Arc 2Natagumo and Nezuko’s Trial

Kirishima Bupai dismantled the Eternal Paradise Cult, then intervened in the Mount Natagumo battle and helped Rui recover his memories before he died. At headquarters, Nezuko resisted Sanemi’s blood, and Kagaya placed her and Tanjiro under observation as special members of the Demon Slayer Corps.

  • Kirishima Bupai exposed the Eternal Paradise Cult’s demonic leaders, forced them and the villagers to work, and left Suzuran Town after the demons turned to ash.
  • Kirishima Bupai reported the cult to Kagaya Ubuyashiki, then joined Shinobu Kocho on Mount Natagumo and rescued Corps members trapped in cocoons.
  • Kirishima Bupai defeated the Spider Demon attacking Inosuke Hashibira and left Inosuke baffled with a trick about counting chocolates.
  • Kirishima Bupai intervened in Tanjiro and Nezuko’s fight with Rui, defeated Rui, and helped him remember how Muzan Kibutsuji had separated him from his parents.
  • Rui died by throwing himself onto a Nichirin Blade, and Shinobu Kocho killed the female demon before pursuing Tanjiro and Nezuko.
  • Kirishima Bupai stopped Shinobu from catching Tanjiro and Nezuko, and Inosuke and Kanao Tsuyuri clashed until a Kasugai Crow ordered everyone to bring the siblings to headquarters alive.
  • At the Hashira Meeting, Sanemi Shinazugawa tested Nezuko with his blood, but she resisted its scent and retreated into her box.
  • Kagaya Ubuyashiki halted Sanemi’s attack, accepted Kirishima Bupai’s support for Nezuko, and placed Tanjiro and Nezuko under observation as special members of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Chapters 26–50 Vol. 1 Read

Ch. 26Deeper into the Town Center

Kirishima Bupai fed the believers, restoring their senses and resolve, then sent Murata to investigate disappearances on Mount Natagumo. He entered the town center and followed a desperate man’s directions to the Eternal Paradise Cult’s church, where the fanatical believers gathered around him.

  • A Kasugai Crow told Kirishima Bupai that Murata was needed to investigate disappearances on Mount Natagumo, and Kirishima Bupai agreed to send him.
  • The villagers ate Kirishima Bupai’s hot pot, regained their taste and emotions, and praised him as Murata cheered for the Hashira.
  • Kirishima Bupai left the villagers in the Kakushi Squad’s care and ordered Murata to go to Mount Natagumo.
  • In the town center, a man begged Kirishima Bupai to save his wife and daughter, who had given their food and savings to the Eternal Paradise Cult.
  • The man directed Kirishima Bupai to the cult’s church in the Old Trading Company warehouse, and Kirishima Bupai approached as gaunt believers crowded around him.

Ch. 27Blood Demon Art

Kirishima Bupai infiltrated a warehouse and discovered three demons using a blood ritual, mist, and music to control starving believers. When the masked demon exposed an undercover believer’s father as a heretic and called for his purification, Kirishima watched from the roof as the crowd turned against the man.

  • Kirishima Bupai slipped past the believers, climbed onto the warehouse roof, and saw hundreds of starving people kneeling around a blood-drawn symbol.
  • Kirishima Bupai observed a female demon use Intoxicating Peach Miasma, a male demon’s song, and a masked demon’s scrutiny to control the believers.
  • The demons staged fake divine light with bronze mirrors while the believers chanted and prostrated themselves.
  • A middle-aged believer looked toward his undercover daughter, drawing the masked demon’s attention.
  • The masked demon accused the father of heresy, and the female demon and male demon stirred the crowd into chanting for his purification.

Ch. 28Overwhelming!

Kirishima Bupai interrupted a ritual where demons were preparing to burn a captive father, then effortlessly stopped the demons’ combined attack with a small motion of his Nichirin Blade. He left the demons restrained and horrified after saying that killing them outright would be a waste.

  • The believers dragged Xiaohui’s father to a stake and lit the fire while the demons urged the crowd to worship their true god.
  • Kirishima Bupai cut through the warehouse roof and descended into the ritual grounds, declaring that the demons’ paradise was over.
  • The three demons attacked Kirishima Bupai with sound waves, poisonous mist, and claws.
  • Kirishima Bupai exposed one inch of his blade, creating a web of spectral blue light that shattered the sound attack, froze the poison, and immobilized the masked demon.
  • The female demon realized Kirishima Bupai had used a spatial ability and feared what he meant by calling it a waste to kill them.

Ch. 29Bupai feigned sleep to lure the enemy

Kirishima Bupai defeated three demons and forced them to reclaim abandoned fields as punishment. After feigning sleep to lure them into trying to escape, he caught and battered them again, leaving them trapped beside the woods.

  • Kirishima Bupai used spatial restraints and a Bright Red Blade to cripple the amber-eyed male demon’s voice and sever the masked demon’s tendons.
  • Kirishima Bupai dragged the female demon down by her hair and ordered all three demons to till the abandoned fields before dawn.
  • The demons worked under Kirishima Bupai’s watch as he rested beside the fields with tea and his Kasugai Crow.
  • Kirishima Bupai feigned sleep, and the three demons seized the chance to sneak toward the woods.
  • Kirishima Bupai struck the masked demon’s leg, sent the amber-eyed male demon flying into the dirt, and slammed the female demon face-first into the ground.

Ch. 30The three demons: Doma is a fucking idiot!

Kirishima Bupai punished three demons who tried to escape by beating them and forcing them to guess his number, then ordered them to shout insults about Doma until dawn. The demons finished the ordeal exhausted, while the Kakushi Squad watched in astonishment.

  • Kirishima Bupai revealed he had been waiting for the demons to try escaping and ordered the Kakushi Squad to drag them back.
  • Kirishima Bupai beat the three demons until they begged for mercy, then made them guess a number from 1 to 100 and lashed them for every wrong answer.
  • Kirishima Bupai told the demons they could go free if they shouted “Doma is a fucking idiot” 100,000 times.
  • The three demons shouted the insult through the night until dawn, then collapsed from exhaustion.

Ch. 31Demon: No! I Don't Want to Live Anymore!

Kirishima Bupai forced three demons and hundreds of villagers to work the fields, using whips and sunlight to keep them in line and help the villagers recover from the Blood Demon Art. He also planted Dragon Blood Flower seeds to support their recovery.

  • Kirishima Bupai dragged three demons away from the sunlight and beat them when they begged to die.
  • Kakushi Squad members herded the villagers into the fields and ordered them to cultivate the soil.
  • Kirishima Bupai patrolled the villagers and whipped those who slowed down or continued preaching about their true god.
  • As the villagers worked in the sunlight, the haze from the Blood Demon Art gradually lifted.
  • Kirishima Bupai redeemed twenty Dragon Blood Flower seeds and gave them to a Kakushi member to plant.

Ch. 32The curtain fell

After two months of labor reform and sunlight, Kirishima Bupai brought the mission in Suzuran Town to a successful end and prepared to return to headquarters with evidence about the Eternal Paradise Cult. He left the villagers grateful and the three demon drudges reduced to ash.

  • Kirishima Bupai ordered villagers to prepare Dragon Blood Flower tea cakes to send to Oyakata-sama.
  • The Kasugai Crow suggested bringing grateful villagers to praise Kirishima to Oyakata-sama, but Kirishima rejected the idea.
  • Two villagers offered mountain delicacies and to deliver them personally, but Kirishima told them to hand everything to the Kakushi.
  • Kirishima questioned the villagers about whether they had destroyed every trace of the cult, and they furiously assured him they had.
  • The Kakushi Squad prepared to return to headquarters with the tea cakes and files documenting the cult and the mission.
  • Kirishima dragged the three demons into the sunlight, watched them turn to ash, and left Suzuran Town.

Ch. 33Mount Natagumo

Kirishima Bupai and Shinobu Kocho were sent to Mount Natagumo after a Kasugai Crow reported severe casualties caused by strange spider threads and poison. Bupai entered the cocoon forest and cut open cocoons, freeing trapped Demon Slayer Corps members.

  • Kirishima Bupai reported the Eternal Paradise Cult's operations and intelligence on Doma to Kagaya Ubuyashiki, then offered him Dragon Blood Flower tea.
  • A Kasugai Crow reported that Corps members on Mount Natagumo were killing each other under the influence of spider threads and poison, prompting Kagaya to summon Hashira reinforcements.
  • Shinobu Kocho arrived and teased Kirishima Bupai about his actions in Suzuran Town before Kagaya assigned them to investigate Mount Natagumo.
  • Kirishima Bupai entered the dark forest and found large spider-silk cocoons hanging from the trees.
  • Kirishima Bupai sliced open dozens of cocoons, freeing injured Demon Slayer Corps members from the corrosive liquid inside.

Ch. 34Inosuke Hashibira

Kirishima Bupai found Inosuke Hashibira battling a newly transformed Spider Demon and intervened when it was about to kill him. After effortlessly severing the demon’s limbs, he left Inosuke stunned by the vast gap in their strength.

  • Kirishima Bupai followed the webs deeper into the mountain forest and found Inosuke Hashibira shouting at a Spider Demon perched in a tree.
  • The Spider Demon finished transforming, grew nearly twice as large, and smashed Inosuke’s two Nichirin Blades before sending him crashing into the mud.
  • The Spider Demon raised its fist to finish off the injured Inosuke, but Kirishima Bupai appeared between them and stopped its attack with his killing intent.
  • Kirishima Bupai swiftly cut off the Spider Demon’s four limbs while casually straightening his collar.
  • Inosuke stared at Kirishima Bupai in shock and felt awe at the strength he could not even follow with his eyes.

Ch. 35I'm Going to Fight You One-on-One!!!!

Kirishima Bupai used his Bright Red Blade to stop the Spider Demon’s regeneration and defeat it, then told the injured Inosuke to stay behind for treatment. Inosuke challenged Kirishima Bupai to a one-on-one fight, and Kirishima Bupai vanished from the spot.

  • The Spider Demon regenerated four new arms and lunged at Kirishima Bupai, but Kirishima Bupai turned his Nichirin Blade bright red and severed its limbs with one slash.
  • Kirishima Bupai’s Bright Red Blade burned away the demon blood, leaving the Spider Demon unable to regenerate.
  • Kirishima Bupai told Inosuke that the Kakushi Squad would handle the battlefield and take the wounded for treatment.
  • Inosuke protested Kirishima Bupai’s insults and challenged him to a one-on-one fight to prove he was the strongest.
  • Kirishima Bupai frowned at Inosuke’s reckless poses, then vanished from the spot.

Ch. 36There were clearly nine!

Kirishima Bupai defeated the Spider Demon and told Inosuke it was not one of the Twelve Kizuki. Before leaving, he confused the injured Inosuke with a counting trick, leaving him convinced that nine chocolates somehow added up to eight.

  • Kirishima Bupai struck Inosuke when he tried to keep fighting despite his injuries, and Inosuke collapsed.
  • Kirishima Bupai killed the Spider Demon and explained that it was not one of the Twelve Kizuki.
  • Kirishima Bupai mocked Inosuke for his poor counting and laid out nine chocolates, claiming there were eight.
  • Kirishima Bupai guided Inosuke through a count that ended at eight, and Inosuke repeatedly failed to account for the ninth chocolate.
  • Inosuke spiraled into confusion and howled over the mystery of why the nine chocolates counted as eight.

Ch. 37So-called bonds

Kirishima Bupai watched Tanjiro fight Rui, who insisted that bonds could only be preserved through power and control. When Nezuko risked herself to protect Tanjiro, Rui was shaken by the siblings’ devotion and began longing for a bond like theirs.

  • Kirishima Bupai left the Boar-Headed Boy trapped in a loop and went deeper into the woods.
  • Kirishima Bupai reached a ruined clearing and watched Tanjiro battle Rui’s slicing spider threads.
  • Rui demanded that Tanjiro give Nezuko to his demon family, while Tanjiro defended their bond and fought back.
  • Nezuko leapt from her box to shield Tanjiro and was pierced by Rui’s threads.
  • Tanjiro caught Nezuko and held her as she began to regenerate, and Rui watched their concern for each other.
  • Rui questioned his beliefs and said that he wanted a bond like theirs.

Ch. 38I'll Take Your Sister, Then!

Rui attacked his “big sister” for pleading with him, then ordered her to kill Tanjiro and Nezuko. Kirishima Bupai stopped her, confronted Rui, and declared he would take her instead.

  • Rui lashed out at his pleading “big sister,” cutting her into pieces with his threads, then ordered her to kill Tanjiro and Nezuko.
  • The female demon reassembled and headed toward Tanjiro and Nezuko, but Kirishima Bupai slammed her into the ground and pinned her beneath his boot.
  • Kirishima Bupai taunted the frightened female demon and demanded that she discipline Rui.
  • Rui threatened Kirishima Bupai and the others unless they handed Nezuko over to him.
  • Kirishima Bupai called Rui a noisy little spider and announced that he would take the female demon.

Ch. 39Kirishima Bupai: Forgive me, forgive me!

Kirishima Bupai effortlessly destroyed Rui’s spider-thread attack and mocked his idea of family bonds, driving Rui into a furious escalation. As Rui prepared another deadly assault, Bupai got distracted by thoughts of making clothes from the threads and then yawned at Rui’s threats.

  • Rui unleashed a powerful web of spider threads at Kirishima Bupai and the female demon beneath his foot.
  • Kirishima Bupai casually flicked his sword guard, and an invisible force reduced Rui’s threads to powder before they reached him.
  • Kirishima Bupai appeared beside Rui and mocked his strength and his claims about eternal family bonds.
  • Rui retreated and prepared blood-colored threads for a stronger attack while Kirishima Bupai wondered whether they could be used to make durable clothes.
  • Rui vowed to tear Kirishima Bupai apart, but Kirishima Bupai yawned and complained that Rui kept repeating himself.

Ch. 40What Do You Take Life For?!

Kirishima Bupai used his Bright Red Blade to defeat Rui and confronted him with a question that awakened memories sealed within him. The chapter ended as Rui’s buried memories of his mother and human life began flooding back.

  • Kirishima Bupai drew his Nichirin Blade, turned it bright red, and burned through Rui’s Thread Rotation.
  • Kirishima Bupai severed Rui’s legs, then borrowed Tanjiro’s Nichirin Hanafuda Earrings and put them on.
  • Kirishima Bupai confronted Rui and asked what he took life for, provoking terror through Muzan Kibutsuji’s blood.
  • Rui saw fragments of Muzan’s memories and wondered why Kirishima Bupai, the earrings, and the question frightened him.
  • Kirishima Bupai reminded Rui of his mother’s apology, and Rui’s sealed memories began to return.

Ch. 41Severed Bonds

Rui remembered how Muzan Kibutsuji had turned him into a demon and manipulated him into killing his parents, and he broke down in grief and regret. As Tanjiro comforted him, Kirishima Bupai warned Rui that he had to slit his own throat to avoid being killed by Muzan from afar.

  • Rui recalled his sickly childhood, Muzan Kibutsuji transforming him, and his parents’ attempt to kill him before he killed them instead.
  • Rui realized Muzan had deceived him and sobbed over the bonds he had severed with his parents.
  • Kirishima Bupai returned Tanjiro’s earrings and told Rui that Muzan Kibutsuji was responsible for his suffering.
  • Tanjiro held Rui’s cold hands and quietly comforted him, while Nezuko whimpered from her box.
  • After Rui’s sobs faded, Kirishima Bupai drove his Nichirin Blade into the ground and ordered Rui to slit his own throat to prevent Muzan from killing him remotely.

Ch. 42Slit Your Own Throat and Depart This World

Kirishima Bupai ordered Rui to kill himself, and Rui chose to impale himself on a Nichirin Blade, dying beneath its burning heat. Kirishima Bupai then turned his attention to the female demon and demanded that she choose how to die.

  • Kirishima Bupai told Rui to use a Nichirin Blade to end his life and suggested he could apologize to his parents in hell.
  • Rui bowed to Kirishima Bupai, kicked the blade into a nearby boulder, and hurled himself onto its exposed tip.
  • The Nichirin Blade pierced Rui, and he disintegrated into ash as the Bright Red Blade burned him; Rui, Lower Rank Five, perished.
  • The female demon reassembled herself and ran to Rui, but Kirishima Bupai ordered her to shut up.
  • Kirishima Bupai gave the female demon two choices: crawl to the blade and kill herself, or let him kill her.

Ch. 43Eat It While It's Hot!

Kirishima Bupai and Shinobu Kocho killed the demon, but Shinobu discovered Nezuko hiding in Tanjiro’s box and prepared to act against her. Kirishima Bupai stood between Shinobu and the box, leaving Shinobu questioning why he was protecting a demon.

  • Kirishima Bupai urged the terrified demon to kill herself with his Bright Red Blade, but she could not move.
  • Shinobu Kocho arrived and poisoned the demon with her butterfly-like attack, killing her after prolonged agony.
  • Shinobu Kocho noticed Nezuko peering out from Tanjiro’s wooden box and turned her attention to the hidden demon.
  • Tanjiro shielded Nezuko and pleaded with Shinobu Kocho, insisting that Nezuko had never harmed or eaten anyone.
  • Kirishima Bupai blocked Shinobu Kocho’s path to the box, and Shinobu questioned why he was protecting a demon.

Ch. 44Shinobu Kocho: So you're that kind of person!

Kirishima Bupai blocked Shinobu Kocho so Tanjiro could escape with Nezuko, then stopped Shinobu from pursuing them by restraining and humiliating her. Shinobu was left furious and shocked as she struggled against him.

  • Kirishima Bupai assured Shinobu Kocho that Nezuko had never killed a human and never would.
  • Kirishima Bupai told Tanjiro to flee with Nezuko, and Tanjiro carried her into the forest.
  • Shinobu Kocho pursued Tanjiro, but Kirishima Bupai blocked her with his Bright Red Blade.
  • Kirishima Bupai caught Shinobu as she tried to leap over him, carved words into his blade, and hurled it into the forest.
  • Shinobu attacked Kirishima Bupai with poisoned heel spikes, but he slapped her buttocks, leaving her red-faced and furious.

Ch. 45An embarrassed butterfly

Kirishima Bupai stopped Shinobu Kocho from pursuing Tanjiro and Nezuko, promising to take responsibility if Nezuko became dangerous. As Tanjiro fled through the forest with Nezuko, Kanao Tsuyuri intercepted him and aimed her poisoned blade at the box, just as a roaring figure burst from the bushes.

  • Kirishima Bupai restrained Shinobu Kocho and urged her to give Tanjiro and Nezuko a chance, promising he would kill Nezuko himself if necessary.
  • Shinobu Kocho escaped his loosened grip, scolded him for his conduct, and realized he had arranged backup for the siblings.
  • Tanjiro raced through the forest carrying Nezuko, but dodged a sudden blade that nearly struck his head.
  • Kanao Tsuyuri appeared above Tanjiro and thrust her poisoned blade toward the box containing Nezuko.
  • A figure burst through the bushes with a roar and charged toward Tanjiro and Kanao Tsuyuri.

Ch. 46Inosuke: Shock! Tanbachiro Headbutted Her Chest!

Inosuke interrupted Kanao Tsuyuri’s attack on Tanjiro and Nezuko’s box, and Tanjiro tried to stop her with a headbutt. Inosuke’s grab sent Kanao stumbling into Tanjiro’s chest, leaving Tanjiro horrified and apologizing.

  • Inosuke charged Kanao Tsuyuri with scarlet broken blades, then crashed into a tree and challenged her again.
  • Kanao targeted Nezuko’s box, but Inosuke interrupted her attack and was wounded while parrying her sword.
  • Tanjiro shoved the box aside and charged Kanao with a headbutt as she tried to retreat.
  • Inosuke grabbed Kanao from behind to stop her escape, but his tug made her stumble forward.
  • Tanjiro’s head struck Kanao’s chest, and he sprang back in embarrassment and apologized.

Ch. 47Wrapping up Spider Mountain

A Kasugai Crow delivered Oyakata-sama’s order to capture Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado alive and bring them to headquarters, ending the fighting at Spider Mountain. Shinobu Kocho and Kirishima Bupai set off for headquarters, where a Hashira Meeting was expected soon.

  • Tanjiro apologized frantically after colliding with Kanao, while Kanao and Inosuke stared in confusion.
  • A Kasugai Crow announced Oyakata-sama’s order to capture Tanjiro and Nezuko alive and bring them to headquarters.
  • Kanao sheathed her poisoned blade and accepted the order, while Inosuke questioned whether the fight was over.
  • Another Kasugai Crow repeated the order to Shinobu Kocho and Kirishima Bupai.
  • Shinobu and Kirishima agreed to obey the order and left for headquarters, expecting a Hashira Meeting soon.

Ch. 48Headquarters meeting: Children, trust me!

Kirishima Bupai arrived at the Hashira Meeting and asked the other Hashira to trust him about Nezuko, insisting she had never harmed anyone and would not do so. Sanemi Shinazugawa rejected his claim and confronted him as Tanjiro and Nezuko’s box were brought before the group.

  • Kirishima Bupai spent points on pig's trotter rice and ate behind a tree before the Hashira Meeting began.
  • Mitsuri Kanroji praised Kirishima Bupai, and he teased Obanai Iguro about his feelings for her.
  • Shinobu Kocho hinted that Kirishima Bupai had attacked her during their mission, embarrassing him in front of the Hashira.
  • Kakushi brought Tanjiro and the bound Inosuke to the meeting while Sanemi Shinazugawa carried Nezuko's wooden box.
  • Kirishima Bupai defended Nezuko as a demon who had never harmed anyone, but Sanemi Shinazugawa called the claim ridiculous.

Ch. 49Shinazugawa: This is impossible!

Kirishima Bupai proposed testing whether Nezuko could resist Sanemi Shinazugawa’s Marechi, and Sanemi agreed to lure her out with his blood. Nezuko recoiled in fear and hid from its scent, leaving Sanemi shocked and furious that she had not attacked him.

  • Kirishima Bupai suggested moving Nezuko’s box into the shade and using Sanemi Shinazugawa’s blood to test her.
  • Sanemi cut his arm with his Nichirin Blade and held his bleeding arm near the box to tempt Nezuko.
  • Nezuko emerged but covered her eyes and nose, trembling as she retreated from the scent of Sanemi’s blood.
  • Sanemi pulled back his arm and shouted that Nezuko was pretending, stunned that she had resisted Marechi.

Ch. 50The meeting ends

Kagaya Ubuyashiki stopped Sanemi Shinazugawa from attacking Nezuko and ruled that Tanjiro and Nezuko would be observed as special members of the Demon Slayer Corps. Kirishima Bupai backed Kagaya’s decision, though Sanemi remained furious as the meeting ended.

  • Sanemi Shinazugawa tried to strike Nezuko, but Kagaya Ubuyashiki arrived and halted his blade with his voice.
  • Kagaya Ubuyashiki heard the Hashira argue that Nezuko should be executed, while Tanjiro feared for his sister.
  • Kagaya Ubuyashiki declared that he believed Nezuko would never eat humans and asked Kirishima Bupai for his opinion.
  • Kirishima Bupai agreed with Kagaya and said Nezuko’s willpower and Tanjiro’s support enabled her resistance to demonic instincts.
  • Kagaya Ubuyashiki placed Tanjiro and Nezuko under observation as special members of the Demon Slayer Corps and urged the Hashira to focus on Muzan Kibutsuji.
  • After Kagaya Ubuyashiki left, the Kakushi freed Tanjiro, and Sanemi Shinazugawa angrily departed.
Arc 2 of 8