After leaving Fujikasane Mountain, Hardy rested for two days at the Fuji Inn and received his Nichirin Blade.
"When a Nichirin Blade is first touched by a swordsman who has mastered a Breathing Technique, the blade will change to a color unique to that swordsman's attributes. Isn't it amazing? Give it a try!" said the swordsmith, Haganezuka Kanamori, who had brought Hardy his sword.
Hardy gripped the hilt and drew the Nichirin Blade.
The blade was slender, and as Hardy breathed calmly, it began to shimmer with unique hues.
The overall color was a pale blue, with intricate and brilliant golden patterns near the spine, making the sword appear as exquisite as fine porcelain, while the metallic sheen gave it an added touch of coldness.
"What a beautiful sword. Blue and green are usually features of swordsmen who use Wind Breathing, while gold is for Thunder Breathing. Many powerful swordsmen's Nichirin Blades include both colors," Haganezuka Kanamori said, mesmerized by the patterns on the blade.
"Mr. Haganezuka, about those parts I asked Senior Amane to pass along with the blueprints…"
"Oh, right! The parts from the blueprints!" Haganezuka scratched his head, his crooked-mouthed fireman mask making him look quite comical.
"We more or less understood your blueprints and tried to make the parts, but the precision you specified is just too high. Even the most skilled chief in the village couldn't make them perfectly."
He scratched his head in frustration.
"As long as you've made the basic forms and they're effective against demons, I can handle the final refinements myself," Hardy said, sheathing his sword.
"Um, well…" Haganezuka looked a bit embarrassed. "May I ask how you plan to refine them? Even with the traditional techniques passed down in the Swordsmith Village, it's impossible to reach that level of precision."
"Oh, that's easy. My uncle is a Superintendent at Police Headquarters. I can borrow some high-tech equipment from the gun parts production line—just need to tweak the parameters a bit," Hardy replied earnestly.
Of course, this was just an excuse. He actually planned to use his own machine tools, but those required chakra threads to operate.
Still, equipment capable of making gun parts could certainly achieve the necessary precision for these components, so finishing and refining them wouldn't be a problem.
He hadn't given the swordsmiths any of the truly difficult internal parts—just the components that could harm demons.
"I see. Ever since we discovered that modern blast furnace steelmaking doesn't work with Crimson Iron Sand, we've stuck to traditional forging. But I didn't expect there were machines we could use as well.
So… do you think you could contact your high-ranking relative? You know, if we had such machines, even an apprentice could forge a qualified Nichirin Blade. That would be a huge boost for the Demon Slayer Corps!" Haganezuka said, waving his arms excitedly.
How could I possibly help with that…
Did you guys strip equipment from the weapon production line?
"I could borrow it, but I probably don't have the ability to move all that stuff. However... perhaps, Mr. Tetsukesumori, you could ask Senior Ubuyashiki Kagaya? The Ubuyashiki family has many businesses and connections in the secular world, and they have ties to the government. If he steps in, we might be able to get what we need."
Hardy said to Tetsukesumori Kanzo.
The latter nodded repeatedly.
"Hmm, that makes sense. Looks like we'll have to trouble the Master after all."
...
...
After seeing Tetsukesumori Kanzo off, Hardy took his newly acquired Nichirin blade and headed to the nearest town.
He needed to use the town post office's telephone to contact Uesugi Sakai and ask if there was any news about the Kamado family.
Hardy was a fast walker. He set out after dinner and, in just an hour, was about to reach the town.
"Caw—caw—Uesugi Hardy, Uesugi Hardy!"
In the sky, the Kasugai crow Nezuko was cawing loudly.
"There's a demon attack in Higashi Nobori Town ahead, people have been eaten! Please investigate immediately, please investigate immediately!"
Hardy grabbed a handful of green beans, placed them in his palm, and fed them to the Kasugai crow Nezuko, then looked toward the small town ahead.
Higashi Nobori Town happened to be his destination, and he was already only a few hundred meters from the entrance.
"Demons only act at night. I'll borrow the phone at the post office first, then check the intelligence at Fujiya, and wait until nightfall to act."
Hardy glanced at the sun, which had not yet set, and strode into Higashi Nobori Town.
In these times, telephones were rare, and not just anyone could use the one at the post office.
But Hardy simply showed the credentials his uncle Uesugi Sakai had given him, and was able to use the phone without issue.
"Connect me to the Shiga Police Headquarters, Superintendent's Office."
Hardy spoke into the phone.
After about ten seconds, the staff on the other end routed the call through the switchboard to the Shiga Police Headquarters.
"Moshi moshi, this is Uesugi Sakai."
Uesugi Sakai's familiar voice came from the other end.
"Uncle, it's me."
Hardy said quietly.
"Ahem, I'm on duty right now, and you're a registered patrol officer too. You still need to follow the rules—when you're working, remember to use my title."
"Understood, Superintendent."
Hardy muttered, a little reluctantly.
"You're calling about the Kamado family, right?"
"Yes."
"Your third uncle and I put in a lot of effort to find them. The whole family lives in the mountains to make it easier to cut wood and burn charcoal. Even the last census in the Meiji era missed them; I couldn't find any records. It was only because your third uncle sent someone to ask the villagers at the foot of Mount Kumotori that we got a lead."
"Thank you, Uncle—and Third Uncle," Hardy said politely.
"I said, use my title!"
"Alright, Superintendent."
"Hmm, as for the details, we've already explained the situation to them. Their family really does have that 'Fire God Dance' you mentioned. You can find them if you set out from Tabayama Village in Yamanashi Prefecture, and then... That's how you'll find their home."
"Thank you, Superintendent. By the way, as I mentioned before, it would be best if you could persuade them to come down the mountain..."
"I already tried. They said it's their ancestral land and they can't leave. They also said it would be inconvenient to cut firewood if they moved down, and no matter what, they refuse to leave."
"I understand."
Hardy chatted with Uesugi Sakai for a bit longer before hanging up.
"Sigh..."
Hardy rubbed his brow helplessly.
You can't reason with stubborn people.
It was almost winter. If the family didn't come down from the mountain soon, once the heavy snow came, disaster would be unavoidable.