Swordsmith Village.
Hardy sat at the dining table, looking at the leftovers before him, and let out a satisfied burp.
Before he arrived at the Swordsmith Village, Uesugi Yuu had sent people to deliver the collected plants to the Demon Slayer Corps.
As the highest-ranking Hashira, Hardy received the baskets of goods from the Kakushi as soon as they arrived, and brought them to the Swordsmith Village.
At nearly every meal, Hardy tried to cook these vegetables in different ways.
Wild vegetable and radish soup, wild vegetable stew, wild vegetable braised ribs—he tried every recipe he could think of.
Unfortunately, to this day, his blood still hadn't changed.
He'd collect a vial of his own blood, add a drop of the diseased leaf's blood, let it sit overnight, and place it in the sunlight at dawn. Each time, it would turn to ash within seconds.
His only gain, perhaps, was a marked improvement in his cooking skills.
"With the wild vegetables left, I should try pickling them so they'll keep longer."
Stretching and glancing at the clear weather outside, Hardy stepped out for a walk to digest his meal.
He hadn't gone far before he was stopped by three swordsmiths wearing fireman masks: an old man, a middle-aged man, and a child.
Hardy recognized the middle-aged man—it was Haganezuka, the one who had forged his Nichirin Blade.
"Hey, Haganezuka-senpai. You must be the village chief, Tecchikawahara-senpai, right? What brings you all to see me?" Hardy asked.
Before Haganezuka or Tecchikawahara could answer, the child pointed at Hardy.
"You asked us to make those things out of scarlet ore before—was it to create weapons against demons?"
"Kotetsu, don't be rude to Lord Hashira," Haganezuka said, pressing down on the child's head and apologizing to Hardy.
"Let me speak," the old man said, jumping down from Haganezuka's shoulder to stand beside Kotetsu, now at the same height.
Hardy had to lower his head and squat to speak with them.
"I am Tecchikawahara Tecchin, the chief of this village and the best craftsman here. First, I wanted to ask if you, like the Love Hashira, have any special requirements for your Nichirin Blade.
Second, at Kotetsu's request, we want to know if you are skilled in the art of mechanisms and puppetry."
Hardy looked at Kotetsu.
"I don't have any special requirements for my Nichirin Blade—just that it's sharp and sturdy. As for mechanisms and puppetry…"
Seeing Kotetsu's hopeful gaze, Hardy nodded.
"I'm very skilled—beyond what you can imagine."
To prove his point, Hardy extended his left hand, and the armor puppet in his basket quickly flew out, assembling itself into a suit of ancient armor.
The three swordsmiths were stunned.
This was—
A miraculous technique as mysterious as Blood Demon Art—how exactly is it done?
Sensing the thoughts of the three, Hardy immediately spoke up:
"Are you all familiar with string puppetry? It's a folk art where fine threads and mechanisms are used to control multiple puppet dolls."
Hardy took out a nearly invisible fine thread he had prepared earlier, showed it briefly to the three, and then quickly put the armor back into his basket.
Puppetry was his specialty. Hardy also knew that if he ever encountered a problem that couldn't be solved by swordsmanship alone, he would have to rely on his puppetry skills. So he had already prepared a suitable explanation.
The three looked at each other in shock.
They had certainly heard of puppet shows and the like, but the display from the Hashira was just too unbelievable!
It was practically as magical as Blood Demon Art!
"Ahem, of course, just relying on those things wouldn't be enough to achieve what I do. But I'm a genius, and my family is wealthy and well-connected, so I've had access to the world's most advanced technology, which I've adapted and innovated upon..."
Hardy spouted nonsense, making up stories so outrageous that the three swordsmiths in front of him felt dizzy.
But at least they could be sure of one thing:
This Hashira definitely knew something about mechanical arts.
"Ahem, let's stop there! Lord Hashira, actually... we wanted to ask if you could help us repair a puppet from the Sengoku era. It was made by the most outstanding swordsmith of that time, modeled after the techniques of the strongest swordsman. But because it was too heavy and difficult to move over long distances, and the craftsmanship was too complex, it was never mass-produced.
However, for three hundred years, this powerful puppet has served as a protector of the Swordsmith Village. But it's been so long, and it's suffered some damage. Even Kotetsu, a descendant of that swordsmith, has only managed to restore most of its functions, but it can't perform at its former glory. So we were hoping..."
Tetsujikuren Kōzō trailed off, and he and Kotetsu looked at Hardy expectantly.
Hardy replied, "Let's go take a look, then."
He remembered that in the original timeline, there was indeed such a puppet—Yoriichi Type Zero.
It operated without a human controller, and no one knew what powered it, yet it possessed enough combat strength to spar with a Hashira. Muichiro Tokito had borrowed it from Kotetsu for training and eventually broke it.
Hardy was quite interested in this.
Yoriichi Type Zero was a puppet modeled after Yoriichi Tsugikuni's techniques. But because Yoriichi's speed was too great to replicate with only two arms, the puppet was made with six arms instead.
Doesn't that mean the techniques used by this puppet are related to Sun Breathing?
He had already restored Sun Breathing through Tanjiro. If he could cross-reference it with the puppet's techniques, would he discover something new or gain fresh insights?
This puppet could already fight at Hashira level on its own—what if he controlled it himself?
With chakra threads, the puppet's moves would no longer be rigid. Its strength, speed, and other attributes could be further enhanced. How powerful could it become then?
Moreover, three hundred years ago, someone was able to create such a powerful puppet relying solely on mechanical arts. The creator of Yoriichi Type Zero must have been a true master of mechanisms.
Hardy also wondered if, with his own abilities, he could create a puppet with Hashira-level combat power using only mechanical means.
He wanted to try.
And he also wanted to see if the puppetry and mechanical arts of two different worlds could spark something new when combined.
Following the three, Hardy arrived at a courtyard.
Under the eaves, Kotetsu pulled away a cloth, revealing a puppet with only half a face but six arms.
"Lord Hashira, this is it!"
Kotetsu introduced it to Hardy excitedly.
Hardy rested his hand on his sword, gazing at the large puppet that was a good ten centimeters taller than himself.
...
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