Chapter Summaries

Yan Zi and Sayo settled into life at the Northern Borderlands Dojo, where Makomo and Yukishiro Seiko helped train and care for them. As the girls gathered for tea and snacks, Yan Zi asked why everyone called Seiko “Persimmon,” and Makomo said Xia Xi had started the nickname.

• Yan Zi trained as an apprentice candidate while Sayo studied reading and writing with the Dojo’s staff and Persimmon.
• Makomo’s new Breathing Style took shape, and Kuang Jin continued his Mist Breathing training while studying the Man’yōshū with Sayo.
• After training, Yan Zi, Sayo, and Makomo rested and teased one another in the back courtyard.
• Yukishiro Seiko brought tea and Xia Xi’s cookies, then chatted with the girls and checked on their training and studies.
• Yan Zi asked Makomo why everyone called Seiko Persimmon, and Makomo answered that Xia Xi called her that.

Yan Zi guessed that Xia Xi and Xuezou shared a special closeness because he called her “Persimmon,” while Xia Xi remained unaware of her suspicions. After finding a letter from his master Kazami Kōgi, Xia Xi learned that Kazami planned to visit and wondered with Xuezou whether he should renovate the sanctuary.

• Yan Zi told Makomo how Xia Xi’s nickname for Xuezou had spread through the dojo and wondered if the two were romantically involved.
• Xuezou said she had once been bothered by the nickname but later found it cute, while Yan Zi concluded it mattered because Xia Xi had given it to her.
• Xia Xi joined the group, asked Xuezou to help him find a letter from Master Kazami, and left the courtyard with her.
• Xia Xi found Kazami Kōgi’s letter, which said Kazami planned to visit Sendai, see Xia Xi and his former disciple, and bring a surprise.
• Xia Xi asked Xuezou whether he should renovate the sanctuary before Kazami arrived.

Xia Xi reassured Yan Zi about meeting Kazami and described Kazami and their fellow disciple Arashi Jūgo. He explained the danger posed by demons, boasted that he could defeat them, and left Sayo wondering why everyone doubted Kuang Jin.

• Yan Zi asked Xia Xi what Kazami was like, and Xia Xi described his traditional, stubborn teaching style and his care for his disciples.
• Xia Xi told Yan Zi that Arashi Jūgo was strong, kind, wealthy, and had supported him while he developed his Breathing Style.
• Yan Zi asked why Igarashi had retired, and Xia Xi explained that demons included powerful enemies who could defeat even strong Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen.
• Xia Xi claimed he was the strongest and could defeat the demons, prompting Yan Zi to imagine becoming stronger than Kazami someday.
• Sayo asked how Kuang Jin compared with Kazami, but Xia Xi and Yan Zi dodged the question and left her confused.

Kazami Kōgi arrived at the Dojo and reunited with Xia Xi, who had been teasing him about his strength. Kazami introduced a new, unruly child he had taken in: Sanemi Shinazugawa.

• Xia Xi compared the retired Cultivators' strength to Takitsuki Kazetoriin and joked that Kazami Kōgi was an outdated measure of combat strength.
• Kazami Kōgi arrived with Sayo and confronted Xia Xi for insulting him, then checked whether Xia Xi had been injured.
• Xia Xi and Kazami Kōgi teased each other before Kazami asked about Kuang Jin and Xia Xi's Breathing Style training.
• Kazami Kōgi revealed he had taken in a talented child and called him into the Dojo.
• Sanemi Shinazugawa entered, challenged Xia Xi's strength, and caught Xia Xi's attention with his impressive status panel.

Xia Xi learned that Kuang Jin had brought Sanemi Shinazugawa to train under Kazami, and he introduced Yan Zi as Kazami’s new disciple. Sanemi reunited with Kuang Jin and met Yan Zi, whose familiarity and kindness stirred memories of his younger brother Genya.

• Xia Xi noticed Sanemi’s strong Wind Breathing potential and presented Yan Zi to Kazami as his new disciple.
• Kazami explained that Kuang Jin had met Sanemi during a mission and brought him to train at the dojo.
• Kuang Jin welcomed Sanemi, asked about his injuries, and encouraged him to stay for training and home-cooked meals.
• Sanemi questioned Kuang Jin’s poetry book, while Kuang Jin insisted that reciting poetry helped make someone the Corps’ strongest.
• Yan Zi teased Sanemi and claimed they had both once lived in Kyobashi District, prompting Sanemi to remember Genya and the kind older brother he might once have been.

Xia Xi learned more about Shinazugawa’s painful past and agreed to train him after he joined the Demon Slayer Corps. Kazami mistook Xia Xi’s closeness with Persimmon for romantic interest, while Xia Xi realized how vital she was to the dojo, and the chapter ended with Persimmon trembling and running a fever.

• Kazami told Xia Xi that Shinazugawa had fought demons with improvised weapons and seemed to carry deep pain, then revealed that he had rare blood.
• Xia Xi connected Shinazugawa’s situation to Kuang Jin’s younger brother, and Kazami asked him to look after Shinazugawa and train him at the dojo.
• Kazami questioned Xia Xi about Persimmon, but Xia Xi described her as his Tsuguko and praised her strength as a Provisional Hashira.
• Xia Xi realized Persimmon had become indispensable to the Northern Dojo and resolved to keep her happy.
• A tray clattered, and the others found Persimmon trembling and unusually hot.

Sanemi explored the Northern Borderlands Dojo, learned about its strongest swordsmen, and challenged Xia Xi to a fight. Xia Xi dismissed him as too weak for combat training and sent Makomo to spar with him instead, prompting Makomo to call him weak as well.

• Sanemi recognized that the Dojo's swordsmen were exceptionally strong and asked Kuang Jin who was strongest.
• Kuang Jin named Xia Xi as the strongest and the Persimmon Vice-Captain as the second strongest.
• Sanemi challenged Xia Xi to fight, but Xia Xi refused and told him to master his Breathing Style and basic fitness first.
• Yan Zi volunteered to spar with Sanemi, but Xia Xi turned her down because she had barely begun training.
• Xia Xi chose Makomo to spar with Sanemi, and Makomo said that he looked weak.

Sanemi Shinazugawa challenged Makomo and was swiftly defeated, then asked Xia Xi to train him. The chapter ended with Xia Xi smiling at Sanemi’s request to become his second senior brother.

• Sanemi objected to fighting Makomo, but Kazami and Kuang Jin warned him that she was strong.
• Makomo defeated Sanemi twice in quick succession, showing him the gap between their abilities.
• Sanemi repeatedly challenged Makomo and gradually realized she was beating him without using a Breathing Style.
• Sanemi decided that training with the Demon Slayer Corps could help him kill demons and asked Xia Xi to teach him.
• Sanemi called Xia Xi his second senior brother, and Xia Xi reacted with surprise.

Sanemi Shinazugawa adjusted to life among the Northern Borderlands Swordsmen as Xia Xi pushed him through an intensive training program that quickly improved his strength. Xia Xi then told Sanemi to join the group on a trip to Yokohama to visit retired Igarashi, dubbing their party the Wind Breathing Five Heroes.

• Kazami Kōgi was reassured when the Northern Borderlands Swordsmen welcomed Sanemi Shinazugawa and treated him as one of their own.
• Xia Xi put Sanemi through demanding personalized training, medicinal baths, and hours wearing a Breathing Correction Mask, while Sanemi complained but kept pushing himself.
• After less than a week, Sanemi found that he had grown much stronger, easily splitting a hardwood post without using Wind Breathing, and he asked Xia Xi for even more training.
• Xia Xi showed Persimmon the One-Two Rock Style puppet, which he planned to use as a sparring partner for Swordsmen nearing the prospective Hashira level.
• Kazami tried to make his Nichirin Sword turn bright red, but Xia Xi said Kazami lacked the required attributes and that the technique was difficult to achieve.
• Xia Xi told Sanemi to pack for a trip to Yokohama to visit retired Igarashi, and he named the group the Wind Breathing Five Heroes.

Igarashi Usen meditated on the limits of his Pre-Initiative while recovering from his injuries, then learned that Xia Xi and the others were expected at his residence. Snow forced Xia Xi’s group to continue their journey on foot, where Kazami reminded the disciples to treat Igarashi with care.

• Igarashi practiced Kendo in the cold and sensed his Pre-Initiative approaching a realm beyond ordinary perception, though he still felt a barrier remained.
• Bach urged Igarashi to care for his injured body and told him Xia Xi and the others might arrive the next day; Igarashi asked him to prepare extra cooking supplies for Xia Xi.
• Heavy snow stopped the trains to Tokyo, so Xia Xi, Kazami Kōgi, Kuang Jin, Sanemi Shinazugawa, Enko Onizuka, Persimmon, Hakimi, Street Girl, Yan Zi, and the others traveled south on foot.
• Kazami told the disciples to be polite and considerate when they met Igarashi, who could no longer fight demons.
• Sanemi felt awkward among the group but realized he did not dislike their companionable atmosphere.

Xia Xi and the children traveled toward Tokyo, where a Kasugai Crow warned them that a Powerful Demon had been driven into their path. The demon appeared before the group, eager to attack, leaving them facing an encounter in the woods.

• Persimmon, Kuang Jin, and Yan Zi gave Sanemi extra rice balls, and he ate them all before Xia Xi served lunch.
• Xia Xi led the group through the mountains toward Tokyo using the system’s navigation, while Sanemi struggled to keep up.
• A Kasugai Crow warned Xia Xi that a Powerful Demon was nearby after a Tokyo squad drove it into the area.
• A gaunt demon emerged from the woods and announced that the group would make easy snacks.

Mozhao encountered Xia Xi and the others in the forest and attacked, unaware they were Demon Slayer Corps members. Kuang Jin let Shinazugawa and Yan Zi gain combat experience while he protected them, and the group continued fighting Mozhao with his Blood Demon Art revealed.

• Mozhao mistook Xia Xi and the others for traveling dojo disciples and threatened to eat them.
• Xia Xi sent Kuang Jin to supervise Shinazugawa and Yan Zi as they fought Mozhao.
• Shinazugawa and Yan Zi attacked, but Mozhao’s tough body and strength overwhelmed them and sent them flying.
• Shinazugawa used Wind Breathing while Yan Zi charged with a powerful overhead slash, and Mozhao caught Shinazugawa’s blade and counterattacked.
• Mozhao used his Blood Demon Art, Demonic Ink, to send flying insects after Shinazugawa, but Kuang Jin cut them down with Arashi Breathing and warned Shinazugawa not to rely on getting wounded.
• Shinazugawa pulled free and attacked again, this time abandoning his reckless trading-injuries approach.

Sanemi Shinazugawa and Masachika Kume fought the demon Mozhao, with Kuang Jin shielding Sanemi as he gained experience under pressure. Mozhao escaped using clones, but Xia Xi tracked down and killed its real body, gaining enough experience to level up Stone Breathing.

• Persimmon took Yan Zi to safety while Sanemi Shinazugawa and Masachika Kume battled Mozhao together.
• Kuang Jin protected Sanemi from Mozhao’s attacks, and Sanemi’s Wind Breathing improved during the fight.
• Sanemi cut down one of Mozhao’s ink clones, but Kuang Jin realized the real demon was escaping among several false bodies.
• Xia Xi spotted Mozhao’s real body through the trees, charged through the obstacles, and crushed its head.
• Mozhao’s death gave Xia Xi enough experience to raise Stone Breathing to level 4, while Sanemi and Yan Zi reacted with horror at the aftermath.

On the way to Tokyo, Kuang Jin reflected on his bond with Sanemi and realized he should treat him as a capable friend rather than someone who needed constant protection. Around the campfire, the two made a promise to treat each other to a meal when one became a Hashira first, while Yan Zi joined their ambition and Yukichikai Chikako declined.

• Sanemi asked Kuang Jin why Xia Xi killed demons so brutally, and Kuang Jin said Xia Xi had watched his little sister be eaten and was also petty toward demons.
• The group reached the outskirts of Tokyo and rested at an abandoned post station, where Kuang Jin thought about how his companions had become like family and how Sanemi was his own person, not a replacement for Taiyi.
• Kuang Jin told Sanemi he wanted to become as strong as Xia Xi and proposed that they become rivals, while Sanemi said they could both become Hashira and that he only cared about killing demons.
• Kuang Jin promised to treat Sanemi to beef hot pot or grilled meat when one of them became a Hashira first, and Sanemi suggested having Xia Xi cook instead.
• Yan Zi joined their competition and declared she would become the strongest Hashira, while Yukichikai Chikako said she preferred to help the dojo and Xia Xi.

During a debate about whether any demons might be good or should be spared, Xia Xi explained that demons could escape Muzan’s control through rare external factors rather than love or willpower. He reassured Shinazugawa that his mother’s transformation was not proof she had failed to love her family or resist strongly enough, leaving Shinazugawa visibly conflicted but softened.

• Shinazugawa asked whether all demons deserved to die, and Yan Zi argued that demons were monsters who had all eaten people.
• Kuang Jin suggested Muzan’s control could make some demons kill against their human wishes, and Yan Zi wondered whether they should spare a harmless demon.
• Persimmon said she would try speaking with an unexpected demon and seek Xia Xi or the Master’s advice before deciding what to do.
• Xia Xi said hostile demons should be killed, unclear ones observed, and demons allied with humans could potentially become allies.
• When Shinazugawa said his mother should have overcome Muzan’s influence if love or willpower could defeat it, Xia Xi explained that rare external factors might let a demon escape control and reassured him that his mother had not failed her family.
• Shinazugawa’s expression softened as he considered Xia Xi’s explanation that his mother’s fate had depended on circumstances beyond her control.

Xia Xi discussed ways demons might escape Muzan’s control, easing Sanemi’s distress even as his bizarre ideas left the others baffled. The group reached Yokohama, where Arashi Jūgo welcomed them, and Yan Zi marveled at how handsome he was.

• Xia Xi described Muzan’s influence over demons as a network and speculated about ways to block or replace its control.
• Yan Zi, Persimmon, Sanemi, and Kuang Jin reacted to Xia Xi’s increasingly extreme suggestions for restraining or altering demons.
• Sanemi realized Xia Xi had been trying to comfort him, but Xia Xi fell asleep before Sanemi could respond.
• The group traveled to Yokohama and met Arashi Jūgo, who greeted Xia Xi and his cultivator, Kazami.
• Xia Xi noticed Arashi Jūgo looked frail but seemed more composed, while Yan Zi admired his appearance.

Xia Xi brought Yan Zi, Sanemi, Kuang Jin, and Yukishiro Seiko to meet his retired senior brother Igarashi, who welcomed them and gave them valuable protective ornaments. Igarashi gave Xia Xi and Seiko matching black and white magatama, leaving Seiko dazed as Xia Xi joined the pieces together.

• Xia Xi introduced Yan Zi and Sanemi to Igarashi with teasing descriptions, and Igarashi greeted them warmly.
• Igarashi recognized Kuang Jin’s progress and Seiko’s strength, then gave protective ornaments to Kuang Jin, Sanemi, Yan Zi, and Seiko.
• Igarashi pointed out that Seiko handled the dojo’s many daily tasks, prompting Xia Xi to realize how much the dojo depended on her.
• Igarashi gave Xia Xi a black magatama matching Seiko’s white one, and Xia Xi fitted them together into a circle.
• Seiko held on to her magatama and looked dazed when Xia Xi asked her to give it back.

Xia Xi hosted a family hot pot dinner at Igarashi’s residence, then asked his Senior Brother to help train Kuang Jin and teach him a newly mastered technique. The conversation revealed that Igarashi had unlocked Mimicry: Transparent World, leaving Xia Xi astonished that he had found a prerequisite for one of the supreme territories.

• Xia Xi prepared sukiyaki, seafood steamed egg, and fried peanuts, and Yan Zi, Persimmon, Shinazugawa, and Kuang Jin eagerly enjoyed the meal.
• Kazami offered sake, but Xia Xi, Arashi Jūgo, and Kuang Jin declined, so Kazami drank alone.
• Xia Xi invited Arashi Jūgo to retire at his Northern Territory dojo, and Arashi Jūgo teased him for wanting help with the dojo’s affairs.
• Xia Xi asked Arashi Jūgo to teach Kuang Jin Mist Breathing, and he considered arranging training with Igarashi, Kazami, and Persimmon for his juniors.
• Xia Xi noticed Igarashi’s new Mimicry: Transparent World skill and realized it was a prerequisite for a supreme territory.

Xia Xi explained that Igarashi’s [Pre-Initiative] resembled a lesser form of the [Transparent World], then asked how Igarashi had developed it. Igarashi described the demanding prerequisites behind the ability, and Xia Xi realized Upper Rank One might have mastered its complete version.

• Xia Xi demonstrated the [Grip of Ten Thousand Jun] on a hammer and explained how he thought it compared to Igarashi’s [Pre-Initiative].
• Igarashi recalled first sensing the ability during his fight with Akaza and said he had not fully mastered it then.
• Igarashi described using meditation and sword meditation to deepen his understanding of the flow of strength, while Xia Xi dubbed the result a budget version of the [Transparent World].
• Igarashi explained that the ability required physical control, a still mind, and a deep grasp of [Logic], and said talent and battle experience mattered more than training alone.
• After Igarashi joked that mastering it might take centuries, Xia Xi realized Upper Rank One could know the complete [Transparent World].

Xia Xi learned that demons were unlikely to master the supreme techniques Kokushibo might wield, then asked Igarashi how to train for the Transparent World. Igarashi began to explain his method, and the chapter ended with them arranging a chopstick contest.

• Xia Xi explained why demons would struggle to learn the Bright Red Nichirin Blade, the Grip of Ten Thousand Jun, and the Transparent World, and promised to inform Boss Ubuyashiki and the Nine Hashira about Kokushibo.
• Xia Xi insisted that he would grow stronger and joked that he, Kuang Jin, Sanemi, and the others could gang up on Upper Rank One once they learned the techniques.
• Igarashi told Xia Xi to begin training with Pre-Initiative, but Xia Xi admitted he had neglected it and asked Igarashi to demonstrate his newer technique.
• Xia Xi proposed a one-minute contest to pick up and steal peanuts with chopsticks, with the loser washing dishes alongside Shinazugawa.
• Shinazugawa agreed to wash dishes and challenged Xia Xi and Igarashi, while Masachika offered to help him.