Arc 12The Final Battle and Tanjiro’s Fall

The Demon Slayers and Sasuke fought Muzan through the night, finally destroying him at sunrise, but Muzan’s remaining flesh turned Tanjiro into a new Demon King. As the survivors tried to save Tanjiro, Sasuke entered his corrupted inner world to confront Muzan’s will.

  • Muzan escaped the crater in a concentrated monstrous form, but the Hashira turned their weapons bright red and used Yushiro’s talismans to attack his visible hearts and brains.
  • Inosuke was gravely wounded while protecting Kanao, and Zenitsu overcame his fear to save her and sever Muzan’s Bone Whip.
  • Sasuke awakened and used Amenotejikara to save the wounded fighters and create openings for the Hashira, while Tanjiro linked the Sun Breathing forms into the Thirteenth Form.
  • Muzan tried to escape as a blood cloud, but Sasuke compressed his scattered cells into a sphere, and Tanjiro and the survivors struck it as dawn broke.
  • Muzan disintegrated in the sunlight, but his remaining flesh entered Tanjiro, who revived as a demon able to endure the sun.
  • Demon King Tanjiro attacked the survivors, but Nezuko’s plea made him falter, and Sasuke saw that Tanjiro’s soul was still resisting Muzan.
  • Kanao used her eyesight to locate Tanjiro’s soul and attempted to inject the humanizing medicine, while Zenitsu caught it and Inosuke distracted Tanjiro.
  • Kyojuro and Giyu restrained Tanjiro so Sasuke could enter his inner world, where Muzan threatened to seize Tanjiro’s body and sent black blades at Sasuke.
Chapters 276–300 Vol. 3 Read

Ch. 276The Aging Demon King, Undying Hatred

Muzan Kibutsuji’s body rapidly aged under Tamayo’s drug while Shinra Tensei weakened, so he sacrificed nearly a third of himself to blast free. He landed before the three Hashira guarding the unconscious Sasuke and vowed to kill them before sunrise.

  • Muzan felt Tamayo’s drug rapidly aging him and draining his life force.
  • Terrified and enraged, Muzan concentrated his remaining strength in the lower half of his body and detonated it.
  • The blast shattered the weakening Shinra Tensei pressure field and propelled Muzan out of the crater.
  • Muzan landed in a smaller, more concentrated monstrous form, still visibly aged, with Bone Whips extending from his back.
  • Muzan confronted the three Hashira guarding Sasuke and vowed to tear them apart before sunrise.

Ch. 277The resonance of the Bright Red Nichirin Swords, the passing of life's flame

Kyojuro Rengoku discovered that Bright Red Nichirin Swords could suppress Muzan’s regeneration, and the Hashira learned to pass that power between their weapons through resonance. Their coordinated assault wounded Muzan repeatedly and forced him back as dawn approached.

  • Kyojuro Rengoku struck Muzan with his Bright Red Nichirin Sword, leaving a wound on Muzan’s Bone Whip that failed to regenerate.
  • Kyojuro urged the others to pour their resolve into their blades, and Sanemi Shinazugawa’s sword turned bright red after clashing with Kyojuro’s.
  • Gyomei Himejima recognized that the blades could spread their power through resonance, and Giyu Tomioka passed the red heat to his sword by tapping it against Sanemi’s.
  • Gyomei Himejima’s Iron Ball and chain also became red-hot, giving the four Hashira bright red weapons.
  • Kyojuro led the four Hashira in a renewed attack that suppressed Muzan’s regeneration and forced him back as dawn neared.

Ch. 278Yushiro's Blood Demon Art, Shared Vision!

As Muzan’s chaotic attacks kept the Hashira from reaching his vital organs, Yushiro used his Blood Demon Art to reveal the locations of Muzan’s hearts and brains. Guided by the visions, Kyojuro coordinated a simultaneous strike on one of Muzan’s hearts.

  • Kyojuro and the other Hashira struggled to evade Muzan’s attacks and inflicted only minor wounds because his vital organs kept moving through his body.
  • Yushiro threw rune-covered talismans to Tanjiro, Kyojuro, Giyu Tomioka, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and Gyomei Himejima.
  • Yushiro’s Blood Demon Art let the fighters see Muzan’s seven hearts and twelve brains as glowing red points inside his body.
  • Yushiro urged the fighters to attack the glowing organs and avenge Lady Tamayo.
  • Kyojuro ordered the Hashira to target the third heart at the lower left, and four fighters charged toward it together.

Ch. 279The Shattered Boar's Head, Inosuke's Roar

Yushiro’s talismans revealed Muzan’s hearts and brains to the Demon Slayers, and Inosuke charged in and destroyed one of Muzan’s hearts. Mortally wounded, Inosuke used his final strength to save Kanao before Muzan’s Bone Whip struck him again.

  • Yushiro’s Blood Demon Art talismans shared a vision that marked Muzan’s hearts and brains with glowing red points.
  • Inosuke charged through Muzan’s Bone Whips and shredded one of his hearts with his Nichirin Blades.
  • Muzan struck Inosuke with a Bone Whip, shattering his boar mask and leaving him gravely wounded.
  • Inosuke remembered Shinobu’s words and the warmth of the woman from his past as he saw Kanao threatened by Bone Whips.
  • Inosuke pinned Muzan’s leg with his broken blade and urged Kanao to run before another Bone Whip struck him and he disappeared into the dust.

Ch. 280Zenitsu's resolve, the lightning that no longer slept

Zenitsu overcame his terror and used his awake, self-created Thunder Breathing Seventh Form to save Kanao from Muzan’s Bone Whip. Though injured and still afraid, he stood between his companions and Muzan and vowed to protect them.

  • Kanao froze after Inosuke vanished into the smoke, and Muzan’s Bone Whip rushed toward her.
  • Zenitsu panicked and tried to flee, but memories of his grandfather, Kaigaku, Kyojuro, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Sasuke reminded him that others had protected him and given his fight meaning.
  • Zenitsu realized he no longer needed to fall asleep to use his Seventh Form and chose to fight despite his fear.
  • Zenitsu unleashed Thunder Breathing, Seventh Form: Fire Thunder God, swept Kanao out of danger, and severed Muzan’s Bone Whip.
  • Bleeding and trembling, Zenitsu shielded Kanao and swore to Muzan that he would not let him touch his companions again.

Ch. 281Countdown: One hour!

With one hour until sunrise, the battered Demon Slayer Corps fought Muzan in a desperate war of attrition, but his devastating shock wave knocked back the Hashira and gave him time to prepare to escape. As Muzan began to writhe, Uesugi Sasuke stirred beneath Giyu Tomioka’s protection.

  • The Kasugai Crow announced that sunrise was one hour away, and Zenitsu Agatsuma, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and Gyomei Himejima rallied to keep fighting Muzan.
  • The surviving Hashira repeatedly attacked Muzan’s vital cores with their Bright Red Nichirin Swords while he unleashed sweeping strikes across the battlefield.
  • Muzan released a ring-shaped shock wave that hurled Sanemi Shinazugawa, Gyomei Himejima, and the other nearby swordsmen into the ruins.
  • Muzan began preparing to split apart and escape as Uesugi Sasuke’s eyelids and index finger twitched under Giyu Tomioka’s protection.

Ch. 282A call from the mental world, the power of bonds

Sasuke drifted through darkness and exhaustion after his battle with Kokushibo, but memories of the people he had protected and a vision of Itachi gave him the will to continue. He awoke in Giyu Tomioka’s arms, his weakened Rinnegan shining as he prepared to face Muzan Kibutsuji.

  • Sasuke longed to sleep forever as memories of his battles and the people he had protected surfaced in the darkness.
  • Tanjiro, Kyojuro Rengoku, Shinobu Kocho, Tengen Uzui, and others appeared in his memories and renewed his resolve.
  • Itachi appeared, told Sasuke he was no longer alone, and urged him to finish the final battle before vanishing as crows.
  • Sasuke opened his eyes in Giyu Tomioka’s arms, and his weakened Rinnegan illuminated the battlefield and the fighters’ conditions.

Ch. 283Amenotejikara: Support! The god of the chessboard!

Though severely injured and unable to move, Sasuke used Amenotejikara to save Mitsuri Kanroji and Obanai Iguro, then repositioned Gyomei Himejima for a devastating strike against Muzan Kibutsuji. After the second use nearly exhausted him, Sasuke still believed he controlled the battlefield.

  • Sasuke awakened in Giyu Tomioka's arms, too depleted and injured to move.
  • Sasuke used Amenotejikara to swap Mitsuri Kanroji and Obanai Iguro with a boulder, saving them from Muzan Kibutsuji's shock wave.
  • Sasuke swapped Gyomei Himejima with a falling bone-whip fragment, placing him above Muzan with the fragment's downward momentum.
  • Gyomei struck Muzan with Stone Breathing, Fifth Form: Wheel Guard, crushing one of Muzan's brain cores.
  • Sasuke coughed up blood and his vision faltered after using Amenotejikara twice, but he remained confident he could direct the battle.

Ch. 284The final dance of serpent and love, a vow for the next life

Obanai Iguro and Mitsuri Kanroji confessed their love and promised to marry in another life before using Sasuke’s remaining chakra to make one final attack on Muzan. They severed the tentacles supporting his body, but Muzan’s bone spikes pierced them as they fell together.

  • Sasuke’s power let Gyomei Himejima crush one of Muzan’s brains, briefly stunning the Demon King.
  • Mitsuri Kanroji and Obanai Iguro, saved from death by Sasuke, reunited amid the rubble and confessed their love to each other.
  • Obanai Iguro asked Mitsuri Kanroji to marry him in another life, and she accepted.
  • Sasuke sent the wounded pair his last strength, and their Nichirin Blades turned crimson.
  • Obanai Iguro and Mitsuri Kanroji used their Breathing forms to sever the tentacles supporting Muzan’s body, opening a massive gap.
  • Muzan’s bone spikes pierced Obanai Iguro and Mitsuri Kanroji, and they fell from the sky holding each other.

Ch. 285Tanjiro's Limit, the Demon King's Covetous Gaze

Tanjiro linked all twelve Sun Breathing forms into the thirteenth and attacked Muzan, while the surviving Corps members protected him. Muzan recognized Tanjiro as the vessel he coveted, pierced him with bone whips, and lifted the dying boy as Sasuke found himself unable to use his eye power.

  • Tanjiro drew on his father’s kagura and Yoriichi’s legacy to link the twelve Sun Breathing forms into the thirteenth.
  • Tanjiro attacked Muzan’s cores with his burning Bright Red Nichirin Sword as the surviving Corps members cleared away Muzan’s tentacles and bone whips.
  • Muzan became determined to take Tanjiro’s body and focused his attacks on him, abandoning his defenses against Himejima and Shinazugawa.
  • Muzan’s bone whips and claws pierced Tanjiro and lifted him into the air, making him drop his sword.
  • Sasuke tried to activate Amenotejikara from Giyu’s arms but could not feel any power in his left eye.

Ch. 286"Don't touch him!" The undying Flame Hashira!

Kyojuro Rengoku rescued Tanjiro from Muzan and stood alone against the Demon King to protect the surviving Demon Slayers. As Kyojuro unleashed his final strength, Sasuke watched with a faint smile.

  • Muzan prepared to inject his blood into the captured Tanjiro while the injured Demon Slayers could not intervene.
  • Kyojuro used Flame Breathing, Ninth Form: Purgatory, to burn through Muzan's bone whips and catch Tanjiro.
  • Kyojuro set Tanjiro down and faced Muzan, declaring that the senior Demon Slayers would protect those who came after them.
  • Kyojuro used his own esoteric Flame Breathing to shield the others from Muzan's barrage of blades.
  • Sasuke watched Kyojuro from Giyu Tomioka's arms as Kyojuro vowed to stop Muzan and charged into the fight.

Ch. 287The final gambit, splitting into billions

As the Demon Slayer Corps tried to hold Muzan until sunrise, Muzan compressed himself and split into billions of tiny particles to escape. Just as the blood cloud seemed impossible to stop, Giyu felt the body in his arms stir with a faint, godlike will.

  • Kyojuro Rengoku used his burning sword to shield Tanjiro and the others while Sanemi Shinazugawa urged him to let them help.
  • The Kasugai Crow announced that sunrise was thirty minutes away, and Muzan decided to abandon the fight and survive.
  • Muzan contracted into a dense flesh core, then split apart in a shock wave that scattered the Demon Slayers and formed a rapidly spreading blood cloud.
  • Sanemi Shinazugawa despaired as the particles threatened to escape, but Giyu Tomioka felt the still body in his arms awaken with a faint will.

Ch. 288Chibaku Tensei: Flesh Prison!

Sasuke used Chibaku Tensei to forcibly gather Muzan Kibutsuji’s scattered cells into a massive sphere of flesh, trapping him. After the technique cost Sasuke his Rinnegan and left him near death, he urged his companions to destroy the prison before he lost consciousness.

  • Sasuke, badly depleted and bloodied, rose in Giyu Tomioka’s arms and refused to let Muzan escape.
  • Sasuke applied Chibaku Tensei’s gravity directly to Muzan Kibutsuji’s scattered cells, forcing them to converge.
  • Muzan’s flesh and blood compressed into a writhing sphere more than fifty meters wide, trapping the Demon King.
  • Sasuke lost the light in his Rinnegan, spat blood, and shouted for his companions to blow the prison apart.

Ch. 289The endlessly repeating, never-ending Thirteenth Form!

As Sasuke’s Chibaku Tensei prison began to fail, Tanjiro understood that Sun Breathing’s Thirteenth Form was the unbroken repetition of its twelve forms. He awakened a brilliant crimson blade and launched an all-out attack on Muzan, calling on everyone to lend him their strength.

  • Sasuke used his final strength to warn the survivors that the prison was close to breaking.
  • Tanjiro, exhausted and barely able to hold his sword, recalled his father performing the Kagura Dance and Yoriichi demonstrating Sun Breathing.
  • Tanjiro realized the Thirteenth Form was a continuous cycle linking all twelve forms into an unending attack.
  • Tanjiro’s Demon Slayer Mark blazed as he repeated the Sun Breathing forms and turned his blade crimson.
  • Tanjiro shouted for everyone’s strength and unleashed a desperate slash at Muzan’s collapsing prison.

Ch. 290The stars shone, the final combined strike!

Tanjiro and the surviving Demon Slayer Corps members combined their strength in a final strike that destroyed Sasuke’s flesh cage and left Muzan in his infant form. Muzan crawled toward a patch of shadow, but dawn sunlight struck his hand before he could reach it.

  • Tanjiro called on the survivors to lend him their strength, and Rengoku, Gyomei, Sanemi, Giyu, Zenitsu, and Kanao joined their attacks with his Sun Breathing.
  • Sasuke saw the fighters’ energies merge through Tanjiro and form a beam that pierced the flesh cage and blasted a crater into the earth.
  • The survivors discovered Muzan had transformed into a gigantic infant, sacrificing his offensive abilities to survive until he could reach the shadows.
  • Muzan crawled toward a nearby building’s shadow while Sasuke recognized his desperate attempt to escape the sunlight.
  • Dawn broke, and sunlight struck Muzan’s hand just before he reached the shadow, burning him as his agonized shriek rang across the battlefield.

Ch. 291Reduced to Ash, the End of a Millennium!

Muzan Kibutsuji was erased by the rising sun, ending the thousand-year battle, but the survivors paid a terrible price. As Tanjiro Kamado collapsed, a hidden piece of Muzan’s flesh infected him, and he became a new Demon King immune to sunlight.

  • Muzan Kibutsuji disintegrated completely in the sunlight as Uesugi Sasuke watched the thousand-year curse end.
  • The exhausted survivors faced the battle’s cost: Obanai Iguro, Mitsuri Kanroji, and Gyomei Himejima had died, while others lay wounded or unconscious.
  • Giyu Tomioka dragged the unconscious Uesugi Sasuke to safety, then collapsed beside him.
  • Tanjiro Kamado fell after the battle, but a surviving piece of Muzan’s flesh shot into his back wound.
  • Tanjiro revived with one demonic eye, endured the sunlight unharmed, and became a new Demon King.

Ch. 292The rising "sun," the arrival of despair

After Tanjiro Kamado delivered the decisive blow against Muzan, he rose again as a demon who could withstand sunlight. The exhausted Demon Slayer Corps realized that Muzan’s dream had come true in the worst possible way.

  • The surviving slayers saw that Muzan had vanished and believed the battle was over.
  • Tanjiro Kamado lay motionless with a fatal wound as Nezuko rushed to him.
  • Tanjiro’s body revived, healed, and transformed into a demon.
  • Tanjiro endured the sunlight and unleashed an aura more powerful than Muzan’s.
  • Giyu Tomioka recognized that Muzan’s dream had come true.

Ch. 293The bloodstained sun: Friend or foe?

Demon King Tanjiro attacked Zenitsu and Inosuke, forcing the wounded Hashira to block him as his power continued to grow. Giyu ordered the survivors to kill Tanjiro, but Nezuko ran onto the battlefield and cried out to her brother.

  • Demon King Tanjiro unleashed bone whips at Zenitsu and Inosuke, and Kyojuro and Giyu barely managed to cut them down.
  • Tanjiro picked up a Nichirin Blade and took a Sun Breathing stance, combining demon powers with Breathing Styles.
  • Giyu decided Tanjiro was no longer himself and ordered everyone still able to fight to kill him, even if they died doing so.
  • Zenitsu and Inosuke struggled to raise their swords against Tanjiro, while Kyojuro resolved himself to fight.
  • Nezuko broke past the Kakushi and ran toward Tanjiro, crying out, "Big Brother!"

Ch. 294A sister's tears, the first falter

Nezuko confronted Demon King Tanjiro and pleaded with him to come home, reaching the part of him still connected to his family. Tanjiro stopped his attack and shed a tear of blood, revealing his first falter and giving the others a faint glimpse of hope.

  • Nezuko rushed toward Demon King Tanjiro despite Giyu Tomioka and Kyojuro warning her to stop.
  • Tanjiro slashed at Nezuko, but his claw halted just short of her forehead.
  • Nezuko touched Tanjiro's face and tearfully urged him to go home to their waiting family.
  • Tanjiro trembled as Muzan's desire for destruction fought against his instinct to protect Nezuko.
  • Tanjiro shed a tear of blood, showing that Nezuko's plea had made him falter.

Ch. 295Muzan's echo, the prison of the soul

Demon King Tanjiro’s agony revealed that his consciousness was still resisting Muzan’s influence. After waking, Uesugi Sasuke saw Tanjiro’s soul fighting Muzan’s echo and urged Giyu Tomioka not to kill him, leaving the Demon Slayers facing an impossible choice.

  • Demon King Tanjiro roared in agony as his unstable aura and Bone Whips tore up the battlefield while avoiding Nezuko.
  • Kyojuro Rengoku realized Tanjiro’s consciousness might still be present, but Zenitsu asked what they could do.
  • Uesugi Sasuke woke and used his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to see Tanjiro’s soul resisting the chains of Muzan’s energy.
  • Sasuke told Giyu Tomioka that killing Tanjiro would fulfill Muzan’s final wish by destroying Tanjiro’s soul along with his body.
  • Giyu understood that sparing Tanjiro risked the world, while killing him would condemn their companion’s soul.

Ch. 296The final gamble: Enter his world!

As Demon King Tanjiro’s rampage grew more dangerous, Sasuke proposed entering Tanjiro’s mental world to help him resist Muzan’s will. He asked his exhausted companions to hold Tanjiro off while he attempted the desperate plan.

  • Demon King Tanjiro fought chaotically against the struggle inside him, while Kyojuro Rengoku warned that everyone was nearing their limits.
  • Sasuke told the others he could enter Tanjiro’s mental world and interfere with his soul to help him fight Muzan’s will.
  • Giyu Tomioka objected because Sasuke was too injured to withstand the technique, but Sasuke insisted it was their only way to save Tanjiro.
  • Sasuke reflected on the bonds that had changed him and realized he did not have to face the battle alone.
  • Sasuke bowed to his companions and asked them to hold Tanjiro off while he tried to bring their family back.

Ch. 297Equinoctial Vermilion Eye, the Heart Revealed

Sasuke asked the survivors to help him reach Tanjiro’s Mental World, but the wounded fighters doubted they could stop the Demon King. Kanao used her final Flower Breathing form to see the human light within Tanjiro and rushed toward him with the last demon-to-human medicine, but his repulsive force threw her back and sent the syringe flying.

  • Sanemi rejected Sasuke’s plan and urged the survivors to cut off Tanjiro’s head before he mastered his power.
  • Kanao remembered Shinobu’s words and Tanjiro’s kindness, then activated Equinoctial Vermilion Eye at the cost of her eyesight.
  • Kanao saw a faint, sun-warm light bound by black chains inside Tanjiro’s heart and declared that Tanjiro was still there.
  • Kanao charged Tanjiro with the last dose of medicine that could turn a demon human.
  • Tanjiro’s repulsive force hurled Kanao away and knocked the syringe from her hand, but a bolt of golden lightning streaked toward it before it hit the ground.

Ch. 298Weeping Lightning, a Furious Boar

Zenitsu saved Kanao and the medicine from Tanjiro’s attack, while Inosuke tried to reach Tanjiro by calling on their shared battles. Tanjiro hesitated, creating an opening that Sasuke urged Kyojuro Rengoku and Giyu Tomioka to exploit.

  • Zenitsu used Thunder Breathing to catch Kanao and snatch the medicine before it hit the ground.
  • Tanjiro launched his bone whips at Zenitsu, but Inosuke interrupted him by attacking his legs and shouting for him to change back.
  • Tanjiro stiffened at Inosuke’s words, and pain and bewilderment deepened in his human eye.
  • Sasuke spotted Tanjiro’s opening and told Kyojuro Rengoku and Giyu Tomioka to stake everything they had.

Ch. 299The final Flame Breathing, the final Dead Calm

Kyojuro Rengoku restrained Demon King Tanjiro with his final Flame Breathing technique while Giyu Tomioka protected Sasuke with Dead Calm. Their sacrifice gave Sasuke a clear path to Tanjiro, and Sasuke prepared to use his Rinnegan.

  • Kyojuro unleashed Flame Breathing, Ninth Form: Purgatory, and bound Tanjiro in a dragon of flame.
  • Giyu used Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm, to neutralize Tanjiro's shock waves and shield Sasuke.
  • Sasuke crossed Giyu's sanctuary and approached the immobilized Tanjiro.
  • Sasuke aimed his Rinnegan at Tanjiro's forehead and said he would take it from there.

Ch. 300Welcome to my world

Sasuke entered Tanjiro’s inner world and found his soul bound and nearly consumed by Muzan’s will. Muzan threatened to take Tanjiro’s body and use it to destroy the people he loved as he attacked Sasuke.

  • Sasuke touched Tanjiro’s forehead and found himself transported into a corrupted inner world.
  • Sasuke saw Tanjiro chained beneath Muzan’s enormous phantom, his soul barely holding on.
  • Muzan told Sasuke he planned to take Tanjiro’s body, sunlight-conquering constitution, Sun Breathing talent, and bonds.
  • Muzan threatened to use Tanjiro’s body to kill Giyu Tomioka, Kyojuro Rengoku, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Nezuko.
  • Muzan declared himself god of the inner world and sent black blades of malice at Sasuke’s soul.
Arc 12 of 13