In Shinjuro's view, his eldest son had always been a bit too simple and naive in his daily life.
Now presented a perfect opportunity to let him see how swordsmen actually executed their missions.
Searching, investigating, slaying demons—none of these were experiences that could be imparted through words alone in daily life.
As for safety?
Shinjuro wasn't worried at all.
Natsunishi's strength already far surpassed that of an ordinary swordsman.
Never mind common demons; Shinjuro suspected that even if the boy ran into a weaker Lower Moon, he wouldn't necessarily suffer defeat.
Even if they did encounter a truly powerful enemy, given the skills and strength Natsunishi had displayed over the past few days, he could at least send out a call for help and hold his ground until Shinjuro arrived.
However, Natsunishi and the others returned much sooner than expected.
The two had returned to the estate before dawn.
Natsunishi's expression was as calm as ever, while Kyojuro's expression was somewhat subtle.
Seeing them back at the residence, Shinjuro asked, "What happened? Did you fail to find any trace of a demon this time?"
After all, demons were not like radishes in a field that one could find just by walking to a certain spot, finishing the job, and calling it a day.
In a swordsman's mission, the majority of the time was often spent on "how to find the demon." The rest was the battle itself and the even more tedious cleanup work.
"Kyojuro, slaying demons is often like this. You won't always find those man-eating demons smoothly on every mission—"
The Great Owl began to console his eldest son.
At that moment, Natsunishi, who had just managed to grab a couple of bites of a midnight snack in the back kitchen, looked up and interrupted, "Hmm? The mission is already finished."
Shinjuro froze.
Was it really that smooth?
He then looked at his son. "Kyojuro, what did you gain from this?"
The owl-like youth stood tall and straight, answering loudly, "Father! I learned that Brother Natsunishi is incredibly strong! And—demons are very fragile!"
Shinjuro: ———
What kind of "gain" was that?
"What about the specific process?"
Kyojuro: "Brother Natsunishi rushed forward! Brother Natsunishi cut down the demon with one strike! The Kakushi members and I watched from the side! Over!"
Shinjuro finally understood what the emotion in his son's eyes was.
That respectful gaze was clearly mixed with a faint hint of disappointment that his "first mission ended so quickly."
He had been fully prepared to fight side-by-side with Natsunishi.
In the end, he had just seen the demon activate its Blood Demon Art, and before he even had time to get nervous, the opponent's head had already been sent flying.
Shinjuro rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "Kuguruma, you tell me the situation."
Holding his bowl, Natsunishi explained while eating.
"That demon wasn't exactly weak."
Its energy level was just over a hundred, and it could emit strong electric attacks from its cheeks.
If Kyojuro had encountered it alone, let alone winning, he would likely have been in mortal danger. It would have taken someone with the strength of a Kanoe-rank or higher—like Kanae or Dojima—to have a higher probability of success.
Then again, demons were demons.
They tended to rely heavily on physical attributes and regeneration; their openings were simply too numerous. Even their use of Blood Demon Arts revealed an unpretentious crudeness.
Based on Kyojuro's performance in training over the last two days, he had about a fifty percent chance of holding out until reinforcements arrived.
As for the possibility of him slaying the opponent alone?
Less than ten percent.
"In short, he still needs to practice for a while longer."
The older owl-man was momentarily speechless.
He had sent him out with Kyojuro specifically to broaden his horizons—
Shinjuro waved his hand at Natsunishi and Kyojuro.
"Rest well today. For the next mission, Kuguruma, I'll trouble you to let Kyojuro see more of the details involved in slaying demons."
With his mouth full of food, Natsunishi gave a vague nod.
Kyojuro followed suit, grabbing a bowl from the back kitchen and imitating Natsunishi's manner of eating a late-night snack.
"Delicious!"
Is it really okay to let Kuguruma lead Kyojuro?
The Flame Hashira felt momentarily shaken.
Perhaps due to his lingering mood, Shinjuro's pressure seemed to increase slightly during his sparring match with Natsunishi the following day.
In the courtyard, the crisp clashing of wooden swords and the sound of breathing formed a unique rhythm.
The sparring between the youth and the Flame Hashira had become a common sight at the Rengoku estate.
Shinjuro's swordsmanship was somewhat different from Kyojuro's.
While both carried a scorching heat like a prairie fire, Shinjuro's was more heavy, refined, and restrained. It was perhaps the difference between a slow-simmering clay pot and a high-pressure cooker.
But being restrained did not mean the opponent's strength was weaker.
Even though he held back a great deal, every parry still left Natsunishi's wrists feeling numb.
Initially, Natsunishi's full attention was focused on dealing with Shinjuro's seemingly casual yet incomparably precise instructional attacks.
But he soon noticed something was off.
The energy level on the opponent's panel, which was already very high, would occasionally jump up a few points before quickly returning to normal.
At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Total Concentration?
That was Natsunishi's first thought.
But he quickly realized that was wrong.
The breath had not suddenly become deep and long, nor was there any subtle contraction of the pupils; the overall aura remained consistent throughout.
He was still that somewhat rambling, slightly depressed owl-man.
"Distraction in battle leads to death."
Shinjuro's wooden sword suddenly accelerated, tapping Natsunishi's wrist which had slowed slightly due to his shock.
A sharp sting brought Natsunishi back to his senses.
"Yes!"
"Continue using Total Concentration, Kuguruma."
"From what I can see, you are only a few steps away from completely mastering the 'Constant' state of Thunder Breathing."
This scruffy middle-aged man was both demonstrating the techniques and forms of Flame Breathing to Natsunishi and guiding him in his mastery of the Constant state.
A few days later, Natsunishi finally figured out the reason for the fluctuating energy levels.
He wasn't becoming stronger through their sparring.
He was "recovering."
He was reviving.
Specifically, his "Heart" attribute was rising almost every day.
During a break in sparring one day, Natsunishi looked at the profile of Shinjuro tilting his head back to drink water and couldn't help but marvel.
Just how strong must this uncle have been in his prime?
[Rengoku Shinjuro (Energy Level: 461)]
Natsunishi had thought the stats of his senior brother, Aizen, were already exaggerated enough.
He could only say, was this truly the standard of a Flame Hashira who had served for many years?
Compared to the younger generation of Hashira, those extra ten-plus years of effort were not spent in vain.
His experience in fighting demons, his fully matured body, and his deeper understanding of Breathing Styles far surpassed Natsunishi and even Igarashi.
It was just that this volcano had previously been buried under heavy snow.
Perhaps it was the comfort brought by his wife's stable condition.
Perhaps Natsunishi's arrival had brought a variable into his life.
Or perhaps, it was simply because his hand had once again gripped that old friend with whom he hadn't communicated in a long time.
His dormant power was refilling his vessel, bit by bit, along his veins.
As the number of missions Natsunishi executed in the Tokyo area increased—especially after he had to high-handedly and quickly eliminate demons in several incidents for the sake of high-speed completion—certain rumors began to spread throughout Tokyo.
The title "Five-Colored Divine Light" first began to circulate among the circle of swordsmen.
It was said that if one encountered a demon too powerful to face near Tokyo, one only had to have a Kasugai Crow send out a call for help, and a swordsman accompanied by a yellow-haired owl-like youth would soon arrive to provide support.
His swordsmanship could bloom with five different colors of light, and his martial arts were also extremely formidable.
Not only could he quickly slay demons to complete the rescue, but he would also use medical skills far superior to those of an ordinary doctor to treat the wounded.
Many swordsmen even whispered privately, wondering if their crows had missed some news.
For example, had the headquarters added a new member to the Nine Hashira?
This sparked considerable curiosity and discussion within the Demon Slayer Corps, where Breathing Styles were highly valued.
Among the citizens of Tokyo, the rumors took on a different form.
They couldn't see "Sword Intent."
They could only see the results and the cleanup work after the battle.
Occasionally, violent incidents of people being harmed would occur deep in the night in Tokyo.
But after the screams and sounds of fighting subsided, a young person would often appear to bandage the injured, with an incredibly skilled technique.
He would neither ask for money nor leave his name.
He was like a wandering divine doctor with high medical ethics.
Afterward, a group of people in black uniforms would act with supernatural efficiency.
They would quickly seal off and process the scenes of brawls and murders.
Their actions were as clean and decisive as those of a well-trained special forces unit.
And according to the stammering accounts of the surviving witnesses, they appeared to be a secret unit under the Metropolitan Police Department.
They were called something like "Public Security Section 9."
"Section 9... Demon Slayer Mobile Unit?"
Inside a car driving toward the Rengoku estate, Ubuyashiki Kagaya listened to the folklore reported by the Kakushi unit, narrowing his eyes slightly in thought.
Could it be that the Ubuyashiki family had an unknown bloodline wandering out in Tokyo?
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