. A look of pure bliss crossed his face as he inhaled deeply.

"Exquisite! Absolutely sublime!"

But as soon as Tsukiyama pulled out the stopper, Kaguya's expression turned peculiar. Her beautiful eyes widened as she stared at the liquid. She could feel the energy it radiated—and that scent was unmistakable.

That's my damn blood!

...

Tsukiyama Shuu tilted his head back and downed the crimson liquid from the delicate glass vial in one gulp. His eyes snapped open wide, and he shouted in ecstasy, "Delicious! Absolutely exquisite! This richness, this sweetness, this refreshing taste—this perfect harmony that dances on my tongue is simply… divine!"

For some reason, watching his euphoric expression, Kaguya felt her stomach churn, a sourness rising in her throat. She could no longer hold back and delivered a flying kick.

Bang!

Her kick sent Tsukiyama hurtling backward.

"You bastard! Enough is enough already!"

Like a cannonball, Tsukiyama was flung through the air, smashing into a wall with a deafening crash.

"How can there be such an idiot in the world?" Kaguya dusted off her hands with a look of disdain before turning to Akira and asking, "What was he talking about just now? Could it be that this mission isn't just about wiping out the ghouls at this restaurant?"

"This morning's meeting did outline that objective," Akira replied, her face grave. "Such an operation wouldn't normally be kept a secret. But if what he says is true, why would the CCG keep us in the dark?"

Kaguya's brows furrowed deeply. She could tell that Akira wasn't lying. So, what was the CCG's true objective?

Had they discovered something that prompted them to conceal the operation? And how had her own blood ended up in Tsukiyama's possession?

Kaguya rarely shed blood—aside from her monthly periods, it was a rare occurrence. There was no way her blood would have been given to anyone else. Unless, of course, there was some shameless pervert with a fetish for such things.

At the thought of this, Kaguya's face darkened with resentment. Why did protagonists in other stories never seem to deal with this kind of nonsense?

Wait—Kaguya suddenly remembered something. Could it have been from that blood test she once had?

Just then, a deafening explosion shook the area. Amid flying rubble, a figure suddenly leaped out from the collapsed ruins and soared high into the air.

"Not bad for a kick," Tsukiyama bellowed with laughter, "but it's not enough!"

With a sharp twist, his long leg whipped around like a blade slicing through the wind, delivering a vicious kick.

Kaguya's eyes narrowed as she stomped her foot and quickly retreated, shouting,

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

The ground rumbled, and a massive stone wall erupted from the earth, rising to block Tsukiyama's attack.

But—

Boom!

Shards of rock flew in all directions, and dust filled the air.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the surface of the stone wall before it shattered with a crisp sound.

Damn it.

Kaguya's heart sank. How had his strength increased so drastically? To smash through such a sturdy defensive ninjutsu was something he shouldn't have been able to do before.

"A frail little girl like you doesn't have nearly enough power. Let me show you what a real kick looks like!" Tsukiyama taunted.

Bang!

Tsukiyama's leg connected forcefully with Kaguya's crossed arms.

The impact sent a powerful force through her body. Kaguya's slender figure was hurled through the air like a cannonball, crashing into a distant pile of rubble with a thunderous boom. Broken stones scattered, and thick smoke billowed into the air.

"Liuli!"

Amon called out in alarm. Akira Mado, who was about to rush to Liuli's side, suddenly froze as Tsukiyama Shuu appeared before her, blocking her path.

So fast.

Akira's pupils shrank in shock.

"My apologies, beautiful lady," Tsukiyama said with a slight bow, brushing a hand through his hair and smiling. "This is a matter between her and me. Please do not interfere."

"You… how did you…" Akira bit her lip, glaring at him with hatred.

According to the CCG's records, Tsukiyama Shuu was supposed to be merely a slightly more formidable S-rated ghoul, certainly not one of SS-rated caliber. Yet now, his strength was clearly far beyond S-rank—at least at the level of SS.

"Oh, you're wondering about my strength?" Tsukiyama smirked, extending an arm as his kagune unfurled from his shoulders. The spiral of red and blue kagune coiled into a sharp, gleaming sword, its edge radiating an icy brilliance in the dim light. "As you can see, this is the power of exquisite nourishment."

Akira froze at his words, recalling his earlier actions. Her eyes widened as a thought struck her, piercing through her confusion like a bolt of lightning. "Could it be… the blood you drank earlier?"

"Indeed," Tsukiyama said, his grin widening. "It took tremendous effort to obtain, but it was even more delectable than I imagined. Just a small amount of that blood produced such incredible effects. If I were to consume the flesh… oh, it would be truly divine."

"Divine, my ass!"

A crisp, melodious voice suddenly rang out.

It was Liuli.

Akira's heart leaped, and she felt an unexpected surge of relief at hearing her voice—perhaps even more concern for Kaguya than she realized herself.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive fireball roared to life, hurtling through the air with blistering heat, aimed directly at Tsukiyama.

"Such an attack is far from enough," Tsukiyama said, his lips curling into a smug smile. "The me of now is nothing like before."

With a wave of his arm, the spiraling kagune on his forearm swelled and expanded, forming a shield-like barrier resembling an umbrella, blocking the fireball's path.

Boom!

A deafening explosion shook the air. The fireball erupted, sending searing flames and debris flying in all directions, illuminating the area like a brilliant display of fireworks. Smoke billowed, thick and suffocating, obscuring everything.

"Did it get him?"

The thick smoke clouded Akira's vision. Unlike Kaguya, she lacked the ocular jutsu to see through it. But as a vague silhouette emerged within the haze, her heart sank.

"I told you, such an attack is useless against me," Tsukiyama said, stepping out from the smoke with an air of triumph. "Exquisite sustenance not only offers unparalleled flavor but also multiplies the power of one's kagune several-fold—tenfold, even. That is its true allure, something you mere humans could never understand."

Akira clenched her jaw, gripping her whip tightly as she prepared for battle.

At that moment, a shadow shot through the smoke like an arrow released from a bow. In an instant, it materialized before Tsukiyama. Long, mist-like hair swayed with the motion, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

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