After helping the people of the Swordsmith Village finish moving, Lin Yoriichi could finally teach the Hashira the art of the bright red Nichirin sword as he had planned.
He stood before them and slowly drew his sword.
Before their eyes, Lin Yoriichi's blade actually turned a peculiar dark red as it left its sheath.
They could even faintly sense the heat radiating from the blade.
"Namu Amida Butsu."
Gyomei Himejima pressed his palms together and recited a Buddhist invocation.
Although his eyes could not see, his senses were sharper than those of ordinary people.
To his senses, the sword Mr. Yoriichi now held seemed as though it had been taken from a furnace and had yet to cool completely.
"Such astonishing heat!"
"Can a human body truly wield such an astonishing art?"
Gyomei Himejima's amazement was not without reason.
The key to activating a bright red Nichirin sword was temperature.
In the original story, some Hashira used their grip strength to activate their bright red Nichirin swords, while others chose to strike their blades together.
Whether they relied on their grip strength to "squeeze" their swords to a high temperature or "struck" their swords until they became hot,
both methods required exceptionally astonishing strength.
Lin Yoriichi had originally wanted the Hashira to try activating their bright red Nichirin swords directly through grip strength and collisions.
But now it seemed that without awakening their Demon Slayer Marks and greatly increasing their base strength, they probably could not accomplish that at all.
What was more, in the original story, Obanai Iguro had ranked second from the bottom in strength throughout the entire Demon Slayer Corps.
Even after awakening his Demon Slayer Mark, he had nearly exhausted all his strength to activate his bright red Nichirin sword.
As for Shinobu Kocho, who was even weaker than Obanai Iguro, she would probably struggle to activate a bright red Nichirin sword on her own even if she awakened her Demon Slayer Mark.
Lin Yoriichi was just about to set aside those thoughts when he heard Kyojuro Rengoku ask energetically:
"Mr. Yoriichi! What help does activating a bright red Nichirin sword provide?!"
Lin Yoriichi said in a deep voice:
"A bright red Nichirin sword can hinder a demon's regeneration!"
At those words, almost all the Hashira present froze, apart from Muichiro Tokito, who was still crouching on the ground.
Every one of them had extensive experience fighting demons.
Thus, the Hashira knew very well that when fighting demons, what troubled them most was not just the endlessly varied Blood Demon Arts, but also the demons' astonishing regenerative ability.
Almost all of them had experienced struggling to cripple an opponent's arm or another limb, only for the opponent to regenerate a new one in the blink of an eye.
If their swords could suppress the regeneration of demons' limbs...
Lin Yoriichi clearly sensed the breathing of the Hashira before him grow heavier.
Standing before them, Lin Yoriichi felt as though he could even hear their thoughts-
Even if we could only slow their regeneration and recovery a little during battle, that would give us another advantage when facing demons with our human bodies!
Shinobu Kocho's eyes were also shining faintly at that moment.
Although her fighting style differed from that of the other Hashira, and she relied more often on poison to deal with demons,
the poisons she made might even lose their potency under the high temperatures of a bright red Nichirin sword.
But Shinobu Kocho knew that a bright red Nichirin sword would likewise mean more options for her in battle!
Lin Yoriichi continued:
"For now, I will help each of you activate your bright red Nichirin swords first, so you can experience that state."
"As for how you can activate your bright red Nichirin swords on your own or by teaming up with other Hashira without my help, that will have to wait a little longer."
He said this because he was still taking the Demon Slayer Marks into consideration.
At first, Lin Yoriichi had thought that as long as he fused with Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Nichirin Sword and obtained the complete effects of a bright red Nichirin sword,
then, when the time came to cut down Muzan Kibutsuji, he could transmit those effects to them, giving their side nine more swordsmen with bright red Nichirin swords.
Then, even if Muzan Kibutsuji split into more chunks of flesh, exceeding the limit of what he could handle himself,
these Hashira, who could also wield bright red Nichirin swords, would be able to destroy every remaining chunk!
The reason he had taken such a roundabout approach was that he was worried about the Hashira awakening their Demon Slayer Marks.
After all, apart from those like Yoriichi Tsugikuni, who were born with a Demon Slayer Mark,
anyone else who awakened a Demon Slayer Mark was destined not to live past twenty-five.
Lin Yoriichi truly did not want to face such a tragedy.
So, even though he was not someone who hoarded his knowledge, he was deliberately concealing the matter of the Demon Slayer Marks.
He was genuinely afraid that these Hashira, who threw themselves into slaying demons without regard for their own safety, would still awaken their Demon Slayer Marks without hesitation even after learning they would not live past twenty-five.
But the news from Miss Tamayo had given Lin Yoriichi hope.
If everything went smoothly, he could teach the Hashira about the Demon Slayer Marks after visiting Miss Tamayo again.
Lin Yoriichi looked at Gyomei Himejima and suddenly said:
"Of course, besides these things, I will also teach you a new art."
"The Transparent World!"
Gyomei Himejima could sense that Mr. Yoriichi's gaze seemed to have fallen on him.
At that moment, he still did not know the specific effects of the Transparent World, but he vaguely had a strange premonition.
Could this "Transparent World" allow me to "see"?
Gyomei Himejima very much wanted to ask Mr. Yoriichi more about the Transparent World.
But sensing the eagerness of those around him, Gyomei Himejima instead asked the question everyone was more concerned about:
"Mr. Yoriichi, how will you help us activate our bright red Nichirin swords?"
At this, Lin Yoriichi smiled and said:
"It's very simple. Through violent collisions between weapons."
"That is also why I chose the Swordsmith Village as the location."
Sanemi Shinazugawa asked in confusion:
"Violent collisions between weapons?"
"Do you mean we'll stand still and hold out our weapons for you to strike one by one?"
Lin Yoriichi continued with a smile:
"Of course it won't be that boring."
"I will stand here and wait for you to take turns challenging me!"
At that point, Lin Yoriichi's smile suddenly grew strange.
The moment he saw Lin Yoriichi's smile, Sanemi Shinazugawa felt a chill run through him.
He could not shake the feeling that Mr. Yoriichi's smile held ill intentions, and was even a little "wicked."
Yet Sanemi Shinazugawa could also sense that Mr. Yoriichi's almost malicious smile did not seem to be directed at him?
Then Lin Yoriichi chuckled and said:
"Once everyone has gained an initial grasp of the bright red Nichirin sword, I will lead you through a practical lesson."
"As for the location of that practical lesson, I have chosen Mount Natagumo..."
Before you continue