Chapter Summaries

Rokuya witnessed Shinobu’s dream reveal that he had been her source of comfort during moments of fear, and he rescued her from demons in the Final Selection memory. The dream shifted to the Butterfly Mansion, where Shinobu found the badly wounded Rokuya and collapsed beside his bed.

• Rokuya urged Shinobu to use poison against demons and helped her regain hope in the dojo memory.
• Shinobu feared an ambush by two demons during the Final Selection, but Rokuya descended and crushed them before they could attack her.
• Rokuya told Shinobu she did not need to pretend to be strong, and she wondered why he appeared whenever she was helpless.
• The dream shifted to the Butterfly Mansion, where Shinobu entered carrying dressing supplies and saw Rokuya’s bandages soaked with blood.
• Shinobu dropped the tray, knelt beside Rokuya’s bed, and trembled as she hesitated to touch his wound.

Rokuya heard Shinobu’s hidden feelings while trapped in Enmu’s dream, witnessing how her fear of losing him and her desire to become useful had shaped their bond. When dream-Rokuya asked what they were to each other, Shinobu suppressed her love for him out of loyalty to Kanae and called him family.

• Rokuya heard Shinobu’s memories and inner thoughts as his arcana power linked him to her subconscious.
• Shinobu remembered fearing Rokuya would die from his injuries and realizing how deeply she was attached to him.
• Shinobu recalled celebrating when Rokuya’s arcana-infused blood transformed her wisteria poison into a weapon that could destroy demon flesh.
• Dream-Rokuya asked Shinobu what they were to each other, and she inwardly recognized him as the person she wanted to love and keep forever.
• Shinobu remembered Kanae’s love for Rokuya, condemned her own feelings, and answered that she and Rokuya were family.

Rokuya relived the moment he rejected Shinobu as family and saw how deeply his words had wounded her. After breaking free of Enmu’s dream, he found Shinobu’s cracked mental core and realized Enmu’s Blood Demon Art was trapping her in a cycle of comforting illusions and repeated despair.

• Shinobu asked Rokuya what they were to each other, and the dream replayed his answer that they were family and he would entrust her to someone else.
• Shinobu’s hope collapsed, and her anguish shattered the dream of her toxicology laboratory.
• Rokuya broke free of the dream and found Shinobu’s damaged mental core in a dark void.
• Enmu’s false family dream began again, and Rokuya recognized that Shinobu was trapped in an endless cycle of illusion and torment.

Rokuya tried to save Shinobu from Enmu’s dream, but every choice caused her mental core to crack further, leaving him to realize the trap had no solution within its rules. Meanwhile, Obanai confronted Enmu on the Mugen Train while Rokuya and another swordswoman remained trapped in their dreams.

• Rokuya used arcana power to regain control of his mental body and tried staying hidden from Shinobu in the Butterfly Mansion courtyard, but her despair cracked her mental core.
• Rokuya stayed silent outside the Flower Breathing Cultivator’s dojo, and Shinobu’s self-doubt caused another devastating blow to her mental core.
• Rokuya realized Enmu’s dream trapped Shinobu in a cycle where either his presence or his absence hurt her.
• Obanai found Enmu on the Mugen Train and learned that Rokuya and a swordswoman were still trapped in dreams.
• Obanai threatened Enmu after the demon taunted him about his companions’ suffering.

Obanai fought Lower Rank One Enmu atop the speeding train, resisting his sleep attacks with Kaburamaru’s help and striking back with Serpent Breathing. The chapter left Obanai attacking Enmu with his eyes closed, guided by Kaburamaru, as his blade pierced Enmu’s pink light.

• Enmu mocked Obanai and used the mouth on his hand to cast forced sleep hypnosis.
• Kaburamaru bit Obanai’s neck, jolting him awake before Enmu’s bone spikes could strike.
• Obanai used Serpent Breathing, Third Form: Nest Choke, to wound Enmu across the arms and chest.
• Enmu exposed the many eyes on his chest and unleashed another forced sleep attack.
• Obanai closed his eyes, relied on Kaburamaru to guide him, and attacked Enmu with Serpent Breathing, Fifth Form: Winding Serpent.

Obanai beheaded Enmu, but Enmu revealed that he had fused with the Mugen Train and threatened its passengers. Inside the dream, Rokuya discovered that Shinobu’s failing Mental Core was tied to her willingness to surrender to despair.

• Obanai cut off Enmu’s head with a single stroke, believing the fight was over.
• Enmu’s severed head grew flesh that spread across the train, revealing that he had fused his body with it and could devour its passengers.
• Obanai found himself surrounded by Enmu’s tentacles and realized he could not save the passengers alone.
• Rokuya felt the train’s violent jolts from within the dream and saw that Shinobu’s Mental Core was close to shattering.
• Rokuya realized Shinobu had willingly sunk into the dream’s despair, and that Enmu’s Blood Demon Art had only provided the stage for her surrender.

Obanai fought the tentacles growing from the demon-fused train while Rokuya, trapped in Shinobu’s dream, realized his rejection had driven her into despair. As Shinobu’s soul neared death, Rokuya resolved to stop the dream from killing her.

• Obanai cut apart the train’s attacking tentacles and saw that Rokuya’s dormant power kept them away from him and Shinobu.
• Obanai sensed the demon’s strongest presence at the front of the train and rushed toward it.
• Rokuya remembered telling Shinobu they were family and that he would entrust her to someone else after the war.
• Rokuya realized Shinobu’s despair came from reliving his rejection in Enmu’s dream loop.
• Rokuya saw the butterfly cocoon nearly shatter and shouted that he would not let Shinobu die.

Obanai fought Enmu in the train’s engine room, repeatedly waking himself from forced dreams by slitting his throat in the illusion. In Enmu’s mental space, Rokuya discovered how deeply Shinobu depended on him and realized why calling her “family” had hurt her so much.

• Obanai found Enmu’s neck bone in the engine room, but Enmu’s hypnosis dragged him into a nightmare of his childhood dungeon.
• Obanai recognized the dream as an illusion, slit his throat within it to wake himself, and attacked Enmu’s neck bone.
• Enmu repeatedly hypnotized Obanai, who endured the nightmare and woke again and again to keep attacking.
• Rokuya watched Shinobu’s memories and realized she saw him as a pillar she could always lean on, equal to or deeper than her bond with Kanae.
• Rokuya understood that calling Shinobu “family” had denied the place she wanted beside him and deeply wounded her.

Rokuya broke Enmu’s control over Shinobu’s final dream loop and faced her question about their relationship. At the same time, Obanai severed Enmu’s neck bone aboard the Mugen Train, while Rokuya’s answer to Shinobu remained unresolved.

• Rokuya entered the final dream loop and saw Shinobu’s devotion to him as she worked on her poison.
• Shinobu asked Rokuya what they were to each other, and Rokuya tore through Enmu’s control to replace his dream self.
• Obanai struck the same wound in Enmu’s neck bone twice and snapped it, sending the Mugen Train twisting out of control.
• Rokuya gently held Shinobu’s face and repeated her question, leaving her waiting for his answer.

Rokuya told Shinobu that they were lovers, breaking Enmu’s dream and waking them as the Mugen Train derailed. He shielded Shinobu through the train’s violent overturning, and they remained together amid the wreckage.

• Rokuya told Shinobu that they were family and lovers, shattering Enmu’s dream.
• Rokuya woke in the wreckage and found Shinobu awake beside him, crying and smiling.
• Enmu’s defeat caused the Mugen Train to twist off the tracks and begin overturning.
• Rokuya caught Shinobu and wrapped her in his arms, protecting them both with Arcana Power.
• The carriage rolled across the wilderness while Rokuya held Shinobu through the impacts.

After the train derailed, Rokuya and Shinobu Kocho escaped their overturned carriage and met Obanai Iguro, who had defeated Lower Rank One. They began organizing a search for survivors, with Rokuya sending the exhausted Obanai to provide support while he and Shinobu checked the front.

• Rokuya carried Shinobu Kocho out of their overturned carriage and surveyed the wreckage.
• Obanai Iguro emerged from the dust and reported that he had killed Lower Rank One.
• Rokuya praised Obanai for breaking Enmu's hypnosis and credited him with helping secure their victory.
• Obanai asked Rokuya about his mysterious dark-blue power, and Rokuya claimed it was a taxing family Breathing Style variant.
• Rokuya arranged for himself and Shinobu Kocho to search the front carriages while Obanai stayed in the middle to support them.

After Enmu’s defeat, Rokuya and Shinobu helped rescue every passenger from the derailed Mugen Train, while Obanai summoned the Kakushi Corps. As dawn arrived, Shinobu clung to Rokuya and they promised not to push each other away again.

• Shinobu took Rokuya’s hand and insisted on going with him to the wrecked carriages.
• Rokuya tore open the wreckage and rescued trapped passengers while Shinobu treated their injuries.
• Rokuya reported that all passengers had survived, and Obanai sent his Kasugai Crow to summon the Kakushi Corps.
• Overcome by hunger after using Arcana Power, Rokuya was embraced by Shinobu, who asked him to hold her tightly.
• Rokuya apologized for pushing Shinobu away, and Shinobu told him she would not let go of him again as dawn broke.

After surviving the Mugen Train battle, Rokuya comforted Shinobu and confessed that he wanted them to be lovers, not merely family. They returned to the Butterfly Mansion hand in hand, where the watching courtyard fell silent.

• At dawn, Rokuya held the sleeping Shinobu among the Mugen Train wreckage and received 20,000 gratitude points as his Invincible Might was fully unlocked.
• Shinobu woke in Rokuya's arms, and he took her hand when she tried to sit up and pull away.
• Rokuya told Shinobu he loved her and would no longer push her away, and she accepted his embrace.
• Rokuya and Shinobu walked hand in hand toward the Butterfly Mansion as Kakushi members watched in shock.
• At the mansion gate, Shinobu pleaded with Rokuya to let go before Aoi and the other girls saw them, but he refused, and they entered the courtyard together.

Rokuya brought Shinobu back to the Butterfly Mansion, where she openly admitted to Kanae that she wanted to be with him. Kanae accepted their relationship, and the chapter ended with her arranging a sukiyaki feast for the hungry Rokuya.

• Aoi Kanzaki and the three girls saw Rokuya and Shinobu holding hands and cheered that they were finally together.
• Rokuya told Shinobu he would not hide their relationship, and they admired the cherry blossoms in the courtyard.
• Kanae Kocho teased Shinobu for finally facing her feelings and reassured her that she had never been fooled by her mask.
• Shinobu apologized to Kanae and said she wanted to be with Rokuya.
• Kanae accepted them both, thanked Rokuya for helping Shinobu, and offered to prepare sukiyaki after Rokuya said he was starving.

Rokuya recounted how he defeated Enmu’s dream and saved Shinobu from despair, reassuring both sisters after the dangerous Mugen Train mission. Kanae then asked who had slain the demon fused with the train in reality.

• Rokuya explained that Lower Rank One Enmu used hypnosis and tailored dreams to destroy victims’ Mental Cores.
• Rokuya revealed that Enmu had exploited his rejection of Shinobu, leaving her will close to breaking in her dream.
• Rokuya said he entered Shinobu’s dream with his Arcana Power, destroyed the illusion, and promised to be both her family and her lover.
• Kanae and Shinobu thanked Rokuya, who asked instead for the remaining beef, and Shinobu cooked it for him.
• Kanae asked who had killed the demon fused with the Mugen Train.

Rokuya recounted how Obanai Iguro endured repeated dream-induced throat slitting to defeat Enmu, and Kagaya Ubuyashiki officially promoted him to Serpent Hashira. Kagaya also praised Takanashi Rokuno for protecting Kanae and rescuing the train passengers, elevating his standing within the Demon Slayer Corps.

• Rokuya told Kanae and Shinobu that Obanai repeatedly slit his throat in Enmu's dream hypnosis to break free and reach Enmu's true body.
• At the Ubuyashiki Estate, Kagaya announced that Enmu had been slain and the Mugen Train's passengers had all survived.
• Kagaya promoted Obanai to Serpent Hashira for killing Enmu, and Obanai vowed to serve the Master and destroy demons.
• Kagaya praised Takanashi Rokuno for protecting the Insect Hashira and rescuing more than two hundred passengers, then bowed to him before the assembled Hashira.

Rokuya and the Hashira reflected on the Corps’ growing strength before he took newly appointed Serpent Hashira Obanai to inspect Tokyo. They spotted a tearful Mitsuri Kanroji being insulted on a matchmaking date, and Rokuya urged Obanai to defend her.

• Rokuya privately wished to live peacefully while appreciating the Hashira who fought beside him.
• Rokuya took Obanai to Tokyo, saying they would inspect the area and give the new Hashira a change of scenery.
• Rokuya noticed a girl with unusually dense muscles at a matchmaking date outside a Western restaurant.
• The suitor mocked Mitsuri Kanroji’s hair, appetite, and appearance, making her fight back tears.
• Obanai grew furious at the suitor, and Rokuya encouraged him to give the man a tongue-lashing.

Obanai drove away the man who had insulted Mitsuri Kanroji, and Rokuya and Obanai accompanied her home. There, they reassured Mitsuri that her strength and unusual traits were gifts, and the chapter ended as she asked about their swords and work.

• Obanai threatened the bespectacled man until he fled the matchmaking table, then checked on Mitsuri.
• Mitsuri thanked Obanai and invited him and Rokuya to her home.
• Mitsuri told her parents that the matchmaking meeting had failed because Mr. Yu called her a freak, and her parents thanked her rescuers.
• Rokuya encouraged Mitsuri to accept her strength and unusual traits, and Obanai agreed that she should not deny who she was.
• Mitsuri noticed Rokuya and Obanai's Nichirin Blades and asked what they did for work.

Mitsuri decided she wanted to join the Demon Slayer Corps to protect others, and Rokuya teased her and Obanai about becoming a couple. Rokuya and Obanai then brought Mitsuri to the hidden Corps headquarters, where she affirmed her resolve to join.

• Mitsuri learned that demons preyed on humans and asked to join the Demon Slayer Corps so she could protect people with her strength.
• Rokuya suggested that Obanai would make a suitable partner for Mitsuri, leaving both of them embarrassed.
• Rokuya, Obanai, and Mitsuri traveled through the mountains toward the Corps headquarters, and Obanai warned Mitsuri about the deadly life of a demon slayer.
• Mitsuri said she would not back down from joining, despite the danger, because she wanted to protect others and find people who accepted her.
• Rokuya led Mitsuri and Obanai through a wisteria grove to the hidden headquarters, where swordsmen trained and Kakushi personnel carried supplies.

Rokuya brought Mitsuri Kanroji to Demon Slayer headquarters, where Kyojuro Rengoku offered to train her in Flame Breathing and she eagerly accepted. After Obanai Iguro hurried away, Rokuya returned to the Butterfly Mansion, where Shinobu questioned him about frightening a civilian in Tokyo Prefecture.

• Kyojuro praised Mitsuri's strength, appetite, and unusual appearance, helping her feel accepted.
• Rokuya and Obanai explained Mitsuri's potential and need for a Cultivator, and Kyojuro invited her to study Flame Breathing with his father, Shinjuro Rengoku.
• Mitsuri accepted Kyojuro's offer and thanked Rokuya and Obanai before leaving for the Rengoku estate.
• Rokuya teased Obanai about his interest in Mitsuri, and Obanai hurried off toward his residence.
• Rokuya returned to the Butterfly Mansion, where Shinobu scolded him and asked about the Kakushi Corps report that he and Obanai had frightened a civilian.