Recaps

Haku defeated the other swordsmen competing for the Nine Pillars seats until only Nezuko remained, then fought her on a cliff. Nezuko awakened a Curse Mark and gained a surge of strength and speed, while Haku felt a power stirring within himself.

• Haku ambushed and defeated three swordsmen, then continued searching the mountain.
• Haku fought Zenitsu Agatsuma and Kanao together and knocked them both down.
• Haku found Nezuko on a cliff, where she challenged him with Sun Breathing.
• Haku used Rapid to outpace Nezuko and kick her into a rock wall.
• Nezuko awakened a Curse Mark and charged again, and Haku sensed a power beginning to erupt within him.

Haku unlocked the Curse Mark and defeated Nezuko, securing the Water Hashira seat and becoming leader of the Demon Slayer Corps’ new Nine Pillars. At their first Pillars Meeting, the Corps reviewed a surge in demon activity and learned that four locations, including densely populated cities, had lost all contact with the outside world.

• Haku’s Curse Mark awakened, allowing him to overpower Nezuko and win their duel.
• The arbitration panel named Haku Water Hashira, and the remaining eight Hashira were selected, including Nezuko, Inosuke, Zenitsu, Kanao, and Genya Shinazugawa.
• The Demon Slayer Corps made Haku the leader of the Pillars Meeting and briefed him on increasingly frequent demon attacks.
• Genya Shinazugawa urged the new Hashira to hunt the defected Hashira, while Kanao and Haku insisted that suppressing the demons came first.
• A lower-ranking swordsman told Haku that four locations had lost all communication, and Haku realized that even cities had fallen.

Shinji interrogated captured demons for the injured mysterious man's whereabouts, then investigated reports that Kyoto and Osaka had become ghost towns. New information revealed that four cities had gone silent, leaving him unsure which one concealed the mysterious man.

• The president's wife brought Shinji a demon spy, and Shinji extracted the captured demons' memories, learning the mysterious man had survived and was recovering from his injuries.
• When the demons could not identify the mysterious man's hideout, Shinji burned one with Amaterasu, prompting others to suggest Mount Hengliang, Kyoto, and Osaka.
• The president's wife reported that communications from Kyoto and Osaka had stopped, so Shinji ordered her to investigate and then traveled to the cities himself.
• Shinji found that both Kyoto and Osaka were lifeless ghost towns, then received reports from Haku, Karin, and the president's wife that four cities had gone silent.
• Shinji realized the mysterious man could be hiding in one of the four cities and worried that searching the wrong place might let him escape again.

Shinji concluded that the demons were losing control as the Demon King’s influence warped the world, while a Demon Slayer Corps squad led by Haku investigated an empty Kyoto. The squad was surrounded by countless figures after night fell.

• Shinji gathered reports that demons, including the president's wife, had suddenly gone berserk and suspected the Demon King was responsible.
• Shinji sensed the Demon Slayer World collapsing as the Overlord’s power seeped through its barrier.
• Haku led Nezuko, Zenitsu, Genya, and other Demon Slayer Corps members into deserted Kyoto to investigate missing swordsmen and search for the mysterious person.
• The squad found the city abandoned, with no people, demons, or blood, and continued deeper into its streets after dark.
• Haku heard countless footsteps surrounding the squad, and Genya ordered the swordsmen to set nearby houses ablaze, revealing layers of figures in the shadows.

Haku led the surviving Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen out of demon-infested Kyoto using Water and Ice techniques, while Shinji realized the crisis had forced him to abandon his quiet plan to capture the mysterious Demon King. Back in the Shinobi World, Sasuke, Shion, Yakumo, Kimimaro, and Neji reacted to something they had apparently heard during class.

• Haku and Nezuko led the Demon Slayer Corps through Kyoto as demons overwhelmed their ranks and killed many swordsmen.
• When the survivors were close to collapse, Haku used Water Style and Ice Release to create a glacier and lead them toward the outskirts.
• Shinji watched Haku's retreat and concluded that he would have to use force to draw the mysterious person out of Kyoto's demon domain.
• During Iruka's genjutsu lesson, Sasuke, Shion, Yakumo, Kimimaro, and Neji suddenly reacted as though they had heard something interesting.

With the Demon Slayer Corps guarding the four demon realms, Shinji sent his organization to search all four cities for the mysterious person before the Overlord’s influence grew stronger. Haku and Sasuke entered Kyoto, Karin and Yakumo entered Osaka, and Neji and Kimimaro charged into the third realm, while Shinji and Shion headed into the fourth.

• Genya and Zenitsu recognized Haku as he and Sasuke passed their checkpoint and entered demon-filled Kyoto to search for the mysterious person.
• Karin and Yakumo ignored Nezuko and Kanao’s warnings and walked into the demon realm outside Osaka Castle to hunt demons and find the mysterious person.
• Nezuko decided to follow Karin and Yakumo after they entered Osaka.
• Neji and Kimimaro flashed past Inosuke and the other guards and entered the third demon realm.
• Shinji summoned the organization’s members to search all four demon realms, then flew into the fourth city with Shion and told her to stay close.

Sasuke and Haku fought through Kyoto’s demon hordes and reached a shrine, where a colossal monster emerged from a chasm. Sasuke attacked it with Susanoo, but the creature regenerated, and the two prepared to face it while Genya and Zenitsu watched in shock.

• Genya and Zenitsu saw distant fires turn into Amaterasu’s Black Flame and suspected Sasuke and Haku were hiding their true purpose.
• Sasuke and Haku used Amaterasu to burn through the demons and raced toward a shrine they sensed was unusual.
• The ground split open near the shrine, and a mountain-sized monster climbed out of the chasm as Genya and Zenitsu prepared to flee.
• Sasuke summoned Susanoo and shot an arrow through the monster’s head, but its head regenerated.
• Sasuke welcomed the challenge while Haku warned him to be careful.

Karin and Yakumo fought their way toward the center of Osaka Castle while Ido used the Red Dragon Eye to destroy the demons in their path. When a giant monster emerged from underground and Ido's blood-manipulation dōjutsu failed against it, Karin revealed Wood Release and attacked.

• Ido used the Red Dragon Eye to make the blood of low-ranking demons explode as Karin and Yakumo advanced through Osaka Castle.
• Yakumo worried that using Wood Release would reveal her identity to Karin, while Nezuko and Kanao secretly followed the pair into the city.
• Karin and Yakumo reached the city center, where the ground split open and a huge creature made from deformed bodies climbed out from beneath an ancient tower.
• Ido told Karin and Yakumo that her dōjutsu could not affect the monster, and Yakumo hesitated to use Wood Release because of her family and clan in Konoha.
• Karin shouted “Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!” and sent a vast forest surging toward the creature, stunning Yakumo and Ido.

Karin and Yakumo joined forces to suppress and destroy the giant emerging from the rift, while Ido searched underground for its weakness. After Karin and Yakumo’s rivalry drove them to tear the giant apart, Ido returned with news that she had found a way to deal with it.

• Nezuko and Kanao watched the battle and decided to report the sudden demon lairs to the Demon Slayer Corps.
• Yakumo sent Ido into the rift to find the giant’s weakness as she and Karin overwhelmed it with Wood Release.
• Karin and Yakumo recognized each other’s strength and began competing to defeat the giant.
• Karin pierced the giant’s throat while Yakumo tore off its limbs, and Karin then burst its torso and head apart.
• Ido flew out of the rift and announced that she had found a way to deal with the monster.

Ido, Haku, Neji, and Kimimaro discovered underground tunnels connected to the giant creatures and followed them in pursuit of the Demon King. Sasuke entered the tunnel despite his exhaustion, while Yakumo and Karin began searching Kyoto for other clues.

• Ido told Yakumo and Karin she had found a tunnel and severed the flesh vessel feeding the giant creature, weakening its recovery.
• Yakumo and Karin agreed to search the city by area before investigating the tunnel, then hurried off to sweep separate sections.
• In another demon realm, Neji and Kimimaro used Fusion State to defeat their giant creature and explored the tunnel with the biological exoskeleton while Inosuke watched in horror.
• The giant creature in Kyoto collapsed after Haku severed its flesh vessel, and Sasuke concluded the Demon King was likely at the tunnel’s end.
• Despite Haku’s concern about his exhaustion, Sasuke leaped into the tunnel, and Haku followed.

Shinji and Shion followed a blood vessel through the tunnel to a cavern containing a gigantic flesh cocoon, which Shinji suspected was connected to the Demon King and the other Demon Realms. After preparing Shion for battle, Shinji summoned Susanoo and swung its blade at the cocoon.

• Shinji reassured Shion as they traveled through the tunnel, though he remained wary of the Lantern Bearer and accepted Shion's bell-shaped charm for protection.
• Shinji deduced that the weak demons in the city were feeding a mysterious enemy through the tunnel's blood vessels and hurried onward with Shion.
• Shinji and Shion reached a cavern where four blood vessels converged on a hundred-meter-tall pulsing cocoon.
• Shinji left Shion at the tunnel entrance, approached the cocoon, and stopped when his Killing Intent Perception warned him it might react.
• Shinji signaled Shion to prepare for battle, summoned his armored Susanoo, and swung its enormous blade at the cocoon.

Shinji fought the enormous cocoon with his Complete Susanoo, but the creature survived and unleashed a powerful Chakra attack. As other teams rushed toward the battle, Shinji suspected the mutated mass of flesh was the mysterious man.

• Shinji cleaved the cocoon in half with his Complete Susanoo and burned it with Amaterasu.
• The cocoon’s flesh tendrils struck Shinji’s Susanoo hard enough to crack its armor, and Shinji counterattacked as the cavern began to collapse.
• Sasuke and Haku felt the tremors and hurried toward the fighting, while Karin and Yakumo sent Ido ahead and sped up.
• Kimimaro and Neji’s fused team raced through their tunnel as rocks began falling around them.
• Amaterasu burned away the cocoon’s shell, revealing a shapeless mass of flesh that erupted with Chakra and attacked Shinji.
• Shinji’s battered Susanoo remained standing after the monster’s attack, and he wondered if the creature was the mysterious man mutated and out of control.

Shinji fought a giant tumor that had emerged after the demons went berserk, suspecting it was the mutated mysterious man. His allies gathered to help, and Neji, Kimimaro, and their exoskeleton H reported something strange inside the tumor before Shinji ordered them to break it open.

• Shinji fought the tumor with his Complete Body Susanoo and suspected its mutation was connected to the mysterious man, the lost Lamp, or the Overlord's corruption.
• Ido, Karin, Yakumo, Sasuke, Haku, Neji, and Kimimaro arrived at the cavern battlefield as Shinji sensed the teams approaching.
• H, using the enhanced Byakugan, spotted something strange inside the tumor and told Neji and Kimimaro to inform Shinji.
• Sasuke attacked a tentacle with Chidori while Karin and Yakumo used Wood Release against the tumor.
• Shinji dispelled Susanoo, ordered Neji, Kimimaro, and H to break open the tumor, then moved to a nearby cliff to watch the battle.

Shinji and Shion prepared to seal the mysterious figure if it was defeated while Karin and Yakumo restrained its tentacles. Sasuke launched a final, Amaterasu-coated Chidori at the creature, supported by Haku, Ido, Neji, and Kimimaro, but the attack had not yet landed.

• Shinji told Shion to prepare a Sealing Technique and wait for his signal if the mysterious figure was broken.
• Karin and Yakumo used Wood Release to pin down the creature’s tentacles while Sasuke prepared an Amaterasu-coated Chidori as his final attack.
• Haku summoned the Water Lily Bodhisattva and used it to shield Sasuke from the creature’s tentacles.
• Ido used the Red Dragon Eye to disrupt the tentacles as Sasuke charged toward the creature.
• A tentacle struck at Sasuke from the side, and Neji and Kimimaro in their Fusion State jumped in front of it and urged him to continue.

Sasuke and his comrades destroyed the enormous tumor, only for the mysterious Demon King to emerge from its remains. Shinji recognized the man as the Lantern Bearer he had fought in the Grass Country, and the chapter ended as the Demon King lunged at Sasuke.

• Sasuke pierced the tumor with Chidori wreathed in Amaterasu's Black Flame while his comrades held off its tentacles, causing it to explode.
• The tumor crashed to the ground, split apart, and withered into empty husks, though Haku doubted it had been defeated so easily.
• Yakumo and Neji warned Sasuke away from the husks, and a naked, long-haired man emerged from one of them.
• Shinji recognized the man as the mysterious Lantern Bearer he had fought in the Grass Country and told Shion to wait before attacking.
• The mysterious man thanked the Akatsuki Organization for freeing him from the mutation, then lunged at Sasuke.

Shinji’s group fought the mysterious man, who had recovered after losing his Lantern and escaping the Overlord’s corruption. They coordinated their attacks to immobilize him, then cautiously prepared to capture him alive.

• The mysterious man shattered Sasuke’s Susanoo with one punch and cut Haku’s Water Lily Bodhisattva apart with his bone blades.
• Haku escaped into a fragment of ice as the Akatsuki Organization counterattacked with Wood Release, Kimimaro, Neji, and Ido.
• Ido entered the mysterious man’s body and froze him, allowing the others to pierce him with branches and block his chakra points.
• Karin reminded the others that Shinji wanted the mysterious man captured alive, so Yakumo withdrew the branches while the fighters moved back.
• Shinji warned Shion not to lower her guard as Haku cautiously approached with a Type Four Aging Potion to weaken the mysterious man.

The mysterious figure outmaneuvered Shinji’s allies and badly injured them as their strength ran low. When he charged at Shinji on the cliff, Shinji repelled him with Shinra Tensei.

• Yakumo warned Haku of a sneak attack, allowing him to escape as the mysterious figure shattered his ice mirror and expelled Ido’s Spirit Body.
• The exhausted Sasuke, Yakumo, Karin, Haku, Kimimaro, and Neji struggled to hold off the mysterious figure, who targeted Sasuke and injured the others.
• Haku noticed the mysterious figure using a Breathing Technique resembling Sun Breathing, but Kimimaro and Neji were soon knocked into a rock wall.
• After gravely injuring Haku, the mysterious figure charged at Shinji on the cliff, and Shinji blasted him away with Shinra Tensei.

Shinji and Shion captured the mysterious invader, and Shinji used a Type Four Aging Potion before extracting the man’s soul to read his memories. The memories revealed that the invasion traced back to the Overlord.

• Shinji used Shinra Tensei twice to repel the mysterious man, then worked with Shion to bind him with her Sealing Technique.
• Shinji injected the captured man with a Type Four Aging Potion after Karin and the others bowed to him as their lord.
• Shinji sent the others away and questioned the weakening invader, who refused to explain why he had attacked the Shinobi World.
• Shinji used the Susanoo Lamp to activate the Rinnegan’s Soul Extraction technique and read the mysterious man’s memories.
• Shinji learned that the invasion traced back to the Overlord.

After the battle, Sasuke and the others rested in a mountain hollow while recovering from their injuries and wondering about one another’s hidden abilities and identities. They finally turned their attention to Shinji, with the crisis facing the Shinobi World still unresolved.

• Sasuke examined his injuries and Mangekyō Sharingan pain, then let Haku bandage him.
• Sasuke wondered why Karin had used Wood Release instead of Susanoo, and Haku admitted he did not know.
• Yakumo and Ido realized that Neji and Kimimaro had used the Gentle Fist and Shikotsumyaku, prompting Yakumo to suspect their identities.
• Shion recognized Sasuke, suspected Yakumo was among the members, and sensed an apparent third source of Chakra near Neji and Kimimaro.
• Karin recalled Shion’s powerful Sealing Technique and her own missed chance to restrain the mysterious man.
• The group silently assessed one another and then looked toward Shinji, aware that the wider crisis remained.

Shinji learned from Ryuhei Ubuyashiki’s memories that the former Demon Slayer had become a Demon King and invaded the Shinobi World to divert an Overlord from his own world. Shinji woke Ryuhei to interrogate him about the Lantern, but measured footsteps approached and left Ryuhei shocked.

• Shinji read Ryuhei Ubuyashiki’s memories and learned how he became a powerful Lantern Bearer and Demon Slayer.
• Ryuhei abandoned his humanity, stole Muzan Kibutsuji’s Demon King power, and wiped out the Ubuyashiki Clan.
• An Overlord targeted the Demon Slayer World after Ryuhei absorbed its power while plundering another world.
• Ryuhei invaded the Shinobi World to use it as a scapegoat, though the Overlord would eventually return to devour his world.
• Shinji condemned Ryuhei and woke him to ask about the Lantern, but approaching footsteps made Ryuhei turn ashen with shock.

A mysterious swordsman resembling Yoriichi Tsugikuni appeared after the battle and pursued Ryuhei Ubuyashiki, overpowering him with sword strikes that broke Shion’s Sealing Technique and suppressed his regeneration. Shinji followed them into the forest, where he found Ryuhei reduced to a charred half-body and remained determined to learn about the Lantern Bearer.

• Ryuhei Ubuyashiki recognized the approaching figure as something other than the long-dead Yoriichi Tsugikuni and panicked as Shinji retreated.
• The strange swordsman drew a flaming blade, shattered Shion’s Sealing Technique, and freed Ryuhei Ubuyashiki.
• Ryuhei lunged at the swordsman, who swiftly severed both his arms and prevented them from regenerating.
• Ryuhei fled, and the swordsman pursued him while Shinji followed from a distance.
• Shinji found Ryuhei leaning against a tree in the forest, badly burned and reduced to half a body.

Shinji learned that the eerie Yoriichi Tsugikuni was a manifestation of the Overlord of Fear, whose power had killed Ryuhei Ubuyashiki. Ryuhei warned that the Overlord would target Shinji and the Shinobi World next before Shinji beheaded him.

• Shinji questioned the dying Ryuhei Ubuyashiki about the figure who had appeared as Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
• Ryuhei revealed that the figure was the Overlord of Fear using his deepest fear to take Yoriichi's form, and that its power had recreated Sun Breathing.
• Ryuhei told Shinji that the Overlord had infiltrated the Demon Slayer World and would come for the Shinobi World after devouring it.
• Ryuhei asked about his shattered lamp, then revealed that its mission had been to slay demons despite his own transformation into one.
• Shinji realized the immediate threat of the two worlds colliding had eased but that the Overlord posed a greater danger, then cut off Ryuhei's head.

Shinji killed Ryuhei Ubuyashiki and scavenged his underground base, finding valuable research on Blood Demon Arts, Breathing Techniques, and the State of Selflessness. He sent a Shadow Clone into a hidden room and discovered Ryuhei’s collection of relics from worlds he had plundered.

• Shinji killed Ryuhei Ubuyashiki after realizing the Demon King was still plotting and that extracting his soul might expose him to the Overlord’s power.
• Shinji left the doomed Demon Slayer World and traveled to Ryuhei Ubuyashiki’s hidden underground palace.
• Shinji packed away Ryuhei’s laboratory records, materials, and the legendary Blue Spider Lily, then found research on Blood Demon Arts, Breathing Techniques, and the State of Selflessness.
• Shinji opened a hidden room but sent a Shadow Clone inside first because Ryuhei’s memories of its contents had been encrypted.
• Shinji’s Shadow Clone found a display rack of objects Ryuhei had plundered from other worlds, relics left by conquered civilizations.

Shinji's Shadow Clone searched Ryuhei Ubuyashiki's secret room and learned how Ryuhei had plundered other worlds and gained the strength to fight in Grass Country. He found the Feathered Serpent Rudder, which could guide its owner back to a marked world.

• Shinji's Shadow Clone examined the display cases and realized Ryuhei Ubuyashiki had plundered worlds and civilizations.
• Shinji's Shadow Clone found Ryuhei Ubuyashiki's notebook, which recorded his journeys to seven worlds and his plundering of three worlds being devoured by Overlords.
• Shinji's Shadow Clone learned that Ryuhei had grown powerful by absorbing life force from destroyed civilizations, and felt relieved that the Grass Country forces had weakened him before their battle.
• Shinji's Shadow Clone read that Ryuhei had traded in a technologically advanced world and obtained an Ω-class restraint device there.
• Shinji's Shadow Clone opened the final wooden box and discovered the Feathered Serpent Rudder, which allowed travel back to a world it had marked.

Shinji discovered that the Feathered Serpent Rudder contained the Shinobi World's coordinates, then raided several of Ryuhei Ubuyashiki's bases before deciding to leave the Demon Slayer World. While the group waited in a mountain hollow, Karin accepted Sasuke's challenge to a Mangekyō Sharingan duel.

• Shinji realized the Feathered Serpent Rudder could lead the Overlord of Fear directly to the Shinobi World, then took it and Ryuhei Ubuyashiki's notebook from the secret chamber.
• Shinji searched Ryuhei Ubuyashiki's study and several other bases, collecting useful documents, rare herbs, poisons, and other materials.
• Shinji decided to meet Karin and the others and leave the Demon Slayer World before the Overlord of Fear could reach them.
• As the group waited in a mountain hollow, Sasuke asked Karin why she had not used her Mangekyō Sharingan, and she challenged him to test his strength.
• Karin accepted Sasuke's challenge, while Haku, Yakumo, Shion, Neji, Kimimaro, and Ido watched in anticipation.