Tokyo, 24th Ward.
..Did I just travel to another world?
Ihei Byakuya only remembered that one moment earlier he had been sent flying by a heavy truck. His vision went black, and when he opened his eyes again, the scene before him had changed completely.
He was in a dark and damp passageway, and he could see several strange figures.
Their clothes were tattered, their bodies covered in the stench of blood, and their crimson eyes were chilling just to look at.
Seeing these people, one word instantly surfaced in Ihei Byakuya's mind: Ghouls...?
But opposite them stood a ragged little girl with short green hair.
Her body was small, looking to be only around ten to twelve years old. Although she was a bit dirty, it couldn't hide her adorable, pitiful appearance. Her emerald-green eyes looked like those of an ordinary human, but actually...
For Ihei Byakuya, even though this was their first meeting, she looked extremely familiar.
Because she was the future founder of Aogiri Tree, daughter of the manager Yoshimura Kuzen, the SSS-rated one-eyed ghoul the One-Eyed Owl, Yoshimura Eto.
She also had another well-known name, or more accurately a pen name: Takatsuki Sen.
"Another human appeared?"
At that moment, those ghouls also smelled the scent coming from Ihei Byakuya's body and suddenly turned to glare at him.
Crap!
Ihei Byakuya instantly felt danger. These ghouls looked like humans, but when killing humans they never even blinked. In a ghoul's eyes, humans were simply food.
[Ding! The host has crossed into the world of Tokyo Ghoul and received a novice gift pack: the Gura Gura no Mi!]
In this moment of crisis, a mechanical, emotionless electronic voice suddenly echoed in Ihei Byakuya's mind.
A novice gift pack... and it's actually something like the Gura Gura no Mi?!
Although the system was late, it had arrived and so Ihei Byakuya was instantly overjoyed.
This was one of the strongest Devil Fruits in the world of One Piece. The eater could freely create all kinds of vibrations earthquakes, seaquakes, airquakes, even destruction capable of tearing the world apart.
Of course, all of that required fully developing the fruit's power.
A strangely patterned Devil Fruit appeared out of thin air in his hand and without hesitation, Ihei Byakuya immediately ate it.
"You go catch her. Leave the human to me."
The ghoul in the lead said to his companions.
Then he walked straight toward Ihei Byakuya, while his companions moved to surround Yoshimura Eto.
"To think a human other than the Doves would show up here. Food delivering itself like this, it really is our lucky day."
The ghoul sneered as he approached step by step. A tentacle-like blue kagune extended from his waist, its surface covered in translucent scales, its tip razor sharp.
The biggest difference between ghouls and humans was the special organ humans did not have, the kakuhou.
The kakuhou was inside the body, and the large amount of Rc cells within would burst outward, forming bizarre limbs, the kagune.
These were weapons used for combat, and organs used for hunting.
And the blue tentacle-like thing extending from the ghoul's waist was one of the four types of kagune, the rinkaku.
At this moment, Ihei Byakuya kept a steady and calm expression, but even with the new power of the Gura Gura no Mi, he did not dare let down his guard.
He was stil trying to figure out how to even use the fruit's ability.
He had just obtained it and had no experience. Devil Fruit powers needed to be developed.
Only when the ghoul reached him and the tip of the rinkaku suddenly stabbed toward him did he finally move.
Ihei Byakuya twisted his body aside, dodging the attack from the kagune's tip.
He was startled to find that his body felt incredibly light, as if it wasn't even his own body.
Did the system enhance his physical abilities too?
After dodging, Ihei Byakuya immediately counterattacked and punched the ghoul.
He could feel that his physical strength was somehow different from before, but he didn't intend to simply use his fists to fight a ghoul.
What he wanted was to try using the power of the Gura Gura no Mi.
The ghoul was also shocked by Ihei Byakuya's reaction and speed, but his own reflexes were not inferior. In an instant, the tip of his kagune twisted its direction.
"Hmph, go die!"
The ghoul coldly snorted, still not taking the human before him seriously.
The tip of the kagune met Ihei Byakuya's punch head-on.
With the hardness of a kagune, even the weakest ghoul, as long as they could release it, was not someone an ordinary human could ever oppose.
The destructive power of a kagune was incomparable to normal weapons. Not even firearms could match it. Ordinary guns didn't even pose a threat to ghouls themselves.
Trying to block a kagune's attack with a fist was nothing but wishful thinking. One would only be instantly pierced by the terrifying destructive power of a kagune.
However, just as the fist and the kagune's tip were about to collide, a faint white glow appeared on the knuckles of Ihei Byakuya's fist, and thin crack-like patterns, resembling a spiderweb, spread outward in all directions from the center of that glow.
Crack!
Accompanied by a sound like ice or glass shattering, it was as if the very air itself was torn apart by an invisible force, and in an instant, the void collapsed.
In the next moment, a vibrating force burst out from Ihei Byakuya's fist and clashed directly with the incoming kagune.
The kagune was instantly shaken aside, and Byakuya's fist remained completely unharmed.
If not for the fact that a ghoul's kagune was extremely tough, and if not for Byakuya's undeveloped mastery of the Gura Gura no Mi, he could have shattered the kagune altogether.
Once fully developed, even altering the very terrain of the 24th Ward would not be surprising.
"What?!"
The kagune not only felt a sharp pain, but was also knocked away by something unknown. This shocked the ghoul beyond belief.
At this moment, Ihei Byakuya couldn't help looking at his own fist, his expression was thoughtful.
The strange power he just released should be the ability of the Gura Gura no Mi, but it was still extremely weak. The cracks spreading through the air were fragile and lacking power.
Compared to Whitebeard's strength, the difference was thousands of times over.
Besides that, there was also his own lack of physical strength. Whitebeard's physique needed no explanation.
Although Ihei Byakuya could feel that his physical body was much stronger than before he transmigrated, compared to Whitebeard it was still far too inferior.
Byakuya immediately had a rough direction: first, develop the power of the Gura Gura no Mi; second, enhance his physical body...
"Just go and die!"
At that moment, the ghoul still refused to accept reality.
With a furious roar, he charged toward Byakuya again.
"..."
Ihei Byakuya's eyes turned fierce, and he struck out with another punch. This time, he aimed at the ghoul's abdomen.
Crack!
The air was torn apart again and several cracks began appearing out of thin air.
As the air collapsed, a shockwave burst forth.
The ghoul's abdomen took the hit first.
"Gah!..."
His kagune didn't have time to stab toward Ihei Byakuya. His abdomen was struck, and his body flew backward uncontrollably.
Several of his ribs were shattered, and he crashed heavily into the strange "wall" that looked like it was made of flesh and blood.
Although ghouls had regenerative abilities, Ihei Byakuya had already shifted his gaze away and was now looking at Yoshimura Eto, who was still surrounded by the other ghouls...