Chapter 17: Nichirin Blade
[3rd POV]
"Your sword has arrived, young man. Get up." I was able to barely make out his words due to a mixture of drowsiness and the sudden brightness after closing my eyes for too long.
I did a quick scan of where I was, under the shade of a giant tree in the Kabujitsu mountain. I remembered going to sleep under the shade after the sun had risen up.
"Good morning sir." I said with a yawn while stretching my limbs. I rubbed my eyes to reduce the heaviness of my eyelids while the person in front of me released a sigh.
"It's afternoon." he said and a quick peek at his attire told me that he was a Demon Slayer Corp swordsmith. He had the signature mask as well.
"Then Good afternoon."
"I know you young demon slayers are working hard but it's not healthy to live like that. A man is made to work during the day and rest at night." he said and looking through his mask, I saw that he was on the older side.
"I'll keep that in mind." I said although I was not sure if I would follow the advice. I didn't believe I would be able to sleep peacefully at night.
"Anyways, here is your nichirin blade." he said and revealed the giant long sword he was carrying behind him.
I stood up and took the sword from his hand. It was just like a normal katana except it was twice as long and the hilt was also longer, allowing for a two-handed use.
"Never thought someone would order an Odachi for demon slaying. I have only made such swords for ceremonial purposes so I was unsure, but I really lucked out on that one," he said with a proud smile on his face.
"It should be deadly if you can use it correctly"
Odachi.
A Japanese equivalent of the Claymore. It was a long katana made to be wielded with both hands and was rarely used in combat due to its inefficiency.
The length of the sword reached past my shoulder. I pulled out the sword from its sheath and admired how the sun reflected on the sharp blade.
"It's beautiful." I admired.
I could see in vivid detail how well-crafted the blade was. It made me take another look at the smith who was able to create such a marvellous blade.
"What is your name?" I asked. I needed to know his name.
"Hatori Kanezuka." he answered with a nod.
"Thank you for making my blade." I said with a respectful bow.
His smile widened and he waved me off, "No no, I was simply doing my job. I should be the one thanking you since your request gave me a new thing to work on instead of crafting the usual swords."
"Enough pleasantry, come on, take out the sword. You know the reason why us swordsmiths always deliver the nichirin blade personally is because we want to see the colour changing so don't keep me waiting," he said.
"Right." I replied and withdrew the blade completely from its sheath.
I was able to hold it in one hand with ease and when I did, the sword started changing its colour. It started from the base until the colour spread to the tips.
A dark purple blade.
"That's magnificent. Purple swords are rare." he said and then revealed a satisfied grin behind his mask, "Coming all the way here was worth it."
"About that, how did you find me?" I asked.
"Well you definitely did not make it easy." he said and gave me the stink eye while I replied with an awkward smile.
I was always moving so it must've been quite a challenge.
"The bird led me to you." he said and that was when I noticed the absence of Raven on my head. She was not on the trees nearby either.
"A sparrow?"
"Shaped like one at least," he replied and I chuckled. Raven was black and red, unlike any other sparrow.
She must be busy with her job at the moment. I was supposed to have my first mission after getting my nichirin blade.
"How about you show me how you plan to use the sword young man? I was incredulous ever since I got the letter." he said and walked back to give me some space to show him.
I gave a polite smile and nodded.
The reason why I specifically asked for an odachi was not only to look like a cool anime character, it also had a real practical use.
One thing I noticed whenever I found myself in battle was that I was not meant to be a close combat fighter.
My fighting style relied too heavily on my eyes so I needed my opponents to always be in my field of vision. If they got too close to me, it was harder to see every part of thier bodies.
I would've made for an excellent marksman but since that was not a viable option, I had to look for an alternative to increase my range.
The solution I came up with was wielding a long sword. That way I could always keep my opponents at a good distance where I could see every part of thier bodies. The long distance would also allow me to anticipate their moves better.
All in all, it was an advantage for me.
I wielded the sword in one hand. The weight was almost three times that of a normal nichirin blade but since I was stronger than most, it did not affect me much.
There was also puberty, I planned to capitalize on this phase of my life to get stronger. I would develop my strength to the point that wielding an odachi would feel like wielding a normal blade.
The odachi was not only heavier but longer than a katana. That usually made the wielder slower and sometimes even weaker.
Not for me though.
I had perfect movement which allowed me to easily wield the odachi. It reduced all the waste movements that came with using an odachi. I was also able to balance the weight of the sword perfectly which made the heavy weight nearly irrelevant when swinging.
My eyes allowed me to perfectly read my opponent and the rhythm of battles. With this, I had impeccable timing which should make up for my lack of speed.
In short, I had perfect precision and timing to make up for the disadvantage that came with the odachi. And as one warrior once said,
Precision beats power and timing beats speed.
"Ready?" I asked but I did not look to see his reply
I brought my sword up above my head and I swung down at the tree that once provided me shade.
I took in a gust of air to boost my body and I used all the fibre of my muscles to apply torque on my blade. I sliced the tree with deadly precision.
A small whirlwind erupted from my attack and then the tree neatly slide off its trunk and fell on the ground.
But that was not all because I also cut two more trees which were behind the one I aimed for. My swing was so perfect that it created a wind blade that was able to cut down two more trees.
The sound of the trees falling on the ground released a deep vibration on the ground.
"Wow!" Hatori exclaimed and clapped his hands. "I see, you have mastered the Wind Breathing Style. No wonder you would dare wield a longsword."
"Thank you, I still have much to learn," I said, finding no reason to correct him that I was not a user of Wind Breathing and I did not use any breathing style in my attack for that matter.
After that, I did other movements and just like I expected, I did not struggle much to wield the sword. Although it would take some to be as familiar as a normal katana.
Hatori and I chatted for a short while after that. I asked him in detail how made the sword. I also inquired if it would be possible for him to make a bow and nichirin-tipped arrow for me in the future. It was a genuine idea I had for a weapon.
In return, he asked me if he could look at my normal katana.
I said yes and handed my katana to him. It was made of normal steel but it was crafted by one of the greatest smiths in Japan.
"This is truly a work of art. Who was the swordsmith?" he asked while inspecting the sword.
"Gassan Sadakazu. He was given the title 'Imperial Artist' which is the highest title the Japanese government can give an artist." I said, "If not for my Kendo master's request and my victory in the nationals, I would never be able to even hold Gassan's work. They are in great demand." I said.
"I'm sure it is. Wow." he said while inspecting the tiniest detail of the katana. It felt like he was able to see just as much as me at the moment.
"If you want you can hold onto it since I no longer have use for the sword. It will just be a heavy burden in my travels." I said.
"Well if you say so." he said with shining eyes. He was excited.
Hatori left soon after that since he also had other deliveries and a ton of work back at home. I was left alone in the forest so I took the time to train with my new sword again.
I also strapped the sheath on my back since I was not able to the sword on my waist like a normal katana.
The afternoon sun slowly started falling on the horizon and Raven returned after disappearing the entire day. She immediately perched on top of my head upon her return and she brought news from the Demon Slayer headquarters.
My first mission was that I had to travel to Tokyo and investigate the recent disappearance of demons in different Wards of Tokyo.
I was also told that I was sent to Tokyo because I was knowledgable of the city and its areas. I spent most of my time in Tokyo when I was young since my kendo dojo was located there.
The Master also said that I could take the chance to visit my home if I wished to. Talk about being a great boss.
And there was also one more news.
"Tsuchinoto? Cool."
I was promoted to the rank of Tsuchinoto. Apparently, they were counting all of the demons I slayed after the final selection.
Raven also reported back to the headquarters so they thought it was only fair that they promoted me to Tsuchinoto since I killed six demons, half of them even had blood demon arts.
It seemed reaching the rank of Hashria won't be too hard.
A smile graced my lips as I got a new interesting idea. How about I beat Muichir's record of becoming a Hasira in the span on two months?
Well well well, what an interesting challenge. My gen z blood boiled just from thinking about it because this was literally what we grew up with.
Speedrunning.
"Watch me speedrun to Hashira!!"
Sounds like the title of a youtube video, or in this case.
The title of a chapter.
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.
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[Image of the sword]
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