"I'm talking to you seriously, don't twist my word" Chiya's tone carried a hint of exasperation.
"Twist? I was just praising you for your sweet words."
The Wrath Devil's words carried a playful undertone.
"…Forget it, I'm not arguing with you." Chiya chose to "mute" himself.
Still, this was the first time he detected a trace of joy in the Wrath Devil's tone. It was no longer the usual lifeless, dreary voice he always heard.
Did this mean that what he had just said had some effect?
After that, Chiya led his team downstairs.
"The devils in the apartment building have all been eliminated. I'll leave the cleanup to you." Chiya informed the police.
He had already called Tokyo Public Security, and they would be sending a special vehicle to collect the devil corpses.
"Understood. Thank you for your hard work."
The police immediately entered the apartment building to handle the scene.
"The Extermination Division 1 of Tokyo Public Security really is amazing. They wiped out the devils that civilians couldn't deal with in less than ten minutes."
"And they don't even look injured. They're way stronger than civilian devil hunters."
As they discussed, they proceeded into the apartment building.
This wasn't their first time cooperating with Tokyo Public Security, but the efficiency of this extermination still left them astonished.
At the same time—
The four team members that Chiya had assigned to stand guard outside had already learned that the mission was complete. The group set off together to return to Tokyo Public Security.
Since there were two vehicles, the one without Chiya became lively with conversation.
"I didn't do anything in this mission at all. I was just outside, sightseeing, and before I knew it, it was over."
"Same here. When we entered the apartment building, it was basically just Vice-Captain Otonashi hunting devils alone. We barely helped at all."
"Wait, wait, you're saying Vice-Captain Otonashi took down all the devils by himself? You're kidding, right? The police said there were a lot of them in there!"
"I'm not kidding. Vice-Captain Otonashi didn't just surpass us in martial arts—his devil energy is also the strongest I've ever seen, without a doubt!"
A small argument broke out inside the car.
The ones standing guard outside hadn't witnessed the battle firsthand, so they found it hard to believe.
But in the end, they accepted it. After all, they had personally experienced the vice-captain's martial prowess, and there was no reason for anyone to lie to them.
Once again, their understanding of Vice-Captain Otonashi's strength was shattered and rebuilt at a higher level.
"Honestly, I didn't feel involved in this mission at all. It's like we didn't even matter."
"Yeah, I feel a little guilty about that… but overall, it's a good thing. At least we weren't in any real danger. Haha…"
———
On the other side, Chiya was distributing his attribute points.
This time, he had earned a total of 60 attribute points, truly a "bountiful return."
[Ding! Distribution complete. Vitality +26, Strength +16, Speed +16!]
Strength: 46
Speed: 46
Vitality: 150
Before he knew it, his Vitality attribute had stacked up to 150.
"It feels like my Qi and Blood attribute is high enough now. Maybe when I get the chance, I can try out Susanoo…" Chiya thought to himself.
Susanoo was the ultimate offensive and defensive eye technique, the pinnacle of the Mangekyō Sharingan's power. Not only that, but he also wanted to summon his own "mecha." How cool would that be?
However, Kamui's Susanoo required both eyes to activate. He couldn't even imagine how terrifying the energy consumption would be if he used both Kamui eyes to activate it.
He had never dared to consider it before because he was afraid Susanoo's energy drain would straight-up kill him.
After all, even Kakashi needed the Six Paths' power from Obito to activate a Complete Body Susanoo. With his current Vitality levels, he was nowhere near that.
But Susanoo had multiple stages. If he activated it step by step, he should be able to handle it.
Chiya had already made up his mind: "Yesterday, I tested the cost of using Wrath Devil's power. Next time, I should test Susanoo."
As for genjutsu, it seemed he couldn't use it. Probably because genjutsu worked by using one's own chakra to disrupt the chakra inside the target, but he had no chakra in his body, and no one in Chainsaw Man's world had chakra to begin with.
———
Before long, Chiya and his team returned to Tokyo Public Security HQ(Bureau).
They had left early in the morning for their mission, and now, even after returning, it was still before 9 AM. Most of the public security devil hunters hadn't even arrived at work yet.
However, Aki and Himeno were already there, sitting in the lounge area. Surprisingly, Himeno hadn't barely made it on time like usual.
When she saw Chiya enter from the doorway, Himeno immediately waved him over.
"Otonashi-kun, over here!"
Chiya turned to his team and said, "I have something to do. You guys go up first."
Then, he walked toward the lounge.
Himeno gestured for him to sit on the couch beside her and asked, "I heard you led a team for a mission. You finished it that quickly?"
"Yeah, it went smoothly." Chiya nodded.
"Was it a devil with a Gun Devil flesh piece?" Aki asked.
Before Chiya could answer, Himeno spoke up first.
"Of course it was. Public Security doesn't deploy this many people unless the target has a piece of the Gun Devil's flesh."
"I see."
Aki's expression subtly shifted.
He wanted to take on these kinds of devil extermination missions as soon as possible. Right now, all he did was go on patrols with Himeno during the day and train martial arts in the Extermination Division 3 training base at night. He didn't feel like he was improving much.
Only by fighting devils could he grow stronger quickly. Even if it was dangerous, he wasn't afraid.
"Himeno-senpai, is there any way for me to get through my newbie phase faster?"
Aki couldn't help but ask.
"What are you talking about? Headquarters already decided to have Captain Kishibe personally train you. Only promising rookies get the chance to train under him, so that means they have high expectations for you."
Himeno continued, "For the next three months, you'll either be patrolling with me or training under Captain Kishibe."
Aki looked slightly surprised. "…Got it."
He was fine with this arrangement. At least he'd get stronger through training instead of just patrolling aimlessly.
"Oh right! How about we have a celebratory party tonight? To celebrate Otonashi-kun successfully leading his first mission!" Himeno suddenly suggested.
"…We have work tomorrow," Aki replied bluntly.
After spending time with Himeno these past days, he'd already figured her out. She was both a drunkard and a chain-smoker.
"Hehehe~"
Even though she'd been called out, Himeno shamelessly grinned and said, "No problem! You can just come wake me up at my place tomorrow morning!"