Chapter Summaries

Rokuya discovered that the cherry tree at the Butterfly Mansion held an immense amount of gratitude and went to Kagaya Ubuyashiki to learn its origin. Kagaya revealed that an unnamed young Demon Slayer had planted it years earlier, but he did not know the swordsman’s identity.

• Tanjiro told Rokuya that the cherry tree carried a powerful scent of gratitude, prompting Rokuya to suspect it was connected to the source of his power.
• Rokuya took Tanjiro to the Ubuyashiki Estate to ask Kagaya about the tree.
• Rokuya explained that the tree’s emotional power might hold an answer he had been searching for.
• Kagaya said the Butterfly Mansion’s grounds had once been an unused wasteland and that he had heard a young Demon Slayer planted the cherry sapling there.
• Kagaya recalled allowing the tree to grow as a symbol of life and beauty but admitted he never learned who planted it.

Kagaya gave Rokuya a roster of veteran Corps members who might know who planted the cherry tree near the Butterfly Mansion. Rokuya and Tanjiro questioned the surviving veterans, but found no answers, and the chapter ended as they heard someone sweeping nearby.

• Kagaya gave Rokuya a roster of veterans who had been at headquarters before the Butterfly Mansion was established.
• Rokuya and Tanjiro went to Back Mountain and asked Yamamoto Shigekuni about the cherry tree, but he knew nothing about it.
• Rokuya and Tanjiro questioned more veterans, including a blind swordsman and a retired Corps member, but none could help.
• As sunset fell, Rokuya grew frustrated that their search had produced no leads, while Tanjiro reminded him that a few names remained.
• Rokuya and Tanjiro heard the sound of sweeping rustle from around the corridor corner.

Tanjiro and Rokuya searched for the person who had planted the Butterfly Mansion’s cherry tree and learned from Goto that Chizuru might know the story. When they found her teaching in the Herb Garden, Rokuya recognized her voice and reacted with shock and sadness.

• Tanjiro approached Goto and asked if he knew who had planted the Butterfly Mansion’s cherry tree.
• Goto remembered that a senior Kakushi Corps member had once said she knew who planted it.
• Goto identified the senior member as Chizuru, leader of Logistics Group Two, and said she was teaching in the Herb Garden.
• Rokuya and Tanjiro hurried to the Herb Garden, where Chizuru was teaching newcomers to identify herbs.
• Rokuya recognized Chizuru’s voice, entered the garden, and stared at her as she turned toward him.

Rokuya and Tanjiro learned that a young girl had planted the Butterfly Mansion’s cherry tree before dying on a mission. Rokuya found her faded carving on a branch: “Guan Tinglingzi, be happy every day.”

• Chizuru told Rokuya and Tanjiro that a young girl had planted the cherry tree, hoping its blossoms would make people happy.
• Chizuru said the girl died on a dangerous mission and recalled seeing writing carved into a branch.
• Rokuya hurried to the Butterfly Mansion courtyard, and Tanjiro followed him.
• Rokuya climbed the cherry tree and found the carving addressed to Guan Tinglingzi, wishing them happiness every day.

Rokuya discovered that Guan Tinglingzi’s inscription and plaque expressed a selfless wish for whoever found them to be happy, and understood how that wish had earned the system’s gratitude points. After a night of reflection, he asked Kagaya Ubuyashiki for half a month off and proposed assigning his territory to Giyu Tomioka and Sabito.

• Rokuya found Guan Tinglingzi’s wooden plaque beneath the cherry blossom tree and realized her wish for others to be happy had resonated with the system.
• Tanjiro sensed Rokuya’s grief and quietly left him alone beneath the tree.
• After spending the night reflecting, Rokuya decided he needed a vacation and went to see Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
• Rokuya asked Kagaya for half a month off, and Kagaya agreed that rest would prepare him for future battles.
• Rokuya suggested that Giyu Tomioka and Sabito split responsibility for his territory while he was away, and they overheard him.

Rokuya took two weeks off and traveled to Mount Sagiri to visit his former teacher. He reunited with Urokodaki, who appeared from the mist to greet the unexpected visitor.

• Rokuya persuaded Sabito and Giyu to cover his territory for two weeks in exchange for Wagyu hot pot.
• At the Butterfly Mansion, Shinobu checked Rokuya for injuries, and Kanae offered to accompany him; he explained that he planned to visit his old teacher and rest in the mountains.
• Shinobu gave Rokuya a new healing medicine made with his blood and wisteria extract.
• Rokuya walked to Mount Sagiri over four days, taking in the countryside along the way.
• Urokodaki emerged from the mist, and Rokuya greeted his former teacher.

After visiting Sakonji Urokodaki on Mount Sagiri, Takanashi Rokuya traveled to Mount Momoyama to see Jigoro Kuwajima and investigate the new prodigy Kuwajima had mentioned. He caught the frightened, fleeing boy during Thunder Breathing practice, then reunited with Kuwajima and brought him gifts.

• Takanashi Rokuya spent three days with Sakonji Urokodaki, sharing meals and explaining how he had combined Sun Breathing with his own technique.
• Sakonji Urokodaki told Takanashi Rokuya to visit Jigoro Kuwajima on Mount Momoyama to meet a new prodigy.
• Takanashi Rokuya bought tea, sweets, and sake in town before climbing Mount Momoyama.
• Takanashi Rokuya found a blond boy fleeing Jigoro Kuwajima's training and caught him with Thunder Breathing, First Form.
• Takanashi Rokuya frightened the boy unconscious and tossed him onto the grass.
• Jigoro Kuwajima greeted Takanashi Rokuya, who handed him the gifts he had brought.

Rokuya learned that Zenitsu Agatsuma had mastered only the First Form of Thunder Breathing and offered to train him for ten days. When Rokuya challenged Zenitsu to attack, Zenitsu lost consciousness in terror but instinctively unleashed a powerful Thunderclap and Flash.

• Jigoro Kuwajima explained that Kaigaku had left for Final Selection after resenting Rokuya’s training, and that he had taken Zenitsu in after finding him buried in debt.
• Rokuya agreed to train Zenitsu for the remaining ten days of his break, and Kuwajima happily left them alone.
• Zenitsu admitted that he could not master Thunder Breathing’s Second through Sixth Forms and knew only the First Form.
• Rokuya challenged Zenitsu to make him retreat with Thunderclap and Flash, threatening to leave him with the wolves if he failed.
• Zenitsu fainted from fear, then unconsciously used Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash, and charged at Rokuya.

Rokuya demonstrated a curved variation of Thunder Breathing’s First Form and taught Zenitsu how to use his hearing and a slight change of angle to make his attack less predictable. He began punishing training to teach Zenitsu Extreme Blade Flash, and Zenitsu struggled through the first days.

• Zenitsu’s unconscious Thunderclap and Flash struck Rokuya’s magically protected palm, and Rokuya explained that Zenitsu’s straight-line charge was an obvious weakness.
• Rokuya demonstrated Extreme Blade Flash, curving around a pine tree before cutting it in half, and advised Zenitsu to use his hearing and a slight angle change to curve his charge.
• Rokuya threatened to throw Zenitsu off a cliff until Zenitsu agreed to practice, then ordered him to swing his sword ten thousand times each day and train on spike-filled posts.
• On the first day, Zenitsu lost his balance while trying to curve his charge, crashed through wooden posts, and was doused with ice water by Rokuya.
• By the third day, Zenitsu’s legs and joints were swollen and bandaged, and Rokuya used roasted pheasant to drive him to keep training.

Zenitsu completed Rokuya’s ten-day training by mastering a curved Extreme Blade Flash, and Rokuya returned to duty after his half-month leave. Rokuya then planned to visit Tamayo in Tokyo Prefecture to obtain more lifesaving medicine.

• Rokuya pushed Zenitsu through increasingly dangerous training and discovered that Zenitsu’s instincts and muscle control became exceptional when he was frightened or exhausted.
• On the tenth day, Zenitsu used a slight curve in his Extreme Blade Flash to pass Rokuya and cut through the post behind him, then collapsed from exhaustion.
• Rokuya praised Zenitsu as a Thunder Breathing genius, carried him back to Jigoro Kuwajima’s house, and ended the special training.
• After his half-month leave, Rokuya returned to headquarters and thanked Kagaya Ubuyashiki for allowing him to rest.
• Rokuya told Kagaya he planned to visit Tamayo in Tokyo Prefecture because he had only three doses of her lifesaving medicine remaining.

Rokuya visited Tamayo and learned that her research on a Medicine targeting Muzan had stalled because she needed blood from an Upper Rank Demon. Three months later, at the Hashira Meeting, Kagaya announced two new Hashira and called Muichiro Tokito and Yuichiro Tokito forward.

• Rokuya visited Tamayo and received a new dose of her Medicine, then asked about the Medicine targeting Muzan.
• Tamayo explained that her research had hit a bottleneck and that she needed blood from an Upper Rank Demon to continue.
• Rokuya agreed to seek Upper Rank blood and told Tamayo to request any needed materials by crow.
• Three months later, Rokuya attended the annual Hashira Meeting as winter began.
• Kagaya announced that the Demon Slayer Corps had two new Hashira and called Muichiro Tokito and Yuichiro Tokito forward.

Kagaya appointed Muichiro Tokito and Yuichiro Tokito as the Mist and Smoke Hashira after they each defeated a Lower Rank demon. Rokuya reunited with the brothers and began sparring with them, breaking through their coordinated attacks with Extreme Blade Flash.

• Kagaya announced that Muichiro Tokito and Yuichiro Tokito had each slain a newly appointed Lower Rank demon and named them the Mist and Smoke Hashira.
• Rokuya praised the brothers, and Yuichiro thanked him for helping them survive and grow on Mount Jōshin.
• Rokuya invited Muichiro Tokito and Yuichiro Tokito to spar with him at the training ground on Back Mountain.
• Muichiro Tokito attacked with Mist Breathing while Yuichiro Tokito used Smoke Breathing to obscure Rokuya's sight and strike from multiple directions.
• Rokuya used Extreme Blade Flash to burst through the smoke and appear beside Yuichiro Tokito, declaring that the sparring was not over.

Rokuya tested Yuichiro and Muichiro Tokito’s fighting skills, overpowering their coordinated attacks and Yuichiro’s Smoke Breathing. After Yuichiro demonstrated all seven of his self-created forms, Rokuya praised the brothers’ abilities and their potential to help defeat Muzan.

• Muichiro and Yuichiro attacked Rokuya in coordination, but Rokuya’s Shura Blade sent Muichiro flying and shattered Yuichiro’s strongest defensive technique, knocking him across the training ground.
• Rokuya helped Yuichiro up, praised the brothers’ Breathing Styles and teamwork, and urged them to keep training because Muzan would give them little time to prepare.
• Yuichiro demonstrated Smoke Breathing’s seventh form and followed it with a series of attacks, but Rokuya deflected them with his sheathed blade and cleared the smoke with a burst of physical force.
• Rokuya teased Yuichiro about his smoky techniques, then explained how they could disrupt enemies’ senses and work especially well alongside Muichiro’s Mist Breathing.
• Yuichiro accepted Rokuya’s praise and declared that he and Muichiro would become an important force in the fight against Muzan.

Rokuya trained Tanjiro for a year until he could perform several Hinokami Kagura moves in succession, then urged him to enter the next Final Selection. He applied to be the chief examiner on Mount Fujikasane to protect Tanjiro, Kuwajima’s apprentice, and Kanao, leaving Kagaya to consider his unexpected request.

• Rokuya spent a year training Tanjiro to use Hinokami Kagura while helping him recover from the strain it caused.
• Tanjiro endured the training and learned to perform several Hinokami Kagura moves in succession without seriously injuring himself.
• Rokuya told Tanjiro to enter the Demon Slayer Corps’ Final Selection, and Tanjiro eagerly agreed.
• Rokuya asked Kagaya to appoint him chief examiner for the upcoming Final Selection so he could protect Tanjiro, Kuwajima’s apprentice, and Kanao.

Rokuya received Kagaya’s approval to serve as chief examiner at the next Final Selection, replacing Shinobu Kocho. He reassured Kanae and Shinobu that he would protect Kanao and the other promising candidates while changing the deadly selection rules.

• Kagaya agreed to appoint Rokuya as chief examiner and teased him about finding a way to placate Shinobu Kocho.
• Rokuya returned to the Butterfly Mansion and interrupted Shinobu and Kanae as they discussed the medical supplies his training had used.
• Rokuya told Shinobu that he would examine next month’s Final Selection, and she angrily objected because Kanao would be participating.
• Rokuya explained that he wanted to watch over Tanjiro, Kuwajima’s disciple, and the other promising candidates, and said Mount Fujikasane was too dangerous for Shinobu.
• Kanae asked Rokuya to protect Kanao, and he promised to keep the candidates safe and not let children with potential be eaten merely because they could not defeat a demon.

Rokuya watched the Final Selection begin on Mount Fujikasane, then secretly followed the candidates as an examiner. He killed a demon threatening an injured swordsman, treated the wound, and expelled the candidate from the trial.

• Rokuya observed Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, Kanao Tsuyuri, and Genya Shinazugawa among the candidates gathering for Final Selection.
• The Guiding Children announced that candidates had to survive seven days among the demons confined on Mount Fujikasane.
• Rokuya followed the candidates through the forest from the treetops, listening for fighting and cries for help.
• Rokuya beheaded a three-headed demon as it prepared to attack an injured swordsman.
• Rokuya used medicine from Shinobu Kocho to stop the swordsman's bleeding, then declared him eliminated and hurled him out of the mountain.

Rokuya discovered Genya Shinazugawa eating a demon to gain temporary strength, but Genya retained his human reason and killed it. Rokuya chose not to intervene and continued his patrol, while Genya sensed a terrifying aura and mistook it for a hallucination.

• Rokuya heard chewing in a nearby hollow and found Genya biting into a one-horned demon.
• Genya's body transformed as he absorbed the demon's power, and Rokuya prepared to kill him before noticing Genya still had human clarity.
• Genya snapped the demon's neck, shot it with his specially made gun, and collapsed as his body returned to normal.
• Rokuya recognized Genya as a demon eater and decided to leave him alone, hoping he could endure the remaining seven days.
• Rokuya's brief release of magical aura frightened Genya, who searched the area and blamed the sensation on a hallucination.

Zenitsu Agatsuma defeated two demons while unconscious by using Thunder Breathing and a sharp midair change of direction. Rokuya then watched Kanao Tsuyuri elegantly kill a demon and was reminded of someone.

• Zenitsu fled from two demons until fear made him faint, while Rokuya watched from a nearby branch.
• Zenitsu rose in his sleep and used Thunder Breathing: Thunderclap and Flash to behead the first demon.
• Zenitsu twisted his trajectory with Extreme Blade Flash and killed the second demon before sheathing his sword as he slept.
• Rokuya praised Zenitsu's talent and left him undisturbed, confident he could handle the demons nearby.
• Kanao Tsuyuri used Flower Breathing to kill a demon attacking her and three surrounding demons without being touched.
• Rokuya watched Kanao fight and was reminded of someone.

During Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane, Tanjiro used Hinokami Kagura to destroy a group of demons while Rokuya watched. The flames reached Muzan through a demon’s memories, leaving him terrified that Sun Breathing had returned.

• Rokuya reflected on Kanao’s emotional isolation and hoped Tanjiro could help her open her heart before sensing a powerful demon awakening on Mount Fujikasane.
• Tanjiro fought off a swarm of demons and used Hinokami Kagura: Dance and Blue Heaven to burn several of them to ashes.
• Rokuya watched Tanjiro’s battle from a distant cliff and praised his progress and fighting spirit.
• Muzan destroyed his laboratory equipment in frustration over his failure to find the Blue Spider Lily and recalled Rokuya’s near-fatal attack.
• Muzan felt a terrifying sensation through the blood of a demon on Mount Fujikasane and saw Tanjiro wield a blazing technique.
• Muzan recognized the technique as Sun Breathing and realized it still existed.

Muzan summoned the Twelve Kizuki to the Infinity Castle after fear of Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Takanashi Rokuno turned into rage. He accused the Lower Ranks of incompetence, killed Lower Rank Six, and turned on Lower Rank Four for contradicting him.

• Muzan summoned Nakime and was transported to the Infinity Castle as the Twelve Kizuki were compelled to gather.
• Akaza, Doma, Hantengu, and Kokushibo assembled with the Lower Ranks, and Muzan appeared before them.
• Muzan questioned the Lower Ranks about two demons recently slain by Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen and blamed them for their failures.
• Muzan read Lower Rank Six's thoughts and killed him when he tried to explain himself.
• Muzan accused Lower Rank Four of wanting to flee, then attacked him when he denied it.