"Is this… a sword from the Warring States era?"
Tanjiro stared at the exposed hilt, trembling with excitement.
"Y y yes! O of course!" Kotetsu stammered, bouncing on his toes like his whole body was made of springs. "Tanjiro, you can t t t take it!"
"That doesn't feel right. That doesn't feel right at all. Is it really okay?"
"It's totally okay!" Kotetsu hopped in a frantic circle. "I already promised who it would belong to. It's fine, absolutely fine!"
"It still feels wrong! It still feels wrong!"
"No, it won't be! Warring States steel is really high quality!" Kotetsu leaned in, eyes shining. "Pull it out and look first?"
"I really want to see it!"
They cheered like kids who'd just discovered buried treasure, then hurried forward together to extract the blade.
Tanjiro put a little strength into it.
The sword slid free.
But the moment the blade came out, his excitement crashed into a fresh wave of disappointment.
Three hundred years of time had not been kind. The steel was mottled, rusted, and stained with age.
Then, suddenly, footsteps crunched through the forest.
Both of them snapped their heads up.
A tall man stepped out from the trees, broad shouldered, muscles packed tight like iron.
It was the swordsmith who'd been missing for ages.
Hotaru Haganezuka.
Without a word, Haganezuka reached for the blade as if he intended to take it by force.
"I heard what you said," he declared. "Leave the rest to me."
Tanjiro and Kotetsu froze at the sheer audacity.
"What do you mean, 'leave it to you'?!"
Haganezuka strode up and clamped a huge hand around the weathered Nichirin blade.
"Mr. Haganezuka!" Tanjiro protested. "That sword belongs to Kotetsu!"
Haganezuka didn't even blink.
He swung his arm.
Tanjiro, who had just finished days of brutal training, still got flung away like a rag doll.
"So strong!" Tanjiro gasped as he tumbled across the ground.
He hit hard and rolled, heart thumping.
Haganezuka might actually be stronger than him.
"Even the strongest people have weaknesses," a voice said calmly. "For example, Haganezuka's weakness is his armpit."
A small figure appeared out of nowhere, arms raised high, and started tickling Haganezuka's armpits with both hands.
It worked.
In two or three seconds, Haganezuka's body locked up, then toppled over like a felled tree.
He lay still.
The newcomer straightened and spoke as if this was the most normal thing in the world.
"Long time no see, Tanjiro. Haganezuka got tickled, so he needs to lie down for a while. I'll explain."
The man's tone softened.
"Please forgive him. He went up into the mountains to train."
"Train?" Tanjiro blinked.
"Yes," the man said. "So he could forge a better blade for you, so you wouldn't die. Of course, Haganezuka would never say it out loud."
"For me…?" Tanjiro's eyes went watery on the spot.
The man continued, patient as a teacher.
"Haganezuka is actually happy when he makes a sword for you. He just doesn't know how to express it, so other swordsmen keep abandoning him."
Tanjiro sniffled.
"It's really touching… but his social skills are honestly terrible."
Kotetsu nodded with absolute sincerity.
"That's why nobody's ever married him."
Right then, the silent Haganezuka suddenly sprang up with a sharp, explosive movement, like a fish snapping off the ground.
"I'm asking you to give me this rusty blade!" he roared. "I'll use the Haganezuka family's secret polishing techniques to restore it!"
Kotetsu frowned, hands on hips.
"Then just say that! You come in yelling 'leave it to me' before anyone trusts you. How are we supposed to know what you mean?"
In the end, they handed the rusted Warring States era sword over to Haganezuka anyway.
He was Tanjiro's swordsmith. Even if other slayers couldn't agree whether he was a genius or a lunatic, Tanjiro trusted him.
And more than that, Haganezuka had trained for a long time just to forge Tanjiro a better blade.
That night, the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, came looking for Tanjiro.
"Do you know a swordsmith named Tecchikawahara?" Muichiro asked. "He should be young. I'm looking for him."
Tanjiro was sleeping so deeply he barely noticed when someone pinched his nose shut.
He jerked awake, choking for air, and found Muichiro staring down at him with that signature blank, effortless expression.
"Ah! Tokito sir, did you just block my nose?"
Muichiro nodded. "You're too dull. If you react that slowly, a demon will kill you."
Tanjiro flailed his hands.
"No, no. If someone actually wanted to kill me, I would notice."
"I wouldn't have killing intent while pinching your nose," Muichiro replied seriously.
Tanjiro paused, then remembered the question.
"You're looking for Mr. Tecchikawahara? We met him today. I heard he's staying with Mr. Haganezuka."
"Tell me where Haganezuka is," Muichiro said flatly. "My new sword should be finished soon."
Seeing Muichiro genuinely needing help, Tanjiro smiled.
"Want to go find them together?"
Muichiro blinked once, as if the concept itself was unfamiliar.
"You… why are you so happy? Won't it trouble you? You must have things you need to do."
Tanjiro shook his head firmly.
"Helping people brings rewards in the end. And I also want to go see."
Muichiro stared at him as though he'd just heard something unbelievable.
His eyes widened.
"What did you just say…?"
"Huh?" Tanjiro tilted his head. "I said we can go together."
Muichiro's face immediately returned to its calm, empty mask.
Tanjiro waved enthusiastically.
"Come on. Let's go find Mr. Haganezuka."
As Tanjiro was waking Nezuko, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the room.
"Someone's coming?" Tanjiro turned toward the door.
"Seems like it," Muichiro murmured, also curious.
The door slid open from the outside.
And an uninvited guest crawled in on all fours.
Hantengu.
Both of them stiffened.
The way he hid his presence was terrifyingly refined. It was one thing for Tanjiro not to sense him, but even Muichiro hadn't detected a demon until he saw him with his own eyes.
They couldn't see the number in Hantengu's eyes, but they didn't need to.
This was Upper Rank.
Both entered combat mode instantly. Muichiro's sword flashed out of its sheath.
"Mist Breathing, Fourth Form!"
"Shifting Flow Slash!"
His body blurred, dragging a heavy curtain of mist as he vanished, then reappeared at Hantengu's position in a single breath.
Hantengu reacted just as fast. He sprang up to the ceiling.
Muichiro's blade carved a diagonal gash across his head, but it didn't take the head clean off.
Hantengu dabbed at the wound with his hand, squealing in a shrill, broken voice.
"It hurts! It hurts so much!"
Tanjiro snapped into motion too, drawing the sword Haganezuka had given him to use temporarily.
"Hinokami Kagura!"
"Solar Halo Thrust!"
His Nichirin Blade shot forward, and a gorgeous spiral of flame surged toward the ceiling.
No impact.
"No feedback!" Tanjiro cried. "I missed!"
And then he realized why.
Hantengu was already behind him.
But strangely, he still hadn't attacked.
Nezuko burst in from the side like a cannonball and drove a heavy kick into Hantengu's stomach.
Muichiro moved immediately, blade cutting down in the same beat.
One clean motion.
The head fell.
"Careful, Tokito!" Tanjiro shouted.
He'd seen it twice already. Upper Rank demons didn't die just because you cut off their heads.
This one might be the same.
And it was.
Hantengu's severed head rolled away like a ball, then began to grow a new body.
At the same time, the body collapsed on the floor started growing a brand new head.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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