Chapter Summaries

Rokuya fought alone to protect the villagers from the demons, earning enough gratitude to unlock and fuse with the Shadow Battle Axe. Its power let him cut through the demons’ defenses, and he prepared to press his advantage with his enhanced Demon Form.

• Rokuya held the route to the Blood Food Farm and fought off the demons while the villagers realized he was protecting them.
• The villagers prayed for Rokuya and expressed their gratitude, causing his Gratitude Points to rise past 5,000.
• Rokuya redeemed and fused with the Shadow Battle Axe, which strengthened him and gave his weapon armor-piercing power.
• Rokuya used Twin Extreme Blade Flash to slice through fifteen demons, whose bodies could no longer reconnect.
• Rokuya called for his Demon Form to possess him as his enhanced Magic Energy Aura surrounded him like armor.

Rokuya slaughtered the demons in the cavern and freed the villagers, earning a surge of Gratitude Points. He then confronted the wounded Tanaka, who begged for mercy after Rokuya rejected his excuses and pleas.

• Rokuya separated the powerful demons and killed them, ending the battle in less than five minutes.
• Rokuya broke open the villagers’ cage and told the 112 survivors that the demons were dead and they could escape.
• The villagers knelt and thanked Rokuya, causing his Gratitude Points to climb past three thousand.
• Tanaka begged Rokuya to spare him, claiming he had only been testing him and offering to become his servant.
• Rokuya struck Tanaka across the face with the back of his blade and condemned him for abandoning the villagers and wishing Rokuya dead.

Rokuya left Tanaka hanging in the cavern and reported his desertion to headquarters, then emerged at dawn with 112 rescued villagers from Mochizuki Village. After gaining Gratitude Points and buying the Shadow Battle Axe, he told the villagers he needed food, and their chief ordered a feast.

• Rokuya had the Kasugai Crow report Tanaka’s desertion and injuries to headquarters for a trial, then warned Tanaka not to become a demon before leaving him hanging.
• Rokuya walked out of the cavern at dawn, starving, and headed toward Mochizuki Village for food.
• Rokuya emerged with 112 rescued villagers, whose gratitude notifications raised his Gratitude Points above five thousand.
• Rokuya used his points to obtain the Shadow Battle Axe and felt its power strengthen his body and attacks.
• The village chief and villagers knelt to thank Rokuya, who identified himself as a Demon Slayer and asked for a great deal of food.
• The village chief ordered the villagers to bring out their stored meat and rice and cook for Rokuya.

Rokuya gained a steady stream of Gratitude Points after the villagers began worshipping him as their sun. On the sixth morning, Kakushi Corps members arrived and discovered the cavern’s horrific aftermath, including the remains of dozens of demons and the badly wounded Tanaka.

• Rokuya ate an enormous feast while villagers served him in Mochizuki Village.
• The village chief led over a hundred villagers in a jumping chant of praise for Rokuya, earning him frequent Gratitude Points.
• Rokuya allowed the villagers to continue their worship because he needed Gratitude Points to unlock the next Magic Path Skill Tree node.
• Several Kasugai Crows guided Goto and nine Kakushi Corps members to the cavern, where they found signs of a devastating battle and at least fifty dead demons.
• Goto and his team found Tanaka, a gravely injured swordsman who had been presumed to have deserted, and ordered the Kakushi to treat him.

After Goto exposed Tanaka’s cowardice and Rokuya’s deeds in Mochizuki Village, Rokuya went with the Kakushi Corps to headquarters. There, Tanaka accused him before Kagaya Ubuyashiki and the Hashira, and Rokuya challenged him to survive one strike.

• Tanaka begged the Kakushi Corps to rescue him and accused Rokuya of abandoning him, but Goto showed that Tanaka’s wounds came from fleeing and that Rokuya had slain fifty demons and saved 112 villagers.
• Goto saluted Rokuya in Mochizuki Village and left the cleanup to the Kakushi Corps; Rokuya agreed to go to headquarters with them.
• Three days later, at the Ubuyashiki Estate, Tanaka accused Rokuya of hiding his strength, abandoning him, and using sorcery, while Gyomei Himejima and Tengen Uzui watched.
• Rokuya ignored Tanaka’s accusations, then said he would grant Tanaka’s wish to die and challenged him to take one strike.

After Goto confirmed that Rokuya had killed fifty demons and Tanaka had fled and lied, Kagaya expelled Tanaka and proposed promoting Rokuya to Hashira. Tengen Uzui objected that Rokuya was too young and inexperienced for the deadly rank, leaving the promotion contested.

• Rokuya slammed Shura into the courtyard ground, and the blast sent Tanaka crashing into a wall and unconscious.
• Goto reported that Tanaka had fled from the demons and falsely accused Rokuya, while Rokuya had killed fifty demons alone.
• Kagaya stripped Tanaka of his swordsman qualification and ordered him exiled from the Demon Slayer Corps.
• Kagaya proposed promoting Rokuya to Hashira, citing his record of killing nearly one hundred demons in a month.
• Tengen Uzui objected that Rokuya was too young and inexperienced to face the Twelve Kizuki, and Gyomei Himejima agreed that the burden could break him.

Rokuya challenged Tengen Uzui to a practical combat assessment after dismissing his doubts about Rokuya’s strength. Rokuya’s opening attack forced Tengen to use explosives to escape, and Tengen ended the exchange taking Rokuya seriously.

• Rokuya told Tengen Uzui to stop talking and challenged him to withstand one of his strikes.
• Tengen Uzui asked Kagaya Ubuyashiki for permission to assess Rokuya in combat, and Kagaya agreed as long as neither was seriously harmed.
• Tengen Uzui rushed Rokuya with a punch, but Rokuya precisely dodged it.
• Rokuya swung the sheathed Shura at Tengen with a Thunder Breathing-powered strike.
• Tengen Uzui used gunpowder bombs to blast himself out of the strike’s path and landed on a rock formation with a torn uniform.
• Tengen Uzui recognized Rokuya’s terrifying strength and compared it to Himejima’s.

Takanashi Rokuno fought Tengen Uzui to prove his strength and won, earning the approval of Tengen, Gyomei Himejima, and Kagaya Ubuyashiki. Kagaya then asked Rokuno to choose a Hashira title, leaving the name undecided.

• Takanashi Rokuno and Tengen Uzui fought fiercely across the courtyard, with Rokuno overpowering Tengen's blades and explosives.
• Rokuno stopped his sheath just short of Tengen's forehead and restrained his twin blades, ending the duel in victory.
• Tengen accepted Rokuno's strength and praised him as worthy of the title of Hashira.
• Gyomei Himejima acknowledged Rokuno's strength and character, and Kagaya Ubuyashiki welcomed him among the Corps' swordsmen.
• Kagaya explained that Hashira chose names based on their fighting styles and asked Rokuno what title he wanted.

Rokuya chose the name Kai Hashira and was formally appointed the Demon Slayer Corps’ fourth Hashira. While waiting at headquarters for Shura’s engraving, he ate enormous quantities of food and refined his destructive control with a wooden stick.

• Rokuya told Kagaya Ubuyashiki that he relied on his battle-tempered body and heavy blade, and chose the title Kai Hashira.
• Kagaya appointed Takanashi Rokuno the Corps’ fourth Hashira and arranged for Shura to receive the Destroyer of Demons engraving.
• Rokuya stayed at headquarters for half a month, where his enormous appetite overwhelmed the logistics department but won him the Kakushi Corps members’ affection.
• Rokuya practiced with a wooden stick and discovered he could pierce an ancient tree and shred its internal structure with precise force.

Haganezuka Hotaru delivered Shura to Takanashi Rokuno and marveled that the blade showed no damage after killing fifty demons. Rokuya demonstrated his control of the weapon, and Kagaya Ubuyashiki assigned his patrol territory as Tokyo Prefecture.

• Haganezuka Hotaru confronted Takanashi Rokuno and demanded to know how his sword had survived a battle against fifty demons without a scratch.
• Haganezuka Hotaru delivered Shura, engraved with the words [Destroyer of Demons], and praised Rokuya as a genius swordsman.
• Rokuya lifted Shura effortlessly and said his sword cut only what it should, then accepted Haganezuka Hotaru's prediction that he would defeat the strongest demon.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki explained that Hashira-level swordsmen guarded assigned regions, and Rokuya asked where he would patrol.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki assigned Rokuya to Tokyo Prefecture.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki sent Rokuya to Tokyo Prefecture, where demons preyed on the crowded city and Muzan Kibutsuji was suspected of hiding among its people. After arriving, Rokuya tracked a concealed demonic presence to a dead-end alley and discovered two demons behind a seemingly solid wall.

• Kagaya Ubuyashiki told Rokuya that Tokyo Prefecture's crowds made it an ideal hunting ground for demons and that Muzan Kibutsuji often operated there.
• Rokuya accepted the mission and promised to cut down any demons he found, while Kagaya Ubuyashiki warned him to avoid alarming the public.
• Three days later, Rokuya arrived in Tokyo Prefecture and used his heightened senses to locate a faint, carefully concealed trace of blood near Asakusa Ward.
• Rokuya followed the demonic presence through dark alleys until it vanished at a dead end, where he sensed two demons hiding behind a brick wall.

Rokuya broke through Tamayo’s illusion barrier and attacked her and Yushiro, believing them to be enemies. As he moved to kill Yushiro, Tamayo urged him to stop and offered to help him kill Muzan Kibutsuji.

• Rokuya smashed through the barrier and the Clinic wall with his sheathed sword.
• Yushiro attacked Rokuya, who struck him in the chest and left him gravely injured.
• Tamayo rushed to Yushiro’s side as Rokuya revealed Shura and identified them as demons.
• Yushiro tried to shield Tamayo, and Rokuya raised his sword to kill him.
• Tamayo stopped Rokuya by declaring that they shared an enemy: Muzan Kibutsuji.

Rokuya stopped his blade just before killing Yushiro when Tamayo revealed that she could speak Muzan Kibutsuji’s name without triggering his curse. After hearing how she broke free of Muzan’s control and studied demon biology, Rokuya saw her research as a way to locate and defeat Muzan, but Tamayo still needed samples from powerful demons.

• Tamayo shouted to stop Rokuya’s blade, then revealed that she could speak Muzan Kibutsuji’s name without being torn apart by the curse.
• Rokuya demanded an explanation, and Tamayo said she had gradually severed her blood connection to Muzan through centuries of studying and modifying her own body.
• Tamayo explained that Yoriichi Tsugikuni had cut Muzan into pieces, giving her the chance to escape his control and lift the curse.
• Tamayo said she wanted to avenge her family and develop a drug that could destroy Muzan’s regeneration or turn demons back into humans.
• Rokuya recognized Tamayo as a potential ally who could help him find and kill Muzan, while Tamayo said she needed blood from powerful demons to continue her research.

Rokuya struck a deal with Tamayo and Yushiro, offering them protection in exchange for research on Muzan and help locating demons. Six months later, he had terrorized Tokyo Prefecture’s demons into hiding as the feared “Dark Blue Meteorite.”

• Rokuya offered Tamayo and Yushiro protection in exchange for her research on Muzan and intelligence on demons.
• Rokuya threatened Tamayo and Yushiro with destroying them and their clinic if they lied or harmed humans.
• Rokuya told Yushiro to prepare hundreds of concealment talismans so he could hunt demons more efficiently.
• Rokuya spent six months slaughtering demons throughout Tokyo Prefecture and the surrounding areas.
• Demons in Tokyo Prefecture began calling Rokuya the “Dark Blue Meteorite” and feared drawing his attention.

Rokuya spent his Gratitude Points to gain Master's Might and raise his strength to its current limit, then Kagaya appointed him supervisor of the upcoming Final Selection. He was ordered to save candidates facing certain death and disqualify them, leaving him set to intervene on Mount Fujikasane.

• Rokuya exchanged 20,000 Gratitude Points for the Master's Might passive skill.
• Rokuya spent 5,200 points to raise his strength to 50 and pulverized a stone wall with one finger.
• Kagaya praised Rokuya for reducing civilian casualties in Tokyo Prefecture by ninety percent over six months.
• Kagaya explained that many candidates died during Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane and said he wanted to break the rule against Hashira-level interference.
• Kagaya appointed Rokuya selection supervisor and instructed him to rescue candidates facing certain death, then disqualify and expel them.

Rokuya entered Mount Fujikasane’s Final Selection intending to save endangered candidates and earn their gratitude, while disqualifying those he considered unfit. He crushed a demon attacking a terrified swordsman, then declared the survivor disqualified, leaving the man protesting that he still needed to avenge his sister.

• Rokuya promised Kagaya Ubuyashiki that he would prevent any candidate he deemed unworthy from dying during Final Selection.
• At Mount Fujikasane, Rokuya observed candidates including Sabito, Makomo, Giyu Tomioka, Shinobu, and Kyojuro Rengoku before the selection began.
• Rokuya spotted Shinobu’s unusual Nichirin Blade and inferred that she had developed a wisteria poison because she lacked the strength to decapitate demons.
• After the bell rang, the candidates entered the forest, and Rokuya followed with his massive greatblade, Shura.
• Rokuya smashed a Four-Armed Demon attacking a wounded swordsman, then called the frightened survivor unfit and disqualified him.
• The swordsman protested that he still needed to become a Demon Slayer and avenge his little sister.

Rokuya rescued and disqualified struggling swordsmen during the selection, then found Shinobu defeating demons with her poison and joined her. Elsewhere, Sabito and Makomo fought demons together, with their battle still underway.

• Rokuya harshly reprimanded a swordsman he had rescued, who thanked him and vowed to become stronger.
• Rokuya spent three hours rescuing endangered swordsmen, forcing them to leave the selection, and gaining Gratitude Points.
• Rokuya rushed to Shinobu’s aid after sensing three demons closing in on her.
• Shinobu poisoned one demon to death, and Rokuya crushed the other two before praising her and warning her about her reaction speed.
• Sabito and Makomo battled demons in a clearing, with Sabito cutting apart three demons and Makomo attacking from a low angle.

Rokuya watched Sabito, Makomo, and Giyu defeat demons during Final Selection, then sent them to attack another nest after Giyu mistook his tree-side supervision for fear and weakness. He headed off to inspect the other candidates and found Sanemi Shinazugawa fighting several demons.

• Makomo severed two demons’ legs and then beheaded them while Giyu killed a massive demon with Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash.
• Rokuya descended from a wisteria tree, praised Sabito, Makomo, and Giyu, and assigned Sabito fifty laps to correct his landing.
• Giyu told Rokuya he knew he was hiding in the tree because he was afraid of the dark, prompting Sabito to grab him and protest.
• Rokuya ordered Sabito, Makomo, and Giyu to head east and clear a demon nest before daybreak.
• Rokuya used his heightened senses to search Mount Fujikasane and found Sanemi Shinazugawa fighting five or six demons with Wind Breathing, Fifth Form: Cold Autumn Falling Mountain Wind.

During Final Selection, Rokuya watched Sanemi and Kyojuro fight and judged them among an exceptional crop of talents. He then began rescuing struggling candidates by defeating demons and disqualifying the survivors, leaving Mount Fujikasane with a frightening rumor about a cruel man who appeared at the last moment.

• Rokuya watched Sanemi battle demons with reckless force and saw Kyojuro kill a demon with Flame Breathing.
• Rokuya decided the candidates included an unusually strong generation and set out to check on the weaker swordsmen.
• Rokuya crushed one demon with his sheathed blade and killed another with the thrown sheath, saving a wounded swordsman.
• Rokuya declared the swordsman disqualified and left him for the Kakushi Corps, while the swordsman realized Rokuya had saved him.
• Over the next few days, candidates spread rumors about a terrifying man who rescued them from demons before humiliating and disqualifying them.

During Final Selection, Rokuya forcibly disqualified and rescued more than twenty swordsmen, earning a flood of Gratitude Points. At the mountain’s foot, the rescued candidates praised him with the “Praise the Sun” routine, and Goto revealed that the Master had made it part of Demon Slayer Corps etiquette.

• Over three days, Rokuya roamed Mount Fujikasane, disqualifying unprepared candidates and rescuing them from demons.
• After seven days, nearly forty swordsmen gathered at the foot of the mountain, including successful survivors and more than twenty candidates Rokuya had rescued.
• The rescued swordsmen performed the “Praise the Sun” routine and fervently thanked Rokuya, while Sabito, Makomo, Sanemi Shinazugawa, Kyojuro Rengoku, and Giyu Tomioka reacted with surprise or amusement.
• Rokuya saw that the crowd’s gratitude had earned him 12,500 Gratitude Points, then demanded that Goto explain how the swordsmen knew the routine.
• Goto told Rokuya that the Master had added the routine to Demon Slayer Corps etiquette after hearing about its use in Mochizuki Village, and that Corps members now performed it in morning exercises.