Chapter Summaries

Gu Kouyi confronted Su Mu and assumed he planned to use Kanao as a hostage, while Su Mu sent the girl toward him instead. As Kanao approached Gu Kouyi, Su Mu raised his Nichirin Blade and lunged toward her, leaving Gu Kouyi to face the apparent attack.

• Gu Kouyi used his Wind Breathing speed to stop Su Mu, then waited for his companions rather than risk fighting alone.
• Su Mu set Kanao down and told Gu Kouyi he would not yield, while Gu Kouyi declared he would kill the demon even if Kanao had to be sacrificed.
• Su Mu told Kanao not to hate anyone if he died and ordered her to go to Gu Kouyi, though she initially clung to his sleeve.
• Kanao obeyed and walked toward Gu Kouyi, who urged her to hurry away from the demon.
• Gu Kouyi saw Su Mu raise his Nichirin Blade toward Kanao and believed the demon had been waiting to attack her.
• Su Mu lunged toward Kanao with his blade raised, while Gu Kouyi faced the choice of saving her or avoiding the fight.

Su Mu killed Gu Kouyi while escaping with Kanao, using her as bait to exploit Gu Kouyi’s attempt to save her. Hiroshi Furukawa and the other Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen found Gu Kouyi’s body and silently swore vengeance.

• Gu Kouyi rushed to save Kanao, but she obeyed Su Mu’s command to get down, leaving Gu Kouyi exposed to the demon’s attack.
• Su Mu killed Gu Kouyi with Dragon Hammer Flash and fled with Kanao, troubled by the swordsman’s sacrifice but determined to survive.
• Hiroshi Furukawa and the other Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen found Gu Kouyi’s corpse and mourned their fallen comrade.
• Hiroshi Furukawa and the swordsmen cut their arms and let their blood fall beside Gu Kouyi’s body, their grief turning to murderous intent.

Su Mu escaped the pursuing Demon Slayer Corps while carrying the weakened Kanao and searched the mountain for shelter from daylight. As they traveled, Kanao grieved over the swordsman Su Mu had killed and insisted she would never leave her uncle, while Su Mu reflected that people always changed.

• Su Mu confirmed he had shaken off the Demon Slayer Corps and helped Kanao rest before carrying her onward at a gentler pace.
• Kanao remembered the warmth in the slain swordsman's eyes and asked Su Mu whether the man had died because of her.
• Su Mu told Kanao that the swordsman had died because of him and warned her to stay away from demons, including himself.
• Kanao declared she would never distance herself from Su Mu, and he said people always changed as he looked at his blood-stained hands.

Su Mu sheltered Kanao in a cave and reflected on the guilt he felt after killing a human swordsman, while Hiroshi Furukawa’s squad pursued the demon toward Mount Sagiri. The squad decided to seek help from Sakonji Urokodaki in tracking their target.

• Su Mu carried Kanao into a cave, made a fire, and let her sleep beside it.
• Su Mu recalled killing a swordsman who had protected children and wondered whether Kanao would be affected by witnessing it.
• Hiroshi Furukawa and his squad identified the mountain ahead as Mount Sagiri and discussed Sakonji Urokodaki and his disciples.
• A swordsman suggested asking Urokodaki to help track the demon, and Hiroshi Furukawa agreed.

Hiroshi Furukawa sought Sakonji Urokodaki’s help tracking an unusual demon near Mount Sagiri, but Urokodaki received an urgent message and refused. The message revealed that a dangerous demon had appeared.

• Hiroshi Furukawa reached Sakonji Urokodaki’s home on Mount Sagiri and met Makomo, who went to fetch her master.
• Makomo worried that Sabito had died at Mount Fujikasane after Sakonji Urokodaki received news of his apparent failure to return.
• Sakonji Urokodaki descended the mountain with Makomo and heard Hiroshi Furukawa’s report about an unusual demon nearby.
• A Kasugai Crow delivered a letter, and Sakonji Urokodaki read it before telling Hiroshi Furukawa he could not help.
• After Hiroshi Furukawa left, Sakonji Urokodaki told Makomo that the demon had appeared.

Makomo realized that Sakonji Urokodaki had been summoned because Muzan Kibutsuji had appeared, while grieving the disciples who had not returned from Mount Fujikasane. Determined to pass next year’s selection, she took her Nichirin Blade and pursued Hiroshi Furukawa to face demons herself.

• Sakonji Urokodaki left Mount Sagiri after telling Makomo to keep training because a demon had appeared.
• Makomo recalled that Sabito and Giyu Tomioka had not returned from the Mount Fujikasane selection and suspected they had died.
• Makomo concluded that the demon who had alarmed the Demon Slayer Corps was Muzan Kibutsuji, the progenitor of demons.
• Makomo took her Nichirin Blade and vowed to pass the next Mount Fujikasane selection.
• Makomo put on her fox mask and set off after Hiroshi Furukawa to test herself against demons.

Su Mu nearly lost control when Kanao offered him her arm, forcing him to confront how his growing hunger could turn him into a monster. He apologized and gave Kanao the rescued drumstick, but remained troubled by the thought that he would eventually succumb to his demon instincts.

• Kanao woke in the cave and shared the food she had secretly hidden with Su Mu.
• Su Mu roasted a drumstick for Kanao and reassured her that she would not go hungry again.
• Kanao offered Su Mu her arm, believing he could eat her to satisfy his hunger, and he nearly bit her before angrily pushing her away.
• Kanao feared Su Mu would abandon her, then cautiously returned to lean against him.
• Su Mu regretted frightening Kanao, apologized, and gave her the drumstick while worrying that his hunger would one day overcome him.

Su Mu watched Kanao eat by the bonfire, then sent her outside to enjoy the sunlight while he practiced swordsmanship in the cave. Meanwhile, Hiroshi Furukawa’s group resumed their search for the demon, and Makomo asked to join their hunt so she could prepare for the Mount Fujikasane examination.

• Su Mu silently watched Kanao eat the food he roasted, then told her to go outside and get some sunshine.
• Kanao sat near the cave entrance in the sunlight, watching Su Mu practice with his Nichirin Blade.
• Hiroshi Furukawa returned from Mount Sagiri and told his companions that Master Urokodaki could not help them.
• Makomo arrived wearing her fox mask and asked Hiroshi Furukawa and the other swordsmen to let her hunt demons with them.
• Makomo explained that she wanted to face demons before the Mount Fujikasane examination so she would not panic.

Makomo persuaded Hiroshi Furukawa and his companions to let her join their demon hunt after defeating one of their swordsmen in a one-minute trial. She set out with them under orders to follow their instructions, and learned they were hunting a cruel demon skilled at disguise.

• Makomo asked Hiroshi Furukawa to let her join the hunt, and he refused because she had not passed the trial on Mount Fujikasane.
• Makomo insisted she would follow the group regardless, so Hiroshi Furukawa offered to accept her if she lasted one minute against his companion.
• Makomo used a flowing sword technique to blunt the swordsman's attack and placed her Nichirin Blade at his throat.
• Hiroshi Furukawa agreed to take Makomo along but ordered her to follow the group's instructions.
• Makomo asked what demon they were hunting, and Hiroshi Furukawa said it was cruel, cunning, and skilled at disguise.

Su Mu and Kanao searched a remote town for the Kamado family, but no one recognized their names, so they continued traveling. At Wild Wasteland Mountain, Makomo cooked for a group of swordsmen tracking a dangerous demon and asked Hiroshi Furukawa about it.

• Su Mu took Kanao from house to house, and she politely asked residents whether they knew the Kamado family; an elderly man did not recognize them and offered the pair shelter for the night.
• Su Mu declined the old man's offer and praised Kanao for helping him ask questions before carrying her onward to the next place.
• At Wild Wasteland Mountain, Makomo cooked a hot meal for the swordsmen gathered around the campfire.
• Hiroshi Furukawa told Makomo that a cruel demon skilled at disguises had killed a Hidden Ones member and a swordsman, and that they had been tracking it.
• Makomo hoped they would find the demon and cut off its head, while Hiroshi Furukawa grew flustered and walked away.