Flame Hashira: Kyojuro Rengoku!
Water Hashira: Giyu Tomioka!
Insect Hashira: Shinobu Kocho!
Serpent Hashira: Obanai Iguro!
Wind Hashira: Sanemi Shinazugawa!
Stone Hashira: Gyomei Himejima!
Demon Slayer Corps Oyakata-sama: Kagaya Ubuyashiki!
And our protagonist: Chinatsu Kamado!
Everyone sat in a room, with Chinatsu and Kyojuro seated in the middle of the Hashira, closest to Oyakata-sama. Closer to him than either of them, however, were their swords.
"They really have changed... How extraordinary..." Oyakata-sama stared at the two swords, so astonished that he hardly knew what to say.
He had already read every book in his family's collection, and he trusted his memory. There was absolutely nothing about this in the family records... not a single word!
"What... do you all think?"
Recovering somewhat from his astonishment, Oyakata-sama raised his head and asked everyone before him what they thought of this change in the Nichirin Blades.
Although none of those present knew anything about forging Nichirin Blades, they had spent years wielding them in battles to the death against demons. Naturally, they had their own thoughts on the change.
"The repeated collisions generated intense heat in the blades. Nichirin Blades can kill demons because the ore used to forge them holds the power of the sun. In their current state... I believe they should pose an even greater threat to demons..." The Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro, was the first to speak.
His senses were keen, and he could feel that the Nichirin Blades before him radiated a stronger version of the distinctive aura they had possessed before.
"I agree, but we should conduct an experiment before reaching a conclusion. For example, we could kill a demon with one of these blades and observe its reaction." Shinobu Kocho raised a finger, her eyes narrowed, and offered her opinion.
Everyone around her nodded. They certainly needed to test it. Without an experiment, anything they said would be nothing more than speculation.
Activating a Bright Red Nichirin Sword was not permanent. At its core, it was simply a "Nichirin Blade at a high temperature." The heat amplified the sun's power within the ore used to forge it. Once the blade cooled, it would revert to an ordinary Nichirin Blade.
After some discussion, experiments on the Bright Red Nichirin Swords began in an orderly fashion under Oyakata-sama's direction.
First, the Hashira paired up and fought as Chinatsu and Kyojuro had, testing whether frequent clashes between their Nichirin Blades could transform their own swords in the same way.
After a series of noisy experiments, every Hashira except Shinobu Kocho successfully activated a Bright Red Nichirin Sword. Unfortunately, Shinobu lacked the strength to sustain such intense clashes.
Once they confirmed that the Bright Red Nichirin Sword's appearance was no mere fluke, they began testing its capabilities.
In an alley in a certain county town, a demon was running frantically.
Was he chasing a human?
No, a human was chasing him!
Sanemi Shinazugawa raced after him, wearing an expression even fiercer and more frightening than the demon's.
"Wind Breathing, First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter!"
Sanemi flashed forward like a sideways hurricane. In the blink of an eye, he moved from behind the demon to directly in front of him. Both arms of the fleeing demon were severed, and the pain left him unable to run. He stood rooted to the spot, roaring.
Under normal circumstances, even an injury this painful would have regenerated quickly. Now, however, his arms showed no signs of regenerating at all, and the demon could not understand why.
"Wh-why! Why won't my arms regenerate! It hurts! It hurts! It-"
Swish!
Sanemi slashed upward with his Bright Red Nichirin Sword. The demon died in agony and dissolved into smoke.
Sanemi swung the Bright Red Nichirin Sword in his hand, the corners of his mouth lifting as a fiery gleam flashed through his eyes.
Three days later, Sanemi returned from testing the Bright Red Nichirin Sword and told everyone that it could inhibit a demon's regeneration. The Hashira and Oyakata-sama clenched their fists in delight.
It could inhibit a demon's regeneration!
They had only expected it to deal more damage. Its ability to suppress regeneration was truly an unexpected bonus.
Even amid their excitement, they did not forget to analyze the Bright Red Nichirin Sword's drawbacks.
First, it did not last long.
Second, activating it through collisions was troublesome. It required both a partner and time. Against a powerful demon, finding an opportunity to heat up their Nichirin Blades would be difficult.
As everyone pondered this problem, Chinatsu quietly raised her hand.
"Um, why don't you try using grip strength?"
Her suggestion made everyone pause. Grip strength? Did she mean squeezing the sword's hilt hard? Raising its temperature through grip strength? Wasn't that a little far-fetched?
Faced with everyone's baffled expressions, Chinatsu could only respond with a smile.
Far-fetched? You're actually calling this far-fetched? I think it's far-fetched too, okay? But that's how the author drew it. What am I supposed to do?
If Chinatsu had not suspected that her own grip strength fell short of the requirement, she would have demonstrated it herself.
In the original story, the Serpent Hashira and Mist Hashira had activated their Bright Red Nichirin Swords through grip strength. The other Hashira had paired up and activated theirs by clashing blades.
So did the Mist Hashira and Serpent Hashira have the strongest grips?
Of course not. Besides, when the Serpent Hashira and Mist Hashira activated their Bright Red Nichirin Swords, they had the assistance of their demon slayer marks. Their strength had increased at the cost of their lifespans. None of the Hashira present had awakened a mark yet, so Chinatsu was not sure whether anyone could truly activate a Bright Red Nichirin Sword through grip strength alone.
Just as silence settled over the room, the strongest man in the Demon Slayer Corps stepped forward!
Gyomei Himejima!
He was the strongest member of the current Demon Slayer Corps, described by Upper Rank One as having "the strongest human physique I have encountered in three hundred years." The author had never revealed the rankings among the Hashira, so opinions varied, with everyone having their own interpretation. Only the Stone Hashira held the undisputed position of strongest.
"Let me try this method."
With his palms pressed together, Gyomei Himejima stepped out from among the Hashira. No one objected. Everyone knew that the Stone Hashira had the strongest grip. If even he could not activate a Bright Red Nichirin Sword through grip strength, the others had no chance... at least for now.
As he stepped forward, he took out his own "Nichirin Blade." However, his "Nichirin Blade" was quite different from everyone else's and had a very distinctive design.
With a clatter!, he drew out an exceptionally long, heavy chain. A sharp axe was attached to one end, while the other held a spiked flail larger than his head...
Before you continue