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Chapter 144: Manipulation Type Nen Ability
"What is this?!"
Haganezuka's eyes nearly popped out of his mask.
Right in front of him, this swordsman had taken a chunk of raw ore and turned it into a Nichirin Sword without a single forging technique!
Haganezuka rubbed his masked eyes.
The sword in Suyan's hand hadn't changed back. And there was undeniably one less chunk of ore on the table.
"Give it to me! Give it to me right now!"
Dropping his kitchen knives, Haganezuka lunged forward, trying to snatch the blade from Suyan's grasp.
Suyan smiled, not minding the rude behavior, and let the man take the freshly hand-molded sword.
Haganezuka pulled out a hammer from out of nowhere, laid the blade on the floor, and brought the hammer down hard against the steel.
Clang! A crisp, metallic ring echoed through the room.
Haganezuka completely froze.
Whether from the sound of the impact, the hardness of the blade, or any other metric... his expert swordsmith eyes couldn't find a single flaw. The weapon in his hand was undeniably a masterpiece.
If he had to point out a flaw...
It was that the hilt and tsuba were made of the exact same solid metal as the blade.
In combat, the shock of striking a demon would vibrate intensely through the solid metal, making it incredibly easy for the sword to slip from the wielder's grip.
Yet, even knowing this, Haganezuka stared at Suyan in absolute disbelief. "How... how did you do this?"
Suyan chuckled lightly. "You can just think of it as an ability granted by my Marechi blood."
Marechi, or Rare Blood, was a unique concept in the Demon Slayer world.
It referred to individuals whose blood was highly intoxicating to demons and sometimes granted the possessor special abilities.
For example, the Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa's blood could intoxicate demons like strong liquor. And his brother Genya, could temporarily gain demonic traits by consuming demon flesh.
As a Nen user placed in this world, wouldn't he naturally qualify as a Marechi?
Besides, explaining the intricacies of Nen to a minor side character was too much of a hassle. He might as well just blame it on the Marechi trait.
In reality, this ability was an application of Manipulation-type Nen called "Metal Frenzy," which Suyan had co-developed with Saya Takagi during the zombie apocalypse over the past year.
The principle was simple: by injecting his aura into metal, he could freely mold and reshape it at will.
In combat, he could fashion the metal into weapons like swords or spears, or defensive gear like shields and armor.
The speed of the shaping process depended entirely on how long the metal had been nurtured with his Nen.
It was somewhat similar to Gaara's sand manipulation in Naruto.
Metal that was constantly infused with his aura could transform instantly, while raw metal required a bit of time to take the desired shape.
Clatter! The hammer slipped from Haganezuka's grasp, hitting the floor with a dull thud.
He collapsed, looking as though every ounce of strength had been drained from his body.
The light completely faded from his eyes as he muttered blankly, "There is no hope for swordsmiths anymore..."
"Mr. Haganezuka, please pull yourself together! The Demon Slayer Corps still needs your strength!"
Aoi grabbed the swordsmith by his collar and shook him violently.
This was a master craftsman specifically dispatched by the Master of the Corps to forge Lord Suyan's sword!
Even though Lord Suyan had refused him, Aoi had been the one to bring him here. Moreover, Haganezuka was one of the top smiths in the entire Swordsmith Village.
If he fell into a permanent depression because of this, the blame would fall squarely on her shoulders.
Panicking, Aoi unconsciously used more strength, shaking the man so violently he became a blur.
"B-breath... I can't... breathe..."
Haganezuka was shaken dizzy, stars dancing in his vision.
The tight grip on his collar was leaving a dark purple bruise around his neck.
"Ah?!"
Aoi finally realized what she was doing and quickly let go.
Smack! Haganezuka face-planted directly into the floor.
The sound alone made Suyan's teeth ache.
He had only dealt a blow to Haganezuka's pride as a craftsman with his Nen ability, but Aoi looked like she was actively trying to murder the guy!
Haganezuka pitifully raised a trembling hand from the floor.
Snapping out of it, Aoi rushed forward to help him up. "Ah?! Mr. Haganezuka, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!"
"D-don't... stay away from me! One more time and I'll be meeting my maker!"
Hearing her voice, Haganezuka shivered violently.
Suddenly, his back didn't ache, his legs didn't hurt, and even the fresh wounds on his face seemed to miraculously heal.
He scrambled up from the floor, putting a safe distance between himself and Aoi, his masked face radiating pure terror.
For a moment, Aoi stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with her hands, eventually just laughing nervously and scratching her head.
After a beat, Haganezuka spoke in a flat voice, as if nothing had just happened. "I'm leaving."
He bent down, picked up his discarded kitchen knives and hammer, turned around, and walked toward the door in silence.
"Eh? You're leaving already?"
Aoi was momentarily stunned. She wanted to ask him to stay, but couldn't think of a valid reason, especially since Suyan had explicitly rejected his services.
"Please wait a moment, Mr. Haganezuka," she called out.
She quickly ran out of the reception room and returned moments later, holding several skewers of mitarashi dango covered in sweet soy glaze, offering them to him.
"I am truly sorry for my earlier behavior," she said with an apologetic expression. "Please accept this as an apology."
These soy sauce dango were Haganezuka's absolute favorite food. Aoi had originally prepared them, fearing his eccentric temper might clash with Suyan.
She hadn't expected to use them to apologize for nearly throttling him to death.
Thinking of this, Aoi couldn't help but shoot a glare at Suyan.
It's all this man's fault. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been so nervous, and I wouldn't have made such an embarrassing mistake!
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