Swordsmith Village.
Qingshui sat at the dining table, looking at the leftover food in front of him, and let out a satisfied burp.
Before he arrived at Swordsmith Village, Uesugi Yuu had already sent people to deliver the collected plants to the Demon Slayer Corps.
As the highest-ranking Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps, the Kakushi immediately delivered the contents of those baskets to him, and Qingshui brought them to Swordsmith Village.
Almost every meal, Qingshui found different ways to prepare these vegetables.
Wild vegetable and radish soup, wild vegetable stew with meat, wild vegetables with spare ribs—every conceivable cooking method was used.
Unfortunately, even now, Qingshui's blood still hadn't changed.
Collecting a tube of his own blood, mixing in a drop of Byouha's blood, letting it sit overnight, then exposing it to sunlight at dawn, always resulted in it turning to ash and dissipating within seconds.
His only gain, perhaps, was that his cooking skills had improved significantly.
"For the remaining wild vegetables, I should find a way to pickle them so they can be stored longer."
Stretching, Qingshui looked at the clear weather outside, then walked out, intending to take a stroll and aid his digestion.
However, he hadn't gone far when three swordsmiths wearing Hyottoko Masks blocked his path.
An old man, a middle-aged man, and a child.
Qingshui recognized the middle-aged man; it was Haganezuka Kozo, who helped him forge his Nichirin Blade.
"Oh, Senior Haganezuka, I presume this must be Village Elder Tecchin Haganezuka? Is there something you need from me?"
Qingshui asked the three of them.
Before Haganezuka Kozo and Tecchin Haganezuka could answer, the child pointed at Qingshui.
"Those things you asked us to make from Scarlet Ore Iron, they're for creating mechanisms to fight Demons, right!"
"Kotetsu, don't be rude to Lord Hashira."
Haganezuka Kozo reached out and pressed down on the child's head, apologizing to Qingshui.
"Let me speak."
The old man jumped down from Haganezuka Kozo's shoulder, standing at the same height as Kotetsu beside him.
This forced Qingshui to lower his head and squat down to speak.
"I am Tecchin Haganezuka, the village chief of Swordsmith Village, and the most skilled craftsman in the village. I've come for two reasons: First, to ask if you, Lord Hashira, have any special requests for the Nichirin Blade you're forging, similar to the Love Hashira.
Second, at Kotetsu's request, I'd like to ask if you, Lord Hashira, are proficient in mechanisms."
Qingshui looked at Kotetsu.
"I have no special requirements for the Nichirin Blade; as long as it's sharp and durable, that's enough. As for mechanisms and Puppetry..."
With Kotetsu's expectant gaze on him, Qingshui nodded.
"I'm very good at it, to an extent that surpasses your imagination."
As if to prove his words, Qingshui extended his left hand, and the armored Puppet from the basket on his back quickly flew out, assembling itself into the form of ancient armor.
The three swordsmiths were stunned.
How was such a miraculous feat, akin to a Blood Demon Art, even possible?
Seemingly discerning their thoughts, Qingshui immediately spoke:
"I wonder, have you heard of string Puppetry? It's a folk art that uses fine threads and mechanisms to control multiple Puppets."
Qingshui took out a fine thread he had intentionally prepared, one barely visible to the naked eye, and showed it to the three, then quickly put the armor back into the basket.
Puppetry was his strongest skill, and Qingshui knew that if he ever encountered problems that couldn't be resolved with just Swordplay, he would definitely need to use Puppetry. Therefore, he had long prepared a corresponding explanation.
The three exchanged stunned glances.
They had heard of Puppet shows before, but the Hashira's demonstration was simply too unbelievable!
It was as miraculous as a Blood Demon Art!
"Ahem, of course, those alone aren't enough to achieve what I just did, but I'm a genius, and my family is wealthy and well-connected, allowing me to access the world's most advanced technology, adapt it for my own use, and innovate..."
Qingshui spouted nonsense, talking a mile a minute, dizzying the three swordsmiths in front of him.
But at least one thing they could confirm:
This Hashira knew something about mechanisms.
"Ahem, stop, stop! Lord Hashira, well... actually, we wanted to ask if you could help us repair a Sengoku period Puppet. It was made by the most outstanding swordsmith of that time, imitating the techniques of the strongest swordsman of that era. It wasn't mass-produced because it was too heavy for long-distance movement and too difficult to create.
But for three hundred years, that powerful Puppet has served as a protector of Swordsmith Village. However, too much time has passed, and it's sustained some damage. Even Kotetsu, a descendant of that swordsmith, can only barely repair most of its functions and can't restore its full power. So we were hoping..."
Haganezuka Kozo paused, and he and Kotetsu looked at Qingshui expectantly.
Qingshui said, "Then let's go take a look."
He remembered that in the original timeline, there was indeed such a Puppet called Yoriichi Type Zero.
It operated without human control, and he didn't know what powered it, but it possessed enough combat power to fight a Hashira. Tokito Muichiro acquired it from Kotetsu for training and eventually broke it.
Qingshui was quite interested in it.
Yoriichi Type Zero is a puppet built by a previous master based on Yoriichi's techniques. Because Yoriichi was so fast, two arms weren't enough to replicate his movements, so six arms were used instead.
Does that mean the techniques this puppet uses are related to Sun Breathing?
I've already managed to reproduce Sun Breathing through Tanjiro. So, if I compare it with the puppet's techniques, could I discover new advancements or gain new insights?
This puppet can fight at a Hashira level on its own. What if I controlled it?
Under the control of Chakra Threads, the puppet's moves would no longer be rigid. Its power, speed, and other attributes would continue to improve. How much stronger could its combat ability become?
Moreover, 300 years ago, someone was able to create a puppet with such combat power using only mechanical techniques. The person who made Yoriichi Type Zero must have been a master of puppetry.
Qingshui also wondered if he could, with his own abilities, create a puppet with Hashira-level combat power using only mechanical devices.
He wanted to try.
And he also wanted to know if the puppetry techniques from two different worlds could spark something new when combined.
Following the trio, Qingshui arrived at a courtyard.
Under the eaves of the courtyard, Kotetsu pulled back a cover, revealing a puppet with only half a face but six arms.
"Lord Hashira, this is it!" Kotetsu excitedly introduced to Qingshui.
Qingshui, with his hand on his sword, looked at the tall, imposing puppet, which was about ten centimeters taller than himself.
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