In the world of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, there were three cheats that could drastically boost one's strength.
The [Demon Slayer Mark], which enhanced every aspect of physical ability.
The [Transparent World], which concealed one's presence and sharpened perception.
The [Bright Red Nichirin Sword], which increased damage and weakened a demon's regeneration.
These were the three great cheats of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. The Demon Slayers of the Sengoku period were no strangers to them. Most had mastered one or two to some degree, and some had even mastered all three.
Precisely because of this, humans had actually held the upper hand in battles between Demon Slayers and demons during the Sengoku period. But because they had failed to eliminate the Demon King, Muzan, these three great cheats had gradually been lost to the passage of time.
Sitting cross-legged on her bed, Chinatsu switched from Water Breathing's Constant practice to Hinokami Kagura, training her endurance while considering how to speed up her growth.
Setting aside defeating Upper Rank Three during the Mugen Train arc, if her primary goal was to save the Flame Hashira, then the most effective of the three cheats was undoubtedly the Transparent World.
Upper Rank Three, Akaza, used his fists as weapons and had mastered a variety of powerful combat techniques. But the core of his arsenal was a skill called Compass Needle.
Like a compass, this skill precisely detected an opponent's fighting spirit, making his attacks and evasions as accurate and inexorable as a magnet's pull. The stronger his opponent's fighting spirit, the more pronounced the effect became.
The Transparent World's ability to conceal one's presence could counter Compass Needle, making it an essential ability for anyone who wanted to defeat Akaza.
That brought up a problem: the Transparent World was the hardest of the three cheats to unlock. Almost everyone who unlocked it had already unlocked the other two.
It's all so vague. Maybe... I should give it a try?
Chinatsu closed her eyes, trying to shut down most of her senses and concentrate all her energy on perception.
Time ticked steadily by. Chinatsu had no idea how much time had passed, because she had... fallen asleep.
Her first attempt at entering the Transparent World ended in failure.
Morning came.
Chinatsu sat in the chair in front of the mirror, looking thoroughly dejected. Her entire expression seemed to be scolding her for falling asleep.
The Transparent World seems a little too elusive to achieve anytime soon. Does that leave only the Demon Slayer Mark or the Bright Red Nichirin Sword?
The Demon Slayer Mark's all-around physical enhancement sounded tempting, but the problem was that unlocking it cut one's lifespan straight down to twenty-five. It also spread like a plague: having someone with a mark nearby made it easier for others to awaken theirs. You got a shortened lifespan, I got a shortened lifespan-everyone got a shortened lifespan.
After thinking it over, she realized that the Bright Red Nichirin Sword seemed to be the easiest to unlock. There were two ways to do it.
First, heat the Nichirin Blade through sheer grip strength. However, people who had not awakened their Demon Slayer Mark generally lacked that kind of grip strength.
Second, use repeated collisions between weapons to raise the Nichirin Blade's temperature to its limit. This was a little more realistic, but ordinary clashes were not enough to meet that condition. At Chinatsu and Tanjiro's current level, even their previous flurry of blows against each other could not generate that degree of heat.
Chinatsu gazed at her reflection, endlessly considering how she could get stronger now. In the end, all she could come up with was to keep practicing Hinokami Kagura breathing every night and trying to enter the Transparent World, continue sparring with Tanjiro to improve, then head to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters and engage a Pillar in an intense exchange of blows, using a Pillar-level fighter's strength to unlock the Bright Red Nichirin Sword.
"I've got a long road ahead..."
Chinatsu let out a sigh. Suddenly, her body's "minor mark plus minor regeneration" cheats did not seem so appealing anymore. She would rather have awakened the Transparent World right from the start.
Chinatsu gathered herself and turned her attention back to reality. Looking at her reflection, she suddenly froze.
Her hair, which had originally hung loose, had been swept to one side and woven into a loose braid. This hairstyle was called a "side ponytail," and it had another name in the anime world.
The [married woman's hairstyle]!
This hairstyle exuded an intellectual beauty and often appeared on older-sister types, married women, or mothers. Since characters of this type frequently met unfortunate ends for all sorts of reasons in anime, it was also known as the hairstyle of death.
Behind Chinatsu, Nezuko was happily holding a comb and tidying her hair. As the Kamado family's resident sewing expert, she knew a fair amount about hairstyling too. To save the expense of visiting a barber, Nezuko sometimes even handled their haircuts.
"Hehe~ Sis, you still looked a little sleepy, so I fixed your hair for you. What do you think? I haven't lost my touch, have I~?" Nezuko looked at Chinatsu's new hairstyle with great satisfaction.
It really is perfect. She could probably make a name for herself as a hairdresser. It's just this hairstyle... If only it didn't come with that kind of death flag...
Of course, Chinatsu could not bring herself to dampen Nezuko's enthusiasm. She would just keep the hairstyle.
"Nezuko, it's about time we got ready to leave."
"Okay!"
Nezuko obediently picked up her bamboo muzzle, and the wooden box that served as her portable little home was ready by the door. Before long, Tanjiro appeared outside their room and gently knocked.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Sis? Nezuko? Are you awake?"
A few seconds later, the door opened from inside. Tanjiro went in, then came back out with the wooden box on his back and headed to the inn's counter with Chinatsu.
The young woman working at the counter that day saw Chinatsu and Tanjiro emerge. Though she did not know them, she still smiled politely. "You two must be an older sister and younger brother. You seem so close. I'm really envious. I have a younger brother myself, but he's always giving me headaches..."
It was the receptionist's usual small talk. An inn could not neglect even departing travelers, since they were all customers who might return in the future.
Chinatsu did not care about the content of the receptionist's chatter. What mattered was that the young woman had actually guessed her relationship with Tanjiro correctly!
Not an older brother and younger sister, but an older sister and younger brother!
The corners of Chinatsu's mouth twitched upward happily, her eyes brimming with joy. At the same time, she had a pretty good idea what had caused this change.
Her gaze shifted slightly toward the side ponytail Nezuko had just styled for her, and a jumble of emotions filled her heart.
Meanwhile, a black crow appeared outside the inn. In Japan, crows were considered one of the national birds and embodiments of divine birds, so its presence did not provoke any unease.
The crow flew anxiously back and forth, inwardly grumbling about why Chinatsu and Tanjiro still had not come out. With so many people around, it could not even speak.
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