Recaps

Kagaya Ubuyashiki reorganized the Hashira’s territories and warned Giyu, Shinjuro Rengoku, and Gyomei Himejima that Muzan Kibutsuji might respond to the Lower Ranks’ deaths by creating stronger demons or going into hiding. Giyu left for his expanded northeastern patrol, while Kanae and Shinobu continued training on Mount Sagiri and hoped to see him again.

• Gyomei Himejima was officially recognized as the Stone Hashira and assigned responsibility for the central region.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki expanded Giyu’s patrol area north to the Tsugaru Strait and Shinjuro Rengoku’s east across the Kantō Plain.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki reported that only Lower Rank Five remained and warned the Hashira to increase patrols and support one another.
• Shinjuro Rengoku urged Giyu to call for help rather than face a dangerous demon alone, and Gyomei Himejima said he would focus on protecting other villages.
• Giyu set out for the northeastern region, while Kanae and Shinobu discussed his absence and resolved to keep training.

The Upper Ranks gathered on a platform in the Infinity Castle after Lord Muzan summoned them. Daki, Gyutaro, Gyokko, Hantengu, and Akaza arrived, and Akaza waited for a worthy opponent.

• Daki complained about the Infinity Castle while Gyutaro told her to wait quietly for Lord Muzan.
• Gyokko praised Daki’s kimono, showed off a pot containing the souls of a family, and argued with Gyutaro.
• Hantengu trembled in fear as four shadows split from his body and argued among themselves.
• Akaza arrived, insulted the other demons, and stood apart, waiting for an opponent worthy of a fight.

Doma arrived at the Upper Rank meeting and provoked Akaza and Daki before Kokushibo appeared. Kokushibo announced that Muzan would arrive shortly and ordered the demons to settle personal grudges through Rank Replacement Blood Battles after the meeting.

• Doma greeted the Upper Ranks, annoyed Akaza with his teasing, and complimented Daki while Gyutaro stood protectively beside her.
• The Infinity Castle shook as Kokushibo appeared on the platform, overwhelming the gathered demons with his presence.
• Akaza reacted eagerly to Kokushibo’s strength, but Kokushibo ignored him and announced that Lord Muzan would arrive shortly.
• Kokushibo ordered the demons to control their auras and settle personal grudges in Rank Replacement Blood Battles after the meeting.
• Kokushibo released sword qi that extinguished the lanterns and cut the platform, and the demons bowed in obedience.

Muzan summoned the Upper Ranks, condemned the fallen Lower Ranks, and abolished the Lower Rank system, making the six remaining demons the entirety of the Kizuki. He assigned them new tasks to locate the Demon Slayer Corps, hunt its members, spread demon blood, and keep searching for the Blue Spider Lily; the demons then departed while night fell outside the Infinity Castle.

• Muzan arrived at the Upper Rank meeting and questioned Akaza about Tetsusai's death before declaring the Lower Ranks worthless.
• Muzan ordered Gyokko to continue searching for the Blue Spider Lily and assigned him to locate the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters and Wisteria Houses.
• Muzan abolished the Lower Ranks, declaring the six remaining demons the full Kizuki, and ordered them to intensify purges, kill or capture suspected Demon Slayers, and spread demon blood.
• Akaza asked to hunt the Hashira, and Muzan gave him permission while warning that he would not avenge him if he died.
• Kokushibo, Doma, Akaza, Gyokko, Gyutaro and Daki, and Hantengu left the meeting platform to carry out their separate plans.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki read reports of a sharp rise in demon attacks and prepared a letter to Giyu Tomioka and Shinjuro Rengoku. While patrolling, Giyu found a village under attack by dozens of demons and confronted their horned leader.

• Kagaya read reports of mass casualties, suspected Upper Ranks, and demon attacks across the country, then cursed Muzan and began writing to Giyu and Shinjuro.
• Giyu traveled through the northwestern mountains, gave a village elder Wisteria protection and a signal flare, and continued toward his next patrol stop.
• Giyu reached a burning village where dozens of demons had surrounded the villagers and killed several people.
• A horned demon threatened to eat a captured boy and said it hoped to grow strong enough to become a Demon Moon.
• Giyu walked down the mountain toward the demons, and the horned demon froze when it met his calm gaze.

Giyu Tomioka annihilated a valley full of demons with Water Breathing, then learned that demon attacks had become unusually frequent. Kanzaburo delivered an urgent order for Giyu to meet Shinjuro Rengoku and investigate the suspicious Iguro Clan on Hachijōjima, where an Upper Rank might be involved.

• Giyu used Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool to destroy the demons without harming the surviving villagers, then treated a boy's broken leg.
• Giyu suspected Muzan Kibutsuji was creating demons in large numbers but worried the attacks served another purpose.
• Kanzaburo ordered Giyu to travel to Shimoda Port and join Shinjuro Rengoku to investigate the Iguro Clan on Hachijōjima, where three Corps members had disappeared.
• Kanzaburo warned that the case might involve an Upper Rank, and Giyu gave the villagers medicine and signal flares before departing east.

Giyu and Shinjuro traveled through Shimoda and boarded the Shippūmaru for Hachijōjima, where disappearances and strange sightings suggested a dangerous demon threat. They arrived after dark and prepared to begin their investigation.

• Giyu met Shinjuro at Shimoda Port, and they set off together for Hachijōjima.
• Shinjuro explained that people had vanished near the island’s fishing villages and that Oyakata-sama had warned a threat beyond a Lower Rank might be involved.
• Giyu ate twenty-seven bowls of ramen while Shinjuro paid for the meal, then they rested and reviewed a map of Hachijōjima.
• Giyu and Shinjuro boarded the Shippūmaru at noon and heard reports of missing fishing boats and strange lights near the island.
• Giyu and Shinjuro arrived at Hachijōjima after sunset and prepared to begin their mission as wary islanders watched them.

Shinjuro Rengoku rescued Obanai Iguro from a snake demon on Hachijōjima and revealed himself as the Flame Hashira. After learning Obanai’s family name, he asked whether the Iguro Family was colluding with demons, but Obanai hesitated to answer.

• Obanai hid from the snake demon, which threatened to eat his family if he kept fleeing.
• Shinjuro Rengoku arrived and killed the snake demon with Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire.
• Shinjuro checked on Obanai and explained that he fought demons to protect the vulnerable.
• Obanai introduced himself as a thirteen-year-old member of the Iguro Family, and Shinjuro asked whether the demon was connected to the family.
• Obanai hesitated to reveal what he knew, and another voice from the forest said that he was afraid.

Obanai told Giyu and Shinjuro about the Iguro Family's dealings with the Snake Demon and his escape from captivity. After learning about the dangers of the Demon Slayer Corps, he agreed to lead the two Hashira to his family.

• Giyu identified himself as the Water Hashira and demanded that Obanai take him and Shinjuro to the Iguro Family.
• Obanai revealed that his family had fed people to the Snake Demon for generations in exchange for valuables.
• Obanai explained that his family had imprisoned and disfigured him as a sacrifice, but he had escaped with Kaburamaru before Shinjuro killed the Snake Demon.
• Shinjuro promised to confront the Iguro Family and said those who repented could be saved.
• Obanai asked to join the Demon Slayer Corps, and Giyu warned him about its dangers and urged him to decide after seeing what happened at the Iguro Family.
• Shinjuro offered to train Obanai if he made up his mind, and Obanai agreed to take them to the Iguro Family.

Giyu and Shinjuro brought Obanai to the Iguro Family estate, where Shinjuro fought the demons made from Obanai’s relatives and Giyu taught him about a Hashira’s duty to save people as well as slay demons. Seeing Shinjuro’s strength and resolve, Obanai chose to join the Demon Slayer Corps and asked to be trained.

• Giyu, Shinjuro, and Obanai smelled blood at the Iguro Family estate, and Obanai insisted on seeing what had happened.
• Shinjuro leapt over the wall and fought the dozens of Iguro Family members who had become demons.
• Obanai recognized his relatives among the demons and felt disgust at his family’s crimes.
• Giyu pointed out the surviving servants and told Obanai that a Hashira must save people who can still be saved, even if they had once aided evil demons.
• Shinjuro defeated the remaining demons and gave Giyu and Obanai a thumbs-up.
• Obanai asked Shinjuro to teach him a Breathing Style and help him join the Demon Slayer Corps; Shinjuro agreed to take him to meet Oyakata-sama.

Kokushibo appeared before Shinjuro Rengoku, Obanai Iguro, and Giyu Tomioka after they rescued children from demons. Shinjuro unleashed his strongest Flame Breathing attack, but Kokushibo recovered from the minor wound and left Shinjuro in despair.

• Kokushibo revealed himself in the courtyard and taunted Shinjuro Rengoku and the other Demon Slayers for facing him with only two Hashira.
• Shinjuro Rengoku overcame his fear and charged Kokushibo with Flame Breathing Ninth Form, Rengoku.
• Kokushibo blocked Shinjuro's attack, suffered a small burn, and quickly regenerated it.
• Kokushibo dismissed Shinjuro's inherited strength as insufficient and praised it only as a minor inconvenience.
• Shinjuro dropped his Nichirin Blade and wondered whether the Flame Hashira and humanity could ever defeat Kokushibo.

Giyu Tomioka shielded Shinjuro Rengoku from Kokushibo’s Moon Breathing and used his Eleventh Form to neutralize the attack. Kokushibo recognized Giyu’s talent and prepared a stronger assault as Giyu’s Transparent World began revealing new details about the moonlight domain.

• Kokushibo unleashed Moon Breathing’s Sixth Form, Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon, Ceaseless, sending waves of crescent blades toward Shinjuro Rengoku.
• Giyu moved in front of Shinjuro and used Water Breathing’s Eleventh Form, Dead Calm, to deflect the crescent blades until the attack subsided.
• Kokushibo praised Giyu’s technique, identified him as the new Water Hashira, and inferred that Giyu had reached an early stage of the Transparent World and created the Eleventh Form himself.
• Kokushibo prepared a denser, more powerful Moon Breathing attack and taunted Giyu about how long he could withstand it.
• Giyu tightened his grip on Azure Tide as the Transparent World revealed the moonlight fragments’ patterns, their points of gathered energy, and a faint connection between Kokushibo’s breathing and the domain.

Giyu fought Kokushibo in a fierce rooftop battle, using his Transparent World and a burst of awakened power to land a rare wound on the demon. The fight ended with Kokushibo staring at the cut on his forearm, recognizing that Giyu had injured him.

• Kokushibo charged Giyu with Kokyū Shinku, and Giyu dodged the strike but suffered a deep wound to his right shoulder.
• Giyu counterattacked with Water Breathing forms, but Kokushibo shrugged off most of his slashes and retaliated with Moon Breathing.
• Giyu slipped beneath Kokushibo’s arm and launched an upward slash, forcing Kokushibo to evade and attack him with a deadly combination.
• Giyu took severe wounds to his left shoulder and sword hand but avoided Kokushibo’s decapitating strike.
• Giyu’s awakened physique surged, and he cut Kokushibo’s left forearm with his Nichirin Blade.

Giyu wounded Kokushibo and refused his offer to become a demon, explaining that he loved basking in the sun. Kokushibo responded with renewed killing intent, and the fight was about to resume.

• Giyu wounded Kokushibo, who recognized him as the seventh human to leave a mark on him in four hundred years.
• Obanai Iguro and Shinjuro Rengoku regained hope after seeing Giyu stand against Kokushibo.
• Kokushibo praised Giyu’s resolve and offered to turn him into a demon so he could grow stronger forever.
• Giyu refused, remembering the people and values he would lose by becoming a demon.
• When Kokushibo asked what he loved most, Giyu said he liked basking in the sun and would not give up its warmth.
• Kokushibo drew his sword and prepared to attack Giyu again.

Giyu fought Kokushibo through the night, using Dead Calm and the Transparent World to hold him off as sunrise approached. At dawn, Giyu rejected Kokushibo’s offer to become a demon, and Kokushibo unleashed his transformed sword and Blood Demon Art for their final clash.

• Giyu reflected on his complacency and resolved to survive until sunrise as Kokushibo attacked with Moon Breathing, Sixteenth Form: Moonbow, Lonely Moon.
• Giyu used Transparent World and Eleventh Form: Dead Calm to deflect Kokushibo’s moonlight slashes, while Kokushibo activated the Transparent World as well.
• As dawn neared, Kokushibo offered Giyu his blood and eternal life, but Giyu silently refused to become a demon.
• Kokushibo accepted Giyu’s refusal and transformed Kokyū Shinku into a massive blade while six more blades emerged from his body.
• Kokushibo unleashed his Blood Demon Art, Moon Blades in Clusters, and Giyu gathered his strength for the coming attack.

Giyu Tomioka fought Kokushibo through the rising sun, enduring mortal wounds while buying time for the others and refusing Kokushibo’s offer to become a demon. Giyu died in their final clash after wounding Kokushibo, who was left reflecting on the talent and resolve he had lost.

• Giyu traded devastating blows with Kokushibo as Shinjuro Rengoku and Obanai Iguro watched, and Shinjuro explained that Giyu was risking his life to buy time until sunrise.
• Obanai resolved to become a Hashira who could protect others after witnessing Giyu’s sacrifice.
• Giyu adapted to Kokushibo’s attacks and forged the Water Breathing forms into a style of his own, while Kokushibo recognized similarities to Yoriichi Tsugikuni and offered Giyu eternal life as a demon.
• Giyu refused Kokushibo’s offer, and Kokushibo erupted into a furious assault that severed Giyu’s left arm and left him near death.
• Giyu rejected Kokushibo’s offer a second time, stood up with his remaining strength, and struck Kokushibo in the chest as Kokushibo cut him in half.
• Kokushibo survived with a deep wound and lamented how strong Giyu might have become if he had accepted demonhood.

Giyu Tomioka regenerated from a fatal wound, revealed a new sword technique, and drove Kokushibo away with a devastating attack. After collapsing from the strain, he warned Shinjuro Rengoku to contact Oyakata-sama because he might no longer be human.

• Kokushibo advanced on Shinjuro Rengoku, Obanai Iguro, and the surviving servants, but Giyu Tomioka suddenly rose and regenerated his torso and left arm.
• Giyu unleashed a moon-white slash, startling Kokushibo, who recognized the new power and saw a resemblance to Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
• As the sun rose, Kokushibo fled, but Giyu pursued him with Water Breathing★Twelfth Form★Storm and blasted him into the distant forest.
• Kokushibo survived in a crater with his body broken and vowed to discover Giyu's name.
• Giyu collapsed from the strain, and Shinjuro Rengoku caught him as he told him to contact Oyakata-sama because he might not be human anymore.

Aboard the ship, Giyu examined the changes to his awakened physique and practiced the forms of Moon Breathing. Obanai asked him to teach Water Breathing, but Giyu refused, saying Obanai was not suited for it, leaving the boy devastated.

• Shinjuro told Obanai that the Iguro family's servants would live in the Corps' dungeon, and urged him to remember the different path he had chosen.
• Giyu used the Transparent World to examine his enhanced body and learned that his special physique had awakened a second time.
• Giyu practiced Water and Moon Breathing, reproducing the sixteen Moon Breathing forms but recognizing that he lacked Kokushibo's sword intent.
• Obanai asked Giyu to teach him Water Breathing so he could protect others, but Giyu said he lacked time and that Obanai was not suited for it.
• Obanai left Giyu's cabin with his hopes crushed, while Giyu wondered why his honest answer had upset the boy.

After Giyu’s blunt assessment drove Obanai away in tears, Shinjuro explained how his words had hurt the boy. Obanai resolved to prove himself by learning Water Breathing, and Shinjuro gave him a recommendation to train with Kirisawa Seijuro.

• Shinjuro told Giyu that his truthful words had hurt Obanai, and Giyu wondered how the truth could cause pain.
• Shinjuro found Obanai on deck, explained that Giyu had not meant to insult him, and offered to take him as his Flame Breathing Tsuguko.
• Obanai refused Shinjuro’s offer and insisted that he wanted to learn Water Breathing and prove he was worthy.
• Shinjuro recommended that Obanai seek training from Kirisawa Seijuro and wrote him a letter of introduction to take to Abyssal Lake in Kanto.
• Obanai told Shinjuro he would keep climbing despite the hardships, then bowed toward Giyu’s cabin and vowed to grow stronger and prove himself.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki received news that Giyu Tomioka and Shinjuro Rengoku had defeated Upper Rank One, and ordered recovery leave and a new sword for Giyu. At the Wisteria House, Giyu chose to return home while Obanai set out to train under Kirisawa Seijuro.

• A Kasugai Crow told Kagaya Ubuyashiki that Giyu Tomioka and Shinjuro Rengoku had defeated Upper Rank One but were gravely injured.
• Kagaya ordered a week of mandatory leave for battle-worn members and asked Tecchin Tecchikawahara to forge Giyu a blade from moon-reflecting steel.
• Kagaya sent Giyu a message urging him to rest for a month and notice the peaceful scenery beyond the battlefield.
• At the Wisteria House, Giyu told Shinjuro Rengoku that he was leaving to go home, and Shinjuro said the Kakushi Division would keep the events on Hachijōjima secret.
• Obanai told Giyu he would go to Abyssal Lake, pass Kirisawa Seijuro's test, and learn Water Breathing.
• Shinjuro invited Giyu to share ramen at the Hashira Meeting in a month, and Giyu walked down the path along the cliff.

Shinobu and Kanae completed Mount Sagiri’s obstacle run, improving their time as they trained under Sakonji Urokodaki. They returned to the cabin planning to save some salted salmon in case Giyu came back from his mission.

• Shinobu and Kanae navigated the traps and falling rocks on their thirtieth morning run, helping each other through the course.
• Shinobu asked when Giyu would return from his mission on Hachijōjima, and the sisters talked about missing him and recalling his demonstration of Water Breathing.
• The sisters found their way through the foggy maze, and Shinobu crossed the finish line first before Kanae cautioned her about sprinting too early.
• Shinobu and Kanae finished the course in thirty-two minutes, two minutes faster than the previous day.
• The sisters headed back to the cabin for breakfast and agreed to save some salted salmon in case Giyu returned.

Giyu returned to Mount Sagiri after a month away and reunited with Shinobu, Kanae, and Sakonji Urokodaki over breakfast. He stayed for a month off and agreed to train the sisters, while Kanae and Shinobu noticed that he seemed more powerful and changed.

• Shinobu confronted Giyu for being gone a month without sending a letter, but blushed when he bent close at her command.
• Kanae asked about the Hachijōjima mission, and Giyu said it had gone smoothly despite hiding the full extent of his injuries.
• Giyu described the glowing sea to Shinobu and told the sisters he would stay on Mount Sagiri during his month off.
• Giyu praised the sisters’ improvement, then told them to meet him at the training ground after an hour of rest.
• After Giyu left for the mountain spring, Shinobu and Kanae remarked that he seemed different and carried a deeper, heavier presence.

Shinobu Kocho and Kanae Kocho tested their progress against Giyu Tomioka, who used the sparring session to expose flaws in their teamwork and demonstrate the gap in their skill. He praised their improved Breathing Style techniques and told them they were much stronger than he had been at their age.

• Shinobu Kocho attacked Giyu Tomioka, but he dodged her first strike and deflected her follow-up, leaving her wrist numb.
• Kanae Kocho tried to exploit Giyu's opening, but he knocked her sword aside and explained that he had anticipated her attack.
• Shinobu and Kanae coordinated a pincer attack, but Giyu deflected both strikes and pointed out that Shinobu had moved too soon while Kanae had followed too late.
• The sisters used Breathing Style techniques in a simultaneous attack, but Giyu stopped both blades with a precise strike at the point where their attacks converged.
• Giyu praised the sisters' progress and told Shinobu that he had first used a Breathing Style at thirteen during the Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane.
• Giyu agreed that Shinobu and Kanae were much stronger than he had been at that age, and Kanae thanked him for his guidance.

Kanae and Shinobu learned that their bodies were unsuited to Water Breathing, but Sakonji Urokodaki promised to guide them toward Flower Breathing. The chapter ended with Kanae and Giyu sharing a quiet moment as they prepared dinner.

• Kanae and Shinobu struggled to perform Water Breathing forms, and Shinobu collapsed after injuring herself.
• Sakonji Urokodaki ended their Water Breathing instruction and explained that their constitutions were unsuited to the style.
• Giyu confirmed Urokodaki’s assessment, explaining that Water Breathing required strength and endurance their bodies lacked.
• Urokodaki promised to take the sisters to meet an acquaintance who practiced Flower Breathing, which better suited their constitutions.
• Kanae asked Giyu whether he had known about their incompatibility, and he said he had trusted Urokodaki’s judgment.
• Kanae and Giyu prepared simmered salmon and daikon for dinner.

Shinobu vowed to grow strong enough to fight demons beside Giyu, while she and Kanae prepared to leave Mount Sagiri to train in Flower Breathing. As the sisters and Giyu faced their coming separation, Urokodaki wrote to the Flower Valley Cultivator asking him to care for them.

• Shinobu chased a butterfly in the flower field until it landed on Giyu's finger, and Giyu encouraged her by saying she was slowly breaking out of her cocoon.
• Shinobu vowed to catch up to Giyu and slay demons alongside him, and he promised to wait for her.
• Giyu meditated beside the waterfall and used his Transparent World to perceive activity across Mount Sagiri.
• Kanae and Shinobu discussed leaving Mount Sagiri for Flower Breathing training, and they resolved to work hard and grow stronger together.
• Giyu reflected on how much he would miss the sisters, though he believed Flower Breathing was the right path for them.
• Urokodaki wrote to the Flower Valley Cultivator, describing the sisters and asking him to look after them and keep them from overexerting themselves.