Chapter Summaries

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.

Muzan concealed his identity behind a peaceful family life before summoning Kokushibo to report on the failed operation on Hachijōjima. Kokushibo described a young Water Hashira who wounded him and rapidly adapted to his sword techniques, then reported that he had severed the boy’s arm and cut him in half, leaving Muzan to ask whether he was truly dead.

• Tsukihiko shared a warm dinner with Chiyo and Sakuya, hiding that he was actually Muzan, the Demon King.
• After Chiyo and Sakuya left, Muzan summoned Kokushibo and threatened him over what had gone wrong on Hachijōjima.
• Muzan refused to examine Kokushibo’s memories because he feared encountering the memory of Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
• Kokushibo reported that the Water and Flame Hashira had been staying at the Iguro Residence on Hachijōjima.
• Kokushibo said the young Water Hashira blocked his opening attacks, wounded his shoulder, and began imitating his sword techniques during their fight.
• Kokushibo said he severed the Water Hashira’s left arm and cut him in half, and Muzan asked if the boy was dead for good.

Muzan learned that the thirteen-year-old Water Hashira could regenerate in sunlight, and Kokushibo’s memories of Yoriichi drove him into a violent panic. Fearing the boy might become another Yoriichi, Muzan ordered the demons to lie low while secretly investigating the boy’s constitution and bloodline.

• Kokushibo told Muzan that the boy’s severed arm regenerated in sunlight without the boy showing any demonic traits.
• Muzan erupted in rage and relived Kokushibo’s memories of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, including the slash that had nearly killed him four hundred years earlier.
• Muzan ordered the demons to suspend hunts and large attacks, and to wait until the boy’s limits and future potential were understood.
• Muzan told Kokushibo to have Gyokko continue observing Hachijōjima without acting, then ordered Kokushibo back to the Infinity Castle.
• Muzan put on his gentle Tsukihiko persona when Sakuya called for him, while his fear of Yoriichi remained.

Shinobu tested an experimental medicinal brew on Giyu, who drank the bitter mixture without showing discomfort and reported that it slightly eased his breathing. She recorded the results and planned to improve the recipe, while Giyu offered to help with future tests.

• Shinobu brought Giyu a medicinal brew containing Breathing Grass and pressured him to drink it by threatening to tell Kanae he had eaten her sakura mochi.
• Giyu drank the entire bowl without changing expression, leaving Shinobu stunned.
• Shinobu tasted the residue, recoiled at the bitterness, and rinsed her mouth several times.
• Giyu said the brew made breathing slightly easier, and Shinobu recorded the effect while considering changes to the recipe.
• Giyu offered to help test future medicines but told Shinobu to leave out bitter melon root, and she noted his results in her notebook.

Giyu and Kanae spoke privately before her departure to Flower Valley, and Giyu called them good friends when she asked what their relationship meant. Kanae cried after he left, while Giyu heard her sobs and walked away believing that rejecting her was for the best.

• Giyu saw Kanae hiding a piece of red fabric and accepted her invitation to talk in her room.
• Kanae asked whether Giyu would miss her and what their relationship was, and Giyu answered that they were good friends.
• Kanae hid her tears and asked Giyu to leave so she could be alone.
• Kanae broke down crying after Giyu closed the door.
• Giyu heard Kanae sobbing but decided he had done the right thing and walked away.

Sabito returned to Mount Sagiri frustrated that the Demon Slayer Corps had raised the requirement for becoming a Hashira from fifty demons to a hundred. Urokodaki challenged him to prove his strength by lasting a hundred exchanges against Giyu, with the promise of a chance to join a Hashira's mission.

• Sabito returned from a month of missions with fifty-two demon kills, but learned that the promotion requirement had risen to a hundred.
• Urokodaki explained that demon sightings had increased and that a Hashira needed to be strong enough to shoulder frontline responsibility.
• Sabito said he wanted to catch up to Giyu and asked whether he could qualify by killing a Lower Rank demon instead.
• Sabito asked Giyu to recommend him for promotion, but Giyu said he had not heard about the rule change.
• Urokodaki told Sabito to spar with Giyu and promised to ask Oyakata-sama to let Sabito join a Hashira's mission if he lasted a hundred exchanges.