Chapter 103: Yuan Yi Ling Shi

“Eat slowly, no one’s going to steal your food.”

Inside the room, the table was piled high with over a dozen empty large bowls—all emptied by Mitsuji.

To Zero’s eyes, such a voracious appetite was exactly how she was meant to be.

He didn’t find it distasteful; on the contrary, it felt like the truest version of her.

Worried she wouldn’t get enough, he gave her all his own portions too.

“By the way, Mitsuji, what did that man look like?”

“Huh? Let me think…” Mitsuji paused eating, recalling the man’s appearance.

“I remember he had dark spiky hair and a scar running from his right cheek to his nose.”

“It’s him…”

“Zero, do you know him?”

“Hmm… sort of. I met him when I was an examiner at Mount Fujikiri. If I remember right, his name is Fuyui Genmu, younger brother of Fuyui Sanemi.”

“Huh?! Sanemi’s brother?!”

Mitsuji was surprised.

“But I’ve never heard Sanemi mention having a brother?”

“Not hearing about it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. And Fuyui Genmu, due to puberty, is terrible with girls—he turns red if they get too close.”

“So when you greeted him, he wasn’t ignoring you—he was just too shy to talk to girls.”

“Really?!”

Hearing Zero’s explanation, Mitsuji finally understood.

She had thought he disliked her, which was why he ignored her.

“Alright, stop overthinking. If you don’t hurry, your food’s going to get cold.”

“Okay~ I’ll keep eating! Aahm~”

Something had lifted her spirits, and with Zero beside her, today’s meal tasted especially delicious.

Suddenly, Zero noticed a few grains of rice on Mitsuji’s lip and leaned in to kiss them off.

Mitsuji nearly jumped out of her skin, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“Zero, I—”

“You had rice on your face. I wiped it off. No need to waste food.”

“Oh~” In Mitsuji’s mind, Zero’s earlier actions had made her think he wanted to…

She felt happy, yet a little disappointed.

But that small disappointment vanished quickly as she returned to her meal.

After eating, Zero pulled out a bag of sakura mochi and offered it to Mitsuji.

A post-meal treat.

Whoosh!

The wooden door opened again.

Tanjiro had just finished his bath and arrived in time for dinner.

“Tanjiro, you’re back.”

“Welcome back, Tanjiro.”

“Yes, I’m back. Oh, Zero-nii, the man Mitsuji-san met is Fuyui Genmu.”

“Hmm, I already know.”

“Ah, so you already knew, Zero-nii.”

“Tanjiro, don’t forget I was an examiner at Mount Fujikiri.”

“Right, sorry—I almost forgot.”

Tanjiro scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

“Enough. Let’s eat.”

“Yes, Zero-nii.”

After dinner, Tanjiro said he wanted to bring some food to Fuyui Genmu.

When the three arrived at Fuyui Genmu’s room, they found he wasn’t there.

They had no choice but to postpone it.

At that moment, a female member of the Hidden Division approached Mitsuji and said: “Lady Mitsuji, your blade is nearly sharpened. Please come to the workshop for the final adjustment.”

“Oh my, I guess I must go. Zero, I really don’t want to leave you—we’ve finally had so much time alone together~”

“Foolish girl, we’ll have plenty of time together later. We’re not being separated forever.”

“True~”

Standing beside them, Tanjiro felt how deeply Zero doted on someone he cared for.

It made him feel like he was glowing.

Finally, Mitsuji leaned close to Tanjiro and whispered: “Tanjiro, I heard there’s a secret weapon in this village that makes people stronger. You should look for it.”

Then she ran back to Zero, kissed him on the lips, and waved goodbye: “See you later~”

“A weapon to grow stronger? What’s that? Zero-nii, do you know?”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to find out for yourself. It’s getting late, Tanjiro. Rest early. I’m going for a walk.”

“Yes, Zero-nii.”

Watching Zero leave, Tanjiro prepared to rest well—he’d set out tomorrow to find the weapon that could make one stronger.

After parting from Tanjiro, Zero went alone to the mountain peak and looked up at the stars.

“I wonder how Luo Li and the others are doing…”

A gentle breeze blew, drawing his thoughts back.

Since he was already at the Blade Forging Village, he might as well soak in the hot spring and relax properly.

Early the next morning.

Tanjiro, having practiced Full Concentration Breathing all night, ate a hearty breakfast and set off into the forest.

To find the secret weapon Mitsuji had mentioned—one that could make one stronger.

“I wonder what this secret weapon could be~ Probably a sword, right? Maybe it’s buried? Feels just like treasure hunting!”

He’d planned to use his nose to detect the so-called weapon.

But the village’s natural hot springs emitted a heavy sulfur smell, temporarily dulling his sense of smell.

“You’re annoying! Just get lost!”

“You’re the one who should stop—it’s a waste of time arguing here.”

As he thought, he suddenly heard voices arguing nearby.

“Who is it?” He moved slowly toward the sound.

Before him stood a boy, about ten years old, wearing a fire-man mask.

Facing him was a teenager with long black hair, its ends tinged green.

“I remember—he’s also a Pillar. Who was it…? Right, he’s the Mist Pillar—Shinobu Muichiro! So there’s another Pillar in this village. Including Zero-nii, that makes three.”

Muichiro ignored the boy’s babbling and extended his hand: “Give me the key.”

“No way! This is the most important thing my ancestor made! I won’t give it to you!”

The boy spread his arms to shield something behind him.

Tanjiro then noticed someone else behind the boy!

He stepped forward slowly and saw a woman with long red hair, wearing the same flower-shaped earrings as Tanjiro’s own.

Dressed in armor, she had six arms, each gripping a sword, standing motionless behind the boy.

“That’s… a person? Who is she?”

Suddenly, a figure flashed in Tanjiro’s mind—identical to the one before him.

“This person… I recognize her! She’s exactly like the woman from my dream over a month ago!”

Boom!

“Huh? What was that sound?”

Zero, strolling through the forest, heard a distant noise—like a fight, but not quite.

He decided to go see what was happening.

But before he took more than a few steps, he saw Shinobu Muichiro there too.

In his hand was a sword, its hilt attached to a severed wooden arm.

“Muichiro? Were you just fighting?”

“Zero, you’re here too. I was just training with the puppet.”

“I see…”

“I have to find my swordsmith to reforge my blade. Mine got broken by the puppet—I’m using this one for now.”

Without another word, Muichiro walked off without looking back.

Zero’s eye twitched slightly. What kind of day was this? Everyone was dealing with the same damn thing.

Either broken blades or lost blades—really…

He muttered a silent complaint, then went to see what this puppet really was.

As he walked, a light rain began to fall from the sky.

What the hell kind of weather is this?! The rain just starts falling out of nowhere—Heaven, you’re really bored enough to piss all over the place…

He pulled out an umbrella to shield himself from the rain.

He arrived at the battlefield.

He found a five-armed puppet lying on the ground, and a young boy standing beside it, as if lost in thought.

Judging by the scene, Muichiro must have fought this puppet.

But years of decay, plus the recent battle, had left it badly damaged.

Its face had long since lost a chunk.

Curious, Zero used his [Analyzing Glasses] to scan the puppet.

[Analyzing… Analysis successful.]

[Name: Ena Zero-Type]

[Era: Warring States Period]

[Template: Kyojuro Rengoku]

[Description: This puppet, the Ena Zero-Type, was crafted by Kyojuro Rengoku himself as a training dummy for the Swordsmith Village, perfectly replicating Kyojuro Rengoku’s combat techniques—the original creator of the Sun Breathing style.]

[Ena Zero-Type Structure: …]

Zero stared at the information, lost in thought.

He hadn’t expected such technology to exist in this world—though far inferior to his own era, it was still remarkably advanced.

“Ena Zero-Type…”

Kotoha, hearing someone speak the puppet’s name, turned around curiously.

But he was immediately drawn to Zero’s left hand.

He ran over to Zero, picked up his left hand, and examined it closely.

“Such complex, exquisite technology—what is this?! How did you make it?! How is it even attached to your hand?!”

Kotoha clearly had a thousand questions.

“It’s a dark matter mechanical arm. My hand was bitten off during a fight with a monster, so I designed this one to replace it.”

Kotoha’s eyes lit up with longing. Though he didn’t understand what Zero meant, it clearly seemed powerful.

If he could learn how this worked, could he fully repair the [Ena Zero-Type]?

Maybe even make it stronger than before?!

“Um, you…”

“Sorry, I can’t teach you this. Just the tiniest, most precise components alone number in the tens of thousands—do you think you could even understand it?”

Zero saw through his thoughts and cut him off mid-sentence.

“I see… By the way, I’m Kotoha. Thank you for letting me see something so exquisite.”

Kotoha felt disappointed. Some things couldn’t be forced.

Zero glanced at the [Ena Zero-Type] on the ground, then at Tanjiro, and suddenly had a good idea.

The repair method for the [Ena Zero-Type] had already been analyzed by his [Analyzing Glasses].

He could give it to Kotoha—but there was no such thing as a free lunch. Fair exchange was necessary.

“Kotoha, I have a way to repair the [Ena Zero-Type], but…”

“Really? You can repair the [Ena Zero-Type]? But what? Say it! Whatever you ask, I’ll do it!”

“I have one condition.” Zero pointed at Tanjiro and said to Kotoha: “Use the [Ena Zero-Type] to train Tanjiro. When he defeats the [Ena Zero-Type], I’ll give you the repair method. Deal?”

Tanjiro: Σ(?д?|||)

Kotoha thought for a moment, then made up his mind: “Fine! No problem! I was already planning to do this—had it not been for that black-haired kelp-head, I’d have forgotten entirely!”

He turned to Tanjiro and added: “Mr. Tanjiro, thank you so much for what you did earlier. From now on, train with this to grow stronger. You must become stronger than that pretentious little brat! I’ll do everything I can to help you!”

As Kotoha spoke, it was as if one could see the grotesque face beneath his fireman’s mask.

This gave Tanjiro an even worse feeling.

Kotoha then lifted the [Ena Zero-Type] back to its feet and turned the wind-up key at the back of its neck.

But the [Ena Zero-Type] did not respond.

Kotoha felt disappointed.

The internal structure must have been damaged during its battle with Muichiro.

Click. Click.

Suddenly, gears inside the [Ena Zero-Type] began to turn, and its body stirred back to life.

It gripped five swords and assumed a combat stance.

It lunged forward—straight at Tanjiro!

“Waaahhhhh!” Tanjiro hadn’t even reacted before he was thrown into retreat, barely avoiding being slashed.

“Mr. Tanjiro, you must grow strong—and when you do, tell that black-haired kelp-head: ‘Is that all? You pathetic trash! Your hair’s too long—cut it, kelp-head! Shorty, stumpy-legged ugly! Go ahead and disembowel yourself, you disgrace!’”

Kotoha spoke with vicious sarcasm.

He was furious at Muichiro’s earlier behavior.

Zero: …

He felt personally offended. Thanks.

Kotoha noticed Zero’s expression and quickly explained: “Sorry, sorry! I was only talking about that black-haired kelp-head—I wasn’t referring to you!”

“Don’t worry. I don’t care. When Tanjiro finishes training, I’ll give you the repair method.”

“Thank you! You’re just like Mr. Tanjiro—you’re better than that black-haired kelp-head!”

The rain stopped. The sky cleared.

Kotoha hurried over, shut down the [Ena Zero-Type], and replaced all its blades with wooden mallets.

Meanwhile, Zero took paper and pen from his [Nanospace], sat aside, and began sketching the [Ena Zero-Type]’s structure.

He accurately wrote out the repair method and marked key points to watch during restoration.

As for Tanjiro, he began a hellish training regimen with the [Ena Zero-Type].

Though the [Ena Zero-Type] now had only five arms and its performance had declined,

it was still far beyond Tanjiro’s current ability to defeat.

Moreover, through the [Analyzing Glasses] scan, Zero noticed something.

Hidden inside the [Ena Zero-Type] was a sword!

He kept this to himself—waiting until Tanjiro defeated the puppet before revealing it.

[Doma and Hantengu will ambush the Swordsmith Village—and this time, they will not leave alive.]