Chapter 213: Sunset Moon
Haganezuka reached out and snatched the Nichirin Sword straight from Tanjiro's hands.
Tanjiro: "!!!"
"No! This was entrusted to me by Mr. Ren! Mr. Haganezuka, please, don't!"
Tanjiro drew the Nichirin Sword in alarm.
Who could have expected Haganezuka to shamelessly say,
"It's fine! I'll take it back and study it for about a week, then I'll return it to you!"
"You don't want your Nichirin Sword to break, do you?"
Hearing that, the fingers Tanjiro had clenched around the sword visibly loosened.
Kanamori watched the whole thing and shook his head.
"Tanjiro spoils Haganezuka far too much."
Haganezuka naturally noticed it as well.
The moment he felt Tanjiro's grip loosen, he yanked the Nichirin Sword away!
Having gotten his hands on it, Haganezuka immediately sprinted toward his forge.
As he ran, he hugged the Nichirin Sword tightly against his chest, looking guilty as though he had stolen something!
Tanjiro's heart lurched.
Only then did he realize that the Nichirin Sword Mr. Ren had entrusted to him had been taken away by Haganezuka.
It's over...
Tanjiro trembled as he walked over to Ren, looking utterly pitiful.
"Mr. Ren, I lost the Nichirin Sword you gave me..."
Ren didn't even turn around.
"It's fine. It was only a defective product anyway."
Tanjiro: "..."
"A defective product?"
Kanamori was stunned.
It was merely a defective product?
Kanamori hesitated.
Could Ren forge an even stronger Nichirin Sword?
He couldn't help glancing at the piece of iron ore that had already been sliced apart nearby.
His heart suddenly gave a violent jolt.
Could Ren actually forge a Nichirin Sword even stronger than the one capable of cutting through iron ore?!
Then Kanamori looked in the direction Haganezuka had disappeared.
He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Good. Good! At least I didn't run as fast as that idiot.
Otherwise, he would have missed this opportunity!
Fortunately, he had his own mission to carry out. If he had rushed after Haganezuka to snatch the defective product as well, wouldn't he have looked like an idiot?
Good. Good.
Kanamori sighed three times in succession.
Thankfully, he hadn't followed that fool Haganezuka out.
The man had actually gleefully carried a defective product back to study!
But then Kanamori's eyes suddenly lit up.
If Ren finishes his work later, couldn't I borrow the sword and study it myself?
The village chief had given him a mission as well. If he could use that mission to quickly improve his relationship with Ren, wouldn't that be a good thing?
His own forging skills would improve as a result!
And then the village chief would...
At the thought, Kanamori's expression immediately settled.
The heat in his eyes faded.
He simply stood quietly and watched Ren forge the weapon.
With his abilities, he could certainly continue learning!
Kanamori smiled confidently, creating a sharp contrast with the expression on Tanjiro's face.
Everyone fell silent.
Ren kept his eyes fixed on his work and gradually entered a certain state.
Time Domain activated!
You are swinging the hammer. Hammering Experience +1.
You are observing. Research Experience +1.
You are hammering. Forging Experience +1.
During the forging process, you studied and discovered changes within the metal. As you observe the forging of the weapon in your hands, your control over metal has increased!
You observed your own striking movements and continued to improve. Your movements are becoming increasingly precise!
Your muscles are adapting to your movements. You have begun to perfectly control every muscle in your body. You can manipulate your strength with greater precision!
You have swung the hammer five hundred times. Your experience continues to accumulate. Through continuous practice, you have mastered the Way of Forging!
Forging State: When you concentrate on a single task, your concentration and learning ability are doubled!
You have activated Forging State!
Ren's eyes gleamed.
Under the Forging State, his overall perception improved once again.
However, this wasn't an improvement in his perception of the surrounding environment.
Instead, his understanding of the task he was currently performing—forging a weapon—had been comprehensively enhanced.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ren's speed increased once more.
His hands moved so quickly that they were almost impossible to see.
In his hands, the shape of another Nichirin Sword gradually began to emerge.
The sky darkened.
Before anyone realized it, dusk had arrived.
The setting sun descended beyond the mountains, its fading light spilling across the peaks and casting the last rays of the day over the hot springs of the Swordsmith Village.
This was the busiest time for the swordsmiths. In roughly an hour, people would begin coming to bathe in the hot springs.
That was why there were usually very few people here at this time.
Only a handful of Demon Slayers were scattered around.
Among them, Kaigaku was soaking in the hot spring.
Today was the day he was supposed to receive his Nichirin Sword.
During his previous battle with a demon, his reckless actions had caused his Nichirin Sword to break.
However, that wasn't what was troubling him now.
It was his meeting with Kokushibo.
He had discovered that Kokushibo was secretly connected to demons!
This gave Kaigaku leverage over him, and he had been preparing to report Kokushibo.
But Kokushibo had responded with a brilliant counteroffer.
He had directly promised to make Kaigaku stronger, claiming that he knew powerful figures such as the Twelve Kizuki.
Then he had invited Kaigaku to become a demon as well!
At the time, Kaigaku had been completely stunned.
What did he mean by that?
How could he, Kaigaku—the most respected senior disciple of the former Thunder Hashira—possibly accept such a request?
So Kaigaku still hadn't reported him.
It wasn't because he had been tempted.
Rather, Kaigaku had decided to play a much bigger game!
He would personally enter that situation and lure out one of the Twelve Kizuki.
Then he would use his invincible Thunder Breathing to kill every one of the Twelve Kizuki!
Once he accomplished that, he would become the new Thunder Hashira.
"Heh heh... Zenitsu, you useless brat. Even you received the old man's recognition, and he even said you would become his successor. I refuse to believe that you'll still have his recognition after I kill one of the Twelve Kizuki!"
As though sensing something, Kaigaku suddenly raised his head and looked toward the sky.
Far away, beneath the darkening sky, a lone Kasugai Crow suddenly flapped its wings and flew toward him.
The Kasugai Crow landed on Kaigaku's hand.
Kaigaku immediately pulled the message tied to its leg free.
"Kokushibo?"
After reading the contents of the letter, a strange smile appeared on Kaigaku's face.
He hadn't expected Kokushibo to send him a message saying that Ren had arrived at the Swordsmith Village and instructing him to secretly observe Ren's movements.
He absolutely could not let Ren escape.
Kaigaku frowned.
Originally, he had no intention of involving himself in Kokushibo's mission.
But the name Ren had become incredibly famous!
He clearly remembered that Ren's name had been everywhere within the Demon Slayer Corps over the past few days.
Even if he wanted to avoid hearing about him, it was practically impossible!
This greatly displeased the young and ambitious Kaigaku.
I'm obviously the one with the greatest talent.
So why is nobody paying attention to me?