Chūya Nakahara

Chūya Nakahara (中原 中也,) is a member of the Port Mafia as well as Dazai's former partner. He is one of the five Executives in the Port Mafia.

Appearance
Chūya is quite short with a petite, yet muscular build. He has grey eyes and striking orange hair that frames his face, with a longer section that falls just past his left shoulder. He wears a black hat with a red hatband, and a thin silver chain that hangs over the brim.

His outfit consists of a white button up shirt under a dark red vest, a black choker in the style of a pet collar, a black ribbon bolo tie held together with a small silver buckle, an open black cropped jacket with the sleeves rolled up at the elbows, black slacks, a black belt hanging off his right hip and black low-arch shoes. He is almost always seen wearing black gloves. Chūya also sports long black coat with light-coloured lining and lapels that he wears around his shoulders like a cape. The undercoat is a light shade of red.

Personality
On the surface, Chūya is a temperamental and rather arrogant, blunt man. He revels in fighting, happy to show off his combative ability and taking great pride in his reputation as the mafia's strongest martial artist. Taunting remarks pair with his pride, as he isn't above ridiculing his opponents in the middle of a fight. Befitting of an Executive, he has no qualms eliminating the Port Mafia's enemies by any means necessary, including murder, however isn't nearly as homicidal in his tactics as members such as Ryunosuke Akutagawa and the members of Black Lizard tend to be.

For as hot-headed as he may seem, Chūya isn't impossible to reason with. In fact, he's rather reasonable when no one is pushing his buttons. While his skills and presence signal an inherent threat, he's reliable enough for Mori to assign him the task of confronting the Armed Detective Agency during the three-way conflict involving the Guild. It's true he didn't hesitate to retaliate and fight back against Akiko Yosano and Kenji Miyazawa (in fact, he takes great pleasure fighting against people that put up a good fight), but as soon as Yukichi Fukuzawa addresses him for more information, Chūya disengages from the battle. Here as well, his nature as a mafioso shines through, expressing no remorse for the danger the mafia intentionally put Naomi Tanizaki and Hirako in, using them as bait. In fact, he's rather smug about it, knowing it angers the Agency immensely.

Ruthless as he is, Chūya seldom takes people's lives for granted, and knows the importance of compromise and rationality. He refrains from unnecessarily brutal methods when need-be, and has enough sense to know when enough's enough. Notable instances include his conflict with Arthur Rimbaud, the man responsible for attempting to kill him long before he joined the Port Mafia at age fifteen. Chūya fully intended to kill him, but heard Rimbaud's last words without malice nor mockery. In fact, Rimbaud's final words for him had a deep effect on Chūya's own outlook on life and himself. He receives Rimbaud's hat as an entry gift to the Port Mafia, and takes good care of the hat as a result.

After Osamu Dazai "mercy killed" an enemy, only to repeatedly shoot and laugh at the corpse, Chūya demanded he stop, seeing no sense in Dazai's actions. Chūya's grudge against Ango Sakaguchi does not stop him from acknowledging the fact he owes the man a favour, and as such refrains from antagonising Ango (and, by extension, his subordinate Mizuki Tsujimura) until he can repay his debt.

Just as Chūya took his responsibility defending Sheep's well-being from their enemies, this holds true for his loyalty and devotion to Port Mafia after joining. So as reasonable as he may be, his top priority is the Port Mafia's prosperity and well-being, thus nothing will stop him from fulfilling his responsibilities as an Executive even at the cost of other's lives. Fierce in his loyalties, Chūya finds betrayal intolerable, and treats his subordinates quite well.

In the past, Chūya struggled greatly with his identity and place in humanity. His connection to Arahabaki ended in him questioning how human he truly was, worsened by not knowing the truth behind why he was freed from the government's possession in the first place. While his strength lies in his ability, the awareness of a god's effects on him left him feeling as though he wouldn't feel worry nor fear in a fight, knowing he'd most likely win without a scratch. He attributed this to being - in his mind - inhuman, and thus unable to understand the depth of such emotions.

In order to give himself a sense of restraint, he preferred kicking largely over throwing fists, never even removing his gloves. He figured if he came to a fight where he had to remove his gloves, it was because he could not longer enjoy the rush of a battle, and genuinely needed to defend himself - in other words feeling attachment to the life he lived, even if he felt like a foreign soul in a shell, rather than a human being. This holds true to the present, as Chūya's only seen removing his gloves when using Corruption in dire moments.

After Rimbaud elaborated his own beliefs on humanity, Chūya had a bit of a change of heart, taking his own life a bit more seriously. The Sheep's betrayal affected him greatly, alongside Port Mafia's direct involvement in uncovering the truth of his origins, but ultimately led to his loyalty in them. The drive for learning more about himself contributed largely to his rise in rank, much faster than anticipated.

Chūya's ultimate downfall is his intense disdain and hatred for Dazai. The two never got along, with Chūya instantly hating Dazai's underhanded, warped strategic personality. Dazai has always gone out of his way to dehumanise and ridicule Chūya, constantly attacking his pride and even driving Sheep to abandon and betray him in the past. Even now, the slightest insult from Dazai will set Chūya off on a tangent, taking full advantage of his quick temper and pride. This makes it easy to distract Chūya from tasks at hand. Nonetheless, as part of Double Black's nature, Chūya acknowledges Dazai's role as the tactician, extending minimal trust in at least knowing that Dazai knows how to effectively overcome a situation.

Ability
His ability, For The Tainted Sorrow (汚れっちまった悲しみに,), revolves around gravity-manipulation, allowing him to manipulate and make gravitons, as well as alter the gravity of anything he touches. He is also capable of standing and walking upside down from ceilings.

Corruption (汚濁, Ojoku) is the true form of Chūya's ability and is exceedingly dangerous. It is activated by the verses:

汝、陰鬱なる汚濁の許容よ、 Oh, Grantors of Dark Disgrace,

更めてわれを目覚ますことなかれ Do Not Wake Me Again.

This ability allows him to manipulate the gravitons in his surroundings. By increasing his own density, he is capable of crushing a tank with his bare hands. He is also able to shoot balls of compressed gravity that act as black holes that swallow anything. However, he has no control over his Ability's true form; he will continue in that state if his Ability is not nullified until he dies.

Corruption stems from Chūya's origins as the entity Arahabaki, a God of immense destructive power. When Chūya releases his stability over said powers, Corruption takes over, essentially Chūya reverting to his true, uncontrollable nature existing solely for destruction. Paying homage to his own philosophies, Chūya removes his gloves when activating Corruption.

Dazai, Chūya, Fifteen
Roughly fifteen years ago, Chūya's existence began as the vessel to the God known as Arahabaki.

Existing as, essentially, the personification of calamity and destruction, Arahabaki knew no concept of time, thought, nor personality. It simply existed, sealed away by the Japanese military. Although it had no concept beyond its own existence, Arahabaki knew something restrained and sealed it away from the outside world.

One day, Arthur Rimbaud infiltrated the military and attempted to use Arahabaki's calamitous power as a part of his ability, illumination. However, Verlaine failed, only obtaining the seal and ultimately freeing Arahabaki. Forcibly freed from its darkness-filled solitude, the shock gave a new humane existence - Chūya Nakahara. The end result made both the god and the vessel lose their memories of anything before the age of seven, eight years prior to meeting Dazai.

The loss of stability made Arabahaki, now essentially merged with Ch ūya, lose control, decimating the facility and almost everyone in it, save Rimbaud. This, presumably, forms a valley-like street aptly dubbed Cone Street - the slums.

Although his own being with a will and personality, Chūya has no memories of his life before seven years old, the same age Arahabaki and he completely merged. He recalls the existence of Arahabaki, surrounded by blue-black darkness, sealed away in the facility, but not how Arahabaki's seal had been removed nor why he formed his own personality and being. He only recalls someone's hand pulling him from the seal and freeing him. Since then, he made finding out the truth of his origins his main priority.

At an unknown point of time, Chūya joined Sheep, a group consisting largely of teenage boys that maintained their own territory. With Chūya's For the Tainted Sorrow, he acted as Sheep's trump card. Although not the 'King of the Sheep', many mistake him as such because of his overwhelming power, but strictly speaking Chūya was only a member of the council they developed. Nonetheless, he felt a strong sense of responsibility for Sheep's well-being, priding himself as their trump. Thanks to him, Sheep's reputation and turf increased as to cause issues even for the Port Mafia.

When fifteen, Sheep endured a vicious attack by Port Mafia. Chūya hunted down the mafiosi responsible. One of the mafiosi he tracked down, on a plane, nearly crushed to death, told im they had no choice but to retaliate. According to him, Arahabaki itself destroyed one of the Port Mafia's armoury. This caught Chūya's attention, and thus he proceeds his investigation after killing the mafiosi.

He later arrived in Cone Street, attacking Osamu Dazai and Ryūro Hirotsu. He demanded they inform him of the mafia's investigation of Arahabaki. He and Hirotsu end up fighting, but thanks to Dazai's No Longer Human, Chūya was defenceless. However he later gained the upper hand and freed himself - but an explosion knocked the group unconscious.

When Chūya came to, he'd been restrained by Rando, an associate executive able to conjure a hyperspace sub-region. Here, he met Ogai Mori, the Port Mafia's new boss. Mori invited him to join Port Mafia, much to Chūya's annoyance. Chūya knew Mori killed his previous boss, but the knowledge did nothing to deter Mori from his own goal of using Chūya to further the mafia's investigation of Arahabaki. To ensure Chūya complied, Mori had members of Sheep taken hostage, holding their lives over Chūya so he couldn't harm the mafia anymore, and more importantly, work alongside them. As insurance, he made him listen to a transmitter picking up Sheep members' panic and screams.

Moreover, he made Chūya and Dazai - already on ill terms with each other - to work together. He forbade them from fighting each other, threatening both their lives if their investigation failed because they couldn't cooperate together. Both powerless against Mori's word, the two agreed to his terms.

During their investigations, they run into members of GSS, another group opposing the Port Mafia. Chūya succeeded in taking them down, forcing Dazai to stop shooting an already dead man, unnerved by his apathy and sadism over even the dead. They later reach Rando's residence, ransacked by GSS, here, Rando explained his own witnessing of Arahabaki.

Later, at an arcade centre, Chūya and Dazai made a bet that the one who won in a fighting game would get a reward. If Chūya won, he could identify the culprit - but when Dazai won, he tried making Chūya obey his commands like a mere dog.

Members of Sheep meet Chūya in the arcade, confused and angry at his absence when their own members were in danger. They urge him not to trust Dazai, but Chūya insisted things would work out, and that the truth behind Arahabaki took priority for the sake of Sheep as well. Sheep feared Chūya betrayed them, and they risked complete elimination by their rivals without Chūya to support their defences - Dazai used this to his advantage, telling Sheep Chūya finally found a purpose other than as their trump. Angry, the Sheep members leave.

The two return to Rando in an unused building. Chūya overheard Dazai and Rando's conversation, and smashed into the room they spoke in, apprehending Rando as the culprit of the mysterious appearance of Arahabaki and the former boss. Chūya ignored Dazai's deduction of Rando's flawed account of seeing Arahabaki itself - he knew it would be impossible to accurately describe Arabahaki without having been responsible for its freedom in the first place.

He recounted his memories regarding Arahabaki, finally coming clean to Dazai and Rando of his identity. He asked if Rando had been the one that freed him and gave him form as this 'frame' for a destructive entity's existence.

In response, Rando trapped both Chūya and Dazain his ability's hyperspace, revealing an ability that even No Longer Human could not overcome on its own. As such, Chūya's ability was useless, unable to use his ability in a space that went against natural laws. Rando recounted his past, a man from Europe by the name of Arthur Rimbaud.

Eight years ago, Rimbaud infiltrated the military's base, attempting to steal Arahabaki. However, when he failed and instead found himself surrounded by military personnel. To escape, he thought of using Arahabaki as the base of his ability, Illuminations. But, trying to obtain Arahabaki, he ended up with its 'safety device', Chūya, who acted as Arahabaki's vessel before the two merged. The loss of stability freed Arahabaki, ending in the calamity that formed Cone Street.

Rimbaud succeeded in absorbing Arahabaki during the calamity, but the larger portion of the entity maintained its own individual existence as Chūya. Beyond that, Rimbaud remembered nothing of Chūya's true nature nor the truth behind the calamity. Now, he intended on killing Chūya, planning to recreate the memories of that day and unveil the truth. All for trying to recall the final moments of his friend and partner Paul Verlaine.

Chūya understood Rimbaud's reasoning, but it did not stop him from pursuing Rimbaud. He elaborated a philosophy of never removing his gloves nor used his hands in a fight. To him, he never felt the urgency of a fight nor the danger of violence, knowing his origins weren't human and thus not fully understanding the depth of such emotions as he grew up. He considered his personality and nothing more than something to keep Arahabaki's true nature stable. Not using his hands, he'd eventually fall in a fight, unable to enjoy the rush of violence nor defend himself - a means to understand and feel more attachment to his own life and humanity.

After fatally injuring Rimbaud, Chūya heard out his final wish - for Chūya to live. He assured Chūya he lived a human life already, as humans all existed as 'frames' for deeper experiences.

A month after Rimbaud's death, Chūya visited his grave, revealing that Rimbaud died with the truth of Arahabaki, and everything else of it lost in obscurity.

Sheep's member Shirase found him, apologising before telling Chūya Sheep found a better method to protect themselves. He stabbed Chūya, revealing Sheep betrayed him, using GSS as protecting, and the knife laced with poison. Chūya managed to escape and fell into the sea.

On shore, he and Dazai reunite. Dazai, now an official mafiso with his own squadron, received orders to kill all Sheep and GSS. However, he'd make an exception if Chūya desired. Chūya told him not to kill Sheep. Dazai agreed, ordering his squadron to carry out the plan they already decided on. Just then, Chūya realised Dazai always intended on causing the rift between Sheep and him, and lost consciousness.

Some time later, Chūya spoke to Koyo Ozaki, now his direct superior. By now he already referred to her as 'ane-san', ignoring her numerous protests not to do so. She continued to tell him he had to attend the current meeting in order to understand Port Mafia's ways. She asked where he got the hat he now had, but their conversation interrupted.

During their walk, Chūya and Dazai run into each other again, displeased and scorning each other. Dazai upset Chūya did not uphold the bet as a dog, and Chūya knowing Dazai rigged the game they played.

During their argument, Koyo questioned Mori on allowing the two in the same group, but Mori assured her it would be fine.

Per the custom of giving new members a new piece of clothing upon officially joining, Mori gifted Rimbaud's old hat to Chūya. He also obtained Rimbaud's old documents of the Arahabaki incident, revealing the military's purpose of using existing abilities combined with existing entities as artificial abilities - implying Chūya as one of their test subjects that ended up as a seal of Arahabaki's existence. Although Mori could not give the full report to Chūya, he explained Executives had full rights to it.

Understanding the situation, Chūya vowed to give his all to the Port Mafia and protect them and the city he loved, Yokohama.

Dragon's Head Rush
At sixteen, alongside Dazai as the partnership "Double Black" (双黒), the Dragon's Head Rush came to its peak, devastating all groups of the criminal underground. After Dazai had been captured by the enemy, Chūya stormed the enemy's base on a motorcycle, decimating countless members before reaching an unharmed Dazai. Their bickering continues until more members appear for Chūya to defeat.

When they reach Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, Chūya, enraged at the meaningless deaths of his own subordinates, unleashed Corruption. Successfully quelling Dragon's Head Rush largely on his own, Chūya rose to Executive sooner than anticipated, allowing him access to Rimbaud's documents. Using the information, Chūya found Verlaine alive and well, further clarifying his own origins.

Bungo Stray Dogs
During his confrontation with Dazai, Chūya points out he'd been on an assignment suppressing conflicts in the west for half a year.

Armed Detective Agency vs. Port Mafia Arc
Chūya arrives after the Port Mafia imprisons Osamu Dazai in their torture basement. He mocks Dazai's, reveling in his capture. However, he's soon to catch on that Dazai's capture is suspicious. Thanks to having worked alongside Dazai back in the day, Chūya is fast to notice Dazai is up to something, unlike Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Dazai dismisses his suspicions, saying he's just awaiting his exectuion. Annoyed, Chūya points out that if Dazai really was negligent enough to be bested by the mafia, Chūya claims he would've killed him long ago.

Cutting the conversation short, Chūya says he came solely to harass Dazai. In the past, Dazai went out of his way to trouble both allies and enemies, so now it's Chūya's turn. He breaks Dazai's restraints, his strength nearly taking out the entire pillar holding Dazai up. Although he isn't sure what Dazai has up his sleeve, Chūya challenges Dazai to a fight, ready to put an end to his schemes. After Dazai reveals he could've removed the shackles at any time, Chūya's more than happy to begin the fight.

For much of the fight, Chūya has the upperhand, even saying Dazai's own punch isn't even a massage. He kicks Dazai with enough force to make him crash and crack the wall, but Dazai withstands the attack after blocking it at the right moment. Dazai recalls Chūya's reputation as the strongest martial artist in the Mafia.

Having worked alongside him, however, Dazai knows all of Chūya's attacks, so it's easy for him to defend the worst of it. Annoyed, Chūya moves too fast for Dazai to see. Chūya proceeds to punch and mock Dazai without giving the man any rest. Finally he pins Dazai to a wall, gripping his throat. He pulls out a knife, pressing it against Dazai's throat and demanding to know what Dazai has up his sleeve.

Dazai reveals the main reason for his actions are for Atsushi Nakajima's sake. Unimpressed, Chūya says that Dazai's fallen since his reputation as the Port Mafia's youngest executive, saying luck's abandoned him. Having just returned from quelling disputes in the west six months ago, Chūya feels himself lucky knowing he came back after Dazai's been captured. Laughing at him, Dazai warns Chūya of a meeting between the Port Mafia's five leaders. Shocked, Chūya  doubts the claim, as such a meeting only takes place every few years to discuss the mafia's future direction. As an Executive, he would know about the meeting. According to Dazai, he sent a letter the other day stating if he dies, the mafia's secrets would be exposed. As his own fate would be discussed during the meeting, if Chūya killed him right now, he'd be viewed as a traitor and either dismissed or killed.

Chūya understands even if he did disregard consequences and killed Dazai, the man would be more than happy to die. With a smile, Dazai confirms the claim, inviting Chūya to hurry up and kill him. Especially since he can die knowing the Port Mafia would be after Chūya because of himself. Dazai's mockery makes something click in Chūya's mind - as in, from the beginning, Dazai intended to push Chūya to the worst conclusion possible.

Frustrated, Chūya backs off. He informs Dazai that Akutagawa leads the hunt for Atsushi, and tells him where the records of who sent the bounty can be found - an archive storage room on the mafia's second floor. He orders Dazai to hurry up his investigation and leave. Just before Chūya leaves him be, he declares their feud isn't over, and that this is the one and only time Chūya intends to spare him.

Chūya is seen again with Black Lizard, Kajii, and a group of subordinates bowing down to Mori and reports regarding the assassin from The Guild killed on the spot. As a sign of respect, he takes his hat off and bows to Mori.

The Guild Arc
Later on, Chūya stands in Mori's office where Elise and Ogai Mori are located. He reports that The Guild has attacked them, and that Koyo Ozaki has been captured by the Detective Agency as a prisoner of war. Commenting on the fact that they can't let their guard down since one of their five Executives has been captured, he asks for Mori's direction. To Chūya's surprise, Mori decides to arrange an assassination for Yukichi Fukuzawa.

When the attack is a failure, Chūya surveys the aftermath, from which he reaffirms his belief that hired outsiders cannot be trusted. Reporting to Mori on the attack's failure, Chūya subsequently confirms the success of the Scandium marker transferred onto Fukuzawa, allowing the Mafia to track his location.

Chūya later arrives having infiltrated the railway tunnel leading to the Agency's hideout. He deactivates multiple crucial cameras in the area, and renders the automatic gun emplacements Yukichi Fukuzawa activates useless. He mocks the detectives' lack of manpower, challenging them to face him in person. Chūya's prowess forces the Agency's hand, so they send Akiko Yosano and Kenji Miyazawa to approach him. Akiko deduces Chūya isn't here to harm the Agency for once. Found out, Chūya asks where Fukuzawa is. Akiko directs him to a camera, and Chūya declares he has a message from Mori to Fukuzawa. He holds a photograph of John Steinbeck and H.P. Lovecraft to the lens, and on the back is their location and the time, and that the Mafia left bait for the two. The Mafia's intent is to leave the two of them to the Agency.

Instead of humouring him, Akiko and Kenji go in to attack. True to his personality, a fight suits Chūya the best, not being a messenger. He gladly takes part in the fight, impressed with Kenji's strength, however he's quick to land a kick on Kenji, sending him colliding and breaking the wall. Akiko attempts to attack him from behind, but Chūya uses For the Tainted Sorrow to avoid the attack, standing upside down on the ceiling. Thanks to Dazai, Akiko recognises he's able to manipulate gravity, much to Chūya's annoyance. He decides to go all out. Although he falls at a reasonable speed, he decimates the ground, proving Akiko and Kenji are no match for h. More than ready to finish them, he asks if either of them are ready to "defy gravity".

Fukuzawa speaks up, acknowledging the mafia's intentions. They wish to use the Agency to eliminate Guild members without lifting a finger. Although Fukuzawa admits this a prudent attempt on Mori's part, he states the Agency isn't so desperate, and if the mafia really thinks that's all it takes to drag the Agency into danger, the mafia is unworthy of being the Agency's enemy. When questioned again, Chūya insists the mafia has no ulterior motives over the plan. Unaware that Ranpo Edogawa listens and watches his answers, Chūya remains confident.

Soon, Ranpo calls Chūya's bluff, demanding to know what the mafia's "bait" actually is. At this, Chūya smiles. He comes clean - the Mafia found and leaked the hideout of the Agency's clerks to the Guild. He mocks the Guild, reciting that Mori knew the Agency would fall for his plan even if they knew it was a trap.

After the Guild captures Q, using Dogra Magra to affect all Yokohama citizens and spiral the city out of control, Chūya leads forces to defend the city, as Yokohama is crucial and the main base of operations for the Mafia. He orders his men and Black Lizard to show no mercy to anyone who attacks them. In the aftermath, he stands in a shell corporation's building with Mori. The incident left the Mafia 18 dead mafiosi, and roughly 100 in total, counting sub-organisations. Taking his hat off in respect for the dead, Chūya grudgingly admits that without Dazai's ability, the casualties could have easily reached ten times the amount of deaths. When Koyo arrives, he learns the details of the invitation the Agency sent to the Port Mafia.

When the Agency and Mafia arrange a temporary truce, Chūya and Dazai are assigned to work together. Their task is reaching the Guild's hideout where they hide Q. Working together, they form the Port Mafia's former fiercest team - Double Black.

Unseen, Chūya's ability sends a boulder flying right onto Lovecraft's face. The Guild's foot soldiers attempt to shoot him down, but the bullets fall on impact with his hand. With great ease, he subdues all the men, leaving them in a pile beneath his feet. Steinbeck attempts to attack, but Chūya kicks him with so much force that he's sent flying through several thick groups of trees. He complains about working with Dazai once again, saying it "stinks to high Heaven". As usual, the two constantly argue. Chūya points out he drank vintage 1889 Pétrus - an expensive wine - the day Dazai abandoned the Mafia, driving home how much he hates Dazai.

Their arguing continues until they finally reach Q. Dazai swipes Chūya's knife, holding it to Q's throat as if to kill him. Chūya reasons he won't be able to stop Dazai in time given their distance. He says when he sees Q, all he can think of and see are the body bags of his subordinates thanks to Q's curse. As a result, he encourages Dazai to kill him. He expresses disgust at Dazai's "goody two shoes act" when the man doesn't kill Q. The two discuss the massive difference in harm between the Mafia and Agency. Although the Mafia lost subordinates, the Agency only had Doppo Kunikida affected. Chūya asks what the Agency did, and Dazai claims to have recorded the incident.

Chūya recovers Q, demanding Dazai return his doll. Dazai refuses, irritating Chūya. Once again, they bicker. When Chūya walks out the hideout, a massive tentacle wraps around his neck. He catches sight of the culprit - a mangled Lovecraft, before he's thrashed into the wall of the building. After he recovers, he asks Chūya what their next move should be. Dazai brags, saying his ability will just nullify whatever Lovecraft has up his sleeves. After he's attacked, however, both he and Chūya are surprised when No Longer Human fails to nullify The Great Old Ones - as in, it's not an ability.

When Dazai suggests they use a Double Black tactic - "Shame and Toad", Chūya argues the tactics "Rain Falls Outside the Window Frame" or "The Fake Flowers Deceit" would be more appropriate. Unfortunately for him, Dazai reminds Chūya he's the strategist behind Double Black, and he's never been wrong about a plan before. Chūya begrudgingly accepts this fact.

"Shame and Toad" involves Dazai acting as a decoy, whilst Chūya appears from behind at the best moment to attack. Chūya punches Lovecraft straight through the chest, using his gravity manipulation to pin Lovecraft's body to the ground, completely immobilised. Seemingly victorious, Chūya and Dazai argue more, unaware that Lovecraft brute forces his way out of Chūya's ability - not to mention transforming.

Lovecraft attacks Dazai, taking his right arm off. Chūya notices a shadow behind him, and turns to see Lovecraft's grotesque, true form looming over him. While he has the opportunity, he rushes to check Dazai's condition. Dazai reveals the arm he 'lost' is fake, and he's almost entirely unharmed. Chūya demands Dazai think of something to deal with the abomination right in front of him. To his dismay, Dazai states Corruption is their only option. It's an ability that allowed Double Black to take out the entire base of Dragon's Head, but its effects on Chūya mean that if Dazai is too late to nullify it, Chūya will die. He leaves the decision up to Chūya.

Aware he has no choice, Chūya unleashes Corruption. He discards his gloves, reciting a chant:

"Oh, Grantors of Dark Disgrace

Do Not Wake Me Again!"

The instant Corruption unleashes, Chūya's hands are covered in red markings, and where he stands breaks under the increased density of his body. In this state, Chūya mindlessly attacks Lovecraft using condensed gravitons - essentially self-made black holes. According to Dazai, Chūya could crush a tank with his bare hands with Corruption. The drawback is that Chūya has no control nor awareness during Corruption - he's just a destructive killing machine that won't stop until his own ability kills him.

It doesn't take long for Chūya to reach his limit. Blood pours out his nose and mouth, showing his body giving out under the strain of Corruption. With little time left, Dazai activates a bomb hidden in Lovecraft's body, combining the explosion with Chūya's black holes, ultimately destroying Lovecraft from the inside-out. By this point, blood falls from Chūya in pools. Mindless to the strain, Chūya proceeds to destroy the rest of the area. Maniacal, he attempts to create another large black hole, but Dazai nullifies Corruption at the last second.

Barely conscious, Chūya expresses anger that Dazai waited so long to nullify Corruption, anger worsened when Dazai says he did so for fun. To Chūya, it's yet another violation of trust Dazai takes glee in. He attempts to punch him, but passes out. In the end, Dazai leaves him behind.

It's not until he recovers and the Guild has been defeated that Chūya returns. In celebration of victory, he presents a 1964 Romanée-Conti to Kōyō and Ozaki, the three in a meeting. Kōyō asks if he's sure, knowing the wine to be a prized possession of his. Chūya assures her he'd been saving the wine for such an occasion. The three clink their glasses together, and Chūya asks what Akutagawa's punishment for acting without orders will be. Mori informs him Akutagawa won't be punished, as he succeeded in the Mafia's main goal of taking out the Guild.

Whilst Mori and Kōyō converse, Chūya's already drunk before he's even finished his glass.

Cannibalism Arc
After both Fukuzawa and Mori fall ill to a virus that will either kill them or end after one or the other is killed, the Mafia makes their move against the Agency. Chūya leads the attack, setting aside any personal grudges, focused only on saving Mori's life. Just his mere arrival damages the building thanks to his ability. He demands the Agency give up Fukuzawa, saying this could end without anyone else dying if they cooperate. He's notified the Agency has Kenji on guard in Fukuzawa's infirmary room, an issue given Kenji's resilience and strength rendering attacks and guns useless.

The Mafia's assault is further complicated by the entire Agency's guarding the room, forcing Chūya to order a full-on assault with Black Lizard and Akutagawa.

After Tanizaki and Kyoka infiltrate the Mafia's headquarters, Chūya switches gears to return as soon as he can. He's stopped by Ranpo, questioning Ranpo's judgement as he doesn't have a combative ability. Ranpo points out that's true, but Chūya's suffered countless defeats another non-combative - Dazai. Enraged by Ranpo's mockery, Chūya's quick to attack. He finds out too late he fell for Ranpo's trap, and is trapped in Edgar Allan Poe's book alongside Ranpo. Although he later escapes, Ranpo says Chūya got frustrated with the mystery, punching suspects randomly.

Trivia

 * He, along with several other characters, made a guest appearance in the mobile game Love Heaven as a limited time character.
 * The chanting required in order to activate Corruption originates from a stanza in Sheep Song ; a poem from Chūya Nakahara to Yoshihiro Yasuhara.
 * In chapter 31, he taunts Dazai as 'Enemy of Women'. This might be due to Dazai's womanizing habits.
 * His JP voice actor, Taniyama Kisho, is the singer of Granrodeo who sung the OP theme of Bungo Stray Dogs season 1 - TRASH CANDY.
 * Despite liking alcohol, he tends to get drunk pretty easily.
 * He smokes on rare occasions. Mostly when stressed and irritated.
 * Arahabaki is an ancient Japanese god shrouded in mystery, its origins and historical relevance drenched with unreliable, scattered accounts. One theory considered it a sort of "guest god", on or lower a level of power of the main of a shrine it manifests in.