(Bonus update)
Rokuya fell silent.
A Hashira title?
Thunder Hashira? Water Hashira?
None of those seemed to suit him. His true source of strength was not a Breathing Style, but magic from another world-the "Invincible Might" slumbering deep within the system, waiting for him to awaken it fully.
He recalled his first day after crossing into this world, and the bone-deep despair he had felt facing three demons in a dead end.
He recalled the anger he had felt when he first raised a wooden stick to survive and protect the Kocho Sisters behind him.
He recalled the exhilaration of slaughtering every demon in Mochizuki Village's limestone cavern, cloaked in a silver-blue Magic Energy Aura as he stood before more than a hundred villagers like an insurmountable wall.
Kai.
It was not merely a hero template the system had given him, but the creed he had lived by since coming to this world.
"Armor was born to protect, and also to slaughter."
Rokuya slowly raised his head, his eyes shining with an unprecedented resolve.
"Master, my Breathing Style is only a supplement. What I truly rely on is this body, tempered through countless trials, and this heavy blade that severs everything. I am willing to become a wall standing before all demons, as well as the sharp blade that cuts their throats."
"Call me-the 'Kai Hashira.'"
The Kai Hashira.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki savored the name, his smile deepening.
"The Kai Hashira... your body as a shield, your blade as punishment. Good. A very good name." Kagaya Ubuyashiki nodded solemnly. "From today onward, you are the Demon Slayer Corps' fourth Hashira-the Kai Hashira, Takanashi Rokuno! I will arrange for the Kasugai Crows to announce this to the entire Corps immediately."
"Thank you, Master," Rokuya replied, neither servile nor arrogant.
"Also, now that you have become a Hashira, custom requires you to hand over your Nichirin Blade for the swordsmiths of Swordsmith Village to perform a special engraving ceremony-to inscribe the four bold characters for 'Destroyer of Demons.'" Kagaya Ubuyashiki continued making arrangements. "This will take about half a month. During that time, stay here at Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters. Headquarters has dedicated training grounds and support personnel, so you can rest and recuperate properly."
"Understood." Rokuya nodded, then unfastened Shura and handed it to the Kakushi Corps member beside him, who was already staring in a daze.
Rokuya had little objection to handing over his weapon. For one thing, he would not need to go out on missions during his half-month stay at headquarters. For another, he was curious about what sort of reaction would occur when his massive blade, enhanced by the system and imbued with the law of the [Shadow Battle Axe], reached the hands of those swordsmiths who treasured swords as their own lives.
As it turned out, Kagaya Ubuyashiki's decision to let Rokuya stay at headquarters to recuperate was an extremely "mistaken" one.
Over the next half month, the entire logistics department of Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters experienced an unprecedented "disaster."
"Quick! Kitchen staff, cut another fifty jin of wild boar meat! The three iron pots over at Lord Kai Hashira's table are empty again!"
"What about the rice? Has the fifth bucket been sent over yet? Lord Kai Hashira said he was only half full just now!"
"Heavens, how did all those vegetables disappear in the blink of an eye? Hurry and fetch more from the cellar!"
In the rear courtyard of headquarters, the Kakushi Corps members scrambled about like ants on a hot pan. Black smoke billowed from the kitchen chimney day and night without pause. Dozens of cooks wielded their spatulas, sweating profusely with exhaustion, their arms trembling slightly.
Meanwhile, in the pavilion at the center of the courtyard, Rokuya sat with his legs spread wide, without a shred of decorum.
An extra-large, long table stood before him, heaped with small mountains of food. Wild boar steaks roasted golden and dripping with fat, white rice piled as high as Mount Fuji, vegetable miso soup in bowls the size of washbasins...
"Chomp!"
Rokuya grabbed a bone-in wild boar steak weighing a full three jin and bit into it, meat and bone alike. Under his terrifying bite force, the hard bones crumbled as easily as crisp crackers, and he swallowed them along with the meat juices.
"Whew-delicious."
Rokuya downed a large bowl of miso soup and let out a long, satisfied breath.
As his constitution continued to improve and he developed his Magic Power more deeply, Rokuya discovered that his appetite was growing wildly at an exponential rate. Especially after an intense battle, his body would feel profoundly weak unless he consumed an enormous number of calories.
Although the system could exchange equipment, it could not conjure food out of thin air to fill his stomach. Over the past half month, his daily food intake had nearly equaled that of an entire fifty-man squad.
Watching Rokuya's seemingly bottomless stomach, the Kakushi Corps members in the logistics department were so shocked that their jaws nearly hit the floor.
"Lord Kai Hashira... really isn't a demon in disguise, is he?" A young member who had only recently joined the Kakushi Corps swallowed and muttered under his breath.
"Shut up! Show some respect for a Hashira!" An older Kakushi Corps member beside him slapped him on the head, though his own eyes were full of awe. "What do you know? A big appetite means a strong fighter! Haven't you heard? Lord Kai Hashira is a monster who cut down fifty demons in one go! What's a little food compared to that? As long as he can kill demons, the Master wouldn't even frown if he emptied every granary in headquarters!"
In truth, although the Kakushi Corps members were utterly exhausted, they were full of gratitude and affection for Rokuya.
In this oppressive world where people could die at any moment, simply watching a living person feast with such vitality was an immense comfort in itself. Besides, although the newly appointed Kai Hashira looked cold, his temper was actually quite decent. As long as no one interrupted his meals, he never put on airs as a Hashira, and occasionally even helped the Kakushi Corps move heavy objects weighing several hundred jin.
During this half-month wait, aside from eating, Rokuya spent most of his time meditating and practicing basic swings in the forest on the mountain behind headquarters.
Without Shura's weight holding him back, he began trying to simulate his swings with an ordinary wooden stick. He discovered that after integrating the [Shadow Battle Axe]'s Armor-Piercing Law, his control over his strength had become more precise.
Armor piercing was not merely about ignoring an enemy's defenses, but also an understanding of how to destroy an object's internal structure.
Rokuya stood before an ancient tree so thick it would take three people to encircle it, and thrust the wooden stick in his hand forward with a seemingly slow motion.
"Pfft."
The wooden stick did not snap. Instead, it slipped soundlessly into the hard trunk as though slicing through tofu, reaching all the way to its center.
Rokuya withdrew the stick. Only a small round hole remained on the ancient tree's surface, but under a microscope, one would have seen that its internal fibers and veins had been utterly shredded in that instant by an exceedingly sharp cutting force. A gust of wind blew, and the entire tree collapsed with a crash, turning into a carpet of fine wood shavings.
"With this kind of control... if I used it in actual combat, I could easily sever a demon's neck without even making broad slashes."
Rokuya gazed at the wood shavings covering the ground, deep in thought.
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