Demon Slayer World.
After speaking on the phone with his uncle in Shiga, Hardy arrived at the Shiga Police Headquarters the next day.
His uncle's name was Uesugi Sakai. He currently served as a Superintendent at Shiga Police Headquarters, effectively the second-in-command there.
"Would you like some tea? You must have traveled quite a way from Kōnan Town to Shiga."
Uesugi Sakai placed a cup of tea in front of Hardy.
"Thank you, Uncle."
Hardy accepted the cup with both hands and took a sip.
"I've already heard about your purpose here. The Demon Slayer Corps does indeed have ties with the government, and our police department is responsible for maintaining that contact."
Uesugi Sakai sat across from Hardy, looking at him as he spoke.
"Yes, I figured as much. The Demon Slayer Corps needs to track demons across the country, and the police are present in every region. Whenever a case arises that defies normal explanation, it's reported up the chain and will surely be handled by—"
"Certain personnel within the police department hand over intelligence to the Demon Slayer Corps."
Hardy set down his teacup as he spoke.
Uesugi Sakai nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed this nephew was not the wastrel he remembered from the past; at the very least, he was quick-witted.
"The Demon Slayer Corps' logistics division, the Kakushi, already has many of our people embedded. They're responsible for liaising with the Corps. But I doubt you'll be doing logistics work there. After some thought, I've found a solution."
Uesugi Sakai took out a small booklet and handed it to Hardy.
Hardy opened it and saw an old-fashioned photo of his own face printed inside. Below his name was a line of small text:
[Shiga Police Headquarters Special Operations Squad Member]
At the same time, on Hardy's status panel, the Luck progress bar inched forward—from 2.48% to 3.91%.
"This squad was established through a bit of my own authority. I'm the squad leader, and you're the only member. Your rank is Patrol Officer."
Patrol Officer was the lowest rank in the police system; no wonder it didn't grant much Luck.
Uesugi Sakai took a sip of tea and continued.
"I contacted the Demon Slayer Corps' Ubuyashiki family yesterday. With the current head's approval, I've made arrangements for you."
"You'll join the Demon Slayer Corps as a special member from the police force. But unlike other Corps members, you won't be a retainer of the Ubuyashiki family. Not only are you a public official, but you also carry the blood of the Uesugi clan. I would never agree to you serving as a retainer for another family.
So, when you're assigned by the Demon Slayer Corps, if you feel the orders are unreasonable or your life is in significant danger, you have the right to refuse. However, you'll still enjoy all the benefits of the Corps, including rank allowances and breathing technique training.
Additionally, every mission you undertake with the Corps will be reported back to me by their people. I'll treat each mission as a case for the Special Operations Squad, and as you accumulate enough merit, your police rank will be promoted accordingly. When you no longer wish to remain in the Demon Slayer Corps, I'll transfer you to a public position.
There is a downside, though: your police rank can only rise to Inspector at most. To advance further, you'll need to move into a public-facing role."
Hardy stroked his chin, nodding repeatedly.
His uncle was indeed quite capable.
The last point was especially noteworthy: every Demon Slayer Corps mission would also be recognized by the police department—mainly by Uesugi Sakai, the Superintendent Inspector—as merit for the Special Operations Squad.
In other words, his uncle would also gain political credit for his effective leadership.
To pull off something like this, Uesugi Sakai clearly wielded significant influence within the police system.
"Such stringent conditions, and the Ubuyashiki family actually agreed? Could this possibly…"
"No need to worry. I've looked into it. First, the Wind Hashira holds you in high regard, believing you have the potential to become a Hashira yourself. Second, your third uncle made a substantial donation of supplies to the Demon Slayer Corps for this matter. Before you leave, you should visit your third uncle in Koka City."
Hardy understood.
The Demon Slayer Corps was eager to recruit him because they believed he had the potential to become a Hashira.
His semi-independent status within the Corps—enjoying all the benefits provided to swordsmen without serving as a retainer to the Ubuyashiki family—was essentially bought with money.
Among the three Uesugi brothers: the eldest rose through the police system to a high position; the second pursued a political career, steady but unremarkable; and the third, Uesugi Yu, was a businessman.
He dabbled in both legitimate and shady enterprises, using his wealth to pave the way for his two older brothers, who in turn used their influence to help him expand his business and earn even more.
Such an outcome was due both to Hardy's own potential and the considerable backing of the Uesugi family.
Of course, most importantly, the Uesugi clan wielded significant influence across various sectors.
"By the way, Uncle, there's one more thing I'd like to ask of you."
Hardy addressed Uesugi Sakai.
"You mean the firearms made from Scarlet Iron Sand, right?"
Uesugi Sakai smiled, opened a drawer, and took out two firearms.
"These are models I specifically sought out—double-barreled, sawed-off shotguns. Each can only fire twice per reload, but each shot releases twelve steel pellets. The firepower is considerable, the spread is minimal, and they're easy to carry. At close range, they're enough to break a demon's neck."
Both guns looked identical: two black iron barrels at the front, and a curved wooden grip at the rear.
"Scarlet ore is very rare, only found in remote, sun-drenched mountain peaks, so all the deposits are tiny open-pit mines. To the untrained eye, they're indistinguishable from regular hematite.
Apart from the Demon Slayer Corps, hardly anyone knows how to identify this metal. What's more, to retain the solar energy within the ore—which is what harms demons—the forging process cannot use excessively high temperatures, or too much energy will be lost, rendering it little different from ordinary iron. So, only traditional forging methods can be used. The resulting blades are definitely not as hard as those made with advanced industrial steelmaking methods after the Meiji era.
That's also why, once these swords are broken, reforging them is very difficult. If the temperature during reforging is too high, the solar energy inside is over-activated and dissipates, greatly reducing their effectiveness against demons."
Hardy indicated he understood.
In the original story, many swordsmen's Nichirin blades suffered from chipping or breaking during battles with demons.
This was partly due to the katana-like design being prone to external force damage, but also because the metal refined from Scarlet Ore wasn't particularly hard or tough.
"In short, what I'm trying to say is: Scarlet Iron is extremely rare. When forged into swords, they can be used repeatedly, but bullets are different. Once fired, the materials are very difficult to recover and recast. So you must use these bullets sparingly—unless your life is in danger, otherwise…"
"Do not use it on any living creature other than demons."
Uesugi Sakai placed two boxes on the table.
Opening one of them, he saw sixteen neatly arranged bullet packs inside.
Just like with the guns, one box was for himself, and the other was to be sent to Sanemi Shinazugawa.
This man was a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, and his strength was among the top even within the Hashira. Using these to build a good relationship with him would surely be worthwhile.
...
...
Naruto World.
This New Year, Hardy spent the holiday in the camp with his companions.
It was wartime, after all. Even though Hardy was Chiyo's disciple, he wouldn't foolishly celebrate while other Sunagakure ninja were still fighting on the front lines.
If there was anything about this New Year that brought Hardy some joy, it was that his third puppet had finally been completed.
Formentor, after all, was originally just a modified teaching tool, so its foundation was too weak. Even though Hardy had improved it with better materials, its combat power couldn't be significantly enhanced.
If he really wanted to overhaul it completely, the time and resources required would be better spent on making a new one from scratch.
Restoring Formentor to the condition it was in before the last battle was already sufficient, with perhaps a few additional minor functions.
The main focus was on defense.
In Hardy's envisioned combat system, Formentor would serve as the tank at the front, while Little Boy would act as the assassin, harassing and distracting the enemy.
The new puppet, designed to protect the user, needed not only strong defensive capabilities and better basic performance than Formentor, but also sufficient long-range support firepower.
The more powerful, the better.
Fortunately, under Chiyo's guidance, Hardy's puppet manipulation skills had improved rapidly, and he was close to mastering the Pulse Sense Technique. He could already attempt to control three puppets at once.
Therefore, in the improved Formentor, Hardy installed mechanisms for the Puppet Shield Seal technique in all the key areas.
This technique was rated as a B-rank ninjutsu, mainly because of the difficulty in setting up the mechanisms tailored to puppets' specific structures, but for Hardy, that was actually the easy part.
In practice, as long as the mechanisms were of good quality, performing the Puppet Shield Seal was much simpler than most B-rank ninjutsu.
Another improvement was reinforcing the puppet's defense at the cost of a bit of flexibility.
As a tank, the most important thing was being able to take hits.
The updated specs for Formentor are as follows:
[Puppet Name]: Formentor
[Overall Parameters]:
Height: 2.12 meters
Weight: 101.25 kilograms
Materials: Reinforced wood, lightweight metal, reinforced biological bone, etc.
Power Source: None
Control Method: Chakra threads
[Puppet Rating]: B+
[Overall Evaluation]: Armored defensive puppet. A fusion of puppet jutsu and modern engineering, with excellent performance, powerful melee destruction, and strong defensive capabilities. However, it lacks agility. Can envelop the puppeteer in critical moments to provide protection.
From its humble beginnings as a teaching tool, Formentor had been strengthened and improved to its current state, reaching almost the limit of what it could be.
After all, the original materials were never very good. If he tried to push its power any further, the internal structure would likely start breaking down after just a few uses.