Chapter 90: Is Uzui Tengen a Pervert?

Beep!!!

A sudden whistle blast sounded; seeing this, Tanjiro and the two others immediately lined up, ready for their physical function recovery training.

Zero took a package out of the [Nanospace] and walked to Tanjiro and the two others, tossing the items down in front of them.

Thud!

Clang!

The ground cracked into a small dent, emitting the sound of metal colliding.

The three were startled by the objects and thought simultaneously: “What on earth are these?”

Zero spoke: “These are for your physical function recovery training.”

“Huh?” Tanjiro and the two others stared in shock.

Zero opened the package, revealing its contents.

It was a set of custom-made wrist and ankle braces.

Each wrist brace weighed 300 jin; the ankle braces were the same weight.

“These were custom-made by me during my own past training—each one weighs 300 jin.

My only requirement is that for the next few months, each of you must wear one pair of wrist braces and one pair of ankle braces during all training!”

“Not even when eating, sleeping, or using the toilet are you allowed to take them off!”

As soon as he finished, Sanemi’s eyes widened in horror.

“What!!! Are you serious?! Even when eating, sleeping, and going to the toilet?! No way!!! This’ll kill us!!! Tanjiro, please talk some sense into Zero-bro—wait, what?”

Sanemi saw that Tanjiro and Inosuke showed no resistance—instead, their eyes burned with hunger for strength.

“T-Tanjiro, Inosuke… you two… are you… okay…?”

Tanjiro stared at the braces, thinking this might be an excellent idea.

Fire God’s Divine Music—no, it was Sun Breathing.

Sun Breathing demands extreme physical conditioning from its user.

The stronger your physique, the less severe the side effects when performing Sun Breathing techniques.

Tanjiro knew well: even if he memorized the sequence of Sun Breathing, he still couldn’t fully control it with his current body.

Even in Full Concentration, his body couldn’t keep up with the movements—the motions outpaced his limits.

Even Full Concentration: Constant was enough to boost stamina, but it was far from enough!

After all, mastering Full Concentration: Constant only raised stamina over the whole day—it couldn’t instantly boost power…

Thus, Zero’s words ignited a burning desire to grow stronger.

Inosuke’s goal was simple.

Become stronger.

Then challenge Zero.

But now, Sanemi thought they were both insane—absolutely insane!

Wearing these things constantly would surely kill them!

One brace weighed 300 jin; four together totaled 1200 jin—was this even humanly possible?

“Zero… Zero-bro… are we really supposed to train wearing these?” Sanemi asked, trembling, hoping Zero had been joking.

“Of course. I’ve always trained this way.”

“What? You’re lying!” Sanemi felt his worldview shatter—could someone actually do this?

Zero gave no further explanation—he simply rolled up his right sleeve, revealing the custom wrist brace on his right wrist.

He unfastened it and dropped it to the ground.

Boom!

The impact was louder than before.

Then he removed his metal boots, exposing his bare feet.

Sanemi stared at those pale, soft feet, eyes gleaming.

Next, Zero unfastened the ankle braces from both feet and placed them beside the wrist braces.

Instantly, a chilling aura radiated from Zero; all three before him felt its power and trembled involuntarily.

He spoke: “Though my power is suppressed to roughly half, I still wear these braces every single day.”

“Zero-bro… are your braces… also… 300 jin each?”

“No,” Zero answered firmly.

Sanemi felt it was unfair—why did Zero’s braces weigh less than theirs, while theirs weighed more than his?

But Zero’s next words revealed his misunderstanding.

“Each of my braces weighs three times more than yours.”

“No way?” Sanemi couldn’t believe it.

His own braces weighed 300 jin—so Zero’s weighed over 900 jin each?

He stepped forward, picked up one of Zero’s discarded braces—and after immense effort, barely lifted it.

Only then did he believe Zero’s words.

“Any other questions?”

“Zero-bro, I have one more.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you wear these when you eat and sleep?”

“I used to. Now, I wear them all day except when sleeping.”

“Why?”

“What do you think?”

Sanemi couldn’t understand why Zero no longer wore them while sleeping—until Tanjiro offered a brief explanation, and Sanemi immediately regretted asking.

“Sanemi, Zero-bro sleeps with someone beside him—he’s afraid he might hurt them,” Tanjiro explained.

Pfft! Pfft!…

It felt as if countless blades pierced Sanemi’s body—he regretted asking that question.

Worse, his mind conjured images of Zero sleeping with girls…

And Sanemi had heard Zero didn’t have just one lover—but two.

Both were stunning beauties…

“Enough! Put on your braces—training starts now!”

Tanjiro: “Yes, Zero-bro!”

Inosuke: “Yaaahahaha! No problem!”

Sanemi: I’m done… I’m going to die… I’ll be exhausted to death…

Finally, all three strapped on the wrist and ankle braces.

Instantly, their bodies felt shackled with iron chains, as if carrying a thousand-jin weight—immensely heavy.

They prepared to begin training.

Beep!!!

The whistle blew again.

“My training has three phases: push-ups, cross-country running, and sword swings. First phase: three hundred push-ups! I’ll train with you.”

Thus, for the following period, except during missions or when absolutely necessary, Zero supervised their physical function recovery training almost constantly.

Sometimes he trained alongside them.

Three months later.

A stormy night.

“Gaaah! North-northwest! Go exterminate the demon in the mountain temple!”

Tanjiro received his mission and immediately prepared to depart.

He slung the wooden box containing Nezuko on his back and headed for the mission site.

Looking at the braces on his wrists and ankles, he decided to keep wearing them.

Several days ago, Zero had reminded them the training was over—they could remove the braces.

But Tanjiro didn’t want to take them off.

After three months of continuous training, wearing them had become second nature—suddenly removing them felt unnatural.

Moreover, Tanjiro clearly felt his strength had improved greatly over these three months.

Even now, wearing them constantly, he moved with full ease.

If he removed them, his power would surge another level.

Inosuke, of course, never took his off.

Sanemi had planned to remove his—but seeing the other two still wearing theirs, he felt out of place and followed suit.

Yet every time he thought of the past three months of training, it felt like hell…

Push-ups had increased from three hundred daily to one thousand.

Cross-country running had changed from ten laps around Butterfly House to ten laps around the Demon Slayer Corps compound.

Sword swings were even worse—daily swings rose from one thousand to two thousand.

And every swing had to be executed with full force…

Every time it ends, I’m exhausted like a dog.

Just thinking about it is terrifying!

Zero feels like a devil trainer!

But I have to admit, Zero’s training method is truly effective—I’ve gained immensely.

Northwest by north, a temple in the mountains.

Tanjiro, wearing a conical hat, climbed the steps to the temple mentioned by the Hashira.

Inside the temple, it was pitch dark.

Tanjiro patted the wooden box behind him and asked, “Nezuko, are you alright? Did you get wet?”

Nezuko responded, indicating she was fine.

Seeing this, Tanjiro relaxed.

He began carefully searching for the demon.

“The demon must be nearby...”

Squeak... squeak...

Hearing the noise, Tanjiro drew his Nichirin Blade and prepared for battle.

At that moment, the stench of a demon spread through the air.

Smelling the foul odor, Tanjiro spotted the demon hiding above.

It was a mantis demon, with two arms like a mantis, and four more mantis arms on its back.

But to Tanjiro, this was nothing to fear!

Water Breathing. Third Form: Flowing Dance!

His movement was so fast it left an afterimage, causing the mantis demon’s attack to miss.

Water Breathing. Fourth Form: Crushing Tide!

As the mantis demon frantically searched for Tanjiro’s whereabouts, a tidal wave of successive strikes erupted behind it, instantly killing it!

By the time the mantis demon realized what had happened, it was too late.

Its body was sliced into multiple pieces, then turned to ash and vanished into the air.

“This demon felt weak... No, it must be because of Zero’s training these past few months.”

Tanjiro attributed everything to Zero; without his training, defeating this demon would have taken much longer.

After double-checking and confirming no other dangers were nearby, he finally left.

At dawn.

Tanjiro returned to the Demon Slayer Corps.

“Nezuko, we’ll be at Butterfly House soon.”

No sooner had he spoken than a cry came from the backyard of Butterfly House.

“Stop! Let me go! I... this child... please, I beg you!” Shinazugawa Aoi was slung over Uzui Tengen’s shoulder, her face filled with panic.

“Shut up, you annoying brat!”

Uzui Tengen, visibly irritated, carried Shinazugawa Aoi on his shoulder and clamped Koyoharu under his arm, preparing to leave immediately.

Seeing her resistance was useless, Shinazugawa Aoi turned to Kanao for help.

Behind Uzui Tengen, Kanao was equally panicked, unsure what to do.

Memories of Zero and Tanjiro’s words flashed in her mind—she made her decision instantly.

She rushed forward, grabbing Shinazugawa Aoi’s hand and Koyoharu’s dress, stopping Uzui Tengen from taking them away.

Uzui Tengen turned his head and spoke calmly, “Don’t grab me like some insignificant insect. Didn’t you receive your orders just now?”

“I... I...” Kanao didn’t know how to answer, yet her hands still held tight.

“Say something coherent, for heaven’s sake! What an ungraceful person!”

Uzui Tengen’s shout startled Kiyoharu and Kogane behind him—they screamed, “Attack! Attack!”

They surrounded Uzui Tengen and clung to him desperately, refusing to let him leave!

“Wait... stop this nonsense!” Uzui Tengen felt like he was about to explode.

“What are you doing to girls?! Let them go!”

Tanjiro burst into the backyard shouting.

But when he saw the scene inside, he froze.

Uzui Tengen was the one surrounded—so who was the victim here...?

For a moment, Tanjiro couldn’t tell who was truly in danger.

Kiyoharu, seeing Tanjiro, cried out, “He’s trying to kidnap them! Please help us!”

Seeing this, Tanjiro rushed forward, planning to deliver a headbutt while Uzui Tengen was temporarily immobilized.

But in less than a blink, Uzui Tengen vanished from the spot, still carrying Shinazugawa Aoi and Koyoharu.

Tanjiro’s headbutt missed entirely and slammed into the ground.

Boom!

Tanjiro’s forehead left a small crater in the ground.

Kiyoharu landed safely behind Tanjiro, unharmed.

“Foolish idiot! I am the magnificent former ninja, Uzui Tengen! In ninja circles, I am famed far and wide for my elegance! Don’t think you can hit me with your pathetic headbutt!”

His gaze toward Tanjiro was full of disdain and irritation.

Tanjiro: “(?ò?ò) You old creep, let go of Miss Aoi! You’re a kidnapper!”

Kiyoharu: “Exactly! Exactly!”

Tanjiro: “(?ò?ò) What are you even trying to do?!”

Kogane: “Pervert! Pervert!”

…………

“Strange, why is it so noisy up ahead?”

Zero had just returned to the Demon Slayer Corps and heard the commotion from Butterfly House’s backyard from afar.

Curious, he hurried over to check.

Outside the wall, he saw Uzui Tengen standing atop the gate, still carrying Shinazugawa Aoi and Koyoharu.

Curious, he prepared to enter and investigate—when...

“Then I won’t take her!”

With that, Uzui Tengen dropped Koyoharu down.

“Aaaahhh!!!” Koyoharu thought she was going to die, squeezing her eyes shut.

But after a long moment, she felt no pain.

She opened her eyes and realized Zero was holding her in his arms.

“Are you alright, Koyoharu? Did I scare you?” Zero asked gently.

“Zero Pillar... Waaahhh! I was thrown down, I almost...”

“There, there, don’t cry, don’t cry, good child, good, good...”

Zero comforted Koyoharu in his arms, then looked up at Uzui Tengen without speaking. Quietly, he took a book from his [Nanometer Space] and began reading.

Uzui Tengen, seeing Zero, said, “Zero, don’t interfere. I have a mission—I need female members.”

Zero said nothing, still flipping through the book.

Seeing this, Uzui Tengen glanced curiously at the book’s cover.

It read:

【100 Ways to Torture Kidnapped Girls】

Uzui Tengen: !!!!!!!!!!!!