Chapter 161: Reaching New Heights
After explaining the operational logic behind the team-based squad system,
Natsuya turned his gaze to Sabito and Giyu. "What do you two think of these mock
combat drills?"
Sabito thought for a moment before answering honestly, "It drastically reduces
casualties, doesn't it?"
"We've heard about the 'Hellish Wednesdays' you run up here all the way down in
Tokyo, Senior Natsuya. You're implementing this system to lower the mortality
rate among ordinary Slayers, right?"
The Luminary Hashira gave a single, affirming nod.
"Unlike you two prodigy seeds," Natsuya said, gesturing toward the Slayers
currently clashing in the courtyard, "these background-character-tier grunts
represent the vast majority of the Demon Slayer Corps."
"The overwhelming majority of stray demons across the Far East are hunted down
by people just like them."
Numbers and a steady baseline mattered. In any organization, grunts were the
lifeblood.
Teamwork minimized casualties. If you relied entirely on individual martial
prowess and played solo-queue, a moment of bad luck against a slightly stronger
demon could wipe your HP bar to zero in seconds.
"With a three-man cell, even if one person makes a mistake or gets caught in a
CC-loop, the others can cover the recovery frames."
"And with decent synergy, they can punch above their weight class and beat
opponents that out-stat them."
Though the boys understood his reasoning, Giyu furrowed his brow, remaining
skeptical. He stayed silent for a beat before offering a contradictory
perspective: "A strong enough individual can handle everything alone."
To Giyu, it felt inefficient to expose under-leveled Slayers to high-threat
targets when a stronger swordsman could simply step in and clean the map.
Natsuya and Sabito both caught the unspoken sentiment.
"That's a valid ideal, Giyu, but the math doesn't work," Natsuya countered. "We
simply don't have the manpower."
"According to the operational census from last month, setting aside fresh
recruits and green trainees, the entire Demon Slayer Corps only has 106 Slayers
ranked higher than Shinotsume (Rank 8)."
"And out of those, only 17 have reached Hinoto (Rank 4) or higher."
"Those seventeen people are expected to cover the entire Far East."
"One main island, two prefectures, over forty counties, and thousands of
surrounding cities, towns, and villages."
"On average, a single Slayer is expected to deal with multiple man-eating
threats every single year."
"Our numbers are critically low, and our high-tier DPS units are practically an
endangered species."
This was internal data Natsuya had accessed after becoming a Hashira.
Sabito and Giyu fell silent, their eyes widening slightly. They weren't doubting
Natsuya's words; they were simply shocked by the sheer scale of the Corps'
operational deficit.
"Is the manpower shortage really that severe?" Sabito murmured.
"That's why," Natsuya continued, "if we want to hunt demons more efficiently and
sustainably, we have to scale both Quantity and Quality simultaneously."
"Quality is maintained by the Nine Hashira and the top-tier Kinoe/Hinoto
veterans."
"In the future, it'll be carried by you two and other seed-tier prospects."
"As for Quantity..."
Natsuya left the sentence hanging, but the answer was obvious.
You needed to increase the annual passing rate of the Final Selection while
actively dropping the mortality rate during regular patrols. The latter didn't
just preserve personnel numbers; it raised the average combat baseline of the
organization.
Most mid-to-low-rank Slayers, if they managed to survive their early-game
trials, would naturally grow stronger through the grind of field combat. After
all, anyone who could survive a Cultivator's boot camp, master a Breathing
Style, and clear the Final Selection possessed raw talent and baseline stats far
exceeding an average human.
Natsuya turned his attention to the Uchiha-esque boy. "Giyu, let me ask you a
hypothetical."
"If you fought a demon whose physical stats were double Sabito's, and it
possessed a tricky Blood Demon Art..."
"What's your 1v1 win-rate?"
Giyu calculated the parameters in his head. "Fifty percent."
"Now, what if we added a pre-Selection Sabito as your teammate? He's slightly
weaker than you, but your synergy is solid. What's your win-rate then?"
"——Seventy percent."
"And if we add a third party?"
Giyu didn't answer immediately, but his brow twitched.
Natsuya chuckled. "That's my point. No matter how strong a single player is,
they have a skill ceiling. But a well-coordinated team pushes the entire raid
party's ceiling upward."
"Of course, that only works if your communication doesn't suck."
"Get over there and join the mock combat drills."
To let them experience the importance of "Party Communication" firsthand,
Natsuya arranged a practical demonstration.
He split the dojo trainees into two factions: Red and Blue.
He purposefully separated Sabito and Giyu, placing them on opposing teams.
Sabito's team consisted of lower-stat members, but they were veterans who had
run dozens of drills together. They possessed reliable synergy.
On the other side... well, Giyu's team looked strong on paper. Several high-stat
Slayers, including a Hinoto-rank veteran, were clustered around him.
Natsuya appointed the two boys as the "Squad Leaders" for their respective
teams.
The rules were simple: the match ended when one side was entirely wiped out.
On the Blue Team, Sabito quickly assessed his team's loadout and member stats.
He gathered his teammates, calmly assigned roles, asked for their individual
inputs, and established a solid fallback protocol.
Even with Sabito acting as the rookie leader, the team moved with disciplined,
fluid coordination.
On the Red Team...
Giyu drew his wooden sword and charged straight into the fray without saying a
word.
Classic solo-queue mentality.
To be fair, Giyu was recovering from his trauma, but his baseline communication
skills were still in the tutorial phase. When faced with unfamiliar teammates,
his instinct was default-set to: "I'll handle the aggro; you guys just stay out
of my way."
The Hinoto-rank veteran on his team blinked in surprise, then cursed and rushed
to cover him.
Kozura Yuhito, confused by the lack of tactical planning, blindly followed his
lead.
As for the rest of the team? They scattered like headless chickens, completely
out of sync.
The result was predictable.
Sabito's team used a simple pincer maneuver, isolating Giyu's vanguard before he
could stack his damage. The Hinoto veteran was overwhelmed by a 3-on-1
focus-fire, and the rest of the Red Team crumbled like a house of cards.
Giyu, who had charged too deep into enemy lines, found himself surrounded and
disarmed within three minutes.
Red Team: Total Wipe. Blue Team: Only three members downed.
During the post-match "De-brief," Natsuya ordered a mandatory review.
Sabito's team offered clean, constructive analysis.
When it was Giyu's turn, the Hinoto-rank veteran looked like he wanted to cry.
He explained that when Giyu had charged, he assumed it was a high-level
stratagem; only later did he realize Giyu was just marching blindly into an
ambush and waiting for everyone else to scramble and catch up.
"Pfft—"
Someone in the crowd failed to hold back a laugh. The infection spread
instantly, and soon half the dojo was muffling their snickers.
Giyu sat in silence, his ears burning bright red.
Sabito walked over, giving his friend a comforting pat on the back. "Don't sweat
it, Giyu. Just make sure the enemy dies before you try a solo carry next time."
Giyu stared at the floor. Three seconds passed.
"I hate you, Sabito," he muttered.
Watching the exchange, even Seiko, who was resting on the sidelines, couldn't
help but curve her lips into a fond smile.
Natsuya walked up, clapping a heavy hand onto Giyu's shoulder.
"Alright, alright. Shake it off, Uchiha."
"Even top-tier carries need a support slot. We'll run it back."
"Dismissed! Next match starting in two minutes!"
As the courtyard erupted back into chaotic energy, Natsuya checked his System
Panel. His [Mentorship] skill was steadily ticking upward.
Farming XP off these kids is honestly the best part of being a Hashira.
☆☆☆
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