Chapter Summaries

After slaying Lower Rank Two, Chiba Yo returned to headquarters, where Kyojuro told him he had become a Hashira. As the early arrivals gathered for the hastened Hashira Meeting, Chiba Yo joined them and was introduced to Mitsuri Kanroji.

• Chiba Yo thanked the Kakushi member and headed back to headquarters, hoping to confide in his teacher, Kyojuro.
• Mitsuri Kanroji and Shinobu Kocho arrived early and wondered why the Hashira Meeting had been moved up.
• Obanai Iguro arrived, spoke warmly with Mitsuri, and became flustered when she embraced him.
• Giyu Tomioka arrived and ignored Obanai's complaint that he was late.
• Kyojuro congratulated Chiba Yo on slaying Lower Rank Two and told him he had become a Hashira, but Chiba Yo insisted Kyojuro would always be his teacher.
• Chiba Yo and Kyojuro entered the courtyard, where Kyojuro introduced Mitsuri Kanroji to Chiba Yo.

Chiba Yo met the Hashira at the Demon Slayer Corps residence and learned how differently each of them treated him. After all the Hashira assembled, the Master arrived with two children supporting him.

• Kyojuro introduced Chiba Yo to Mitsuri and confirmed that Chiba Yo had slain Lower Rank Two and become a Hashira.
• Chiba Yo noticed Obanai glaring at him, then discovered Obanai's resentment faded after he moved away from Mitsuri's hand.
• Kyojuro introduced Chiba Yo to Obanai and Giyu, whose awkward exchange drew remarks from Shinobu and Obanai.
• Gyomei, Sanemi, Tengen, and Muichiro arrived, and Chiba Yo formed first impressions of the Hashira.
• The Hashira gathered as two white-haired children led the Master into the residence.

At the early Hashira Meeting, Kagaya Ubuyashiki recognized Chiba Yo as the newly appointed tenth Hashira and asked him to explain his Demon Slayer Mark. Chiba Yo learned that the mark was linked to the swordsmen who nearly defeated Muzan Kibutsuji, and the meeting ended with Kagaya asking him to help the Corps uncover how it appeared.

• Kagaya Ubuyashiki welcomed the Hashira and explained that the meeting had been called early because Chiba Yo had become the Corps’ tenth Hashira after slaying Rokuro, Lower Rank Two.
• Kagaya asked Chiba Yo to choose a Hashira title, and Chiba Yo chose Sun Hashira.
• Kagaya revealed that Chiba Yo’s distinctive mark was a Demon Slayer Mark and asked him to tell the Hashira what caused it to appear.
• Kagaya explained that marked Origin Breathing swordsmen had nearly slain Muzan Kibutsuji during the Sengoku era, and that a surviving record said more marks would appear around a marked swordsman.
• Sanemi asked why the Corps had kept the marks secret, and Kagaya explained that the knowledge had caused other swordsmen to despair when they failed to manifest one.
• Kagaya bowed to Chiba Yo and asked for his help, leaving Chiba Yo flustered as he apologized.

At the Hashira Meeting, Chiba Yo admitted he did not know how to awaken a Demon Slayer Mark, and Kagaya encouraged the Hashira to believe they could defeat Muzan. After the meeting paused for lunch, Mitsuri organized a group meal that left Chiba Yo uncomfortable under Obanai's jealous stare.

• Chiba Yo told Kagaya he could not explain how to awaken a Demon Slayer Mark because his own mark had been present since birth.
• Kagaya reassured Chiba Yo, connected his Sun Breathing and mark to the Corps' past, and inspired the Hashira with confidence that Muzan would be slain.
• The Hashira discussed the Corps' weak swordsmen before Kagaya ended the meeting for lunch.
• Mitsuri invited the Hashira to eat together, but Giyu declined and left on his own.
• Chiba Yo joined the meal with the other Hashira, where Mitsuri shared food with him and Obanai glared at him jealously.

At Corps Headquarters, Chiba Yo tried to ease Obanai’s jealousy and get Giyu to talk with others. He managed to draw Giyu into a conversation about Tanjiro, and the chapter ended with Giyu inviting him to the afternoon meeting.

• Chiba Yo offered Obanai his seat, and Obanai sat beside Mitsuri and attentively served her food.
• Chiba Yo found Giyu eating alone and urged him to socialize, but Giyu insisted that he was not disliked or alone.
• Chiba Yo asked Giyu about Tanjiro, and Giyu explained that he had met him after a demon killed his family and directed him to Urokodaki.
• Giyu stood and invited Chiba Yo to the afternoon meeting, surprising him by initiating their conversation.

After the Hashira Meeting, Kagaya helped Chiba Yo confront his guilt over failing to save two people, and reassured him that slaying a demon who had eaten someone was not his fault. Tetsumaru-yama came to inscribe Chiba Yo’s Nichirin Blade and witnessed it turn bright red.

• Kagaya asked Chiba Yo to stay after the Hashira Meeting and encouraged him to share what was troubling him.
• Chiba Yo asked whether he could protect others and whether he was responsible for a demon’s brother dying, and Kagaya told him not to blame himself.
• Tetsumaru-yama visited Chiba Yo to engrave the Hashira inscription on his Nichirin Blade and check how he had cared for it.
• Chiba Yo offered to show Tetsumaru-yama his blade turning red, and she eagerly took him to a training ground.
• Chiba Yo’s black Nichirin Blade gradually turned crimson, and Tetsumaru-yama recognized it as a Bright Red Nichirin Blade.

Tetsumaru-yama explained the legend of the Bright Red Nichirin Blade and theorized that Chiba Yo’s blade could suppress demons’ regeneration by releasing sunlight stored in its ores. After she engraved his sword and left, Chiba Yo headed to train and study how to make the blade turn red, while three boys departed for Mount Natagumo.

• Tetsumaru-yama told Chiba Yo that swordsmiths hoped to forge Bright Red Nichirin Blades because an ancient text claimed they could suppress demons’ regeneration.
• Tetsumaru-yama explained that Flame Breathing could turn blades red without stopping demons from regenerating, then theorized that Chiba Yo’s red blade released sunlight stored in its ores.
• Chiba Yo recalled that Lower Rank Two had failed to regrow severed limbs and decided to investigate how he turned his blade red.
• Tetsumaru-yama engraved “Destroyer of Demons” on Chiba Yo’s Nichirin Blade, returned it, and left for the village.
• Chiba Yo headed to the training grounds, while three boys set out for Mount Natagumo.

Chiba Yo explained how to turn a Nichirin Blade bright red, and the Hashira learned that Demon Slayer Marks were believed to shorten their bearers’ lives. The chapter ended with Kagaya sending Giyu, Shinobu, and Chiba Yo to Mount Natagumo after a Twelve Kizuki appeared there.

• Chiba Yo told Kagaya that strong grip strength could turn a Nichirin Blade bright red and suppress a demon’s regeneration.
• Kagaya summoned the Hashira, and Chiba Yo demonstrated the transformation; Kagaya confirmed the blade’s effect with a Kasugai crow’s report.
• Kagaya revealed that marked swordsmen were recorded as dying before age twenty-five, and Chiba Yo resolved to kill every demon before then.
• Sanemi and the other Hashira accepted the risk of the mark, while Gyomei wondered what would happen if he awakened one.
• A Kasugai crow delivered news of a Twelve Kizuki at Mount Natagumo, and Kagaya ordered Giyu, Shinobu, and Chiba Yo to go there.

Chiba Yo, Giyu, and Shinobu Kocho traveled to Mount Natagumo, where Chiba Yo shared his thoughts on whether demons who had never eaten humans could be spared. After the group split up, Chiba Yo found the poisoned Zenitsu and carried him to Shinobu, pleading with her to save him.

• On the way to Mount Natagumo, Shinobu Kocho asked Giyu and Chiba Yo whether humans and demons could live together, and Chiba Yo argued that demons who had never eaten anyone might be supervised and eventually allowed to die naturally.
• Giyu, Shinobu Kocho, and Chiba Yo arrived at Mount Natagumo and split up to search the mountain.
• Chiba Yo heard a thunderclap, spotted Zenitsu falling after killing a demon, and rushed to him.
• Chiba Yo found the poisoned Zenitsu on a rooftop and carried him away as Zenitsu used his Breathing Style to slow the poison.
• Chiba Yo found Shinobu Kocho in the forest and pleaded with her to save Zenitsu.

Chiba Yo helped Shinobu Kocho treat Zenitsu and the other victims of the spider poison on Mount Natagumo. He continued toward the mountain’s center and found the injured Inosuke tied to a tree, whom he handed over to the Kakushi.

• Shinobu Kocho treated Zenitsu with an antidote, and Zenitsu woke up and tearfully told Chiba Yo about Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Nezuko.
• Chiba Yo led Shinobu Kocho and the Kakushi to the poisoned victims, where they administered antidote under her supervision.
• After Shinobu Kocho agreed to oversee the treatment, Chiba Yo continued toward the mountain’s center to search for the Twelve Kizuki.
• Chiba Yo found an injured boy wearing a boar’s head tied to a tree, freed him, and handed him to the Kakushi.
• Chiba Yo recognized the boy as Inosuke, whom he remembered from Final Selection, and left to continue his search.

Inosuke was carried back to the Butterfly Mansion, while Chiba Yo joined Shinobu Kocho after she subdued a spider demon on Mount Natagumo. Chiba Yo tested his Bright Red Nichirin Blade, killed the demon, and then headed to join Giyu.

• A Kakushi member carried Inosuke back to the Butterfly Mansion as Inosuke reflected on his weakness.
• Chiba Yo found Shinobu Kocho tormenting a female spider demon and asked to test his Bright Red Nichirin Blade on her.
• The spider demon attacked Chiba Yo, but he cut off her arms and pinned her down with his blade.
• Chiba Yo confirmed the red blade suppressed the demon's regeneration, then beheaded her despite her plea for mercy.
• As she crumbled to ash, the spider demon remembered how Rui had made her play the role of his sister and how she had betrayed another demon to him.
• Chiba Yo noticed Shinobu Kocho had left and set out to join Giyu.

After Giyu killed Lower Rank Five, Chiba Yo stumbled upon Giyu restraining Shinobu Kocho and tried to avoid getting caught in their dispute. A new order sent Tanjiro and Nezuko to Corps Headquarters, while Giyu was carried away after Shinobu knocked him unconscious; he woke during the journey and was told he had heatstroke.

• Chiba Yo overheard Shinobu Kocho questioning Giyu as he held her, then learned from his Kasugai crow that Giyu had killed Lower Rank Five.
• Chiba Yo emerged from hiding, and Shinobu Kocho threatened him into claiming he had seen nothing.
• Kasugai crows ordered the slayers to capture Tanjiro and Nezuko and bring them to Corps Headquarters.
• Shinobu Kocho poisoned Giyu, then told the Kakushi that he had heatstroke and had him carried to the Butterfly Mansion.
• The injured swordsmen were sent to the Butterfly Mansion, while Tanjiro and Nezuko were taken to Corps Headquarters.
• Giyu woke on the stretcher and was told by a Kakushi that Shinobu had saved him from heatstroke.

Chiba Yo brought Tanjiro and Nezuko back to Corps Headquarters and intervened when the Hashira moved to execute Tanjiro for harboring a demon. Kyojuro agreed to let Tanjiro explain himself, leaving Tanjiro about to speak.

• On the way to Headquarters, Shinobu Kocho told Chiba Yo that Nezuko was Tanjiro's sister, whom a demon had turned, and Chiba Yo resolved to save them if she had not eaten anyone.
• At the Hashira gathering, Chiba Yo untied the badly injured Tanjiro and explained that keeping him bound could worsen his wounds.
• Tanjiro woke and asked Chiba Yo where Nezuko was, but his injuries made him cough before he could say much.
• Kyojuro, Tengen Uzui, and Gyomei called for Tanjiro and Nezuko to be executed for violating Corps rules.
• Chiba Yo asked the Hashira to let Tanjiro explain, citing his actions during Final Selection, and Kyojuro agreed to hear him out.
• Chiba Yo invited Tanjiro to explain why he had harbored Nezuko.

Tanjiro defended Nezuko before the Hashira, but most doubted his claims that she had never eaten a human. Sanemi tried to stab the box containing Nezuko, and Chiba Yo intercepted him as the Master arrived.

• Shinobu gave Tanjiro water and pain medicine, and he explained that Nezuko had become a demon but had never eaten anyone.
• Obanai and Gyomei rejected Tanjiro's plea, while the chapter recounted how Gyomei's past experience at the temple had made him distrust children.
• Tanjiro insisted Nezuko could fight alongside the Demon Slayer Corps, and Mitsuri suggested they wait for the Master before punishing him.
• Sanemi arrived carrying Nezuko's box and drew his sword to stab it, but Chiba Yo snatched the box away and said they should await Oyakata-sama's decision.
• Two children announced that the Master had arrived.

Kagaya asked the Hashira to accept Tanjiro and Nezuko, prompting debate over whether Nezuko could be trusted not to eat humans. The Hashira agreed to test her resistance, with Sanemi insisting he would kill her if she failed.

• Kagaya announced that he had approved Tanjiro and Nezuko, but several Hashira objected to a demon being allowed in the Corps.
• Chiba Yo argued that Nezuko could be accepted if she did not eat humans and that turning demons back into humans could serve the Corps' purpose.
• Hinaki read Sakonji Urokodaki's letter, which said Nezuko had retained her reason for over two years and pledged that Tanjiro, Sakonji, and Giyu would commit seppuku if she attacked anyone.
• Sanemi remained furious, while Kyojuro agreed that the letter could not prove Nezuko would never attack someone.
• Chiba Yo proposed testing Nezuko in front of the Hashira, and Sanemi volunteered to expose her to his rare, enticing blood, threatening to behead her if she could not resist.

Sanemi tested Nezuko by tempting her with his blood, but she resisted and turned away, convincing the Hashira that she would not attack humans. Kagaya accepted Tanjiro and Nezuko into the Corps on the condition that Tanjiro prove himself by defeating one of the Twelve Kizuki, then revealed that Tanjiro had encountered Muzan Kibutsuji.

• Sanemi wounded himself and stabbed Nezuko's box to provoke her hunger while Tanjiro and Chiba Yo watched.
• Nezuko remembered her family and the command to protect humans, then resisted Sanemi's blood and turned her head away.
• Kagaya asked the Hashira to accept Nezuko after Hinaki explained that she had refused to bite Sanemi despite his wounds and blood.
• Kagaya told Tanjiro to prove himself by defeating one of the Twelve Kizuki, and Tanjiro vowed that he and Nezuko would defeat Muzan Kibutsuji.
• Kagaya revealed that Tanjiro had encountered Muzan, and Chiba Yo excitedly asked Tanjiro what Muzan looked like and what abilities he had.

The Hashira learned that Kibutsuji was hunting Tanjiro because of an unexpected change involving Nezuko, and Kagaya sent Tanjiro to Shinobu’s estate while asking him to give Tamayo his regards. The Hashira then discussed ways to produce Bright Red Nichirin Blades, and Sanemi and Obanai challenged Giyu to test one method.

• Kagaya explained why Tanjiro’s encounter with Kibutsuji mattered, then warned Sanemi and Obanai not to mistreat lower-ranking swordsmen.
• Shinobu arranged for Tanjiro and Nezuko to be taken to her estate, and Kagaya told Tanjiro to give Tamayo his regards.
• Chiba Yo confirmed that a Bright Red Nichirin Blade could suppress a demon’s regeneration.
• Obanai demonstrated turning his blade red through grip strength, while the Hashira discussed the stamina it required and Tengen said the method was easy for him.
• Gyomei explained that striking his weapons together turned them red, prompting Sanemi and Obanai to approach Giyu and propose testing the method.

Sanemi and Obanai tested whether clashing Nichirin Blades could turn them bright red, and Kagaya thanked Chiba Yo for sharing the discovery before ending the Hashira Meeting. Chiba Yo then visited the Butterfly Mansion to see Tanjiro and Zenitsu, learning that Zenitsu was making his treatment difficult.

• Sanemi and Obanai clashed blades with Giyu, turning all three Nichirin Blades bright red after several exchanges.
• Kagaya thanked Chiba Yo for discovering and sharing the method, then said farewell to the Hashira.
• Kyojuro reassured Chiba Yo that he accepted Tanjiro and Nezuko for the time being, while Sanemi left still reluctant to accept them.
• Chiba Yo went to the Butterfly Mansion and asked Kanao where Tanjiro and Zenitsu were, but she did not answer.
• Aoi Kanzaki led Chiba Yo to the injured swordsmen and explained that Tanjiro's injuries were minor but Zenitsu resisted taking his medicine.

Chiba Yo visited Tanjiro in the hospital and heard how Muzan Kibutsuji had disguised himself among humans before escaping. After warning Tanjiro about acting recklessly, Chiba Yo left to consider how he could protect bystanders if he faced a demon in a crowded place.

• Chiba Yo visited Tanjiro and reassured him that the Hashira had acted harshly because they had never encountered a demon like Nezuko.
• Tanjiro said he wanted to headbutt Sanemi for stabbing Nezuko, and Chiba Yo explained that Sanemi had suffered greatly too.
• Tanjiro described meeting Muzan Kibutsuji disguised as a human man living with a human woman and girl, then explained how Muzan turned a bystander into a demon and escaped.
• Chiba Yo warned Tanjiro that confronting Muzan in a crowded marketplace had been reckless, and Tanjiro promised to be more careful.
• Chiba Yo left the hospital and considered how to draw demons away from people, deciding to ask his teacher for advice.

Chiba Yo learned that Kyojuro had gone to investigate the Mugen train and completed a mission of his own while waiting for his return. After Shinobu asked him about Hinokami Kagura and Flame Breathing, he went with her to the Butterfly Mansion to speak with Tanjiro.

• Kyojuro told Chiba Yo that the Corps had sent him to investigate a demon near the Mugen train after other Demon Slayers and civilians had been killed there.
• Chiba Yo received a mission the next day, completed it without casualties, and later noticed that Kyojuro had not returned.
• Shinobu told Chiba Yo that Tanjiro had asked about Hinokami Kagura and Flame Breathing, and Chiba Yo said he had never heard of either.
• Chiba Yo and Shinobu went to the Butterfly Mansion, where they found Tanjiro training his reflexes against Kanao while Zenitsu and Inosuke watched.