Recaps

Xia Xi learned about the Demon Slayer Corps’ salaries and rewards for killing demons, then eagerly asked where to find the Twelve Kizuki. The Kakushi member realized that Xia Xi seemed unusually motivated by money.

• The Kasugai Crow returned to Xia Xi after reporting the mission’s completion, and Xia Xi wondered how demons had failed to discover the Corps’ headquarters.
• A Kakushi member delivered Xia Xi’s monthly salary of 100 yen and offered to deposit it at a bank.
• Xia Xi asked how much swordsmen earned for killing demons and whether rewards increased with rank.
• The Kakushi member explained that rewards depended on a demon’s strength and the swordsman’s contribution, and that killing a Twelve Kizuki alone could bring a lifetime’s worth of spending money.
• Xia Xi asked where the Twelve Kizuki were so he could rid the world of them, leaving the Kakushi member puzzled by his fixation on money.

Kurumazuka Natsumi was promoted directly from Mizunoto to Kanoto after his demon-slaying record earned Kagaya Ubuyashiki’s approval. He continued training Stone Breathing with Matsuyama Daimon, reaching its third stage: forging iron with a hammer.

• Kurumazuka Natsumi completed three more demon-slaying missions, including defeating a powerful demon with a Blood Demon Art on his own.
• A Kasugai Crow announced that Kagaya Ubuyashiki had promoted Kurumazuka Natsumi from Mizunoto to Kanoto for his exceptional achievements.
• Matsuyama Daimon said the Master valued Kurumazuka Natsumi and ordered him to continue hammering hot iron.
• Kurumazuka Natsumi recalled Matsuyama Daimon’s demanding Stone Breathing training, which began with holding a horse stance and then pushing against a cliff while matching its rhythm.
• After days of training, the ground beneath Kurumazuka Natsumi cracked, marking his progress to Stone Breathing’s third stage.

Xia Xi trained Stone Breathing by hammering iron under Matsuyama Daimon’s guidance, eventually finding a rhythm that allowed the system to fast-forward his blacksmithing practice. As Matsuyama reflected on his former student Fudō Hino and Xia Xi’s unusual potential, Stone Breathing activated, beginning at Unpolished Jade Lv. 0.

• Matsuyama Daimon taught Xia Xi to coordinate his breathing with each hammer blow while forging iron.
• After several days of practice, Xia Xi found a resonance between hammering and Stone Breathing, unlocking fast-forwarded blacksmithing training.
• Xia Xi immersed himself in forging, and his Stone Breathing progress steadily increased as Matsuyama observed his exceptional talent.
• Matsuyama remembered Fudō Hino’s death in battle against an Upper Rank Demon and wondered whether he could have helped save his former student.
• Xia Xi’s hammering changed as Stone Breathing activated, with his system showing Unpolished Jade Lv. 0 and progress at 1/250.

After completing his Stone Breathing training with Matsuyama Daimon, Xia Xi asked which Upper Rank had killed Matsuyama’s former disciple, Fudō Hino, and promised to avenge him. Matsuyama warned Xia Xi to grow stronger before facing a Lower Rank, then resolved to tell Oyakata-sama about his potential.

• Xia Xi checked his Stone Breathing progress, raised his attributes above eighty, and left Matsuyama’s training with an iron hammer.
• Matsuyama began to advise Xia Xi about the value of Stone Breathing, but Xia Xi asked which Kizuki had killed Fudō Hino.
• Xia Xi said he would avenge Fudō Hino, and Matsuyama warned that Upper Ranks were far beyond his current strength.
• Matsuyama estimated Xia Xi had less than a twenty-percent chance to defeat a newly appointed Lower Rank and about a fifty-percent chance to survive by fleeing or holding out until dawn.
• Xia Xi took the odds as reason for optimism, while Matsuyama urged him to wait until he was stronger and resolved to inform Oyakata-sama about him.

Xia Xi began training in Thunder Breathing under Nikaido Mei, whose brutal teaching method was to attack him without warning. After a rooftop conversation, he understood that her harshness came from wanting him to survive battles against demons.

• Xia Xi arrived at Dian Ci Dojo and met Nikaido Mei, who dismissed Kazami's letter and immediately challenged him with her sword.
• Mei overwhelmed Xia Xi with Thunder Breathing techniques, and he narrowly dodged her Thunderclap and Flash by drawing on his previous training.
• Mei continued attacking as Xia Xi parried, and his Thunder Breathing progress increased; he then switched to offense and fought back.
• That night, Mei shared shochu with Xia Xi on the dojo roof and explained that demons posed far greater dangers than her training attacks.
• Mei said she disliked Kazami's outdated teaching methods and preferred to teach Thunder Breathing through repeated combat.

Nikaido Mei criticized the other Cultivators’ teaching methods, then pushed Xia Xi through nine days of intense Thunder Breathing training. Xia Xi finally landed a decisive strike, and the system showed Thunder Breathing had his highest compatibility yet.

• Nikaido Mei explained the strengths and flaws in Kazami Kōgi, Matsuyama, and Urokodaki’s teaching methods, then said her own real-blade sparring was the most practical.
• Nikaido told Xia Xi to develop every skill he had learned and return alive, while insisting they continue their deadly sparring the next day.
• Xia Xi questioned whether Nikaido’s harsh training drove students away, and she claimed her strongest student was about to become a Hashira.
• Over the next nine days, Xia Xi improved rapidly under Nikaido’s aggressive Thunder Breathing, falling sixteen times on the second day and fewer than five times by the fifth.
• During his second week at the Dian Ci Dojo, Xia Xi deflected Nikaido’s slash with Wind Breathing and struck her with a Thunder Breathing First Form, knocking her down for the first time.
• Nikaido praised Xia Xi’s progress and compared him to Tengen, while the system reported 84% compatibility with Thunder Breathing.

Xia Xi explored ways to create a breathing style and tested a simplified modification of Wind Breathing, but refused to commit to the degraded result. He decided to master all Five Great Breathing Styles and use them to reconstruct a more powerful lost prototype.

• Xia Xi reasoned that breathing styles differed in how they trained the body and recalled that combining Wind and Water Breathing had caused suffocation and produced a weaker hybrid.
• After learning Stone Breathing from Matsuyama, Xia Xi tried adjusting the rhythm of one style, while Nikaido Mei advised him to modify only the parts he understood.
• Nikaido Mei described how her former student Tengen Uzui created a prototype Sound Breathing despite limited training, then graduated after his physique and ninja skills helped him overpower her and damage the dojo with bombs.
• Xia Xi tested changes to his LV.3 Wind Breathing, and the system identified the result as a degraded prototype with 83% compatibility and warned that a self-created style would occupy his unique skill slot.
• Xia Xi declined to register the degraded style and chose to learn all Five Great Breathing Styles before using them to reconstruct the lost Prototype Breathing Style.

Xia Xi raised Thunder, Stone, and Water Breathing to LV.3, greatly boosting his strength, then defeated Nikaido Mei in a spar and left her dojo. A Kasugai Crow sent him to the eastern logging camp, where Kanae Kocho was in danger from a powerful demon.

• Xia Xi spent achievement points to raise Thunder, Stone, and Water Breathing to LV.3, maximizing the effects of his Total Concentration.
• Xia Xi overwhelmed Nikaido Mei in a spar, and their clash broke her Nichirin Blade.
• Nikaido Mei told Xia Xi he had learned all she could teach him, urged him to kill Koyuki and advise Tengen, and gave him a wine gourd and a scroll before he left.
• A Kasugai Crow reported that Kanae Kocho was in danger at the eastern logging camp after a powerful demon killed a Corps member.
• Xia Xi turned toward the eastern logging camp and hurried to reinforce Kanae Kocho.

Kanae Kocho and two Demon Slayers investigated disappearances at a logging camp and confronted a demon that could emerge from trees and stone. After the demon killed one swordsman and trapped Kanae and the other survivor in the forest, the Kakushi requested urgent reinforcements.

• After seventeen workers and their families vanished from a logging camp, the Demon Slayer Corps sent Kanae Kocho and two [Kanoto]-rank swordsmen to investigate.
• Kanae and her team found drag marks leading into the forest and discovered a broken Nichirin Blade embedded in a boulder.
• A demon burst from a tree and attacked the three slayers with flying wood splinters.
• One swordsman struck the demon but could not cut through its hardened body, and the demon killed him during the fight.
• Kanae severed the demon's arm with Flower Breathing while the surviving swordsman pulled their injured companion away.
• The demon later killed one [Kanoto]-rank swordsman and trapped Kanae and the remaining swordsman in the forest, prompting Kanae to request reinforcements.

Kanae pursued a demon through the forest with two swordsmen, but it lured them into a trap and killed one while badly injuring the other. After discovering that it could harden its body into metal, Kanae sent her Kasugai Crow for reinforcements and vowed to slay the demon that night.

• Kanae and the two swordsmen pursued the demon through the forest after learning it had captured people as winter food.
• The ground collapsed beneath Kanae, and the demon attacked the other swordsmen, killing one and knocking the other unconscious.
• Kanae fought the demon with Flower Breathing, but her blade could no longer cut through its metal-hard body.
• Kanae realized the demon had adapted its body through contact with wood and steel, then called for emergency reinforcements through her Kasugai Crow.
• Kanae protected the crow from the demon's thrown wood and declared that she would slay the demon that night.

Kanae held off the demon Mu while Kojiro rescued the missing loggers, but Mu’s larger brother Luo emerged from the forest before reinforcements arrived. With the civilians fleeing and Kanae cornered by two demons, the story left her facing a far more dangerous fight.

• Kanae distracted Mu so the wounded Kojiro could crawl away and search for the missing loggers.
• Kojiro returned with seven or eight rescued loggers, but a Wooden Hound killed an old man as Kanae rushed to help them.
• Kanae ordered Kojiro to lead the civilians south while she stayed behind to hold off Mu and the hounds.
• Mu revealed that it had surrounded the escape routes and taunted Kanae as the civilians fled.
• Luo emerged from the forest and joined his younger brother Mu, leaving Kanae facing two demons before reinforcements arrived.

Kanae fought two demons at once, nearly beheaded the thinner one, and was left exhausted when the burly demon threatened to kill her. A mysterious three-sword swordsman descended to face the demon and asked what it had said about the Twelve Kizuki.

• The burly demon chased after Kojiro and the fleeing civilians while the thin demon trapped Kanae with wooden spears and hounds.
• Kanae used Flower Breathing’s Seventh Form, Fleeting Blossom-Crimson Cherry, and nearly severed the thin demon’s neck, but exhaustion kept her from finishing it.
• The thin demon healed and prepared to kill Kanae, who feared she would die before she could protect Shinobu.
• A swordsman wreathed in electrical currents crashed down between Kanae and the demon, carrying three Nichirin Blades.
• The newcomer ignored Kanae’s warning and asked the demon what it had said about the Twelve Kizuki.

Xia Xi defeated Tanmu, a demon with a steel-hard body, and beheaded him after he refused to answer questions. As Tanmu died, his human memories returned, and Kanae prepared to leave to help Kojiro while Xia Xi seemed lost in thought.

• Xia Xi used Thunder Breathing to destroy Tanmu’s wooden hounds, then severed all four of Tanmu’s limbs when the demon charged with his metallic body.
• Xia Xi repeatedly cut down Tanmu’s regenerating limbs and questioned him, then beheaded him when Tanmu appeared unwilling to answer.
• As he died, Tanmu remembered his brother, the demon who transformed them, and the people he had killed, and he apologized for the bird that had brought misfortune.
• Kanae watched Tanmu die in tears and felt renewed hatred toward the Demon King, then turned to leave and help Kojiro.
• Kanae thanked Xia Xi for rescuing her, but noticed that he seemed lost in thought.

Xia Xi left the injured Kanae behind and hurried through the forest, where he found Tengen Uzui overwhelming a demon with his unusual fighting style. As Uzui prepared to deliver a finishing blow, Xia Xi’s expression suddenly changed.

• Xia Xi told the injured Kanae to stay behind, then used Water Breathing to rush toward another swordsman in danger.
• Kanae tried to follow but her injuries stopped her; she resolved to train harder so she could stand alongside stronger swordsmen.
• Xia Xi found Kojiro safe while Tengen Uzui battered the metallic demon with Nichirin Greatswords, explosives, and his distinctive techniques.
• Xia Xi checked Uzui’s panel and discovered that he had Ninjutsu alongside Thunder Breathing and Sound Breathing.
• Uzui crossed his blades and readied a decisive strike, and Xia Xi’s expression abruptly changed.

Xia Xi beat Tengen Uzui to the final blow against an Elite Monster, then introduced himself under a fake ninja identity and treated the mortally wounded Kojiro. He left the rescued villagers receiving emergency care while he focused on gaining experience.

• Xia Xi used Thunder Breathing to behead the demon just before Tengen Uzui could strike, gaining proficiency.
• Xia Xi called himself Kurumazuka Natsumi, a Special Jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village, and Uzui recognized his Thunder Breathing as connected to Nikaido.
• Xia Xi and Uzui found the wounded Kanoto swordsman Kojiro, and Xia Xi set his bones and treated his injuries with Medicine.
• Xia Xi called over the rescued villagers and began treating them one by one to gain experience.

Xia Xi treated the injured after the battle, then stunned Tengen Uzui and Kanae Kocho by demonstrating four Breathing Styles and saying he planned to learn Firefire Breathing as well. He began treating Kanae, who became flustered, and the chapter ended with her wrapped in ointment and bandages as Xia Xi asked why she was blushing.

• Tengen Uzui questioned Xia Xi about his medical skills, and Xia Xi said he had taught himself.
• Kanae Kocho arrived and asked how Xia Xi could use Water Breathing despite practicing Thunder Breathing.
• Xia Xi demonstrated Wind, Water, Stone, and Thunder Breathing, then said he intended to learn Firefire Breathing.
• Xia Xi offered to treat Kanae's injuries, and she blushed as he approached.
• Xia Xi used the system's emergency treatment plan to bandage Kanae, then asked what she was blushing about.

Xia Xi treated Kanae’s injuries, then joined her and Tengen Uzui in leading the survivors out of the woods. After Xia Xi fooled the villagers with a passbook presented as official identification, Uzui praised him and proposed a celebratory feast.

• Xia Xi carefully treated Kanae’s wounds and set her injured bones, leaving her flustered while he worried that her injuries might be infected.
• Tengen Uzui teased Kanae and proudly revealed that he had three wives, prompting Xia Xi to marvel at his marriage and good fortune.
• Xia Xi helped a Kanoto-ranked swordsman stand, then joined Kanae and Uzui in guiding the woodcutters out of the woods.
• Kanae told the woodcutters that the group belonged to the Demon Slayer Corps, but Xia Xi displayed a Central Bank passbook as supposed government identification and quieted their questions.
• Uzui praised Xia Xi, invited him to become a Hashira alongside him, and proposed a grand celebratory feast for the three of them.

After the mission, Xia Xi, Kanae, and Tengen Uzui celebrated at a lively food stall, where Xia Xi reflected on the comfort of ordinary life and discussed his plans to learn multiple Breathing Styles. He asked Uzui and Kanae for advice on developing a Breathing Style of his own, leaving them startled by how accurately he had identified their styles' origins.

• The Kakushi took the injured Kojiro to a nearby Wisteria House after the survivors were handed over to the local police.
• Tengen Uzui brought Xia Xi and Kanae to his favorite food stall and ordered a lavish spread for their victory feast.
• Xia Xi reminisced about enjoying lively restaurants in his past life, then told Uzui that he preferred ice-cold cola to sake.
• Xia Xi declined Uzui's offer to team up because he wanted to train and eventually develop his own Breathing Style.
• Xia Xi asked Uzui and Kanae for advice on their derived Breathing Styles, surprising them by recognizing their origins.

Xia Xi discussed Tengen Uzui’s Sound Breathing and warned him that his underdeveloped Breathing Style could leave him outmatched by stronger demons. Their serious conversation ended in a spill, but Xia Xi’s advice stayed with Tengen as he reflected on his training.

• Uzui explained how he developed Sound Breathing from Thunder Breathing to suit his ninja skills, tactics, and weapons.
• As they ate and drank, Xia Xi noticed Uzui’s skill levels and worried that he might someday die.
• Xia Xi used a cracked wooden cup as an analogy to explain how Uzui’s weak Breathing Style could become a limiting weakness against powerful demons.
• Tea spilled across the table and onto Uzui’s trousers, prompting Kanae to giggle and offer her handkerchief.
• Uzui called for a sturdier cup and quietly reflected on Xia Xi’s warning.

Xia Xi helped the busy restaurant by cooking, while Tengen and Kanae discussed their impressions of him and shared personal histories. The conversation was interrupted when Tengen’s three wives arrived with a new assignment from Oyakata-sama, requiring them to leave that night.

• Xia Xi entered the kitchen and impressed the owner, Tengen, and Kanae with his cooking skills.
• Tengen asked Kanae how she viewed Xia Xi, and she said she respected him and would rather watch his progress as a comrade than pursue him romantically.
• Xia Xi returned with food for several tables, and Tengen teased him and Kanae about his future wife.
• Kanae described her past and her younger sister Shinobu, while Xia Xi shared a sorrowful account of his family being killed by demons.
• Three women arrived and told Tengen that Oyakata-sama had sent a new assignment requiring them to leave that night.

Xia Xi met Tengen Uzui’s three wives, then fled with Kanae after paying their own share of Uzui’s unpaid dinner. He planned to visit his senior fellow disciple in Yokohama before heading to the Rengoku Family, and he and Kanae promised to grow stronger together; afterward, Xia Xi remembered he had stood up Persimmon.

• Tengen introduced Hinatsuru Tanizaki, Makio Ishigami, and Suma Higashiyama as his wives before leaving on a mission without paying the bill.
• Xia Xi paid for himself and Kanae, then used Thunder Breathing to escape with her while leaving Uzui’s share on his tab.
• In a quiet alley, Xia Xi told Kanae he planned to visit Igarashi Usen in Yokohama and might later visit the Rengoku Family.
• Kanae encouraged Xia Xi to create a powerful Breathing Style and become a Hashira, and they promised to grow stronger together.
• Xia Xi remembered that he had promised to eat grilled meat with Persimmon and had stood her up.

Xia Xi met Igarashi Usen, a gentle but formidable swordsman who explained how studying the underlying logic of Breathing Styles could lead to a deeper understanding of power. Igarashi demonstrated his Pre-Initiative by predicting a barista’s movements, leaving Xia Xi astonished.

• Igarashi Usen took Xia Xi to a café and discussed everyday life while Xia Xi assessed his extraordinary strength.
• Igarashi described true strength as consciousness and logic, then recognized that Xia Xi was studying multiple Breathing Styles to understand their shared principles.
• Igarashi explained that the different Breathing Styles applied distinct forms of logic to force and could point toward a more fundamental way of wielding power.
• Igarashi asked Xia Xi to observe the café’s patrons, then demonstrated how he inferred the barista’s habits and predicted his actions.
• The barista knocked a cup and instinctively steadied it as Igarashi had predicted, and Igarashi named his ability Pre-Initiative.

Igarashi Usen trained Xia Xi in Pre-Initiative over two months while helping him improve his swordsmanship and enjoy Yokohama. Xia Xi made major progress and received his custom-made secondary Nichirin Blades, which he named Severing Wind.

• Igarashi explained Pre-Initiative and agreed to teach Xia Xi, first taking him around Yokohama as part of his training.
• Igarashi trained Xia Xi in observation, prediction, swordsmanship, demon-slaying, and combat against different fighting styles.
• After two months, Xia Xi improved his Breathing Styles and skills, raised his achievement points to 8, and reached a power level of 189.
• Hido Tamamaru brought Xia Xi the custom-made pair of Nichirin punch daggers forged by Master Tetsuchikawahara.
• Xia Xi watched the daggers change color to silvery white and named them Severing Wind.

Xia Xi tested his new punch-dagger Nichirin Blade, Severing Wind, and explained to Igarashi why he wanted it as a secondary weapon. He sparred with Igarashi to try the weapon in combat, leaving the Mist Pillar impressed by his skill and experience.

• Yumaru explained that Severing Wind was a prototype and asked Xia Xi to record feedback from training and combat.
• Xia Xi switched between Severing Wind and Sandai Yasushi, discovering that weapon mastery was tracked separately for each type.
• Xia Xi told Igarashi that he wanted the punch dagger as a secondary weapon, citing its speed and maneuverability alongside his preference for fighting with his fists.
• Igarashi invited Xia Xi to spar, and Xia Xi accepted, calling him Senior Brother Aizen before correcting himself to Usen.
• Xia Xi rushed Igarashi with a feint and a punch-dagger uppercut, then slipped inside his sword's range and pressed an attack that made Igarashi marvel at his experience.

Xia Xi tested his boxing-inspired techniques against Igarashi, a Hashira whose Pre-Initiative repeatedly anticipated and countered his attacks. He unleashed a devastating Inch Punch Splitter that finally broke through Igarashi’s defense and sent him flying.

• Xia Xi used Pendulum Shift and a Cross Counter, but Igarashi dodged the attack without using a Breathing Style.
• Xia Xi combined Thunder Breathing with rapid jabs, but Igarashi predicted his punches and redirected them.
• Igarashi gained control of the spar, countering Xia Xi’s attacks and forcing him to defend as his stamina faded.
• Xia Xi used Water Breathing to create a defensive circle that made Igarashi’s strike miss, then prepared a powerful Stone Breathing punch.
• Xia Xi’s Inch Punch Splitter overwhelmed Igarashi’s Mist Breathing defense and blasted him backward, leaving cracks in the ground where he landed.