章 18: The Kocho Sisters' Shock and Reaction
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--- Chapter 18 ---
Tenma shared his story of training alone in the mountains far away.
Of course, Tenma skimmed many details, like how he never mentioned Dragon Veins. He also deflected all his creations to an imaginary cave deep in the mountains, saying he got lucky and found a 'strong' spear.
Tenma didn't lie about slaying low-level demons and one mid-level demon, though.
Telling Kanae and Shinobu about his deed of killing demons will let them know his growth, especially for Kanae.
Kanae sighed and patted her head, "Ara, this is quite a shocking story, Tenma-kun."
"What? Kanae Nee-chan didn't believe me?" Tenma faked a 'sad' look.
Kanae smiled, "No, I trust you, Tenma-kan. It's just that you're growing so fast."
"At some point, you would leave me in a ditch."
"Ah, Nee-chan is soooo saaad~!"
Tenma's mouth twitched. This shameless young lady is using his trick as her comeback.
Meanwhile, Shinbou was left pondering. She didn't doubt Tenma's words as the result was literally sitting before her. However, she found Tenma's journey and intense training fascinating.
What kind of crazy genes allowed this young boy to grow like this?
I want to study him!
Besides being a Demon Slayer, Shinobu has a strong passion for the medical field and medicine. A large part of it is because Shinobu felt her physique was lacking.
Unlike Kanae, who became Flower Hashira at 14, Shinobu felt she was dragging her sister's name down and was useless. Her physical strength is actually weaker than most Demon Slayers.
To offset that problem, Shinobu developed many medicines and poisons to kill demons. She also modified her fighting style to be faster than strong.
In fact, Shinobu has modified Flower Breathing to match her physique.
Now that Shinobu had heard of Tenma's regime training, she wished it was compatible with her. She had to research it first, though success and failure depend on herself.
Kanae stopped her fake cry and leaned on warm kotatsu, "Nee-chan is joking. I'm proud of you, Tenma-kun~!"
"As expected of my little genius."
"Those old men in the Demon Slayers Corps will get shocked if they know about this."
Hearing this, Shinobu glanced at her sister and couldn't help but frown.
'It's not a secret that sister has a conflict with many people in the Demon Slayer Corps, including her own teacher... Does it have something to do with Tenma?'
'Wait, five months ago. I see...' Shinobu finally realized why her sister was so restless all this time. 'But seeing Tenma must have calmed her heart.'
Kanae giggled, "I'm curious about your new spear. Can I see it, Tenma-kun?"
"Wait here." Tenma went to the backyard, faking it to grab White Night in his inventory.
Upon his return, the Kocho Sister eyed the long white spear with a silver spearhead in his hand. The "Slay" character is 'meticulously' carved on the spear's body.
They were dumbfounded.
"N-Nichirin..." Shinobu rubbed her eyes, questioning her reality.
Kanae put on a weird expression, "There is no mistake. It is Nichirin Blade. No, it's more like Nichirin Spear..."
"Although the method is different, the material used is definitely the Scarlet Crimson Ore and Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand."
"But the color of that spearhead... It's silver."
As the wielder of Nichirin Blade, Kanae knew the gleam of one's blade connected to one's breathing technique. Kanae's Nichirin is light pink.
There is someone in the Demon Slayers Corps who could turn his blade into fiery red, allowing him to hamper Demon's Regeneration and induce immense pain in them.
He's a valuable asset in the Demon Slayer Corps, but the higher-ups held him in the headquarters.
"I have never seen a silver blade before..." Shinobu also knew about the significance of Nichirin's blade color.
"Spear Breathing. Tenma-kun, did you use Spear Breathing when using this spear?" Kanae suddenly said.
"Of course, why would I not do that?" Tenma tilted his head. "If I don't use Spear Breathing, I can't possibly defeat demons. That's just courting death, isn't it?"
Kanae and Shinobu choked on the air. This boy is using logic like it is his best friend.
"Spear Breathing? Is there any breathing like that?" Shinobu asked this time.
"Of course, there is. I made it!" Tenma lifted his nose proudly.
"..." Shinobu. Are you still human?
Kanae giggled and responded, "That's true. Tenma indeed made his own breathing technique."
"While it lacked something at first, his training with me allowed him to perfect his unique breathing technique: Spear Breathing."
'Is this the wonder of genius?' Shinobu clenched her hand under the table in depression.
Tenma noticed Shinobu's act but didn't do anything to console her. It would just annoy her.
He believed a feisty young lady like Shinobu would grow fast with some healthy pressures.
"Can I check the spear, Tenma-kun? I'm just making sure everything is alright." Kanae curiously stared at the spear.
"The name is White Night. Don't forget it," Tenma mentioned the spear's name, handing it to Kanae.
"Also, be careful, Nee-chan. It's heavy."
"Ara~! How heavy can it be?" Kanae was 'naturally' amused by his warning.
But Kanae regretted her words immediately.
When White Night left Tenma's hand and fell on Kanae's hand, she felt her muscles contract immediately.
Kanae's eyes widened in shock as she looked up to Tenma.
Although Kanae looks like a thin and harmless young lady, she actually has built up quite a muscle under her clothes because of her intense training regimen at the Demon Slayer Corps.
Yet she's struggling to hold up this spear. Yes, at least without using her breathing technique.
After using Total Concentration to focus her physical force on her arms, Kanae sucked a cold breath. 'This weight... It's almost a ton.'
"Tenma-kun. What kind of training did you do exactly?"
Tenma maintained a 'serious' look and answered with a deep voice, "My training consists of 10,000 situps, pushups, and squats followed by a 62-mile (100-km) run!"
"I also wear extra weights on my body."
"I did it every day for five months, never stopping!"
"Even in heat, cold, or sickness. I will never stop!"
"The grind never stops!"
"..." Kanae and Shinobu were speechless. The routine aside, doing that training every day sounds tiring and self-breaking.
No wonder he grew so big!
"S-Sister, just how heavy is that spear?" Shinobu asked Kanae.
Kanae smiled bitterly and placed White Night near Shinobu, causing it to make a loud thud. "Check it yourself."
Thud!
Shinobu gulped upon hearing that noise. She nervously grabbed the spear's pole and tried to lift it. But she couldn't!
Even after using her Insect Breathing and Total Concentration, she still can't lift it!
"M-Monster..." Shinobu's voice trembled. She believed only a handful of people in the Demon Slayer Corps could lift this spear.
...
[Name: White Night (Quasi-Epic)]
[Introduction: A mighty long spear made by an inexperienced yet creative blacksmith. Using Seastones (Kairoseki) as the base and Scarlet Crimson Ore and Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand as the support, the spear is as hard as a diamond and can damage demons extensively through Wood and Fire Tao's refinements]
[The spear is also enhanced with Petrification Monster's Core, allowing the spear to petrify the enemy's bodies and blood. This ability is only accessible to the spear maker, Tenma]
[Killing 'weak' demons with this spear is as easy as cutting tofu!]
...
"Haha, I told you already." Tenma laughed, lifting White Night casually as if it were weightless.
He smugly put the spear aside and sat down again.
Kanae rubbed her forehead. "Tenma-kun, you're giving Nee-chan quite a scare. It's not good for my heart, you know?"
"You're still young, Nee-chan. You will be alright." Tenma brushed her words off. This shameless young lady's teasing won't work on him that easily.
"Hmph!" Kanae pouted, feeling amused. The stronger Tenma becomes, the happier she is.
"Well, your bizarre training aside..."
"Why don't you tell us about Eri now?"
"Yes, I also want to know!" Shinobu also nodded.
Tenma sighed and told them about Eri's story, making the Kocho Sisters dumbfounded. They would never think such a young child went through so much ordeal and darkness of humanity.
Her father died.
Her mother ended up in a coma.
"No wonder you sigh..." Kanae replied with a low tone. Although selling a child is technically permitted and could help a family financially for the better, kidnapping someone to make a profit isn't.
Not to mention, the bandits also murdered someone.
"Nobleman, huh? With a connection to the police at that," Shinobu mumbled, thinking about something.
"This might be more troublesome than we thought, Sister."
"We can report and destroy them by claiming their corruption. But we have no proof."
"What about eliminating them directly? Trash like them shouldn't exist in this world." Tenma's cold voice echoed in the living room.
Gasp!
Kanae and Shinobu gasped. They felt shiver down their spines when hearing Tenma's cold voice.
"Tenma-kun, you can't!" Kanae sternly scolded him. "We must follow the laws. Nee-chan doesn't want you to become criminals."
"Let Nee-chan handle this, okay?"
"You are really going to commit a crime, aren't you?" Shinobu squinted her eyes.
Tenma chuckled, "if you can't handle it. I don't have any other choice. And you can do nothing about it."
"Y-You!" Shinobi was alarmed.
"Shinobu, stop! Let's hear Tenma's plan first." Kanae held her sister down and stared at Tenma calmly.
Tenma winked at Kanae playfully, "As expected of Nee-chan. You always trust me."
"Crime only exists if there are witnesses. The answer is to leave no witness."
"However, that's impossible. The nobleman and his family won't leave their house on these cold days."
"Unless there is a danger like demons."
"Who knows... There might be 'accidents' on their escape."
"Tenma-kun. Since when did you become like this?" Kanae sucked a cold breath, feeling unfamiliar with this handsome teenager.
Tenma smiled innocently, "You're wrong, Nee-chan. I did not become like this. I am always like this."
"I only wanted to avenge my fallen homie and his family."
"Seeing an innocent child suffer makes my heart hurt..."
"It makes me remember my own suffering."
Tenma's words stirred Kanae's softened heart. She knew Tenma's poor living conditions and the treatment he gets from Wakami Villagers.
If Kanae didn't help Tenma, the villagers might still give him stink eyes.
"I understand..." Kanae sighed.
"Let's do your plan."
"Sister!" Shinobu was astonished. Why did her rational older sister become like this all of a sudden?
"Shuush!" Kanae sealed her sister's lips with her finger.
"Shinobu. We do this under personal ambition and have no connection with the Demon Slayer Corps."
"We are eradicating evils to make the world a better place."
"Remember that."
"O-Okay..." Shinobu agreed eventually.
"Good. But we won't take action immediately," said Tenma casually.
"First, we must obtain some dirt (proof) on the nobleman."
"Mm, it's good that you're not impulsive." Kanae sighed in relief.
"What about a spar, Tenma-kun?"
"You and my sister?"
"HUH???" Shinobu stood up.
Why did you drag me to fight this monster?
"Sure. I'm curious how strong your sister is, Nee-chan." Tenma smiled at Shinobu.
Kanae giggled, "Don't look down on my sister."
"She might be feisty, but she's also a fighter."
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Nine_Clouds
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