Chapter Summaries

Matsuyama Daimon and Nikaido Mei fought Lower Rank Six Shakutarō and defeated him with their combined Breathing Styles and Wisteria-poisoned blades. They left him alive and prepared to find the puppets and carry out the plan while Kurumaji and Muzan Kibutsuji battled elsewhere in the mountains.

• Shakutarō used his lava Blood Demon Art to keep Matsuyama and Nikaido at bay, but their alternating attacks began to wear him down.
• Matsuyama and Nikaido gained an advantage through their training, teamwork, and Wisteria-poisoned Nichirin blades.
• After Matsuyama cut off Shakutarō’s hand, Nikaido unleashed Thunder Breathing’s Seventh Form and cleaved the demon in two.
• Matsuyama battered Shakutarō until he passed out, then reflected on his former disciple Fudō Hino and the Upper Ranks.
• Nikaido urged Matsuyama to help drag Shakutarō away so they could find the puppets and deal with him according to the plan.

Persimmon, revealed as Yukishiro Seiko, confronted the newly promoted Upper Rank Six Rui and his demon family. After she overwhelmed his family members and broke through his threads, Rui defended himself as Muzan ordered him to stop playing and help.

• Persimmon cut down Rui’s Father, making Rui’s family members urge him to retreat.
• Rui used his Blood Demon Art to punish Mother and Older Sister for trying to flee, then questioned how Persimmon could be so strong.
• Rui’s Older Brother attacked Persimmon from behind with poison, but she repelled him with Third Form: Moon Between Snow.
• Rui asked Persimmon to join his family, but she questioned his idea of family and lunged at him with Second Form: Cold Lamp.
• Persimmon sliced through Rui’s threads, forcing him to defend himself with Killing Eye Cage as Muzan ordered him to help.

Persimmon overwhelmed Rui in battle, forcing him to reclaim his power from the Demons he had made pose as his family. She challenged his twisted idea of family and activated her war mark as their fight continued.

• Persimmon broke through Rui’s crimson thread shield, struck him down, and cut his body in half with Snow Breathing.
• Rui used Returning to the Nest to reclaim power from Mother, Elder Sister, Elder Brother, and Father, restoring his body and raising his Energy Level.
• Persimmon rebuked Rui for abandoning those he called family and asked why he had not protected them himself.
• Persim activated her war mark, pushed her peak strength above 1,000, and began unfolding a snowy battlefield with her Nichirin Blade.

Murata rushed to help Giyu but defeated several demons and Lower Rank Four before reaching the battlefield. He arrived to find two Water Breathing swordsmen and an orange-haired boy fighting Upper Rank Three, Akaza, and the boy welcomed him as reinforcements.

• Murata raced through the mountains to support Giyu, resolving to protect his friend even if it cost him his life.
• Murata used Water Breathing’s Tenth Form, Constant Flux, to cut through several demons in his path.
• Murata defeated Lower Rank Four, Meat Mountain, with a swift sequence of strikes and continued toward the battlefield.
• Murata reached the devastated mountainside and recognized Akaza, Upper Rank Three, fighting two Water Breathing swordsmen.
• The orange-haired boy greeted Murata and declared that his arrival had turned the battle around.

Akaza fought Kyojuro Rengoku and Giyu Tomioka after taking a detour through the mountains to avoid powerful fighting spirits. He pushed the two provisional Hashira hard and recognized their skill, while Giyu’s thoughts turned to Urokodaki’s former master; the fight continued as Giyu intensified his Water Breathing attacks.

• Akaza avoided the Hashira waiting along his expected route and unleashed Star Scatter when two Demon Slayer swordsmen blocked his way.
• Kyojuro and Giyu attacked Akaza together, but he countered their strikes and sent them flying.
• Akaza praised the pair’s swordsmanship while pressing them with increasingly fast and powerful attacks.
• Akaza dodged Giyu’s Water Surface Slash and recalled fighting a Water Hashira fifty years earlier.
• Giyu remembered that Urokodaki’s former master had died on a mission involving an Upper Rank and intensified his attack with Flowing Dance: Disorder.

Akaza overwhelmed Giyu and Kyojuro with his martial arts and urged them to become demons, but the two young swordsmen activated their War Marks and Grip of Ten Thousand Jun. Their Nichirin Blades turned bright red as they prepared to fight back.

• Akaza praised Giyu and Kyojuro's skill, learned Kyojuro's name, and discovered Giyu's name when he kicked him into the air.
• Akaza activated Compass Needle and used his Destructive Death techniques to batter both swordsmen.
• Akaza offered the boys a choice between dying, stepping aside, or becoming demons and joining him in pursuit of the supreme territory.
• Giyu and Kyojuro activated their War Marks, sharply increasing their strength and speed.
• The two activated Grip of Ten Thousand Jun, turning their Nichirin Blades bright red.

Giyu and Kyojuro used their War Marks and Bright Red Nichirin Blades to pressure Akaza, but he adapted and broke Giyu’s sword. The chapter ended with Giyu fighting Akaza barehanded until Kyojuro came to his rescue.

• Kyojuro and Giyu refused Akaza’s offer to become demons, explaining that they already knew a Supreme Territory.
• Their Bright Red Nichirin Blades slowed Akaza’s regeneration, and the marked boys briefly forced him to evade their attacks.
• Akaza adapted to their sword techniques, countered their strongest forms, and began targeting their blades and exposed bodies.
• Akaza caught Kyojuro’s blade but was kept from breaking it when Giyu attacked; he then snapped Giyu’s Nichirin Blade with a kick.
• Giyu fought Akaza hand-to-hand despite losing his sword, holding him off until Kyojuro arrived to help.

Giyu, Kyojuro, and Makomo fought Akaza together, using their War Marks and Bright Red Nichirin Blades to hold him off while they waited for reinforcements. As Akaza prepared to end the battle, the swordsmen countered him, and another Water Breathing swordsman arrived.

• Kyojuro threw Giyu his spare Nichirin Blade, allowing the two to keep fighting Akaza until Makomo arrived.
• Makomo joined Giyu and Kyojuro, and her marked Rain Breathing attack forced Akaza to fight more cautiously.
• Makomo refused Akaza's offer to leave, while the three swordsmen struggled to keep their War Marks active against his Blood Demon Art.
• Giyu taunted Akaza, prompting him to focus on Giyu and prepare a powerful technique.
• Kyojuro interrupted Akaza with A Thousand Suns Ablaze, and Giyu and Makomo followed with a joint Constant Flux attack.
• Another Water Breathing swordsman charged into the battle, surprising Akaza.

Murata overcame his fear and awakened a new Water Breathing technique, wounding Akaza and helping the Provisional Hashira take control of the fight. The swordsmen continued their coordinated assault with victory within reach.

• Akaza sensed Murata's wavering fighting spirit and charged at him, aiming to break through the weakest part of the encirclement.
• Murata awakened his War Mark and used his newly created Eleventh Form: Water Surface: Crossroads Track to wound Akaza's arm with his Bright Red Nichirin Blade.
• Giyu, Kyojuro, and Makomo praised Murata and pressed their attack while Akaza recoiled onto a tree.
• Murata joined Giyu, Kyojuro, and Makomo in their coordinated Water Breathing formation, forcing Akaza onto the back foot.

Akaza unleashed his ultimate technique against the four Provisional Hashira, but they survived the barrage and kept fighting until Sabito arrived. Akaza had lost an arm and a leg, while the exhausted swordsmen were badly injured and Murata remained almost unscathed.

• Akaza resisted the urge to flee and activated his Blood Demon Art: Domain Expansion, unleashing Final Form: Azure-Silver Scattered Afterglow against the four swordsmen.
• Makomo was blasted away, Kyojuro was driven back, and Giyu used Eleventh Form: Dead Calm to intercept Akaza's attacks before his defense was overwhelmed.
• The middle-parted swordsman leaped out from behind the fallen Giyu and severed one of Akaza's arms with a Bright Red Nichirin Blade, but Akaza kicked him away.
• Akaza struggled to regenerate his severed arm as the injured swordsmen continued to rise and fight him.
• Sabito arrived to find Akaza badly wounded and the Provisional Hashira battered, while Murata's clothes were only slightly dirty.

Sabito and the other Provisional Hashira defeated Akaza, and Sabito challenged his obsession with strength as Akaza’s lost memories began to surface. The swordsmen captured him alive for Xia Xi, while Sendai’s Seventh Squad faced the new Lower Ranks Susamaru and Yahaba.

• Sabito arrived as Akaza lay crippled by the Provisional Hashira’s Bright Red Nichirin Blades, and Akaza mocked them for fighting as a group.
• Sabito rejected Akaza’s demands for an honorable duel, saying demons who ate people and murdered innocents were not owed honor.
• Sabito reminded Akaza that his past crimes had brought about his defeat, and Akaza questioned whether pursuing strength had been wrong.
• Akaza briefly saw Koyuki and struggled to recover memories suppressed by Muzan’s Blood before asking whether Sabito would kill him.
• Sabito said Akaza was still useful and subdued him with anesthetic-coated iron rods for Xia Xi.
• Susamaru and Yahaba struggled against Hozō Yuto, Dingqi Shanhua, and Fujian Hui, while Yahaba urged Susamaru to escape alone.

Dingqi, Kozō, and Tomioka fought the teamed Lower Ranks Yahaba and Susamaru, while Tomioka used wisteria smoke to reveal Yahaba’s invisible arrows and turn the battle in their favor. Elsewhere, Kazami Kōgi and Fūma Ichimei subdued Lower Rank Five, then discovered that several of Fūma’s subordinates had gone missing near Frontline Base Three.

• Dingqi, Kozō, and Tomioka struggled to overcome Yahaba’s vector-controlling arrows and Susamaru’s enhanced temari attacks as the demons tried to break away.
• Tomioka threw wisteria smoke bombs into the fight, making Yahaba’s invisible arrows visible and weakening both demons with poison.
• The three Provisional Hashira resumed their attacks, confident that the revealed arrows had decided the battle.
• Kazami Kōgi and Fūma Ichimei, aided by White Fang, subdued Lower Rank Five with Wind Breathing and anesthetic-tipped iron rods.
• Kazami contacted nearby Combat Puppets while Fūma discovered that several of his sentries had gone silent near Frontline Base Three.

Upper Rank Three Dark Blade overwhelmed the defenders at Frontline Base Three, including Provisional Hashira Kaya no Kuang Jin and Uzui Gen'nosuke. After knocking Kuang Jin aside, Dark Blade confronted Gen'nosuke and rejected the identity of his father, declaring himself Dark Blade.

• At Frontline Base Two, Izumo reported that the medical station was safe and asked whether another base needed support.
• The chapter described Base One's demon research and Base Three's role as a radio relay connecting the mountain front to Headquarters.
• Dark Blade attacked Base Three, defeating Provisional Hashira Dōjima Kazuma and Kojiro and leaving its other defenders dead or wounded.
• Uzui Gen'nosuke and Kaya no Kuang Jin fought Dark Blade together but could not overcome him, despite Gen'nosuke's ninjutsu and Kuang Jin's war mark.
• Dark Blade battered Kuang Jin out of his war-mark state and told Gen'nosuke that he had abandoned his former identity and was now Upper Rank Three, Dark Blade.

After becoming Upper Rank Three, Uzui Seshū infiltrated a Demon Slayer Corps base and found his son, Uzui Gen'nosuke, among those defending it. Seshū tried to persuade Gen'nosuke to become a demon, but Gen'nosuke rejected him and blamed him for killing his childhood dog.

• Uzui Seshū became an Upper Rank after Muzan promoted him to fill a vacancy and avoid risking Gyokko in a rank replacement blood battle.
• Using his ninja skills, Seshū decoded battlefield intelligence and infiltrated Frontline Base No. 3 instead of rushing to Muzan's aid.
• Seshū defeated Kasugai Kuang Jin and confronted his son, Uzui Gen'nosuke, at the base.
• Seshū praised his demon body and urged Gen'nosuke to join him, dismissing his concerns about eating humans and Muzan's control.
• Gen'nosuke refused, recalled choosing a different life, and said Seshū had killed his dog when he was a child.
• Gen'nosuke took up Sound Breathing and told Seshū that he was the one who had betrayed the Uzui Family.

Uzui Gen'nosuke fought his demon father, Upper Rank Three Uzui Seshū, but Seshū’s strength and Blood Demon Art overwhelmed him. When Seshū controlled the wounded swordsmen to attack Gen'nosuke, Kuang Jin urged him to cut him down, though Gen'nosuke doubted he could defeat his father afterward.

• Upper Rank Three Uzui Seshū taunted Gen'nosuke about his combat skills and overwhelmed him with techniques he had taught him.
• Gen'nosuke used the Ninja Village’s Possession Release and Sound Breathing together, then attempted to behead Seshū with a wisteria-coated blade.
• Seshū transformed his body into intangible shadow, explaining that his Blood Demon Art made him immune to Gen'nosuke’s attacks.
• Seshū used shadow to control the injured swordsmen and forced them to attack Gen'nosuke.
• Kuang Jin resisted the control and told Gen'nosuke to cut him down and defeat Seshū, while Gen'nosuke silently doubted he could win.

Gen'nosuke stalled Dark Blade until Tengen Uzui arrived to fight his demon father. Tengen pressed the attack, but Dark Blade believed his regeneration and Blood Demon Art made him impossible to defeat.

• Gen'nosuke continued fighting Dark Blade to buy time for stronger reinforcements.
• Dark Blade moved to end the fight, but leaped away as Tengen Uzui crashed into the clearing with Sound Breathing.
• Tengen protected Gen'nosuke, apologized to the controlled swordsmen for arriving late, and confronted Dark Blade.
• Tengen and Dark Blade exchanged blows, and Tengen's strength and speed surprised his father.
• Dark Blade claimed Tengen could not defeat him because he was a demon who had overcome decapitation, while Tengen doubted his judgment.

Tengen Uzui fought Upper Rank Three, Uzui Seshū, and used his training, Transparent World, and Ninja Village tools to counter the demon’s power and Blood Demon Art. After Tengen’s flash bombs freed the controlled Swordsmen, Seshū fled, but Tengen activated his war mark and pursued him.

• Tengen Uzui used Total Concentration and Sound Breathing to overpower Uzui Seshū, forcing him to strengthen himself with the Ninja Village’s secret arts.
• Seshū summoned the controlled Swordsmen to attack Tengen, who parried their blows while Gen'nosuke warned him that shadows controlled them.
• Tengen used Ninja Village flash bombs to dissolve Seshū’s shadow control and free the Swordsmen.
• Seshū gouged out his eyes to recover from the flash, while Kuang Jin attacked him with Mist Breathing and missed as he fled.
• Tengen activated his Sound Breathing war mark and prepared to stop Seshū from escaping.

Tengen defeated Upper Rank Three, Uzui Seshū, and brought him back alive to the base. Meanwhile, Xia Xi continued fighting Muzan, whose poison had stopped working after Xia Xi drank from a special metal bottle.

• Tengen used Sound Breathing’s Ninth Form and his Bright Red Nichirin Blade to cut Dark Blade in two, defeating him.
• Tengen told Uzui Seshū that his father had died when he became a demon, then restrained him and dragged him toward the base.
• Gen'nosuke thanked Tengen, while Kuang Jin brought over a damaged Mechanism Puppet that could still operate.
• Xia Xi and Muzan’s battle devastated the surrounding mountains, with Xia Xi battered but still holding his defensive position.
• Muzan’s attacks failed to inflict substantial damage on Xia Xi, who drank from a Special Metal Bottle after being struck by poisoned whips.
• Muzan discovered that the cellular poison he had left in Xia Xi had stopped working.

Xia Xi fought Muzan with poison antidotes, powerful sword strikes, and an Inhibitor serum Tamayo had made from Muzan’s blood. After Muzan drove him back in a furious attack, he noticed that Xia Xi’s reactions had slowed.

• Muzan wondered how the Demon Slayer Corps had prepared an Antidote for his poison, while Xia Xi used his last dose as the poison built up again.
• Xia Xi unleashed a powerful Sunlight · Desert slash, but Muzan quickly healed and taunted him about the lethal strain of his Breathing Style.
• Xia Xi ran from Muzan, retrieved an Inhibitor serum delivered by Ninja Rats, and injected himself, stabilizing his condition against Muzan’s poison.
• Muzan spotted the Primarch War Rats retreating underground, while Xia Xi cut off his arm and kicked him before Muzan regenerated and lashed out.
• Muzan’s whip strike sent Xia Xi flying, and the Demon King noticed that Xia Xi seemed slower to react than before.

Muzan and Xia Xi both pretended to weaken during their prolonged battle, while Xia Xi gained experience from the deaths of Susamaru and Yahaba. Kanae and Shinobu arrived with the defeated Gyokko, whom Xia Xi killed with a broken Nichirin Blade, leaving the fight against Muzan unresolved.

• Muzan noticed Xia Xi appeared to be tiring and slowed his attacks to keep him fighting, while Xia Xi saw through the act and welcomed the delay.
• Xia Xi received experience from the deaths of Lower Rank Two Susamaru and Lower Rank Three Yahaba, raising his Dawn Breathing proficiency.
• Kanae and Shinobu Kocho brought the wounded Gyokko to the Central Battlefield and saw Xia Xi battling Muzan.
• Xia Xi kicked a broken Nichirin Blade into its Bright Red state and sent it through Gyokko's neck, killing the Upper Rank Four demon.