43 Chapter 43: Meeting & Mark
Chapter 43: Meeting & Mark
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'It seems she's still quite upset with me,' Ace thought, noticing Shinobu's cold expression after he mentioned working with a demon.
"Hey! Are you still angry at me?" Ace inquired, but she remained silent.
"Okay, I am sorry for the joke, but I'm serious about the collaboration. She's been researching demon physiology for centuries and has extensive experience," Ace explained.
Shinobu stopped ignoring him after hearing that and finally looked at him.
"She's not your typical demon who preys on humans; she's more of a…..vegetarian demon. She only purchases blood from donors to sustain herself and even serves as a doctor, extending help to anyone in need. She is basically better than most humans, not to mention other demons," Ace elaborated.
Shinobu looked at him skeptically and questioned, "How do you know so much about a demon and its personality? You haven't been outside, except for the mission in Mount Natagumo."
Ace had already crafted an excuse when he had considered including Tamayo in the Demon Slayer Corps.
"If you doubt me, ask Tanjiro; he encountered her during one of his missions." He had discussed this with Tanjiro before, so it wouldn't matter even if she asked him.
"As for how I know her, well, after learning about her from Tanjiro, it jogged my memory about a woman mentioned in one of my ancestral family's books."
"One of my great-grandfathers wrote about her when one of his wives, who was on the verge of death , was treated by her."
"He had attempted to find her to express his gratitude, but she had already vanished. Only when he inquired with his wife did he discover that she was a demon."
"Left with no other option, he wrote a book based on what he gleaned about her from his wife's recollections."
Listening to the story, Shinobu wore a peculiar expression and asked, "Are you sure your great-grandfather wasn't in love with the demon?"
"Huh?"
"Don't you think writing a whole book about her is a bit too much?" Shinobu remarked.
"Maybe, I don't know," Ace replied with an uncertain expression. He didn't think she would come to such a conclusion.
"Let's leave it at that. I'll ask Ubuyashiki during the meeting about including the demon woman Tamayo, in the research with us."
"I'm confident he'll approve, just like he did with Nezuko."
Observing her blank expression, Ace patted her shoulder to provide some comfort and said, "We'll need her if we want to put an end to the demons. You want that, right?"
"I….. will work with that if it means putting an end to all the demons," she nodded with a difficult expression.
"Hmm, good!" Ace smiled upon hearing that. Now that this matter was settled, he pondered the other tasks at hand.
"How much poison do you currently have in your stock?" Ace inquired.
"Why do you ask?" Shinobu looked curious.
"Well, I thought of something. So, how much do you have?"
"Currently, I don't have much, at most one litre, as it's very hard to produce it from wisteria flowers. But given enough time, I can produce some more litres worth of it."
"How much time would you need?"
"Hmm... about two months."
"So, how about going to the Blacksmith village with me in two months?"
"What are you planning?"Shinobu gave me a questioning look.
"Well, I've been thinking about crafting some long-range weapons, and with your poison in the mix, they could prove quite deadly to the demons." Ace said.
"By the way, why doesn't the corps use any long-range weapons?" Ace asked, expressing his confusion about the absence of long-range weapons like bows.
Shinobu appeared a bit lost by my question and took a thoughtful two minutes before responding.
"I believe it's because we never had any techniques or masters skilled in using a bow, and the breathing style also complements the sword much more."
"And demons engage in close-ranged combat much more, making it much harder to fight them without support from someone if you're using a bow or other long-range weapons," she added.
"Hmm…I still think it's quite a waste not to use them. We can employ small darts laced with poison to catch them off guard," Ace suggested.
"We could even make use of some large scorpion crossbows with poison to take them out in one shot."
"Crossbows? They're too big and conspicuous to take outside, and demons would destroy it first if they see its purpose," Shinobu argued.
"Not if the demon itself comes within our range," Ace said.
"Come where?"
"You know, demons locating our headquarters and attacking it. It can happen, right?" Ace said.
"It…can happen."
"We can install them at specific places and use those poison-laced arrows to tear them apart," Ace suggested.
Shinobu thought for a moment before nodding her head. "This seems like a good idea; we can definitely do it. I'll ask Oyakata-sama about this."
- x - X - x -
Hashira Meeting Room, Headquarters.
Ace glanced around the room, observing the ten people gathered here.
All the Hashiras were seated, awaiting Rengoku's words.
"I envy you guys, dammit. Why can't I bump into Upper Moons?" Sanemi exclaimed (Wind Hashira).
"Meeting them is not as simple as eating an apple. By the way, how are you doing, Rengoku?"
"I am fine as day, but it's Ace-kun who is injured. If he wasn't there, I would have surely died," Rengoku began.
All of them looked at Ace with different expressions, but admiration was evident in all.
"You have grit like a stone, son. I admire your determination," Gyomei Himejima praised.
Ace nodded to him and said, "Unfortunately, the Upper Moon made a cunning move at the last moment, saving his life. Otherwise, we almost got him."
"Don't be upset, Ace-kun. You gave it all you've got, and you survived. That's all that matters," Mitsuri said.
"Oyakata-sama is arriving!" A small announcement was heard.
The door opened, and Ubuyashiki entered with the support of his wife.
"Good morning, everyone!" Ubuyashiki greeted.
All the Hashiras quickly returned the greeting.
"I am very sorry for the wait. My health has not been very good today," he said. Then, looking at Rengoku and Ace, he added, "I am very happy that you completed the mission even with the interference of the Upper Moon and returned safely."
"Killing a demon is my duty; I will do it with all my determination," Rengoku declared.
Turning his head to the other Hashiras, Ubuyashiki said, "I am sure you all already know about the strange marks that appeared on Rengoku during their battle against Upper Moon 3."
Ubuyashiki then looked at Rengoku and said, "I would like to ask you about how you gained them and what are the conditions for obtaining them."
"For context, these are the same marks the founder of all breathing styles had. Only some of the swordsmen throughout history were able to awaken it."
"Why haven't we heard anything about it?"Obanai asked the question everyone had.
"If you are confused about why you don't know this information, it's because as time passed, fewer and fewer people awakened these marks. And at some point, it completely stopped appearing."
"And since the Demon Slayers have been close to extinction several times, the information was not passed down in stones, so it slowly became a myth."
"But we do have one consistent piece of knowledge about it: once one person has awakened them, it will start spreading to others."
"I am extremely happy to provide any help in our cause," Rengoku said.
Then, turning to everyone, he added, "To achieve the mark, you have to burn your determination aflame in your heart and spread it throughout your body like a blazing sun."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Everyone facepalmed after hearing his answer.
'What did they expect other than a typical Rengoku type answer' Ace thought.
"Let me explain, I was also close to awakening it," Ace said.
All of them then turned to Ace, some surprised that he also was close to awakening it.
"Please explain it to us, Ace san," Ubuyashiki asked.
"According to me, when I was pierced by the demon's fist in my stomach, my heart rate went over 200 beats, and my body started burning with a high temperature over 39°C."
"How can one even move at that point?" Shinobu exclaimed.
"It's a do-or-die situation. Either you get it or not. And Rengoku did survive it."
"From this, I concluded that for one to awaken the Mark, they must survive extremely life-threatening conditions, specifically a heart rate of over 200 beats per minute and a body temperature of over 39°C, conditions that can prove to be fatal in most cases."
"So that's the reason you and Rengoku had such a high fever," Shinobu said.
"You perfectly described it, Ace. Well done," Rengoku praised.
"Tch, so it's that simple," Shinazugawa said.
"I envy those simpletons who think it's easy," Giyu said with his usual expressionless face.
"What did you say!!" Shinazugawa said in a high voice.
"Nothing."
"Thank you very much for your explanation, Ace-san," Ubuyashiki said.
"Since we have found a way to awaken our mark, I would like everyone to join a joint Hashira training to train everyone," Ubuyashiki said, looking at everyone.
'So the Hashira Training Arc has moved up by two arcs early!' Ace thought
"And everyone has to join this training program, with no exceptions, no matter what!"
"I see. We will surely act with your instructions, Oyakata-sama," Gyomei said.
With that, Ubuyashiki started leaving the room with his wife but stopped just halfway."Oh! I have one more announcement to make. Ace-san here has somehow improved the breathing styles of Shinobu and Mitsuri, and he even said that he will improve everyone's breathing styles. So, I will ask everyone to improve their techniques with him before they start their training," Ubuyashiki said before leaving.
Everyone was shocked after hearing it, except Ace, Shinobu, and Mitsuri. They couldn't imagine someone improving their techniques.
"Is this true, Mitsuri?" Obanai asked.
"Y-Yes, Ace-kun really improved our breathing styles, and it really feels amazing using the improved one."
"Amazing, you even surpassed this God in flamboyance," Tengen said to Ace.
"How do you do it?" Shinazugawa asked.
"Well, it's a trade secret," Ace smiled and answered.
"You!" Sanemi said in a pissed-off expression, but Obanai quickly held him off.
"Don't you want your breathing style improved or what?" Obanai said to Sanemi in a hushed voice.
Gyomei suddenly bowed his head towards Ace, tears pouring from his eyes, and said, "Thank you. I am extremely grateful for this."
"Don't bow, Gyomei-san. It's a small work for me,"
Ace said.
"Still, let me bow before my benefactor." Ace could only sigh at his behaviour.
With that, the Hashira Meeting was concluded.
Next was Training Arc.
- x - X - x -
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