Chapter Summaries

Tanjiro Kamado completed his final test against Sakonji Urokodaki, who declared that he had nothing left to teach him. After a warm farewell with his family, Tanjiro set out for Mount Fujikasane to face the Demon Slayer Corps entrance trial and pursue Muzan Kibutsuji.

• Tanjiro and Sakonji Urokodaki stopped their blades just short of striking each other, and Urokodaki praised Tanjiro's progress and released him from training.
• Tanjiro shared a warm breakfast with his family and Urokodaki before leaving the cabin.
• Urokodaki gave Tanjiro a blessed Warding Mask and tied it to his head for protection on Mount Fujikasane.
• Nezuko, Takeo, Delia, Shigeru, and Kie said goodbye to Tanjiro, and Kie urged him to stay alive.
• Tanjiro shouldered his wooden box and set off through the snow toward Mount Fujikasane.

Tanjiro Kamado reached Mount Fujikasane for Final Selection and calmed the frightened Zenitsu Agatsuma and the charging Inosuke Hashibira. He then met Kanao Tsuyuri, stopped her from letting a coin decide what to do, and urged her to listen to her own heart, leaving a faint ripple in her expression.

• Tanjiro arrived at Mount Fujikasane and found the prospective swordsmen tense before Final Selection.
• Zenitsu clung to another swordsman's leg in terror while Inosuke charged through the plaza and attacked him.
• Tanjiro stopped Inosuke with controlled force, praised him, and frightened him with his kindness; he then promised to protect Zenitsu.
• Tanjiro noticed Kanao beneath a Wisteria tree and remembered Kanae's request to help her smile.
• Tanjiro caught Kanao's coin, returned it to her, and urged her to make choices by listening to her heart.
• Kanao's lifeless eyes showed a faint ripple after Tanjiro spoke to her.

The twin examiners announced that Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane now required candidates to survive seven days in the inner zone to become demon slayers, while the deepest core zone was forbidden. Tanjiro headed into the forest carrying the unconscious Zenitsu, determined to prove himself.

• The twin examiners explained that Mount Fujikasane had been divided into outer, inner, and forbidden core zones, and that only candidates who survived seven days of combat in the inner zone could become demon slayers.
• The candidates reacted with fear and protests, while Zenitsu Agatsuma fainted and Inosuke Hashibira eagerly declared he would enter the core zone.
• Tanjiro sensed many demons in the forest but judged their presence weak compared with Giyu Tomioka and Sakonji Urokodaki.
• Tanjiro picked up the unconscious Zenitsu and set off toward the forest, determined not to disappoint Giyu and the others.

Tanjiro cleared demons from the outskirts of Mount Fujikasane during the Final Selection, using them to practice his hand-to-hand reactions before killing them with his Nichirin Blade. After he rescued two prospective swordsmen, they fled from him in fear, leaving Tanjiro confused.

• Tanjiro dodged a demon’s slow lunge, knocked it into the ground, and then beheaded it with his Nichirin Blade.
• Tanjiro continued through the woods, beating demons before finishing them with his blade to train his reactions.
• Tanjiro arrived as three demons cornered two prospective swordsmen and beheaded all three in less than a second.
• Tanjiro offered the frightened swordsmen a hand and told them the outskirts were safe, but they called him a monster and ran away.
• Tanjiro complained about being treated like a monster, then continued clearing demons from the outskirts.

Tanjiro killed the last demon lurking on Mount Fujikasane’s outskirts and rescued Zenitsu Agatsuma, who had been clinging to a tree in terror. Zenitsu grabbed Tanjiro’s leg and insisted he protect him for the rest of the selection.

• Tanjiro sensed an intense smell of fear and rushed toward a scream in the woods.
• Tanjiro found Zenitsu Agatsuma hanging from a tree while a three-eyed demon tried to reach him.
• Tanjiro beheaded the demon with a single stroke of his Nichirin Blade.
• Zenitsu dropped from the tree, clung to Tanjiro’s leg, and begged him for protection until the selection ended.
• Tanjiro struggled to free himself, then gave up when Zenitsu refused to let go.

Tanjiro left Zenitsu in the cleared outer area and entered the inner area to hunt stronger demons. Remembering Jigoro Kuwajima’s words, Zenitsu overcame his fear and followed him, while Tanjiro reached the Kakushi registration point first.

• Tanjiro told Zenitsu that the outer area was safe for seven days, then headed into the inner area to find stronger demons.
• Zenitsu planned to hide in the outer area until the selection ended, but remembered Jigoro Kuwajima’s warning against living as a coward.
• Zenitsu slapped himself, took up his Nichirin Blade, and entered the inner area despite believing he would die.
• Tanjiro reached the Wisteria Barrier and introduced himself to the Kakushi as Tanjiro Kamado.
• The Kakushi squad captain was surprised by Tanjiro’s clean appearance and paused while registering him.

Tanjiro entered the inner circle and encountered six demons, choosing to test his hand-to-hand combat skills on them before finishing them with his Nichirin Blade. He continued deeper into the demon-filled area, warmed up and determined.

• The Kakushi squad leader recognized Tanjiro and offered him lavish treatment, but Tanjiro declined and hurried into the inner circle.
• Tanjiro sensed six powerful demons and agreed to use them as punching bags to practice his martial arts.
• Tanjiro beat the Shadow Six-Person Group repeatedly, exploiting their ability to regenerate without their heads being cut off.
• After finishing his practice, Tanjiro retrieved his Nichirin Blade and beheaded all six demons.
• Tanjiro sheathed his blade and continued deeper into the inner circle.

Shinobu Kocho and Sanemi Shinazugawa argued as they traveled through Mount Fujikasane, where Shinobu was supposed to strengthen a captured Lower Rank demon for Kagaya Ubuyashiki’s plan concerning Tanjiro. Their quarrel was interrupted by Rui’s sudden attack from the canopy.

• Shinobu Kocho grumbled about Giyu Tomioka sending her to Mount Fujikasane and ruining her chance to spend time with him.
• Sanemi Shinazugawa lost his temper over Shinobu’s constant complaints about Giyu and threatened her with his blade.
• Shinobu teased Sanemi about being single and offered him medicine for his temper.
• Sanemi began to draw his Nichirin Blade as Rui sent dozens of razor-sharp spider threads down toward them.
• Rui, Lower Rank Five, descended from the canopy as Sanemi prepared to defend against the attack.

Rui, driven mad by six months of isolation on Mount Fujikasane, attacked Sanemi and Shinobu, but Sanemi overwhelmed him while holding back from killing him. Rui was left broken and crying in a crater, still longing to go home.

• Rui recalled how a stone-faced man had destroyed his spider family, brought him to Mount Fujikasane, and ordered him to wait for a red-haired boy with earrings.
• Rui unleashed Blood Demon Art: Thread Prison on Sanemi and Shinobu, raging about his loneliness and lack of prey.
• Shinobu gracefully escaped the web and taunted Sanemi into handling the fight himself.
• Sanemi used Wind Breathing, First Form—Dust Whirlwind to shred Rui's threads and rush him in midair.
• Sanemi kicked Rui in the chest and smashed him into the ground with the back of his blade, leaving him badly injured but alive.
• Rui broke down in the crater, lamenting that he had encountered another unreasonable maniac and crying that he wanted to go home.

Shinobu injected the battered Rui with a drug made using Giyu Tomioka’s hyperactive blood cells, forcing him to become a temporary Upper Rank demon. Sanemi and Shinobu left Rui behind as he completed his transformation, losing his reason and becoming violently murderous.

• Sanemi mocked Rui after beating him, and Shinobu arrived with a syringe filled with scarlet drug.
• Shinobu injected Rui with her Potential-Stimulating Drug and explained that it could briefly raise him to Upper Rank strength but would destroy his genes within a day.
• Rui convulsed as his body healed and transformed, releasing a powerful Demon Aura that excited Sanemi.
• Shinobu stopped Sanemi from attacking Rui and reminded him to follow the plan, so the two Hashira left the area.
• Rui emerged from the pit as a super spider demon, consumed by pain and the desire to kill.

Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Kanao each sensed a powerful demonic presence erupting from Mount Fujikasane’s core area. They headed toward it from different parts of the mountain, leaving the source of the shockwave unrevealed.

• Tanjiro killed two demons, then sensed a violent demonic presence erupt from the core and raced toward it to protect the other examinees.
• Inosuke fought a group of weak demons, felt the core’s pressure, and charged toward it, excited to face the mountain’s strongest opponent.
• Zenitsu fled from two tentacled demons, which collapsed in fear when the overwhelming Demon Aura swept over them.
• Kanao remembered advice to listen to her heart, flipped her coin, and chose to speed toward the core area.

Tanjiro Kamado fought Rui, whose altered power and hatred drove him to attack with a deadly web of threads. After Rui severed Tanjiro’s arm, it regenerated, leaving Rui convinced that the Demon Slayer Corps had secretly turned a demon into a swordsman; Tanjiro denied the accusation and prepared to fight again.

• Tanjiro Kamado arrived at Mount Fujikasane and struck Rui with Sun Breathing, Second Form: Blue Heaven, but Rui blocked the attack with his Blood Demon Art.
• Rui recognized Tanjiro’s Hanafuda earrings and blamed him and the Demon Slayer Corps for the six months of suffering he had endured.
• Rui attacked Tanjiro with Ultimate: Murderous Thread Prison, and the web severed Tanjiro’s left arm.
• Tanjiro’s arm began regenerating, prompting Rui to accuse the Demon Slayer Corps of secretly raising demons as swordsmen.
• Tanjiro insisted that he was human and defended the Corps, then regained his Nichirin Blade and prepared to get serious.

Tanjiro pushed Rui to unleash his full power, but his human body finally gave out after a prolonged battle. He accepted five percent of the Demon Consciousness’s power, recovered, and awakened a crimson Red Nichirin Blade as he began the fight’s second stage.

• Tanjiro used Sun Breathing to break through Rui’s threads and wound him, but Rui countered with his full-release Eightfold Thread Wheel Prison.
• After fighting for half an hour, Tanjiro reached his physical limits and was knocked down by a blood wheel.
• In his spiritual sea, Tanjiro refused to surrender control of his body and persuaded the Demon Consciousness to lend him only five percent of its power.
• The Demon Consciousness’s power restored Tanjiro and shattered Rui’s eight blood wheels as he rose with a crimson Red Nichirin Blade.
• Tanjiro declared that the second stage had begun, while Rui’s Demon King cells urged him to flee.

Sanemi Shinazugawa guarded the western passage and violently defeated Inosuke Hashibira when he charged at him. The chapter ended with Zenitsu Agatsuma crashing into Sanemi’s boulder and begging him for protection.

• Sanemi Shinazugawa complained about being made to guard the passage and vowed to punish anyone who crossed the line.
• Inosuke Hashibira charged at Sanemi, who countered with Wind Breathing, Fourth Form—Rising Dust Storm and cut his chest.
• Inosuke pushed through the pain and attacked with Beast Breathing, Fifth Fang—Crazy Cutting.
• Sanemi deflected Inosuke’s strikes, cut his arms, and kicked him into a pile of rubble, knocking him unconscious.
• Zenitsu Agatsuma raced down the path, crashed into Sanemi’s boulder, grabbed his leg, and begged him to save him.

Sanemi killed two demons, then condemned Zenitsu as a coward and insulted his former master, Jigoro Kuwajima. Zenitsu briefly fought back before Sanemi knocked him unconscious, and Sanemi planned to have his Final Selection qualification revoked.

• Sanemi killed the two pursuing demons with a pair of wind blades.
• Sanemi berated Zenitsu for being too frightened to draw his sword and insulted the Cultivator who had trained him.
• Zenitsu remembered Jigoro Kuwajima’s care and training, then sprang up and attacked Sanemi.
• Sanemi dodged Zenitsu’s slash, cut his shoulder, and knocked him unconscious with his sword hilt.
• Sanemi decided to ask the Master to revoke Zenitsu’s qualification and turned toward Inosuke.

Zenitsu unleashed Thunder Breathing while unconscious and joined Inosuke in attacking Sanemi, but the Wind Hashira defeated them both. Sanemi acknowledged their strength and looked forward to the Demon Slayer Corps’ future.

• Zenitsu’s breathing changed, and he launched Thunder Breathing: First Form, forcing Sanemi back with a lightning-fast strike.
• Inosuke joined Zenitsu in a pincer attack, and Sanemi praised their skill before using Wind Breathing: Fifth Form, Cold Mountain Wind.
• Sanemi wounded Inosuke and dislocated Zenitsu’s wrist, then struck Zenitsu down with his sword.
• Sanemi pinned Inosuke beneath his foot until Inosuke passed out, leaving both boys unconscious.
• Sanemi smiled at the defeated trainees and said the Demon Slayer Corps’ future would not be boring.

Kanao Tsuyuri tried to head into Mount Fujikasane’s core area to see Tanjiro Kamado, but Shinobu Kocho stopped her and explained that Tanjiro had to face the trial alone. Kanao accepted Shinobu’s order and returned to protect the other recruits while Shinobu watched the battle from afar.

• Kanao Tsuyuri headed toward Mount Fujikasane’s core area, wanting to see what Tanjiro Kamado was facing.
• Shinobu Kocho caught Kanao, teased her about Tanjiro, and confiscated her coin before she could use it to decide what to do.
• Shinobu told Kanao that the demon in the core area was Tanjiro’s trial and that interfering would ruin his chance to overcome it.
• Kanao accepted Shinobu’s order, looked toward the flames in the core area, and returned to clear out demons and protect her companions.
• Shinobu watched the battle and hoped Tanjiro would win as the agent’s fusion reached its peak.

Tanjiro used the Demon Consciousness’s power to burn Rui’s Blood Demon Art and vaporize his fingers, then prepared to behead him. The Demon Consciousness stopped him, revealing that Heat Haze could absorb demon blood and urging Tanjiro to torture Rui so it could evolve.

• Rui unleashed his Blood Demon Art, Eightfold Killing Thread Gear, against Tanjiro.
• Tanjiro’s Modified Solar Heat Haze ignited Rui’s spider threads and vaporized all ten of his fingers.
• Tanjiro taunted Rui and raised his blade to behead him.
• The Demon Consciousness stopped Tanjiro and explained that Heat Haze could convert demon blood into energy that strengthened him.
• The Demon Consciousness urged Tanjiro to torture Rui and absorb his blood, while Tanjiro objected that it would be cruel.

Tanjiro used the evolving Heat Haze to drain Rui’s demon blood, killing Lower Rank Five and causing the Red Nichirin Blade’s power to leap forward. Rui thanked Tanjiro before disintegrating, and Tanjiro collapsed from the technique’s backlash.

• Tanjiro apologized to Rui, then broke his knee and severed his arm to expose the demon blood to Heat Haze.
• Tanjiro endured Rui’s screams while Heat Haze consumed his demon blood for ten minutes.
• The Red Nichirin Blade’s Heat Haze surged after absorbing Rui’s blood, and the demon personality in Tanjiro’s mind fell asleep.
• Rui’s hatred faded, and he thanked Tanjiro before disintegrating into dust.
• Tanjiro’s markings and blade returned to normal, and he collapsed face-first from the backlash.

Sanemi praised Tanjiro for defeating a powerful demon, while Shinobu fed the exhausted boy and hurried back to the Butterfly Mansion. Sanemi then smelled gunpowder, realized Genya was at Mount Fujikasane, and charged into the forest to confront him as Tanjiro fell asleep.

• Sanemi kicked the exhausted Tanjiro, then grudgingly praised his courage and told him he had passed.
• Shinobu teased Tanjiro about his fight, gave him restorative rice balls, and left for the Butterfly Mansion.
• Shinobu hurried away, eager to find Giyu alone at the mansion while her sister was away.
• Sanemi smelled gunpowder, recognized Genya's scent, and realized his brother had disobeyed him to attend the selection exam.
• Sanemi raced into the inner forest to confront Genya, while Tanjiro finished eating and fell asleep.