Chapter Summaries

Toshiro Hijikata questioned Shizuka Hiratsuka about Sogo Doma’s life at school, then argued with Sogo about baldness and becoming stronger. Sogo revealed that he was already bald, leaving Hijikata stunned by Sogo’s claim that his own hair loss meant he was on the path to power.

• Toshiro Hijikata asked Shizuka Hiratsuka whether Sogo Doma had friends or had been bullied at school, and Hiratsuka assured him that Sogo seemed popular.
• Sogo Doma challenged Hijikata’s parental concern, and the two nearly exposed embarrassing stories about the Kondo Group.
• Hijikata complained that Sogo’s claims about baldness making people stronger had nearly convinced Yamazaki to shave his head.
• Sogo Doma wiped his hair away to reveal a gleaming bald scalp, shocking Hijikata, Hiratsuka, and Utaha Kasumigaoka.
• Sogo told Hijikata that his hair loss meant he was becoming stronger, and Hijikata dropped his cigarette in disbelief.

Toshiro Doma convinced Toshiro Hijikata and Shizuka Hiratsuka that becoming stronger caused baldness, using a fake explanation about evolution and brain power. Utaha Kasumigaoka noticed a gap beneath Sougo’s shaved head and suspected something was wrong as Hijikata resolved to keep training despite the supposed cost.

• Toshiro Doma’s baldness claim alarmed Toshiro Hijikata and Shizuka Hiratsuka, who feared that growing stronger would make them lose their hair.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka spotted a tiny gap beneath Sougo’s gleaming scalp that the others had missed.
• Toshiro Hijikata asked Sougo whether he had become so strong because he went bald.
• Toshiro Doma claimed that humans evolved beyond apes by losing body hair and that stronger fighters shed hair to nourish their brains.
• Toshiro Doma called Kondo Isao an intelligent gorilla, prompting Toshiro Hijikata to defend his dojo master.
• Toshiro Hijikata accepted the baldness theory and lit his fallen cigarette, deciding that hair loss was no reason to avoid further training.

Sogo Doma convinced Toshiro Hijikata that becoming stronger caused hair loss and that shaving early could make Yamazaki stronger than him. Hijikata worried about going bald, while Sogo decided to recommend the shortcut to the other dojo members.

• Sogo Doma told Toshiro Hijikata that hair loss accompanied becoming stronger, and Hijikata struggled to accept the idea of going bald.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka noticed that Utaha Kasumigaoka’s behavior and Sogo’s explanation seemed suspicious.
• Sogo claimed that shaving Yamazaki’s hair earlier would have helped him grow stronger faster, making Hijikata fear Yamazaki might surpass him.
• Sogo suggested that Hijikata shave his hair to take a shortcut, but Hijikata insisted that becoming stronger should happen steadily.
• Sogo said the other dojo members could take the shortcut, and Hijikata realized they might agree to shave their heads.

Toshiro Hijikata decided to shave his head rather than risk losing his authority as he trained, but Sogo Doma turned the plan into a mock seppuku scene. The chapter left Hijikata protesting as Sogo stood behind him with a drawn sword.

• Toshiro Hijikata feared that baldness would leave him weaker than the Kondo Group members and decided to shave his head.
• Sogo Doma urged Hijikata to act quickly, comparing the hair-shaving to an execution, and Hijikata eventually took the dagger himself.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka and Utaha Kasumigaoka watched as Hijikata prepared to cut his hair.
• Sogo Doma drew a katana from the sword rack and offered to perform kaishaku if Hijikata could not endure shaving his head.
• Sogo Doma suggested they skip the shaving and commit seppuku, while Toshiro Hijikata angrily rejected the idea.

Sogo Doma and Toshiro Hijikata argued over whether Sogo had tried to slash him, while Utaha Kasumigaoka and Shizuka Hiratsuka watched in disbelief. Hijikata accepted Sogo’s excuses and focused on his choice of words, leaving the two women exasperated as Sogo began to explain that the description was not actually wrong.

• Sogo Doma claimed he had only been accommodating Toshiro Hijikata, then held a sword to Hijikata’s neck while defending his actions.
• Sogo Doma suddenly swung his sword, and Toshiro Hijikata blocked the strike before Sogo insisted his hand had merely slipped.
• Toshiro Hijikata accepted Sogo’s explanation that he had been putting the sword down, then objected to Sogo calling his head a “dog head.”
• Sogo Doma suggested “a fine head” as a better description, and Hijikata accepted the wording.
• Toshiro Hijikata told Sogo to apologize to himself or his teacher for misusing descriptive terms, and Sogo agreed before adding that the original term was not exactly wrong.

Sogo Doma and Toshiro Hijikata fought over Sogo’s claim that getting stronger caused baldness, with Hijikata nearly shaving his head before discovering Sogo’s bald cap had fallen off. Shizuka Hiratsuka exposed their claim as true, and Sogo began explaining why he still had hair.

• Sogo Doma and Toshiro Hijikata clashed swords while Sogo tried to stop Hijikata from shaving his head.
• Hijikata grabbed his fringe to cut it, then noticed Sogo’s bald cap had fallen off during the fight.
• Sogo denied saying that getting stronger caused baldness, but Shizuka Hiratsuka confirmed she had heard him say it.
• Sogo admitted he had said it and claimed he was not strong enough to go bald yet.

Toshiro Hijikata struggled to believe that Sogo Doma had made a female friend, while Sogo defended his reputation and teased Hijikata. The conversation ended with Hijikata reflecting on Sogo’s unusual relationships with girls.

• Sogo defended his bald-cap stunt as part of becoming strong, and Hijikata apologized to Utaha Kasumigaoka and Shizuka Hiratsuka for Sogo’s behavior.
• Hijikata questioned how Sogo could be popular at school, and Hiratsuka said he got along with people before pointing out that Utaha knew best.
• Hijikata was surprised to learn that Utaha was Sogo’s classmate rather than merely Umaru’s online friend.
• Sogo teased Hijikata for not realizing Utaha had come with him, and Hijikata marveled that Sogo had a female friend.
• Hijikata reflected on Sogo’s lack of interest in girls and recalled that Sarutobi was another girl who had grown close to him.

Toshiro Hijikata challenged Sogo Doma over his baldness theory and suspicious disguise during Sogo's date with Utaha Kasumigaoka. Sogo talked his way out of Utaha's suspicion with an elaborate self-hypnosis explanation, then tried to keep Hijikata from making an eye-gunk joke.

• Toshiro Hijikata apologized to Utaha Kasumigaoka for being friends with Sogo Doma, prompting Sogo to tease Hijikata about his manners.
• Hijikata accused Sogo of tricking him about baldness, while Sogo defended his theory that becoming stronger made someone bald.
• Hijikata questioned why Sogo wore both a wig and a bald cap, and Utaha realized Sogo had prepared the disguise for their date.
• Utaha pressed Sogo to explain his guilty glance, and Sogo claimed he wore the disguise to experience baldness through self-hypnosis.
• Hijikata rejected Sogo's explanation, and Sogo wiped his eyes before Hijikata could finish a joke about eye gunk.

Sogo Doma used fake signs of sincerity and a bald disguise to defend his earlier claims, then argued with Toshiro Hijikata until Shizuka Hiratsuka intervened. The chapter ended with Sogo insisting that he counted as a guest when visiting the school, leaving Hiratsuka unable to dismiss his argument.

• Sogo Doma claimed his eyes proved he was sincere, but Toshiro Hijikata spotted his colored contacts and accused him of putting them in himself.
• Sogo Doma defended his wig and bald cap as a way to experience the mindset of the strong, accidentally revealing that he had wanted to scare Utaha Kasumigaoka.
• Toshiro Hijikata tried to reassure Utaha Kasumigaoka about Sogo Doma, but Sogo challenged him to name his personality flaws and insulted him during their argument.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka coughed to stop Toshiro Hijikata and Sogo Doma from continuing their vulgar quarrel, prompting Hijikata to apologize.
• Sogo Doma accused Toshiro Hijikata of neglecting a guest and argued that a former student visiting the school counted as an alumnus and a guest, leaving Shizuka Hiratsuka speechless.

Shizuka Hiratsuka visited the dojo and discovered that Utaha Kasumigaoka and Sogo Doma were gathering material together, though her teasing led Toshiro Hijikata to mistake their outing for a date. The group’s conversation left Utaha pleased with her closeness to Sogo, while Shizuka regretted interrupting them.

• Toshiro Hijikata challenged Sogo Doma’s excuse for Shizuka Hiratsuka’s visit, and Sogo scolded him for neglecting a guest.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka asked Toshiro Hijikata about Sogo’s interpersonal problems, and he said Sogo had never made friends with a girl before.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka mistook Utaha Kasumigaoka and Sogo Doma’s outing for a date, and Utaha initially agreed that it could be called one.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka clarified that she and Sogo Doma were gathering material, and Shizuka Hiratsuka joked that she had interrupted them.
• Sogo Doma told Toshiro Hijikata that Utaha Kasumigaoka was an author whom Umaru liked, and Toshiro praised her.

Toshiro Hijikata, Sogo Doma, Shizuka Hiratsuka, and Utaha Kasumigaoka learned that Director Kondo had been beaten and were confronted by Otae, who had defeated him. Otae demanded that Hijikata keep Kondo under control while she mocked his threats and called herself a weak woman.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka urged Toshiro Hijikata to encourage Sogo Doma to work harder, and Hijikata promised to try.
• A Kondo Group member rushed in to report that Director Kondo had been beaten and was still in danger.
• A crash sounded outside the reception room, and someone struck the wall before sliding down it.
• Otae entered while dragging the battered Kondo and asked Hijikata to keep his gorilla on a tighter leash.
• Otae dismissed Hijikata’s warning by calling herself a weak woman, leaving Utaha Kasumigaoka and Shizuka Hiratsuka astonished by her strength.

Otae confronted Toshiro Hijikata and Sogo Doma over the Kondo Dojo’s harassment, while Isao Kondo continued clinging to her and professing his love. Hijikata ultimately left Kondo in Otae’s hands, and Otae began to threaten what she would do next.

• Otae mocked the Kondo Dojo’s training and accused its members of stalking people and playing the victim.
• Toshiro Hijikata tried to defend the dojo and asked Otae to let go of Isao Kondo, but Kondo declared that he was happy in her grasp.
• Otae demanded that Hijikata and Sogo Doma deal with Kondo, while Sogo refused and Otae accused them of bribing the cops.
• Isao Kondo claimed the police had been moved by his devotion, and Otae revealed he had been bailed out every time he was arrested.
• Toshiro Hijikata told Otae to take the dojo’s commander, prompting Kondo to protest.

Otae demonstrated her overwhelming strength while confronting Kondo Dojo over Kondo and the dojo students she had beaten. Sogo and Hijikata backed down after learning the students had attacked her first, but the squad members then revealed why they had intervened.

• Otae chanted and struck beside Kondo, blasting a deep crater into the ground while leaving him unharmed.
• Hijikata challenged Otae, but she argued that she had spared Kondo and reminded him that they had left Kondo to her.
• Sogo accepted Otae's handling of Kondo, then raised the issue of the dojo students she had beaten.
• Sogo and Hijikata invoked the dojo's rules about repaying provocation, but squad members admitted that they had attacked Otae first.
• Hijikata and Sogo tried to dismiss the dispute, but another squad member explained that they had acted after seeing Otae drag Kondo along the ground.

At Kondo Dojo, Sogo Doma tried to learn why Otae hated the unconscious gorilla and promised to do his best to stop its harassment. Their conversation turned into teasing about surnames and Otae’s figure, leaving her ready to curse him as she accused the dojo of focusing on nonsense.

• Otae warned Toshiro Hijikata that she would hit the gorilla again if it harassed her.
• Sogo Doma asked Otae why she hated the gorilla and offered to try to make it stop stalking her.
• Otae agreed to explain, while making clear that stalking alone was enough to deserve the gorilla’s death.
• Sogo Doma suggested treating the gorilla as an unpaid bodyguard or denying it a wife, prompting Toshiro Hijikata to question whose side he was on.
• Otae praised Sogo Doma as more interesting than Toshiro Hijikata, and Sogo teased her for mispronouncing his surname and having a flat chest.
• Otae began to curse Sogo Doma, then accused the dojo of focusing on utterly nonsensical things.

Otae accused Kondo of sneaking naked into her home and nearly crushing her little brother, Shinpachi. Sogo Doma learned that Shinpachi was a pair of glasses whose custom-made human body had been destroyed, and Otae remained furious at Kondo.

• Otae explained that Kondo had stalked her and then entered her home naked, prompting Hijikata and Sogo Doma to question how far his behavior had gone.
• Otae said Kondo had nearly crushed Shinpachi, and Sogo Doma realized she meant her little brother, whom she had previously called a pair of glasses.
• Otae explained that she had spent over three million yen making Shinpachi a human body frame, which Kondo had shattered after Shinpachi's glasses fell off.
• Otae said the damage had harmed Shinpachi's soul and left him unable to make snarky comments, while Sogo Doma expressed confidence in his snarky-commenting ability.
• Sogo Doma asked whether the body frame Otae had made was legitimate, leaving her speechless.

Sogo Doma tried to ease Otae’s anger at Kondo by reframing the gorilla’s near-crushing of her wooden Shinpachi as a reason to vent her fury on Kondo. Otae considered the suggestion, while Hijikata realized Sogo might be putting Kondo in even greater danger.

• Sogo Doma questioned whether Otae’s wooden Shinpachi could really be her little brother, and Otae insisted that he was family.
• Sogo suggested that the gorilla might have been protecting Otae, but she recalled Kondo’s embarrassing comments about butt hair and remained furious with him.
• Sogo urged Otae to let go of the past and focus on what happened that day, including Kondo nearly crushing Shinpachi.
• Sogo suggested that Otae beat Kondo to vent her anger, and Hijikata objected because he feared her punch could kill him.

Otae held back from seriously hurting Isao Kondo because she feared the Kondo Group, despite Sogo Doma urging her to keep beating him. Sogo then challenged her criticism of the dojo students, but Otae refused to spar with him.

• Otae admitted she had held back her punch because she feared the Kondo Group and worried about protecting Shinpachi.
• Sogo Doma urged Otae to hit Isao Kondo again and claimed the gorilla had nearly taken out Shinpachi.
• Otae clarified that she only wanted Isao to stop stalking her, and said she wished he would disappear from her life.
• Sogo set aside the dispute with Isao and challenged Otae over her criticism of the dojo students.
• Otae refused Sogo's sparring challenge and questioned him about his name.

Otae criticized the Kondo Group trainees’ swordsmanship and explained that Isao Kondo had urged her to share what she knew. The chapter recounted how Sogo helped Hijikata become the Demon Vice-Chief and described why the dark web and violent organizations feared the Kondo Group.

• Otae challenged Hijikata’s defense of the trainees and said their swordsmanship amounted to random swinging.
• Otae said Isao Kondo had told her that swordsmanship should be passed down rather than selfishly hoarded.
• The chapter recalled how Sogo used a kidnapping attempt involving Umaru to finish developing his sword style and how Hijikata killed a criminal, later becoming known as the Demon Vice-Chief.
• Sogo and Hijikata helped the Kondo Group establish a safe zone, with Sogo tracking the dark web and the group using its strength against threats.
• The dark web and violent organizations backed away from the Kondo Group because they feared its members and their willingness to attack powerful targets.

The darknet’s leaders avoided accepting the bounty Keiryu Doma had placed on Sogo, fearing the Doma Family and its allies. They decided Toshiro Hijikata was the one target whose death might truly hurt the Doma Family.

• The darknet’s puppet masters recalled how the Yama-x Group’s leaders were killed after threatening the Kondo Group, until the organization gave up and left its territory.
• The darknet leaders explained that bounty hunters who accepted the job against Sogo disappeared, leaving red spider lilies associated with Sala Twin Trees behind.
• The darknet’s puppet masters concluded that the Doma Family had no secrets from them and that attacking ordinary Kondo Group members would not be worth provoking it.
• The darknet’s leaders set their sights on Toshiro Hijikata, believing his death might make the Doma Family feel a real loss.

Sogo Doma’s ruthless tactics left the Yamaguchi-gumi terrified and unwilling to retaliate against the Doma Family or the Kondo Group. The chapter ended with the Yamaguchi-gumi’s second leader shot by a sniper, and its members deciding they should abandon any thought of revenge.

• Hijikata evaded the assassins sent by dark-web bosses, who were relieved that the Doma Family did not retaliate against them.
• Sogo Doma’s attacks on leaders and his surveillance made the Yamaguchi-gumi increasingly afraid, and successive leaders abandoned plans to fight the Doma Family.
• The Yamaguchi-gumi’s first leader was killed by a surface-to-air missile, which Hijikata realized Sogo had actually launched.
• The Yamaguchi-gumi’s members agreed to leave the Kondo Group’s jurisdiction rather than seek revenge.
• A would-be second leader who vowed to challenge the Kondo Group was shot in the head by a sniper, and the Yamaguchi-gumi members feared another missile strike.