Demon Slayer World.
The day after calling his uncle in Shiga, Qingshui arrived at the Shiga Police Headquarters.
His uncle, Uesugi Sakaii, was currently serving as the Superintendent General of the Shiga Police Headquarters, essentially its second-in-command.
"Tea? You must have traveled quite a distance from Konan Town to Shiga, right?"
Uesugi Sakaii placed a cup of tea in front of Qingshui.
"Thank you, Uncle."
Qingshui took the teacup with both hands and took a sip.
"I've heard about your intentions. The Demon Slayer Corps is indeed connected to the government, and our police department is responsible for that liaison."
Uesugi Sakaii sat opposite Qingshui, looking at him.
"Yes, I figured as much. The Demon Slayer Corps needs to track Demons across the country, and the police department has a presence in every region. So, when cases that defy common understanding arise, after they're reported, specific police personnel must be the ones to relay the information to the Demon Slayer Corps."
Qingshui set down his teacup.
Uesugi Sakaii nodded in satisfaction.
It seems this nephew isn't as much of a wastrel as I remember. At least his mind still works well.
"Many of our people are embedded within the Demon Slayer Corps' logistics department, the Kakushi, to facilitate exchanges. But I imagine you're not going there for logistics. After much thought, I found a way."
Uesugi Sakaii pulled out a small booklet and handed it to Qingshui.
Qingshui opened it. It contained an old-fashioned photo of his face, and below his name, a small line of text.
Shiga Police Headquarters Special Operations Team Member
At the same time, on Qingshui's personal panel, his Fortune progress bar advanced a small increment.
It went from 2.48% to 3.91%.
"I used a bit of my authority to establish this team. I'm the leader, and you're the only member. Your rank is Patrol Officer."
Patrol Officer was the lowest rank in the police system, which explained why it didn't grant much Fortune.
Uesugi Sakaii took a sip of tea and continued.
"Yesterday, I contacted Ubuyashiki of the Demon Slayer Corps, and after getting the current Ubuyashiki Family Head's approval, I made arrangements for you."
"You will join the Demon Slayer Corps as a special member of the police system. However, unlike other Demon Slayer Corps members, you will not be a retainer of the Ubuyashiki Clan. Not only are you currently serving as a public official, but you also have Uesugi Clan blood flowing in your veins, and I would never agree to you becoming a retainer for another family.
Therefore, when you are dispatched by the Demon Slayer Corps, if you feel something is unreasonable or poses a significant threat to your life, you have the right to refuse. Yet, you will still enjoy all the benefits of the Demon Slayer Corps, including rank allowances and Breathing Style training.
Furthermore, for every mission you undertake in the Demon Slayer Corps, a message will be sent to me. I will assess each of your missions as a case, and with enough accumulated merits, your police rank will also be appropriately promoted. Whenever you no longer wish to remain in the Demon Slayer Corps, I will transfer you to a public-facing role.
However, there's a downside to this approach: your police rank can only rise as high as Police Inspector. If you wish to advance further after that, you must transition to a public-facing position."
Qingshui stroked his chin, nodding frequently.
His uncle was indeed very capable.
The last point he mentioned—that Demon Slayer Corps missions would also be reviewed by the police department, primarily by Uesugi Sakaii, the Superintendent General—meant they would contribute to the achievements of that "Special Operations Team."
In other words, his uncle would also gain political achievements through effective leadership.
To pull off such an operation, Uesugi Sakaii's influence within the police system was indeed significant.
"How could Ubuyashiki agree to such harsh conditions? Wouldn't this..."
"No, I looked into it. One reason is that the Wind Hashira among them spoke highly of you, believing you have the potential to become a Hashira. The other reason is your third uncle. Because of this, your third uncle donated a lot of supplies to the Demon Slayer Corps. Before you head back, go visit your third uncle in Koga City."
Qingshui understood.
The Demon Slayer Corps was eager to recruit him because they believed he had the potential to become a Hashira.
Not serving as an Ubuyashiki retainer, and maintaining a semi-independent status within the Demon Slayer Corps while still enjoying all the benefits provided to swordsmen, was something bought with money.
Of the three brothers in the Uesugi branch, the eldest took the police route and held a high position. The second brother pursued politics, maintaining a steady career. The third brother, Uesugi Yuu, was a businessman.
He dabbled in both legitimate and illegitimate businesses, using money to pave the way for his two elder brothers. In turn, his brothers would use their authority to help the third brother expand his business and earn more money.
This outcome was partly due to Qingshui's own potential, and partly because the Uesugi Clan gave too much.
Of course, most importantly, the Uesugi Clan's influence across various sectors was immense.
"By the way, Uncle, there's one more thing I'd like to ask of you."
Qingshui said to Uesugi Sakaii.
"You mean the firearms made from Scarlet Ore Iron, right?"
Uesugi Sakaii smiled, opened a drawer, and took out two firearms.
"These are models I specifically sought out: double-barreled short-barreled shotguns. They can only fire two shots per reload, but each shot can unleash twelve steel pellets. They're powerful enough, with minimal spread, and easy to carry. At close range, they're sufficient to break a Demon's neck."
Both firearms had the same design: two black iron barrels at the front and a curved wooden handle at the back.
"Scarlet Ore is very rare. It only forms in high mountains that are remote and exposed to sunlight year-round, so all of them are tiny open-pit mines. They actually look no different from normal hematite.
Aside from Demon Slayer Corps members, no one truly understands how to survey this metal. Moreover, to retain the solar energy within the ore that harms Demons, the forging process cannot use excessively high temperatures. Otherwise, too much energy will be lost, and it will become like ordinary iron. Thus, it can only be forged using ancient methods. The hardness of swords made this way certainly can't compare to those forged after the Meiji era using advanced industrial steelmaking.
Because of this, if such a sword breaks, it's very difficult to re-forge. If the temperature during re-forging is too high, causing the internal solar energy to be excessively activated and dissipate, its effectiveness against Demons will be greatly reduced."
Qingshui acknowledged.
In the original story, many Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen's Nichirin Blades broke or snapped during battles with Demons.
While this was partly due to the design, which resembled a samurai katana and was susceptible to external force, it was also because the metal refined from Scarlet Ore Iron lacked sufficient hardness and toughness.
"In short, what I'm trying to tell you is this: Scarlet Ore Iron is very rare. While it can be used repeatedly when forged into a sword, bullets are different. Once used, it's hard to recover the material for reforging. So, you must use these bullets cautiously. Unless your life is in danger, do not use them on any creature other than Demons."
Uesugi Sakaii placed two boxes on display.
Opening one box revealed sixteen neatly arranged bullet packs inside.
Just like the guns, one box of bullets was for him, and the other was to be sent to Shinazugawa Sanemi.
Shinazugawa Sanemi was a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, and his strength was considered top-tier among them. It wouldn't be a loss to build a good relationship with him using these.
...
...
Naruto World.
Qingshui spent New Year's that year at the camp with his comrades.
It was wartime, and even though Qingshui was Chiyo's disciple, he wouldn't be so foolish as to celebrate while other Sand Hidden ninja were still fighting on the front lines.
If there was anything that brought Qingshui joy that New Year, it was the completion of his third Puppet.
Fatty, after all, was initially just a modified teaching tool. Its foundation was too poor. Even with better materials for improvement, Qingshui couldn't significantly enhance its combat capabilities.
If he truly wanted to completely overhaul it, he might as well build a new one, as the time and materials would be better spent that way.
It was enough that Fatty was repaired to its state before the last operation, perhaps with a few additional minor functions.
Mainly, its defensive capabilities.
In Qingshui's vision, his future combat system would involve Fatty as the tank, taking the front, and Little Boy as the assassin, providing distraction and harassment.
The new Puppet, meant to protect his own body, not only needed robust defensive capabilities and better basic performance than Fatty, but also sufficient long-range offensive support.
The more powerful, the better.
Coincidentally, Qingshui now felt his Puppetry skills had advanced rapidly under Chiyo's guidance, and the Pulse Heart Sensing Technique was nearing introductory mastery. He could now attempt to control three Puppets simultaneously.
Therefore, Qingshui installed mechanisms for the Mechanism Shield Seal technique in most crucial parts of the improved Fatty.
This technique was rated as a B-rank Ninjutsu. Its main difficulty lay in arranging the corresponding mechanisms for specific Puppet conditions, which was relatively simple for Qingshui.
In terms of practical application, Mechanism Shield Seal was much simpler to execute than general B-rank Ninjutsu, provided the mechanism quality was up to par.
Another aspect was adding enhancements, sacrificing a small amount of flexibility for increased defense.
As a tank, its most crucial role was durability.
The data for the newly improved Fatty is as follows:
[Puppet Name]: Fatty
[Overall Parameters]:
Height: 2.12 meters
Weight: 101.25 kilograms
Materials: Reinforced wood, light metal, reinforced biological bone...
Energy: None
Operating Method: Chakra Threads
[Puppet Rating]: B+
[Overall Evaluation]: An armored defensive Puppet, a product of Puppetry merged with modern engineering. It possesses excellent performance, strong close-range destructive power, and formidable defensive capabilities, but lacks agility. It can envelop the Puppet Master in critical moments to provide protection.
From its initial state as a Puppet teaching tool, it had been continuously reinforced and improved, almost reaching Fatty's limit.
After all, the materials used initially weren't top-tier. If he tried to unleash even greater power, the internal structure would likely start to crack and break after only a few uses.
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