Chapter 63

With Kouto and Kei placed in front of him, Ken Kaneki wonders why Yamori never released them, and the answer forces him to admit that everything he endured accomplished nothing. Refusing to name a victim, he declares that if a life must be taken, it should be his own. Yamori chooses to make the call himself, but Nico interrupts, scolding him for such needless brutality. The insult drives Yamori into a fury, and he strangles Kouto before impaling the boy's mother.

Once Yamori exits, Kaneki collapses into self-blame over their fate. The apparition of Rize turns on him, holding him responsible for every wound in his life that carried him to this moment. From that despair he reaches a decision: no one who threatens his peace deserves mercy. Breaking loose from the chair, he devours Rize and embraces the ghoul that has always lived inside him.

Kaneki realizes his refusal to break has protected nobody and offers himself in place of the hostages. Nico's rebuke enrages Yamori, who kills Kouto and the mother. Confronted by Rize's accusations, Kaneki accepts his ghoul nature, snaps his restraints, and consumes the illusion in a defining transformation.

Titled Ghoul (喰種, Gūru), this Volume 7 chapter marks a turning point in Kaneki's identity. Rize appears purely as a hallucination, while figures such as Akihiro Kanou and members of his family are referenced rather than shown.