:re Chapter 21

Bleeding from Kanae's attack, Mutsuki flees through the halls, doubting he will heal and recalling academy rumors that he had killed a cat and even his own relatives, and he aches to see his family again. Nobu Shimoguchi, meanwhile, cannot rein in his new squad, whose brash young leader Shunichi Shibashi ignores him and charges Roma Hoito, mistaking the Clown for easy prey. Shibashi nearly halves her before Roma drops her feigned helplessness and kills him, then laughs as she drinks his blood and savors the taste. Shimoguchi lashes out in fury but misses.

The Hirako Squad tries to bring Roma down, yet she is too fast; when Kuramoto Itou believes he has landed a strike, he finds he has instead hit an untroubled No Face, and the squad retreats as No Face greets Take Hirako casually. Elsewhere Akira Mado presses Naki, who struggles against her Fueguchi One and ignores Miza's warnings. He gambles on the weapon's apparent opening while it is extended, but Akira lands a killing blow and taunts him for clinging to the past and Yamori. As investigators open fire, Gagi and Guge shield Naki with their bodies, and he weeps over them, begging them not to leave him.

Ayato Kirishima and Juuzou Suzuya are still fighting when Hinami calls to warn that Naki is outnumbered. Ayato weighs Naki against his duty to Big Madam and departs, and a hiding Suzuya, relieved, recalls his promise to Sasaki. Still bleeding, Mutsuki wanders into a room full of corpses and freezes. As Daisuke Atou battles Nutcracker's partner, he ponders why Matsuri let the Quinx go ahead, remembering his first sight of Kishou Arima; despite Marude's colleagues doubting one so young, Arima's brilliance had left Atou feeling he had brushed against the unfairness of a god, comparing him to the violinist Jascha Heifetz. Once Atou's squad finally kills Nutcracker's partner, he asks after casualties, wishing only that no one else die, and Takizawa beheads him, likening him to a freshly picked pineapple.

Roma reveals herself as a lethal Clown by killing Shibashi and evading the Hirako Squad under No Face's watch. Akira delivers a fatal blow to Naki, and Gagi and Guge die shielding him. Ayato leaves his duel with Suzuya to aid Naki, and Atou, after recalling Arima's genius and finishing Nutcracker's partner, is decapitated by Seidou Takizawa.

The chapter opens the third volume of Tokyo Ghoul:re and carries the Japanese title read variously as Yoru, Eru, or Suguru. Mutsuki's family, Big Madam, Marude, and Arima feature through mention or flashback rather than direct action.