Chapter Summaries

Toshiro Hijikata tried to give Otae a chipped dagger in exchange for sparing Isao Kondo, but Otae suspected the Kondo Group wanted her family’s legacy. Shizuka Hiratsuka misread Otae’s restraint as proof of her overwhelming strength, while Sogo Doma and Hijikata struggled to contain the misunderstanding.

• Toshiro Hijikata offered Otae the dagger and asked her to go easy on Isao Kondo in return.
• Otae accepted that the dagger was valuable but suspected Hijikata had an ulterior motive.
• Hijikata admitted he hoped Otae would show Kondo mercy, and Shizuka Hiratsuka concluded Otae was far stronger than the Kondo Group.
• Otae accused the Kondo Group of coveting her family’s legacy and questioned how Hijikata knew Kondo would challenge her again.
• Hijikata recalled Kondo’s belief that he had to actively pursue love, while Sogo Doma and Hijikata were left unable to dispel Otae’s suspicions.

Toshiro Hijikata reflected on the endless work caused by Isao Kondo’s perverted arrests and how his own frequent trips to bail Kondo out had made people recognize him. He also considered the misunderstandings surrounding swordsmanship and inheritance, leaving him frustrated that he had no time to covet anyone’s inheritance.

• Toshiro Hijikata recalled that protecting Kaguya Shinomiya had not stopped Isao Kondo from stalking Otae, so he assigned Yamazaki to protect Kaguya instead.
• Toshiro Hijikata described how Yamazaki’s red bean bun disguise had traumatized yakuza during an earlier investigation for the Kondo Group.
• Toshiro Hijikata explained that Isao Kondo was repeatedly arrested for stalking Otae in increasingly bizarre disguises, and Hijikata kept bailing him out.
• Toshiro Hijikata said he could not promise Otae that Kondo would stop and asked her not to beat him to death, noting the Kondo Group’s healing medicine could treat his injuries.
• Toshiro Hijikata reflected that Shizuka Hiratsuka had mistaken his strength and Otae’s, while Sougo’s false claims about Iron-Cutting had led Hijikata and Katsura Kotaro to believe they had reached that realm.
• Toshiro Hijikata resented being suspected of coveting Otae’s inheritance, since he had no time for such a thing.

Otae accused the Kondo Dojo of coveting her family's legacy, while Sogo Doma pretended to threaten her and Shizuka Hiratsuka. Hijikata tried to reassure Hiratsuka that the dojo was respectable, but Sogo exposed the dojo's ties to the Kondo Group and Hijikata's identity as the Demon Vice-Chief.

• Otae said she would never entrust her family's legacy to the Kondo Dojo, whose students had not learned even basic sword grips.
• Sogo Doma joked about killing or torturing Otae to find the legacy, then threatened Shizuka Hiratsuka and Utaha Kasumigaoka with the same fate.
• Utaha played along with Sogo's threats and discussed how they could conceal Hiratsuka's body, leaving Hiratsuka appalled.
• Toshiro Hijikata told Sogo to stop frightening Hiratsuka and insisted the Kondo Dojo was respectable and unrelated to the Kondo Group.
• Sogo reminded Hijikata that Otae had called him the Demon Vice-Chief, and Hijikata claimed he was merely the friendly Smiling Buddha.
• Hiratsuka agreed with Sogo that Hijikata's smile was disgusting.

Sogo Doma tried to intimidate Otae into surrendering by boasting about the Kondo Dojo’s forces and threatening her with snipers, while Toshiro Hijikata repeatedly exposed his bluffs. The chapter ended with Hijikata asking what Sogo planned to do after capturing Otae.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka and the surviving Kondo Group members called Hijikata’s smile disgusting, and Hijikata defended himself and the dojo.
• Sogo Doma claimed the dojo had hundreds or thousands of students, prompting Otae to think of how her family dojo might have fared with such numbers.
• Sogo declared that the Kondo Group should act like great villains and ordered Otae to surrender, but she warned she could expose their actions.
• Sogo threatened that armed men and ten sniper rifles surrounded the dojo, and Otae was alarmed by the claim.
• Hijikata revealed that Sogo had not ordered a sniper deployment and that the dojo lacked enough people to surround the area, then challenged Sogo about what he intended to do with Otae.

Sogo Doma mocked Otae and Hijikata by twisting idioms and making jokes about their appearances. The chapter ended with Sogo telling Hijikata to accept that he would eventually have a Mediterranean hairstyle and prepare a wig.

• Sogo argued that Hijikata’s defense of Otae made her seem narrow-minded, then insulted her appearance with double meanings about being flat-chested.
• Otae grew furious at Sogo’s remarks, while Hijikata urged him to stop provoking her.
• Sogo recalled how he had once provoked Yukinoshita by mocking her flat chest until she snapped at him.
• Sogo called Hijikata fierce-looking and balding, and Hijikata angrily demanded to know what was wrong with his appearance.
• Sogo told Hijikata that his hair loss meant a Mediterranean hairstyle was inevitable and suggested he prepare a wig.

Sogo Doma twisted the argument over Otae’s character and Kondo Isao’s feelings until Hijikata was made responsible for protecting Kondo’s first love. The debate continued as Sogo argued that Kondo Dojo had no reason to covet Otae’s family inheritance, while Otae’s anger kept rising.

• Hijikata protested that his hair loss did not mean he would become bald, and Sogo argued that baldness would make his appearance match his supposed inner nature.
• Sogo used Hijikata’s example to argue that Otae did not have to match her outward appearance, then suggested her deduction about herself could be logical.
• Sogo persuaded Hijikata that letting Otae be seen as narrow-minded could damage her image in Kondo Isao’s heart and make Kondo fear women.
• Sogo insisted they had to make Otae’s absurd conclusion come true to protect Kondo’s impression of her.
• Sogo defended Kondo Dojo against the idea that it coveted Otae’s inheritance and pointed out that her family dojo was small, further provoking Otae.

Otae attacked Sogo Doma after he mocked her family inheritance, and her punch unexpectedly awakened her Iron-Cutting strength. She realized Kondo Isao’s advice had helped her break through and began reconsidering his feelings for her.

• Sogo Doma compared Otae’s family legacy to a beggar’s rice bowl, while Toshiro Hijikata refused to agree with the insult.
• Otae rushed at Sogo and threw a punch whose force blasted a paper sliding door away.
• Toshiro Hijikata recognized that Otae had entered the realm of Iron-Cutting, and Shizuka Hiratsuka and Utaha Kasumigaoka were stunned by her power.
• Otae remembered Kondo Isao’s advice about Iron-Cutting and realized that her fury had helped her entrust the punch to instinct.
• Otae concluded that Kondo’s guidance had helped her become stronger and wondered whether he truly had a crush on her.

Otae reconsidered her inheritance offer after Sougo challenged her reasoning, while Hijikata insisted the dojo had never meant to take it. Katsura arrived with his sole disciple, Saki Yoshida, and Sougo ended the chapter questioning what Katsura could teach her besides cross-dressing.

• Sougo pointed out that Otae's punch made her fear of a wealthy man taking her livelihood seem absurd, and she admitted he was right.
• Otae offered to hand over her family's inheritance, but Hijikata rejected the idea and argued with Sougo about Kondo.
• Katsura arrived at Kondo Dojo with Saki Yoshida and revealed that he was a part-time instructor there.
• Katsura introduced Saki as his disciple, who hoped to become as strong as him, while Sougo and the others reacted to Katsura's feminine clothing and appearance.
• Sougo asked Hijikata what Katsura could teach his disciples, suggesting cross-dressing.

Sogo Doma and Toshiro Hijikata confronted Kotaro Katsura about his cross-dressing instructor job at the Kondo Dojo and learned he was also working at a transgender bar. Sogo then invented a story about a Demon King defeating the dojo, and Katsura believed it and set off with Elisaki to find the Demon King.

• Sogo Doma questioned Kotaro Katsura about teaching the dojo members to cross-dress, and Katsura said he was doing it for work at a transgender bar.
• Toshiro Hijikata challenged Katsura about his job, and Katsura claimed he had taken it to supervise the dojo members while secretly admitting he was gathering information about the Kondo Group.
• Katsura asked Sogo Doma what had happened to the students and Dojo Master Kondo, who were lying unconscious outside.
• Sogo Doma told Katsura that a Demon King had defeated the dojo members, and Katsura believed his account.
• Katsura told Elisaki to remember Sogo's story and announced that they would find and defeat the Demon King.

Kotaro Katsura insisted on hunting the Great Demon King for the sake of humanity, while Sogo Doma and Toshiro Hijikata privately decided that Katsura needed professional help. Sogo then suggested the same for Otae over her attachment to Shinpachi, and Otae overheard and confronted them.

• Kotaro Katsura declared that he would defeat the Great Demon King and claim the prime minister's position, prompting Sogo Doma to ask where the demon was.
• Sogo told Katsura that the Great Demon King had vanished after leaving a phone number, then quietly revealed to Toshiro Hijikata that the number belonged to a psychiatric hospital where Sogo was a VIP patient.
• Sogo suggested that Otae might also need professional help because she treated a pair of glasses as her little brother, Shinpachi.
• Hijikata suggested Otae used Shinpachi as an excuse to reject Kondo, but Otae overheard and insisted that Shinpachi was not an excuse.
• Sogo shamelessly claimed that he and Hijikata were discussing a specialist who studied glasses, leaving Otae exasperated.

Sogo Doma and Toshiro Hijikata tried to discuss Otae’s situation while Sogo distracted Katsura with talk of a Great Demon King. Otae interrupted them to defend Shinpachi, then told Katsura that Sogo needed help with mental issues.

• Sogo Doma redirected Katsura’s attention toward calling to find the Great Demon King, and Katsura accepted the explanation without question.
• Katsura offered to introduce Sogo to friends who knew about glasses, prompting Otae to insist that Shinpachi was her proudest little brother.
• Sogo and Toshiro Hijikata quietly discussed giving Otae a number, but Otae heard them and called Sogo a fool who needed a specialist.
• Otae clarified that Sogo needed help with mental issues, while Katsura corrected her on what she should call him.

Otae tried to expose Sogo Doma for giving Kotaro Katsura a psychiatric hospital’s number, but Sogo twisted the conversation until Katsura accepted his bizarre explanation. The group left Otae exasperated and Katsura convinced that a psychiatric hospital could serve as the Great Demon King’s base.

• Otae told Kotaro Katsura that Sogo Doma had given him a psychiatric hospital’s number.
• Sogo denied knowing what the number was and insisted it had come from the Great Demon King.
• Otae challenged Sogo to explain how she knew the number’s destination, but he accused her of being a spy for the Great Demon King.
• Katsura accepted Sogo’s claim that a psychiatric hospital could be the Great Demon King’s base.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka and Shizuka Hiratsuka suspected Sogo had deliberately given Katsura the number and privately commented on Katsura’s appearance and cross-dressing.

Sogo Doma watched Kotaro Katsura mistake Otae for a subordinate of the Great Demon King and threaten her with a timed bomb. The bomb exploded, leaving Otae, Shizuka Hiratsuka, and Utaha Kasumigaoka wondering whether Katsura had survived while Toshiro Hijikata tried to insist it was only a play.

• Sogo Doma and Kotaro Katsura suspected Otae of being a spy for the Great Demon King, and Katsura produced a spherical object.
• Kotaro Katsura accused Otae of hiding the Great Demon King's whereabouts and started a countdown on the sphere.
• Toshiro Hijikata urged Shizuka Hiratsuka and Utaha Kasumigaoka to take cover and asked Otae to help subdue Katsura.
• The sphere exploded before anyone could react, and Sogo Doma explained that he had mistaken the timed bomb for a toy.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka asked whether Katsura was dead, while Toshiro Hijikata nervously claimed the explosion had been part of a play.

Toshiro Hijikata and Sogo Doma argued about Katsura Kotaro’s survival after an explosion, while Otae realized Sogo had tricked Katsura with a psychiatric hospital’s phone number. The smoke cleared to reveal Katsura and Elisaki standing unharmed, though Katsura was still coughing.

• A woman called out to Mr. Katsura from the smoke, and Katsura replied that he was fine despite coughing.
• Toshiro Hijikata and Sogo Doma joked about Katsura’s vitality and the supposed rule that smoke caused no injuries, while Otae worried about her dojo’s decline.
• Sogo Doma explained that the number he gave Katsura led to a psychiatric hospital where people claimed to be the Great Demon King.
• Katsura called out from the smoke, saying he trusted Sogo and asking whether the number would help him find the Great Demon King.
• Sogo urged Katsura to continue his mission, and the smoke cleared to show Katsura and Elisaki standing unharmed before Katsura began coughing.

Sogo Doma distracted Toshiro Hijikata and the others with his theory that Kotaro Katsura’s true body was his hair while Katsura threatened them with another bomb. The chapter ended with Katsura starting a countdown as everyone tried to work out Sogo’s strange reasoning.

• Kotaro Katsura, blackened and injured after an explosion, insisted he could still fight and warned that the Great Demon King might be recovering.
• Katsura accused Otae of being a spy and demanded intelligence, then mistook Sogo Doma’s obedient blink for proof that Hijikata had threatened him.
• Katsura pulled out another bomb while Hijikata tried to stop him, but Sogo claimed that figuring out whether Katsura’s true body was his hair could help subdue him.
• Sogo said Katsura’s apparent injury supported his theory, leaving everyone but Katsura thinking it over.
• Katsura laughed and announced that the countdown was beginning.

Kotaro Katsura’s bomb failed to explode when he expected, and Sogo Doma claimed Katsura’s apparent injuries belonged to a body under his control. Katsura explained that he used the countdown to practice telling time without looking, but Sogo left him unable to name any use for the skill.

• Kotaro Katsura threatened Toshiro Hijikata with a countdown, but his bomb exploded before he finished speaking.
• Sogo Doma argued that the injured figure was not Katsura, citing his theory that smoke prevented injuries.
• Toshiro Hijikata challenged Sogo’s theory, pointing out that Katsura’s hair had turned into an afro.
• Kotaro Katsura revealed that the timer had more than a minute left and that he had misjudged the countdown because he could not see it.
• Kotaro Katsura explained that he practiced sensing time without a clock, then faltered when Sogo Doma asked what use the skill had.

Otae searched for a way to keep advancing after reaching the Iron-Cutting Realm and found inspiration in Kotaro Katsura’s insistence on trusting instinct. The chapter ended with Sogo Doma exposing Katsura’s unreliable time sense, while Otae quietly grasped that instinct was what she needed to cultivate.

• Kotaro Katsura became dejected when Sogo Doma dismissed his ability to tell the time without a clock, but Elisaki encouraged him.
• Katsura defended his ability as a way to stay punctual, and Sogo pointed out that alarm clocks and phones could do the same thing.
• Otae reflected that reaching the Iron-Cutting Realm had left her without a clear path to further improve her swordsmanship.
• Katsura’s claim that instinct mattered more than external supervision helped Otae realize she needed to cultivate instinct.
• Sogo reminded Katsura that his bomb had exploded before its countdown ended, and Katsura blamed the failure on counterfeit junk he had made himself.

Toshiro Hijikata and Sogo Doma argued over whether Kotaro Katsura was injured after an explosion, while Katsura insisted his bleeding was blood-scented ketchup. Sogo claimed Katsura’s true body was hair and warned that Hijikata’s hair loss would be terminal if his body were hair, leaving Hijikata furious.

• Kotaro Katsura claimed his bleeding arm was covered in blood-scented ketchup, but Toshiro Hijikata pointed out that he was visibly losing blood.
• Sogo Doma insisted that Katsura was not injured and claimed his true body was hair.
• Sogo told Hijikata to inspect Katsura’s hair roots and argued that the explosions had not damaged them or caused him to shed any hair.
• Sogo explained that damage to the roots counted as injury and said Hijikata’s hair loss would be terminal if his true body were hair.

Katsura, Hijikata, and Sogo traded jokes while Kondo woke up and mistakenly believed he was in hell. Otae’s anger escalated after Kondo’s remarks, leaving him facing her threat to become the Great Demon King again.

• Katsura tried to ask Hijikata and Sogo what they were arguing about, but Sogo teased him about tomato juice and Hijikata told him to stand properly.
• Kondo woke from his faint, and Sogo greeted him by saying he had arrived in hell.
• Kondo confessed that he loved Otae, then claimed even his butt hairs loved her, prompting Otae to grow furious.
• Sogo told Kondo that Otae had been sent to hell to keep him company, while he and Hijikata spun a story about their own deaths.
• Kondo realized Otae was alive and facing him, but Katsura called her a spy for the Great Demon King.
• Otae cracked her knuckles and declared that she could transform into the Great Demon King to stop Kondo from pestering her.

Kotaro Katsura rushed in to shield Isao Kondo from Otae, mistaking her for a Great Demon King’s spy and claiming Kondo was seriously injured. Katsura collapsed despite insisting he was fine, then stepped aside when Otae pointed out that Kondo was a gorilla.

• Otae threw a punch at Isao Kondo, and Kotaro Katsura sprang up to block it with his arms.
• Katsura declared Otae a spy and confronted her, while Kondo mistakenly believed Otae had only meant to scare him because she cared for him.
• Kondo noticed Katsura was bleeding and repeatedly collapsing, but Katsura insisted the blood was tomato juice and that he was standing steadily.
• When Otae called Kondo a gorilla, Katsura agreed to let her deal with him before discussing the Great Demon King and humanity.
• Toshiro Hijikata offered Kondo his condolences for being called a gorilla, leaving Kondo speechless.