Chapter Summaries

Yaha Tomioka awakened the King of Curses-Ryomen Sukuna template as a demon attacked his family, then used Dismantle to tear the demon apart. The demon could not heal, and Yaha approached it to finish the fight.

• A demon broke into the Tomioka home, injured Tsutako, and pinned Yaha beneath the collapsing roof while Giyu watched helplessly.
• Yaha awakened the Template Roleplay System and fully fused with the King of Curses-Ryomen Sukuna template.
• Yaha threw off the roof beam and used Dismantle to slice the demon into pieces.
• The demon tried to regenerate but found that a lingering power prevented its wounds from healing.
• Yaha walked toward the demon and said he would cut it slowly.

Yaha killed the demon that had attacked Giyu and Tsutako, then went with them and Sakonji Urokodaki to safety. Two years later, Yaha lounged while Giyu and Sabito trained on Mount Sagiri, and Sabito challenged him to fight.

• Yaha crushed the demon's head, killing it and gaining Sukuna's Monstrous Strength, but the sudden exertion left him exhausted.
• Giyu rushed to Yaha, and Yaha checked on the unconscious, badly injured Tsutako.
• Sakonji Urokodaki arrived, found the demon reduced to ash, and took Tsutako, Yaha, and Giyu with him.
• Two years later on Mount Sagiri, Yaha slept in a tree while Giyu and Sabito practiced sword swings.
• Sabito called Yaha down to fight, and Yaha taunted him about beating him without using a Breathing Style.

Yaha effortlessly defeated Sabito in a sparring match without using a sword or Breathing Style, then returned to pretending to sleep. Sakonji Urokodaki witnessed the display and connected Yaha's power to the inexplicable cuts found at the Tomioka family massacre.

• Sabito challenged Yaha to fight after Yaha mocked his training, while Giyu watched from behind a pine.
• Yaha dodged Sabito's attacks with minimal movement, caught his strongest strike between two fingers, and kicked him into a snowbank.
• Yaha told Sabito that he was simply strong and criticized the flaws in Sabito's breathing and stance.
• Yaha claimed that one finger could surpass ten thousand sword swings, leaving Sabito unsettled before he and Giyu returned to training.
• Yaha received a one-percent increase in roleplay level, bringing it to 12%, and went back to sleep.
• Sakonji Urokodaki watched from the trees and recognized Yaha's effortless strength as connected to the mirror-smooth cuts at the Tomioka family massacre.

Yaha refined the precision of his cutting technique and interrupted Giyu’s punishing late-night training to point out his strength in deep, steady breathing. The next morning, Sabito found the stones Yaha had cut and realized how overwhelming his power was.

• Yaha tested his cutting technique on a boulder, improving his aim until he could cut precisely along his chosen line.
• Yaha found Giyu training despite his bleeding hand and told him that, although he was weaker than Sabito, his steady breathing was a valuable talent.
• Giyu tried a slower, deeper breathing rhythm after Yaha left.
• Sabito discovered the smooth-cut rubble on the mountain and recalled Yaha’s claim that a single finger could surpass ten thousand sword swings.
• Sabito trembled as he recognized the terrifying power behind Yaha’s cuts.

Yaha effortlessly defeated Sabito in their sparring match, exposing the gulf between Sabito’s swordsmanship and Yaha’s physical ability. Afterward, Urokodaki examined the suspiciously smooth cuts on the mountain boulder, while Yaha gained six percent roleplay progress.

• Urokodaki ordered Sabito and Yaha to spar, and Yaha reluctantly entered the courtyard without drawing his sword.
• Sabito attacked Yaha with every Water Breathing form he knew, but Yaha dodged each strike with minimal movement.
• Yaha exploited a brief gap in Sabito’s breathing and knocked him unconscious with a precise strike to the back of his neck.
• Sabito recovered and left with Giyu, while Urokodaki reflected on Yaha’s physical superiority.
• That night, Urokodaki inspected the smooth cuts on the boulder, and Yaha received a six percent increase in roleplay level.

After receiving letters and amulets from Tsutako, Yaha secretly tested a wide-area version of his Cursed Technique and perfected its precision to prepare for the Hand Demon on Mount Fujikasane. The system revealed he was only 2% from unlocking Reverse Cursed Technique, but required him to show absolute contempt for the weak, so he decided to treat the Hand Demon as worthless trash.

• Urokodaki brought letters and handmade amulets from Tsutako, and Yaha and Giyu read her message and prepared to write back.
• Yaha put Tsutako's amulet against his chest and remembered the danger awaiting her, Sabito, and Makomo at Final Selection.
• Yaha slipped into an abandoned logging site and used [Cleave] to cut trees across a wide area, then practiced sparing a chosen tree until his cuts were precise.
• The system told Yaha that he needed 2% more roleplay progress to unlock Reverse Cursed Technique by demonstrating absolute contempt for the weak.
• Yaha resolved to show contempt for the Hand Demon on Mount Fujikasane and headed back into the dark forest.

Sabito mistook Yaha’s precisely cut forest for a training assignment from Urokodaki, while Yaha resolved to use the Hand Demon as a target for the contempt his system demanded. Urokodaki announced that Sabito, Giyu, and Yaha would face final selection on Mount Fujikasane in half a month, where Yaha planned to kill the demon.

• Sabito discovered a forest patch cut into smooth wooden blocks and assumed Urokodaki had created it as an advanced training challenge, so he practiced trying to match the cuts.
• Yaha watched Sabito train and reflected that he could define the Hand Demon as worthless trash to satisfy the system and earn the power he needed to protect his companions.
• Sabito called out to Yaha about the supposed new assignment, but Yaha stayed hidden in the tree and went back to sleep.
• Urokodaki gave Sabito, Giyu, and Yaha Warding Masks and told them they would enter Mount Fujikasane for seven days and nights in the final selection half a month later.
• Yaha sensed Urokodaki watching him and left with his mask, anticipating his confrontation with the Hand Demon.

Yaha entered Mount Fujikasane’s Final Selection alone, seeking the enormous demon before it could find Sabito and Makomo. Giyu was cornered by three demons, froze as memories of his family’s deaths overwhelmed him, and heard a familiar voice tell him he was stronger than he thought.

• Yaha kicked Sabito away and told him and Makomo not to follow, then watched them head north while Giyu entered the eastern woods alone.
• Yaha set out to find the enormous demon before it could scent Urokodaki’s disciples.
• Three demons surrounded Giyu, wounded him, and drove him against a tree.
• Giyu’s fear brought back memories of the snowy night when a demon attacked his family, and he dropped his sword.
• As a demon reached for him, Giyu heard a languid voice say he was stronger than he thought and too stupid to see it.

Giyu defeated three demons after entering an unfamiliar, dead-water-like breathing state and decided to find Yaha. Elsewhere, Sabito and Makomo discovered a massive demon in the mountain, which recognized Sabito’s fox mask and charged at them.

• Giyu remembered Yaha’s words, recovered his sword, and killed three demons while experiencing an unfamiliar state of breathing.
• Giyu noticed that his heartbeat and breathing had slowed, then continued deeper into the mountain to find Yaha.
• Sabito and Makomo killed demons in the northern woods, noticed the demons were moving inward, and went to investigate the mountain’s center.
• After nearly fifty hours of fighting, Sabito and Makomo smelled a foul odor and saw a huge demon with twenty-three arms rise from the ground.
• The demon recognized Sabito’s fox mask as one worn by Urokodaki’s former students and charged at Sabito and Makomo.

Sabito and Makomo fought the Hand Demon on Mount Sagiri, but he overpowered them after revealing that he had killed eleven of Urokodaki’s previous masked disciples. Yaha arrived as the Hand Demon trembled before his presence, and dark markings spread across Yaha’s face as his eyes turned red.

• The Hand Demon told Sabito that he had eaten eleven of Urokodaki’s masked disciples, including the ninth and tenth.
• Sabito attacked with Tenth Form: Constant Flux, but his blade barely cut the Hand Demon’s neck before the demon struck him through a tree and shattered his fox mask.
• The Hand Demon caught Makomo and Sabito in his arms and prepared to eat them.
• The forest fell silent as a powerful presence approached, making the Hand Demon’s arms tremble and interrupting his attack.
• Yaha appeared on a branch, saw Sabito and Makomo’s injuries, and developed red eyes and dark markings across half his face.

Yaha rescued Sabito and Makomo from the Hand Demon, revealing a terrifying power that stopped the demon’s regeneration before killing him. Afterward, Sabito and Makomo feared Yaha, who insisted he was still Sabito’s buddy and told them to get moving.

• Yaha appeared as the Hand Demon was about to eat Sabito and cut off the demon’s arms with a casual gesture.
• Yaha freed Sabito and Makomo, then immobilized the Hand Demon’s attempts to regenerate.
• Yaha demanded that the Hand Demon name the eleven children he had eaten, then diced him into pieces when he could not remember.
• Yaha crushed the Hand Demon’s head and unlocked beginner Reverse Cursed Technique as his roleplay level rose to 25%.
• Yaha’s markings faded, and he told the frightened Sabito and Makomo that he was still Sabito’s buddy and ordered them to get up.

Yaha killed the Hand Demon after rejecting its pleas for sympathy, then tried to lead the injured Sabito and Makomo onward. His victory unlocked beginner Reverse Cursed Technique, but Sabito and Makomo reacted to Yaha with fear and unease.

• The Hand Demon pleaded for its life and recounted how famine and human traffickers had led it to become a demon.
• Yaha rejected the Hand Demon's excuses, and Sabito hesitated over whether its tragic past merited forgiveness.
• Yaha used Cursed Technique Eight to dismember the Hand Demon, then crushed its surviving head and watched the remains turn to ash.
• Yaha's roleplay level rose to 25%, unlocking beginner Reverse Cursed Technique as Sukuna's markings receded.
• Yaha found Sabito and Makomo frightened and injured, told Sabito to get up because their seven days were not over, and urged them to go.

After all four children survived the Final Selection, Sakonji Urokodaki wept with relief and brought them home to Mount Sagiri. That night, Sabito confronted Yaha about the power he had witnessed and demanded a fight.

• Sakonji Urokodaki embraced Yaha, Sabito, Makomo, and Giyu and cried because they had all returned alive.
• Yaha and the others traveled back to Mount Sagiri with their injuries, while the Hand Demon's death remained unspoken among them.
• Giyu and Makomo went inside to rest, and Sabito asked Yaha about the night in the mountains before leaving without an answer.
• Yaha lay awake remembering the Hand Demon, Sabito's fear, and Urokodaki's tears, then heard Sabito approach his door after midnight.
• Sabito drew his Nichirin Blade and challenged Yaha to fight, and Yaha agreed while threatening to put him back in bed.

Sabito confronted Yaha about his mysterious power and challenged him to reveal what he was. Yaha cut Sabito’s Nichirin Blade in half with a casual gesture, leaving Sabito stunned and asking what he really was.

• Sabito woke Yaha and took him behind the mountain, demanding answers about the power Yaha had used against demons.
• Sabito attacked Yaha with Water Breathing forms, but Yaha dodged every strike without drawing his sword.
• Sabito accused Yaha of being inhuman and begged him to demonstrate the power that had defeated the Hand Demon.
• Yaha used Dismantle to sever Sabito’s Nichirin Blade cleanly in midair.
• Yaha walked back toward the courtyard as Sabito stood in the snow and asked what he was.

After Urokodaki reported Yaha’s strange power to headquarters, Yaha received his black Nichirin Blade and an unusual order to act freely. As he parted ways with Giyu, Sabito, and Makomo, he set out alone to hunt a Lower Rank demon.

• Sabito questioned Yaha about his power, and Yaha assured him he would not lose control because doing so would be too much work.
• Urokodaki inspected the destruction on Mount Fujikasane and sent Kagaya Ubuyashiki an urgent report about Yaha’s abilities.
• Swordsmiths brought Giyu, Sabito, Makomo, and Yaha their Nichirin Blades; Yaha’s turned pure black, and he dismissed Hotaru Haganezuka’s warnings and anger.
• Kasugai Crows assigned Giyu, Sabito, and Makomo missions, while Yaha received orders from headquarters to act freely without a patrol area.
• Giyu, Sabito, and Makomo said goodbye to Yaha, who headed down Mount Sagiri and resolved to seek out a Lower Rank demon.

Yaha found a village engulfed in deadly purple mist and discovered that Lower Rank One was behind it. After walking through the poison unharmed, he drew the demon’s attention, and Lower Rank One attacked him with poisonous wind blades.

• Yaha wandered through the wilderness, killing several low-level demons but gaining little experience.
• Yaha reached a secluded basin and found Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen dead from the poisonous mist surrounding a village.
• Yaha recognized the powerful blood aura of a Lower Rank demon and entered the mist, relying on Reverse Cursed Technique to heal the poison’s damage.
• Yaha found Lower Rank One waiting on the shrine roof, and the demon realized that its poison could not harm him.
• Lower Rank One activated its Blood Demon Art and sent poisonous wind blades toward Yaha, aiming one at his neck.

Yaha confronted Lower Rank One in a poisonous mist, shrugging off its poison and slicing the bell tower apart with Dismantle. He left the demon battered and challenged it to use any remaining tricks, still refusing to draw his blade.

• Lower Rank One attacked Yaha with poisoned wind blades and threatened him, but Yaha remained unharmed and unaffected by the mist.
• Yaha used Dismantle to cut through the bell tower, exposing Lower Rank One and severing its left arm.
• Lower Rank One tried to regenerate its arm, but the new flesh corroded and died as Yaha mocked it and Muzan.
• Lower Rank One enlarged its body and charged Yaha, but Yaha caught its punch, crushed its fingers, and kicked it through stone pillars.
• Yaha ignored a system notification about his roleplay level rising and ordered the battered demon to show its remaining tricks or be minced.

Yaha tormented Lower Rank One with precise Dismantle attacks that its demon body could not regenerate from. Driven to despair, Lower Rank One began a massive self-destruction, while Yaha remained unruffled and called himself the King of Curses.

• Yaha used Dismantle to inflict shallow, soul-level wounds on Lower Rank One and prevent them from regenerating.
• Yaha continued cutting Lower Rank One across its body while shrugging off its poisonous mist with Reverse Cursed Technique.
• Lower Rank One broke down under the pain and contempt, then ignited Muzan Kibutsuji's blood and began a destructive self-detonation.
• Yaha gained 5% Roleplay Level and 10% Domain Expansion unlock progress after driving Lower Rank One to self-destruction.
• As Lower Rank One's energy neared explosion, Yaha stood with his hands in his pockets and declared that hell could not imprison the King of Curses.

Yaha annihilated Lower Rank One and gained progress toward unlocking Domain Expansion. As he prepared to leave the ruined village, he heard a child beneath the wreckage and rescued him, though he coldly told the boy to climb out on his own.

• Lower Rank One tried to detonate a compressed poison core, but Yaha stopped it with Cursed Technique Eight and dismantled him into tiny cubes.
• Yaha received a notification that his roleplay level had risen to 33%, leaving him 17% short of unlocking Domain Expansion.
• Yaha heard a boy sobbing beneath the collapsed bell tower and recognized that he had survived the attack.
• Remembering his sister Tsutako trapped beneath rubble, Yaha turned back and cleared the wreckage to reveal a cellar.
• Yaha found a terrified boy inside and told him to climb out by himself.

Yaha rescued a boy from the ruins of a village after annihilating Lower Rank One, and Kagaya Ubuyashiki decided to let him continue his work despite the danger within him. Muzan recognized Yaha's ability to prevent regeneration and ordered the Upper Ranks to find him.

• Yaha pulled a terrified boy from the cellar, warned him to stay quiet, and later handed him to the arriving Kakushi.
• The Kakushi found the village sliced into a grid and received the unharmed boy from Yaha, who left after hearing the boy thank him.
• Amane read Kagaya Ubuyashiki the reports describing Yaha's destruction of Lower Rank One and rescue of the civilian.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki acknowledged the monster within Yaha but told Amane not to interfere and to let him fight.
• Muzan relived Lower Rank One's memories of Yaha severing the demon's regeneration and ordered Nakime to investigate and send the Upper Ranks after him.