CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 79: THE PUPPET COMPLETED

’Though this world is filled with malice, we must still strive forward!’

Tanjiro’s resolve was not something that mere malice could break. Following the blueprints, he diligently pieced together the components in his hands.

At first, his face was blank with confusion, but gradually his expression grew serious as he grasped the knack of it. As he improved, he became completely absorbed in the task.

"So, every man is destined to find joy in assembling things!"

Sosuke watched Tanjiro, now completely engrossed and lost in the work, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Kanae, seeing how much fun Tanjiro seemed to be having, smiled wryly. "Won’t this interfere with his training?"

Sosuke considered for a moment. "Everyone needs some downtime."

Silence returned to the forge, punctuated only by the occasional clang of the hammer, as the usual rhythm resumed.

When Tanjiro finally looked up again, he realized the sun had already begun to set.

He stood up in surprise. "Has it been an entire afternoon already?"

Tanjiro turned his head to look around, only to realize that Sosuke and Kanae had vanished without him noticing. He scratched his head, "Where did they go?"

Just as he spoke, Sosuke and Kanae emerged from the nearby woods.

Tanjiro rushed over to greet them, "Where did you two go?"

"Training," Sosuke replied, swinging his massive hammer through the air.

Tanjiro stared in awe, "Is that Sosuke-San’s weapon?"

"Want to try it?" Sosuke winked.

"Yes, yes!" Tanjiro’s eyes burned with excitement. As soon as Sosuke set the hammer-sword on the ground, Tanjiro immediately approached. He first tried lifting it with one hand, but the hammer-sword didn’t budge.

Switching to both hands, he managed to rock it slightly.

He was dumbfounded. Sosuke had wielded this thing with such ease!

Taking a deep breath, Tanjiro mustered all his strength and finally yanked the hammer-sword upright. But he couldn’t take a single step forward. The moment he shifted his weight, he lost his balance, and the hammer-sword crashed to the ground with a clang, narrowly missing his foot.

"That’s terrifying!" he gasped, panting heavily. "Is this thing made of solid iron?"

"Not quite," Sosuke said, stepping forward. He gripped the hilt, activated the mechanism, and in an instant, the Nichirin Blade slid out from within the hammer.

Tanjiro stared in disbelief. "What is that?"

"A sword," Sosuke replied casually.

"No... that’s not what I meant."

"Hahaha!"

Sosuke burst into laughter, then explained, "This is a hammer-sword. The hammer serves as the scabbard, concealing a Nichirin Blade inside. Hmm, you probably don’t know what a Nichirin Blade is—it’s a sword used to slay demons. My swordsmanship isn’t great, but my strength and endurance are my strengths, so I made the scabbard into a hammer. By leveraging my physical prowess, I can ultimately defeat demons and behead them with the Nichirin Blade hidden within the hammer. That’s basically how it works... though, to be honest, I haven’t actually slain a demon with my Nichirin Blade yet."

"So that’s how it is!" Tanjiro exclaimed, finally understanding. " Sosuke-san’s strength is truly astonishing!"

"Forged through hammering," Sosuke replied with a smile. "But brute force like this isn’t something to be admired. Compared to what Urokodaki-sensei taught you, that’s true skill. As for me, lacking natural talent, I can only compensate with strength."

"That’s still an incredible talent!"

Tanjiro said earnestly.

Sosuke glanced at him, knowing the boy wouldn’t say something he didn’t mean. He couldn’t help but smile. "Thank you for your kind words."

Tanjiro suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Realizing the time, he quickly said, "I’m going to make dinner now," and hurried away.

"He’s such an interesting child," Kanae said with a smile. "His eyes are so clear, it’s almost like he can see straight into your heart."

Sosuke smiled faintly and nodded gently.

The next day, Tanjiro returned to help assemble the Automaton’s parts.

It seemed to have become a fun game for him. Every time they completed a section, Tanjiro would beam with joy.

However, he missed his afternoon training session that first day. After that, he diligently followed Urokodaki into the mountains for training every day.

Even though he returned bruised and battered each evening, he never complained or said he was tired.

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed. Sosuke had completed the core of the Automaton, while Tanjiro had assembled nearly all the parts he could.

Sosuke took the back section of the Automaton and began assembling the core components one by one, making adjustments as he went. Once this step was complete, he attached the already assembled front section.

Finally, he added the legs, head, and six arms.

When finished, a six-armed Automaton stood before Tanjiro.

"Amazing!!!" Tanjiro exclaimed, his eyes shining with genuine delight. The look reminded Sosuke of his own childhood days watching Transformers at home.

"Want to try it out?" Sosuke suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Tanjiro blinked in surprise. "Try what?"

Sosuke smiled faintly, activated the Automaton, and said, "Get ready!"

"What?" In that moment of confusion, the six arms unfolded. The next second, Tanjiro let out a yelp as he was sent flying by a powerful blow.

Staggering to his feet, Tanjiro muttered, "So this is why we’re using the Automaton for training?"

’This thing... it actually fights?’

Tanjiro found it unbelievable. Although he had known for days that Sosuke had created the Automaton to aid his training, he still couldn’t quite grasp how it would work.

Especially after helping assemble so many components over the past few days, he couldn’t see how any of it could possibly help him.

Now, he finally understood.

Before activation, the Automaton was just a toy made of assembled parts.

But once activated, it revealed its true, brutal nature as a combat puppet.

Tanjiro took a deep breath and stood up again. "Again!"

"As you wish," Sosuke replied with a smile, readjusting the Automaton’s mechanisms. In the next moment, the puppet lunged forward, sending Tanjiro flying.

That afternoon, Sosuke didn’t train himself; he simply watched the Automaton mercilessly beat Tanjiro.

By dinner that evening, Tanjiro was bruised and battered, looking ten times worse than after Urokodaki’s brutal training sessions.

Urokodaki watched in stunned silence, unable to resist asking Sosuke, "Will training with this really not kill anyone?"

Sosuke smiled. "My work here is finished. I’ll write you an operating manual later. You can adjust the Automaton’s strength and control its movements. Oh, and with Tanjiro’s help, we’ve verified all ten forms of Water Breathing for the Automaton. Now, it’s all yours."