Qingshui wasn't short by the standards of the Demon Slayer World.
Although he was only seventeen, he was already 1.82 meters tall. He might grow a little more in the coming years, but he had mostly reached his full height.
However, the Puppet, modeled after Tsugikuni Yoriichi, was significantly taller than him, nearly 1.95 meters.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi himself must have been similarly tall three hundred years ago.
"Can I take a look at it by taking it apart? Or do you want to demonstrate it first?"
Qingshui examined the Puppet's joints for a few moments, finding no obvious issues, then asked Kotetsu.
"I'll demonstrate it first!"
Kotetsu laboriously dragged over a small stool, climbed onto it, and reached behind Yoriichi Type Zero to find a switch. He flipped it open, then, with all his might, pulled out a chain and wound it around a disk.
Qingshui watched curiously.
Is this... a mainspring?
That's right, artisans of that era didn't have the multiple energy sources available in later times. The most likely power source for Yoriichi Type Zero would be a mainspring.
A mainspring mechanism works by manually winding a spring to store mechanical energy, which then gradually releases, driving complex mechanical structures and maintaining power for an extended period.
Seeing Kotetsu struggling, Qingshui stepped forward, using the strength provided by his Breathing Style and Chakra to turn the winch.
At Kotetsu's speed, it would probably take an hour of winding for Yoriichi Type Zero to move for only a few seconds.
He could hear the sound of chains being pulled inside the Puppet.
It must be a multi-mainspring drive system.
This Puppet was extremely heavy and had multiple arms. The winch on its back must be connected to several mainspring systems.
*"Click!"*
A mechanical whirring sound came, and Kotetsu immediately exclaimed, "That's enough, that's enough!"
Then the little kid activated another mechanism, temporarily securing the winch.
"Before, winding this fully would let Yoriichi Type Zero work for about fifteen minutes. They say that a long, long time ago, one full winding could last almost half an hour. But now, even after I replaced the mainsprings according to the blueprints, it only lasts ten minutes. Oh! And the blueprints! I'll go get them!"
Kotetsu excitedly ran back into the house.
By the time he came out, Qingshui had already drawn his Nichirin Blade and was engaging Yoriichi Type Zero.
"It's definitely using Hinokami Kagura techniques. I was right. While he claimed 'those who pursue the ultimate path will meet the same end,' in reality, Tsugikuni Yoriichi was still worried that his Hinokami Kagura would be lost. Besides the Kamado family, he still left his legacy in other places."
Qingshui thought to himself, battling Yoriichi Type Zero with his right hand gripping the Nichirin Blade, which now had several new nicks.
After a few exchanges, Qingshui had thoroughly observed all of Yoriichi Type Zero's movements.
They were precisely the twelve forms of Hinokami Kagura. However, the movements of Hinokami Kagura were so quick and sharp that even someone with Hashira-level physical abilities couldn't perform them perfectly. This Puppet required six arms just to execute the Hinokami Kagura techniques precisely.
Qingshui estimated that for people in the Demon Slayer World, the more difficult Hinokami Kagura techniques would require activating the Demon Slayer Mark to meet the physical requirements.
And merely meeting the physical requirements wasn't enough; one also needed a high enough affinity with Hinokami Kagura and the ability to learn its Breathing Style techniques.
It was no wonder that after three hundred years, no one had managed to learn Hinokami Kagura from this Puppet.
Perhaps every swordsman who encountered Yoriichi Type Zero would presumptuously assume it was a Swordplay that required six arms to perform, and thus wouldn't even attempt to learn it.
Qingshui didn't feel compelled to learn Hinokami Kagura. At least, he believed that his self-developed Separation Breathing was more suitable for him. If he ever became stronger than Tsugikuni Yoriichi, Separation Breathing might not be inferior to Hinokami Kagura.
Currently, he was primarily using the Hinokami Kagura techniques displayed by Yoriichi Type Zero to verify and further refine his own Separation Breathing, cross-referencing them with the Hinokami Kagura he learned from Tanjiro.
Ten minutes later.
After delivering one last strike, Yoriichi Type Zero suddenly stopped moving, standing rigidly in place.
Qingshui also sheathed his Nichirin Blade, which now had a few more nicks.
Yoriichi Type Zero's combat ability was likely no worse than that of past Hashira. However, compared to the current generation's second strongest Hashira on average, it was still slightly inferior.
It couldn't defeat a contemporary Hashira, but it was certainly sufficient for training most of the current generation of Hashira.
"Left side, second and third arms, right side, first arm are obstructed. There's a noticeable lack of coordination in its footwork. The upper body's rotation is stiff..."
After a round of combat, Qingshui had a clearer understanding of the Puppet's superficial issues.
When he took the Puppet apart later, he could perform targeted repairs.
"Pillar Qingshui, the blueprints!"
Kotetsu handed two yellowed sheets of paper to Qingshui.
"The original from three hundred years ago disappeared. During my great-grandfather's generation, the Swordsmith Village was attacked, and even the copied blueprints of the original were lost. This one was copied by my great-grandfather, and the other one was drawn by my father, imitating my great-grandfather's copy."
Qingshui took the blueprints and examined them carefully.
The first blueprint was very fragmented; it had been painstakingly reassembled with some kind of paper adhesive, otherwise it would have turned into scraps.
The second one was slightly yellowed but still legible.
Indeed, it was as he had guessed: it used mainsprings as its primary power source, but not only mainsprings.
Gravity and springs were also utilized.
Qingshui even saw structures resembling a pendulum system within it.
Did pendulum clocks exist 300 years ago?
The timing seems roughly consistent, suggesting that with the technology available then, it was indeed possible for ancient people to create them, even if they weren't publicly known.
Never mind.
Shaking off the distracting thoughts, Qingshui continued to pore over the blueprints.
Based on his experience, he could tell that these two blueprints were missing about twenty percent of their content.
And with Qingshui's mastery of Puppetry, he could roughly guess what that missing twenty percent was.
But to know for sure, he'd have to disassemble the Puppet.
The tools here were quite complete; in less than half an hour, Qingshui had taken apart Yoriichi Type Zero.
"This sword..."
Haganezuka Kozo exclaimed, picking up the black, rusted sword located in Yoriichi Type Zero's spine after it had been disassembled.
Tecchin Haganezuka also leaned over, snatching the sword.
"The forging technique of this sword definitely dates back 300 years, and it must have been crafted by the most skilled swordsmith of that era. Judging by its weight and shape, the wielder must have possessed astonishing arm strength—very likely the powerful swordsman who served as the original model for this puppet."
The village chief, with his superb sword-forging skills, made his assessment.
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