Shinobu Kocho did not practice three Breathing Styles simultaneously out of some sort of "collector's habit" like Natsunishi. Originally, both she and her sister had trained under a Cultivator of Water Breathing. After her sister, Kanae, discovered the Flower Breathing style—which was more suitable for women—Shinobu had also attempted to master the new style.
But unlike Kanae, Shinobu's skeletal structure and muscle mass were far inferior to those of an ordinary swordsman; she was even more slender than the average woman. Even with the empowerment and strengthening provided by a Breathing Style, this innate physical disparity made it difficult for her to compensate for her lack of strength. If a demon was even slightly powerful, her Nichirin Sword struggled to sever its neck.
A swordsman who cannot behead a demon? It sounded like a cruel joke.
So, she chose a path that no one had ever attempted since ancient times. She abandoned the sweeping slashes of Water Breathing and the extreme flexibility of Flower Breathing, retaining only a modest amount of explosive speed and agility. Within the framework of Flower Breathing, she derived a highly simplified system. It was a secondary derivative style specifically specialized from Flower Breathing.
Then, utilizing her family's ancestral knowledge of pharmacy, she successfully extracted a brand-new toxin from wisteria flowers that was effective only against demons. Combining the two, Shinobu eliminated her first demon using thrusting attacks and poison.
Insect Breathing was born.
Because of this, she knew better than anyone that without a toxin capable of killing demons, Insect Breathing was useless. But how far could the toxin go? Where was its limit? She didn't know. She was walking a lonely path that no predecessor had ever trodden, without a lamp at the finish line or a signpost for reference.
She rarely showed such hesitation before others. Perhaps it was witnessing Natsunishi's nearly overwhelming frontal combat power, or perhaps it was Kanae's rapid growth in strength that put pressure on her. This caused Shinobu to reveal a sliver of her confusion before this peer—who was only slightly older than her yet seemed to be walking a completely different path to power.
Natsunishi swallowed the rice ball in his mouth and thought for a moment.
"It's alright, not exactly weak."
"The base damage multiplier of the skill is relatively low, but it has a separate damage bracket called [Poison Damage]. Once it's developed further, it won't necessarily be weaker than the five main Breathing Styles."
The girl blinked. She didn't quite understand.
Natsunishi continued to himself: "No matter how much you stack attributes, the diminishing returns of pure stats become more obvious the later the game gets."
"Independent multipliers and special mechanics are the real 'meta' answers."
"Perhaps in the early game, the benefit of 100 points of Strength is much higher than poison. But in the late game, even just a 10% poison damage coefficient could yield returns far exceeding hundreds of points of Strength."
Of course, the specifics depended on the game's damage calculation formula. But generally speaking, bracketed damage was always a growth stock.
Shinobu Kocho tried her best to digest these strange and peculiar metaphors, only to see the boy opposite her suddenly reach out and gently pat her head.
Natsunishi could naturally see her concerns. Her initial template was too weak to play a 'Warrior' role, so she was forced to class-change into a 'Poison Assassin,' yet she worried about the career prospects of this profession. It was normal. But in Natsunishi's view, it wasn't a big deal. There were so many niche classes in various games—weren't they all developed by specialists into playstyles that even the designers hadn't considered?
As long as the execution was precise enough and the imagination was broad enough, a Poison Assassin could certainly become a Tier 1 meta pick in specific environments.
Recalling Shinobu's Nichirin Sword, Natsunishi continued, "Are you worried that your upper body strength won't keep up, or are you worried that your toxin will lose its effectiveness?"
Shinobu's eyes widened. How did he know her worries?!
"If you ask me, since you're already using toxins, you might as well put more effort into that aspect."
Shinobu whispered, "A toxin that can kill demons isn't that easy to develop—"
"Then increase the dosage first," Natsunishi said as if it were a matter of course. "Your Nichirin Sword is custom-made, right? How much venom can it inject at once right now?"
About fifty milligrams? For a single use— Shinobu calculated silently.
"I'd say increase the injection volume directly, by at least ten times."
"Since you specialize in thrusting anyway, it doesn't matter if you modify the Nichirin Sword into a longsword or a needle-thin rapier syringe. If fifty milligrams can't kill it, try three hundred or five hundred milligrams. Once the dosage is high enough, a slightly weaker toxicity isn't a problem at all."
Shinobu: "Huh?"
"What do you mean 'huh'? If you don't add the dosage to the sword, where are you going to add it? To your own body?"
The girl was momentarily speechless. It seemed... this 'Big Radish' actually had a point. Her upper body strength was weak compared to the powerful swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps who could split giant boulders. In reality, thanks to her Breathing Style, she was still significantly stronger than an ordinary person. Even if the weight of her Nichirin Sword doubled, it wouldn't be unacceptable.
However, Natsunishi wasn't finished yet.
"And if the toxin itself isn't potent enough, you can try to supplement it from other angles. For instance, stuffing the venom with glass fibers, or alkaloids, or heavy metal toxins—oh, wait, add that!"
Natsunishi looked like he had just thought of a brilliant idea.
"Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand! Use the powder from it! Since the Nichirin Swords forged from it can restrain demons, wouldn't injecting it directly into their bodies cause continuous True Damage?"
Shinobu's small head went into another state of "buffering." It sounded... actually quite interesting.
"When you manage to cook up this poison later, remember to share some with me. I'm very curious about what effect this concoction has on demons." He lowered his voice, offering guidance in a half-joking tone, "So don't worry about your future power level. There are plenty of ways to get stronger."
He patted a hard object at his waist. It was a Colt pistol.
"I'm still wondering if I can create an 'American Breathing' style later. The main point would be: outside of seven paces, the gun is fast; within seven paces—the gun is both fast and accurate."
Shinobu froze for a moment, then "pfft" into a laugh. She quickly covered her mouth, but her shoulders couldn't stop shaking gently.
What a wildly imaginative 'Big Radish.' Yet, he was a... senior... who spoke with a strange logic that made one feel at ease.
After the laughter, the atmosphere became much more harmonious. Shinobu Kocho began to chat with Natsunishi about matters regarding toxins and medicine, though she didn't notice that Natsunishi had already slipped back into a state of "zoning out."
By dusk, the train finally arrived in Tokyo.
The Rengoku family estate stood quietly deep within the streets. He had heard it was the only family-style swordsman lineage to survive to this day, and also the largest training base for Flame Breathing. Or so Natsunishi thought.
After knocking on the gate, he handed Kazami Sarayoshi's letter to the servant who answered.
Then—
"I am truly sorry, honored guest. Please return for today. Master Rengoku is not receiving visitors at this time."
Wait?! Did the old man Kazami forget to top up his credit with the Rengoku family? Why wouldn't they even let him in?!
"Wait, I am a Demon Slayer swordsman, not an ordinary visitor."
The servant still shook his head, looking quite troubled. "It is not because of your status, sir. Sigh, it is due to the Madam's health—Master Rengoku has not been in a good state lately and is truly not fit to receive guests."
Natsunishi still didn't quite understand. Beside him, seeing Natsunishi get rebuffed, Shinobu couldn't help but curl her lips into a smirk.
"We are physicians from the Butterfly Mansion, come to examine Madam Ruka."
"This Natsunishi-kun here is my assistant."
Looking at Shinobu Kocho's young face, a hint of hesitation appeared in the servant's eyes. Shinobu took out another letter and handed it over.
"This is a letter from my sister, Kanae. Additionally, a crow should have delivered news from the Butterfly Mansion not long ago, correct?"
Such a young doctor. From the Butterfly Mansion? I hope the Madam's health can improve this time.
The servant respectfully took the letter, skimmed it quickly, and finally stepped aside.
"Please come in, both of you."
Natsunishi looked at the rejected letter in his hand, then glanced at the letter in Shinobu's hand that had granted them entry.
His "cheap" master's reputation... Tsk tsk tsk.
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