"This puppet… why does it have six arms?"
Hearing the question, Kotetsu looked up again.
"It seems that the swordsman's movements were too fast. Without six arms, it would've been impossible to replicate them…
"But the notes also say that even with six arms, the puppet still couldn't fully reproduce that swordsman's movements. Adding more arms wasn't feasible either, since there wouldn't be enough space for the internal mechanisms, and it would also interfere with the puppet's existing movement settings. Our ancestor planned to improve it further later on, which is why it was named the Zero Model."
"What about the others?"
"Since the others were even worse than this one, they were abandoned after being used for training and never repaired. Later, the ancestor who had personally seen that swordsman passed away. The descendants after him had no idea what that swordsman really looked like, so they just kept producing parts to maintain the Yoriichi Type Zero. You see—"
"Ugh—"
Kotetsu looked at Hiru, puzzled.
"You just made a very rude noise."
"Sorry, I just feel physically sick…" Hiru raised a hand to cover his eyes, his voice strained. "Why does it have six arms… I can't accept this. I really can't accept it…"
"It's for recreating that swordsman's movements…"
Ignoring him, Hiru picked up the cloth that had been wrapped around the puppet, shook it open, and draped it over the puppet's head.
"No matter the reason, I absolutely can't accept it! Alright, leave the puppet here for now. Stay here, I'll go get Goro. You two can study it together. But no matter what, please change the face first!"
Kotetsu felt both confused and annoyed. This puppet was modeled after the strongest swordsman of that era, a masterpiece his ancestor had poured everything into. And now Hiru casually demanded changing it. Wasn't that just looking down on their craftsmanship?
But that anger vanished that very afternoon, when he met the man said to be the strongest Sun Hashira of the current era.
Looking at Yoriichi's face, identical to the puppet's after the mask was removed, Kotetsu trembled.
"Y-you… you…"
"Now you understand why I felt sick, right?" Hiru still refused to look at the puppet. "That's why there's no need to make a puppet's face this detailed."
"Could it be that Sun Hashira-sama is the reincarnation of that swordsman?!" After the shock, Kotetsu grew excited. "I've heard that swordsman was the strongest in history! And Sun Hashira-sama is the strongest of this generation too, right? I wonder which of you is stronger. That's really something to look forward to!"
Yoriichi, who had only stayed out of mild curiosity, could only give a wry smile.
How was he supposed to answer that?
Was he supposed to say he never died and had only grown stronger through training?
If he actually said that, Hiru would probably have to use his Blood Demon Art to wipe Kotetsu and Goro's memories.
So after the brief commotion, Yoriichi excused himself to go slay demons. Kitaro, after nagging Hiru for quite a while to remember to be grateful, hopped onto his shoulder and followed him out.
It's worth mentioning that during the time Kitaro followed him on missions, he finally encountered a "normal" and "low-maintenance" swordsman. So when he came back, he immediately started rambling to Hiru again.
Meanwhile, Muichiro and Tanjiro, who knew the truth, didn't interrupt. After taking a look at the intricately crafted puppet, they left together and headed to the training grounds. Muichiro took on the role of instructing Hashira, while Tanjiro needed intensive training to readjust to his body.
After they arrived, Shinjuro stopped the swordsmen who were training stamina and had them split into groups to spar with Kyojuro and Muichiro. Tanjiro naturally joined in as well.
Interestingly, although Tanjiro's body had reverted to how it was before becoming a demon, making him look like the "onii-san" again, his physical abilities had actually improved. He was no less capable than a Hashira, and his recovery ability far surpassed that of ordinary people.
After a few days of adjustment, he was already able to exchange blows evenly with Kyojuro and the others.
Seeing this, Shinjuro simply pulled him out and had him spar with the higher-ranked swordsmen.
Those swordsmen were initially dissatisfied. But after getting beaten and hearing that he was the successor of the Sun Hashira, they all swallowed their complaints.
That said, the three instructors left them with very mixed feelings.
Kyojuro might be cheerful, but expecting him to hold back during training was impossible. In fact, he hit the hardest. One mistake and you'd end up bruised all over.
Muichiro wasn't as physically harsh, and he didn't say much either. But when you were knocked down and met with that look that seemed to say, "How can you be this weak? You're not even as good as a child," it made you wish you could disappear on the spot.
Compared to them, Tanjiro, who didn't hit as hard and would gently encourage you afterward, was practically an angel. Though to be fair, his "not hitting hard" was only relative to Kyojuro and Muichiro.
Yet this boy, who seemed completely incapable of blaming others, was the one who caused the most emotional damage.
Just listen to what Tanjiro says after sparring.
"Don't lose heart. I was actually just about to be hit by your attack. You're really talented, so please keep working hard."
"Everyone has times when they're weak. I used to be very weak too, and even now I've only gotten a little stronger. Let's keep doing our best together."
"Are you okay? I think I just heard a bone crack. Did I hit too hard? Sorry, I still can't control my body very well, so I accidentally used full strength. I'll be more careful next time."
Is that something a human being should say?! You'd be better off saying nothing at all!
In short, aside from a handful of swordsmen, no one wanted to be placed in Tanjiro's group. His kindness was real, but so was the emotional damage.
In fact, it was precisely because of that kindness that his unintentional words cut even deeper.
It was exactly the same as how Yoriichi had been instructing them these past few days, to the point that all the swordsmen privately sighed.
Tanjiro truly lives up to being the Sun Hashira's successor. He's clearly inherited it perfectly.