After Kamishiro Rize finished reporting the news, she left again.
Whether she was off house-hunting or doing something else, Hayashi didn't really care.
There were still two hours until closing.
Kanna had fallen asleep sprawled on the sofa, one little leg dangling over the edge.
Hayashi found himself wondering—do dragons dream about falling from the sky like humans do?
After all, humans have that kind of dream probably because they can't fly.
But dragons can fly. Would they still have falling dreams?
Hayashi didn't know. In any case, if Kanna dreamt about a demon, she'd definitely wake up—and then he'd find out.
Since he still had time to spare...
He pulled out the weaving skills manual he hadn't finished last time and continued reading.
But he'd only been reading for about half an hour...
When Tohru, with nothing else to do, came over holding a glass of lemon tea and sat down beside him.
Yeah—she couldn't sit still.
At first, Tohru simply moved behind Hayashi and let him lean into her lap, then began massaging his shoulders with both hands.
"Ahh~~~"
It felt really good for Hayashi.
Pillow behind his head, massage on his shoulders.
Tohru's soft hands applied just the right amount of pressure, working from the collarbone area along the meridians, muscles, and ligaments, all the way up past the shoulder blades to behind the ears.
"You picked up something new, Tohru?"
"Mhm!" Tohru nodded excitedly when she saw the relaxed look on his face. "I saw it in a massage video—it showed the exact way to do it. Does it feel good?"
"Feels great." Hayashi replied honestly, both in body and in words, and even gave a suggestion: "You could check out some videos on acupressure and chiropractic massage too, those feel even better."
Tohru responded eagerly, "Okay, I'll check them out when I have time!"
She said that, but her hands were gradually straying from proper massage areas.
When Hayashi couldn't concentrate on his book anymore...
He looked down and saw her hands had wandered all the way to his chest. He gave a helpless sigh.
"Tohru... does a proper massage really go there?"
"Of course~" Tohru declared righteously, "In the video I watched, you even lie down on an airbed, then I apply this see-through slime stuff, and then I straddle your chest and—hehe…"
By the end, she couldn't hold it in and wore the grin of a total pervert.
"…" Hayashi couldn't hold it in either. "What you watched wasn't a real massage tutorial—that's nuru massage."
In massage terminology, "nuru" means slippery.
So what she described? A slippery massage.
That slime she mentioned? Yeah, that's gel lubricant…
There was no way that was a legit tutorial.
"Just like your romance novels—now even your educational videos are questionable." Hayashi pulled Tohru's hand out from under his shirt, sighing. "Can't you study the proper stuff first, and save the naughty stuff for later?"
Tohru sat cross-legged beside him, leaning against his shoulder and nuzzling him with her cheek.
"It's all the same~"
"No, it's not the same."
"I think it is~ In the end, it's all just to make Hayashi-san feel good~"
"…Tch. If you put it like that, then… I guess it is the same."
That was a line Hayashi truly had no rebuttal for.
Tohru was clever—she always managed to twist things from a different angle and make them sound right.
"You really are smart."
"But I'm still just your head maid, Hayashi-san~"
"Yes, the one and only."
"Hehe~"
"Now let me finish reading."
"Roger~"
Hayashi resumed reading, finishing the books he bought that day—particularly one on industrial weaving techniques.
When humans weave manually, it relies on their hands and mind—completely different from using machines. Machine weaving relies on preprogrammed operations and can work much faster.
But his String-String Fruit ability worked more like a superpower-based weaving—it didn't need a machine or preset patterns. He could manipulate countless threads simultaneously!
Thinking of that, Hayashi closed the book, suddenly enlightened.
"Let me give it a try. Tohru, watch over me—I want to test this new ability."
Tohru nodded and stepped aside to observe.
Hayashi stood up and walked to the center of the dining room under her gaze.
"Tap~"
He lightly tapped the floor with his toe.
Instantly, a faint white frost began spreading across the floor!
From a dot to a circle, then from a circle to a wide ring!
Within moments, the entire floor was covered in "frost," which began creeping up the walls.
"Woah~!"
Tohru looked around in amazement.
Soon, the entire room—walls, windows, and doors—was wrapped in this "white frost."
"What is this?" she asked curiously.
"Thread," Hayashi replied.
"Thread?"
"Yes, countless ultra-fine threads."
The overlapping threads wove together to form sheets, then covered everything in seamless layers.
Tohru tilted her head, still puzzled. "So how do you use it?"
"You'll see." Hayashi gave her a mysterious smile.
He reached out and gestured toward his lemon tea.
In the next second, several white threads shot from the nearest wall, gliding past his fingers.
The lemon tea floated toward him, lifted by threads, and gently landed in his hand.
He took a sip.
"Woah~" Tohru was stunned. "Do more, do more!"
After another sip, Hayashi turned and gestured toward Tohru.
Suddenly—
Two threads shot out and bound Tohru's wrists!
"Ah?!" she gasped.
The next moment, she was hoisted up, her toes barely touching the floor.
"Wait, mmph—"
Tohru was just about to say something when Hayashi waved his hand again.
Another net of white thread wrapped her mouth shut.
She tried to struggle a bit—
But the threads were even tougher than last time. In her human-sized body, she couldn't break free at all!
Her eyes widened, staring at Hayashi—half fear, half anticipation.
Hayashi chuckled.
"Finally got you now, Tohru. Tables have turned, haven't they?"
With another flick of his fingers—
A thread shot down from the ceiling, looping around Tohru's ankle and lifting one leg up.
Now she could only stand on one tiptoe.
"Mmph!"
Tohru was now suspended like a dancer in a golden rooster stance, midair in the dining room.
"Clap clap clap~"
Hayashi applauded, admiring the sight.
"Beautiful. Truly beautiful. You look amazing, Tohru."
Her face flushed red, eyes misty with emotion—though it was hard to tell what kind.
Thankfully, the windows and doors were sealed in thread. Not even a sliver of light could escape.
As Tohru hung there,
Hayashi checked the time on his phone.
"2 a.m. Time to close."
With a wave of his hand—
"Click~"
The front door shut automatically, pulled by thread. The sign flipped to "Closed."
"And now, Kanna…"
Hayashi glanced over to the corner where Kanna was fast asleep.
With a flick of his hand,
Threads surged forward and formed a nest, gently lifting Kanna like a wave and floating her upstairs.
The threads opened her door, placed her in bed, and softly closed it.
"All done." Hayashi snapped his fingers. "Man, this is really handy."
These were just the basics.
But the foundation was everything—mastering the basics would allow him to unlock greater power later on.
This was true for all Devil Fruits.
"Mmph~ Mmph~!"
Seeing Hayashi get lost in thought, Tohru—still bound—let out muffled cries to remind him: Hey, I'm still tied up!
"Hm…"
Hayashi glanced at her pose—and found himself going stiff, too.
"…Alright. Let's head to the room."
With a flick of his hand—
Threads pulled Tohru into the air, gliding her gently toward the hallway like a crane moving cargo at a dock.
Well, a dragon crane in this case.
In the dead of night—
Tohru's suspended toes curled and extended intermittently, twitching as if she were dancing ballet in midair.
Meanwhile.
After Takatsuki Sen left, she didn't go home.
She went straight to Aogiri Tree's headquarters.
This time, she didn't summon ordinary members.
Only the senior officers: Tatara and Noro.
Both of them were SS+ ranked—top-tier ghouls.
Before she arrived, they sat silently, waiting for orders.
Moments later, Takatsuki Sen appeared.
Tatara and Noro thought it would just be another relayed message from their mysterious boss.
But when they saw her true face—they were shocked.
"...!"
It wasn't a terrifying look, just her real appearance.
This time, she wore only the iconic rabbit coat—no mask, no bandages. Just her real face.
For a ghoul, revealing yourself like this only meant two things:
You've been exposed and are on the run.
You've decided to reveal your true identity to the world.
Clearly, she was the latter.
Seeing her like this, Tatara and Noro immediately grew serious—something big was coming.
"What's the plan?"
Takatsuki didn't bother explaining her appearance.
Her look was the message.
Before, she stayed behind the curtain—searching for someone to shape and lead the future.
But now?
Now she was stepping forward.
To lead that future herself.
Takatsuki Sen spoke bluntly.
"Mobilize the ghouls from the 11th and 14th Ward branches. Conduct a personnel audit—remove all idle and disobedient members. I only want formal operatives."
"Once the CCG takes action, we'll begin the prison break operation."
At that, Tatara and Noro silently exchanged glances and understood—something big was coming.
Consolidating internal forces, preparing to purge external threats.
This was clearly a prelude to a large-scale move.
Both Tatara and Noro gave a short, firm "Mm" to indicate they understood.
Seeing they were aligned, Takatsuki Sen turned to leave.
"Wait."
Noro's deep, muffled voice came from behind his toothy mask.
He called out to her, asking the most important question.
"Is this the leader's order, or...?"
Upon hearing that, Tatara—whose white hair contrasted with his red mask—also turned serious.
He still wore his usual half-face mask.
Takatsuki Sen, on the other hand, had shown up bare-faced—clean and unmasked.
Until now, she had only ever acted as a senior operative, a mouthpiece for the elusive leader of Aogiri Tree.
Now that events had reached this stage, they needed to be sure something hadn't changed without their knowledge.
Hearing the question, Takatsuki Sen didn't look back.
She simply left one statement behind:
"There will be no more messengers from now on."
With that said—
She leapt into the sky.
The body of the One-Eyed Owl transformed midair into a massive form, wings spreading wide like an owl, soaring rapidly toward the horizon!
"!"
"!"
Back on the platform—
Tatara and Noro were stunned.
Tatara's typically indifferent eyes widened slightly.
From behind his mask, Noro let out a muffled sound of shock.
So their fellow senior operative…
Was actually the leader of Aogiri Tree?!
The One-Eyed Owl?!
Their first instinct was to review their recent conduct—had they ever acted disrespectfully or made a serious mistake?
After a quick mental check, it seemed they hadn't.
They both exhaled in relief.
But the gravity of the situation quickly caught up to them.
This wasn't just "big"—it was monumental.
Not only had the leader revealed herself—
She had done so alongside her human identity!
That meant she no longer cared about keeping her human persona secret—she was fully committed to her plan!
There was no need to spell out how serious that was.
Tatara and Noro exchanged one last glance—
Then vanished from the platform in a flash.
Where were they going?
Obviously—to carry out Takatsuki Sen's orders with full force!
Meanwhile, under the sunny noon sky…
Hayashi woke up.
Next to him, Tohru was curled up, hugging her own tail and fast asleep.
Last night hadn't been an ordinary ride with the Dragon Knight.
It was more like... a dragon knight in chains.
With better control and a smoother ride—though the dragon herself was clearly exhausted but oddly satisfied.
Hayashi got up and headed to the public washroom to freshen up.
After a shower and a quick dry of his hair, he stepped outside to soak in the sun.
It was too good of a day not to.
He laid back on a chair in the yard.
Pochita got up, padded over, and curled up beside his feet.
Hayashi scooped him up to use as a fuzzy phone rest.
Pochita purred, closing his eyes in bliss—thrilled to be snuggled and used as a hand pillow.
Hayashi scrolled his phone, browsing random articles and news—just anything to waste time.
And then he saw a headline:
"Ghoul Attack in Ward 20 – Brutal Assault Leaves Male Victim Mutilated. Suspect Believed to be S-Ranked Ghoul 'Yamori (Jason)'"
"Residents advised to remain in populated areas and avoid going out unless necessary."
Hayashi looked at the location and timestamp.
"Not far… about nine and a half hours ago. Still pretty fresh."
He checked the photo.
Even though it was censored, it was clear the body had been horribly twisted.
Looking at the man's hair color—
"Hmm, unfamiliar. Probably just a civilian."
If it was Jason's doing, then the victim might have been that man from the Fueguchi mother-daughter pair.
Well, not his business.
Hayashi swiped past the article—and back to browsing hot girls.
Then—
A new message came in.
From Makima.
Makima: "Photo. How's this? I'm moving in. I'll be able to visit in a few days."
The photo showed her face—expressionless in a white dress shirt, taking up half the frame.
The other half?
Power, miserably hauling boxes.
"Pffft—" Hayashi laughed out loud.
For someone who hated work, seeing Power doing physical labor for Makima was pretty damn satisfying.
Hayashi: "Poor Power. Make her do more. Lazy dog."
Makima: "Mm. She's hopeless at organizing, but she's useful as muscle. She's moving an entire floor's worth of boxes."
An entire floor?!
Clearly just a cover to punish Power…
Makima: "Photo. What do you think of the view? From here, I can see the area around your shop."
"?"
Hayashi opened the photo.
It was a shot from a high-rise with floor-to-ceiling windows.
From that angle and location…
He looked up at the distant tower.
It wasn't that far—just a few kilometers.
But from there, you couldn't actually see his place—it was tucked between shopping streets and buildings.
Hayashi: "Peeping freak. Hentai."
Makima: "It's just precaution. Didn't you realize? This is the only place nearby with a clear line of sight to your area."
Okay, she had a point.
Hayashi: "So I was wrong?"
Makima: "Not really. I also wanted to be able to see you anytime."
Hayashi: "...I'm touched."
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