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Chapter 145: Aoi Kanzaki's Social Death Moment
Once the swordsmith Haganezuka left, happily clutching his soy sauce dango, Aoi finally let out a long breath of relief.
She turned around, only to see Suyan standing there as if nothing had happened.
He was inspecting the chunks of ore on the table, tapping them lightly as if picking out watermelons at a market.
His casual attitude flared Aoi's annoyance, prompting her to shoot him a fierce glare.
It's all this man's fault! If he hadn't pulled that stunt with Kanao earlier, I wouldn't have been so on edge and made such a stupid mistake! Suyan, however, didn't notice her glare.
Even if he had, he probably wouldn't have cared.
He channeled his Nen into the remaining pieces of ore, activating his Manipulation ability.
The pure metallic essence flowed toward his palm like liquid, swiftly merging into a solid metal sphere the size of a basketball.
To be honest, Scarlet Ore wasn't particularly impressive in terms of hardness.
It couldn't hold a candle to the modern rebar that Saya Takagi had continuously nurtured with her Nen.
In the original story, Inosuke used two Nichirin Swords that looked like jagged saws—but they weren't forged that way by the village. He literally smashed normal blades with rocks to create those serrations.
Honestly, you couldn't blame Sabito for dying to the Hand Demon during the Final Selection after nearly wiping out every demon on Mt. Fujikasane just because his sword snapped.
If his blade had the durability of modern rebar, he could have easily soloed the entire exam.
However, apart from countering demons, Scarlet Ore did have one neat trick.
It was commonly known as the Color-Changing Sword.
When a swordsman reached a certain level of mastery with their Breathing Style, their aura would cause the blade to change color based on their specific style and talent.
Suyan figured he could use this property to gauge Nezuko and the others' mastery over their Breathing Styles.
That way, he could determine the optimal moment to form a Contract with them, maximizing the effectiveness of his ability.
Conjuring his Dimensional Gate, Suyan casually tossed the metal sphere inside.
He then picked up the Nichirin Sword he had hand-molded earlier.
Dispersing his In—the Nen technique used to conceal his aura—he released the energy of his Sun Breathing.
Instantly, the blade turned a deep crimson, as if it had been boiled like a lobster.
If Haganezuka hadn't left, he probably would have been shocked out of his mind.
In the anime, the whole reason he personally delivered Tanjiro's sword was because he hoped the boy had the potential to turn it red.
When Tanjiro's blade turned pitch-black instead, the smith had thrown a massive tantrum and attacked him, nearly strangling him in front of Sakonji Urokodaki.
Of course, he might just be shocked.
Haganezuka had left so unbothered mostly because he wanted to get away from Aoi, but also because he had no concept of Suyan's In technique.
Since Suyan's aura had been completely hidden, the newly forged sword hadn't changed color, leading Haganezuka to assume it was just a hunk of iron shaped like a sword, rather than a true Nichirin Blade.
Suyan inspected the red blade, then pumped his aura into it again, reshaping the metal while simultaneously activating In to mask his presence once more.
Unfortunately, after reshaping, the metal didn't revert to its original silver color.
It remained the fiery crimson of Sun Breathing.
This meant he couldn't recycle a single piece of ore to test multiple people. Once it changed, it stayed changed.
Bored after playing with it for a bit, Suyan tossed the red sword into the Dimensional Gate as well.
He closed the portal, dusted off his hands, and turned to Aoi.
What he didn't see was the chaos on the other side of the gate.
The two YukimiBotamons had sensed the portal opening and looked up eagerly, expecting Suyan to step through.
Instead, a massive iron sphere flew in, nearly crushing them.
The two little Digimon made highly expressive, angry faces, their cheeks puffing out like steamed buns.
"Mii?!" "Mii!!"
They screeched, baring their little fangs and glaring fiercely at the iron lump.
Yeah, they were cursing him out pretty badly.
Back in the reception room, when Aoi saw Suyan turn to face her, her anger slowly melted away, replaced by the realization of her predicament.
The moment she looked at his handsome, perfectly sculpted face, she remembered that with Haganezuka gone, they were completely alone in the room.
What do I do? Panic. Pure panic.
"You seem a bit nervous?" Suyan asked, noticing the sweat beading on Aoi's forehead.
Sure, the incident with the swordsmith was awkward, but was there really a need to be this stressed? And she had already smoothed things over with the dango, right?
"N-no... I'm not," Aoi stammered.
That was a lie.
She was so nervous she was practically trembling. Cold sweat dripped down her face as her mind raced: There's no one else here. Is he going to forcibly kiss me?! Suyan took a step forward and reached out his hand.
Aoi's breath hitched. It's happening! A deep sense of dread washed over her, mixed inexplicably with a tiny sliver of anticipation.
She tightly shut her eyes and lowered her head, completely unable to look at him.
The next second, she felt a soft handkerchief gently dabbing the cold sweat from her forehead.
It was Suyan.
But the moment he touched her, Aoi's body violently flinched on pure instinct.
Something inside her genuinely felt like it was going to burst out.
Her eyes snapped open. "I-I have something to do! I have to go!" she blurted out, turning to bolt for the door.
"Wait."
Suyan reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
Haganezuka's meltdown had interrupted them, and he still needed Aoi to relay his message to the Demon Slayer Corps about claiming the Scarlet Ore after Muzan's defeat.
He also noticed a strange, indescribable sense of distance from Aoi and figured he might as well clear the air now so he wouldn't have to track her down later.
However, with that single pull, Aoi stumbled backward and landed squarely against his chest.
It was the first time Aoi had ever been this close to a man. Combined with her state of absolute terror and the sudden, overwhelming physical contact...
Her body spasmed violently.
She lost control.
Her mind went completely blank as a warm sensation spread.
Through a very hands-on demonstration, Aoi proved to Suyan that the three little girls weren't lying: her habit of wetting herself when terrified was very, very real...
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