Chapter Summaries

Tetsu no Sosuke discovered Nakime wandering a mountain path and suspected her behavior was connected to her human past. He reported his findings to Ubuyashiki Kagaya and continued investigating in Tokyo, ending when he heard uneven footsteps near the hillside.

• Tetsu no Sosuke saw Nakime wander back and forth along the mountain path through the night before she vanished at dawn.
• Tetsu no Sosuke wondered what Nakime had been searching for and considered how little he knew about her past.
• Tetsu no Sosuke wrote to Ubuyashiki Kagaya, reporting Nakime’s appearances and proposing a timeline for a mission to eliminate her.
• Tetsu no Sosuke returned to the hillside on later nights, roamed Tokyo to collect rumors, and eventually heard faint, uneven footsteps.

Tetsu no Sosuke watched two children, Kyou-chan and Ken-kun, arrive at a slope at night to summon the One-Eyed Goddess and make a wish. He suspected the goddess was Nakime and remained hidden as Kyou-chan prayed.

• Tetsu no Sosuke climbed a tree to hide when he heard two children approaching at night.
• Kyou-chan and Ken-kun identified the slope as the Wishing Slope and knelt at its foot.
• Kyou-chan explained that a One-Eyed Goddess could grant wishes and called for her to appear.
• Tetsu no Sosuke wondered if the goddess was Nakime and worried the children might become her prey.
• Kyou-chan closed her eyes to make her wish while Tetsu no Sosuke stayed hidden.

Tetsu no Sosuke watched Ken-kun flee after Kyou-chan confessed she hoped to marry Tarou-aniki, leaving her alone in the dark. He approached her with the lantern, and she mistook him for Ken-kun.

• Kyou-chan told Ken-kun she hoped to marry Tarou-aniki someday.
• Ken-kun froze, then ran off without taking the lantern.
• Kyou-chan stumbled and fell, then huddled alone in the darkness.
• Tetsu no Sosuke climbed down, picked up the lantern, and approached Kyou-chan.
• Kyou-chan saw the light and called out, thinking Tetsu no Sosuke was Ken-kun.

Tetsu no Sosuke found Kyou-chan alone at night and escorted her home while questioning her about the One-Eyed Goddess. He learned the tale came from her neighbor, whose claims about the goddess seemed contradictory.

• Tetsu no Sosuke teased Kyou-chan about Ken-kun and offered to take her home.
• Kyou-chan worried that Tetsu no Sosuke might be a child kidnapper, but agreed to follow him.
• Tetsu no Sosuke asked Kyou-chan about the One-Eyed Goddess as they walked.
• Kyou-chan explained that her neighbor claimed the goddess granted wishes and was searching for her missing husband.
• Tetsu no Sosuke doubted the neighbor’s story because the goddess supposedly could grant wishes but could not find her husband.

Tetsu no Sosuke brought Kyou-chan home and reassured her that Ken-kun liked her, then became suspicious of her neighbor, who had set the children up to go out. He decided to observe the neighbor before choosing what to do.

• Tetsu no Sosuke returned Kyou-chan to her home and handed her the lantern.
• Kyou-chan asked whether Ken-kun liked her, and Tetsu no Sosuke said it was obvious.
• Tetsu no Sosuke worried that Ken-kun had abandoned Kyou-chan and considered warning the children not to fool around before adulthood.
• Tetsu no Sosuke suspected Kyou-chan's neighbor had an ulterior motive for arranging the children's outing.
• Tetsu no Sosuke decided to watch the neighbor before deciding how to deal with him.

Tetsu no Sosuke tried to learn more about the young man, only to find him counting ants he had raised. The young man left for a meal without explaining anything further.

• Tetsu no Sosuke went to meet the young man and realized there was no complicated secret behind him.
• Tetsu no Sosuke crouched beside the young man as he watched ants, then asked what he was looking at.
• The young man said he was watching Little Black move house and listed many ants he had raised.
• The young man stood up and left to eat, while Tetsu no Sosuke hesitated to call after him.

Tetsu no Sosuke accepted a young man's invitation to dinner and followed him home, suspecting the man was simple-minded and in need of help. Inside the cluttered house, Sosuke found no sign of the young man's mother and wondered whether she was really there.

• The young man called Tetsu no Sosuke his brother and invited him to dinner at his house.
• Tetsu no Sosuke agreed and followed the young man, thinking he could leave the household some money afterward.
• The young man let himself into the house and locked the door, saying his mother had told him to do so.
• Tetsu no Sosuke looked around the overgrown courtyard and followed the young man into the dim, cluttered house.
• Tetsu no Sosuke found no sign of anyone else in the house as the young man called for his mother.

Tetsu no Sosuke watched a young man play both a son and his unseen mother, then found himself drawn into the young man’s game of catch the demon. The young man vanished to hide, leaving Tetsu no Sosuke alone in the wrecked living room.

• Tetsu no Sosuke heard the young man speak as both a son and a mother inside the room.
• The young man told Tetsu no Sosuke to wait, then returned and said his mother was making lunch.
• The young man invited Tetsu no Sosuke to play catch the demon, explaining that the demon would eat the loser.
• The young man ran off and vanished before Tetsu no Sosuke could respond.

Tetsu no Sosuke searched the neglected house and found the young man, who denied knowing him but revealed his fixation on the One-Eyed Goddess. The young man’s attempt to remember someone he wanted to find ended in agony and a scream.

• Tetsu no Sosuke searched the rear courtyard but could not find the young man.
• The young man appeared behind Tetsu no Sosuke and claimed he lived alone and knew of no children in the house.
• Tetsu no Sosuke asked whether the young man had heard of the One-Eyed Goddess, and the young man revealed that he knew of her.
• The young man said the Goddess looked like someone and insisted she could help him find her.
• The young man struggled to remember who he wanted to find, clutched his hair, and screamed in pain.

Tetsu no Sosuke treated the young man after he injured himself and deduced that his illness and his visions of a mother and son might hold clues to his past. He sent the young man to the Demon Slayer Corps for care, then wondered who had owned the house.

• The young man suddenly struck his head against a wall and passed out, so Tetsu no Sosuke checked his breathing and bandaged him.
• Tetsu no Sosuke concluded that the young man was ill and that his questions about Nakime might have triggered an episode.
• Tetsu no Sosuke suspected that the mother and son the young man had portrayed represented important people in his life.
• Tetsu no Sosuke carried the young man outside and summoned a Kasugai Crow to request help.
• Members of the Hidden took the young man away, and Tetsu no Sosuke wondered who had owned the house.

Tetsu no Sosuke investigated the history of the dilapidated house but found little and searched it without success. Ubuyashiki Kagaya directed him to someone who could provide the records, and Tetsu no Sosuke returned from meeting them at evening.

• Tetsu no Sosuke asked Ubuyashiki Kagaya to investigate the house's history and made inquiries of his own.
• Tetsu no Sosuke learned that the house had been empty for a long time before a troubled young man moved in with a key of unknown origin.
• Tetsu no Sosuke searched the house all night but found only traces of the young man's life there.
• Tetsu no Sosuke resumed his routine in Tokyo, checked the hillside where Nakime had appeared, and wrote letters to Kanae.
• Ubuyashiki Kagaya sent Tetsu no Sosuke directions to someone who could help, and Tetsu no Sosuke hid his Nichirin Blade before going to meet them.

Tetsu no Sosuke investigated the young man’s house and found records suggesting the young man’s family had disappeared when he was a child. He considered whether Nakime had been involved, but the young man’s lack of fear and apparent nostalgia for her left the mystery unresolved.

• Tetsu no Sosuke reviewed incomplete records showing that a young couple and their child had vanished after living in the house.
• Tetsu no Sosuke suspected the young man might have been the couple’s child and that some traumatic experience had damaged his mind.
• Tetsu no Sosuke wondered why the young man had connected Nakime with the One-Eyed Goddess and said she looked like someone he knew.
• Tetsu no Sosuke considered that Nakime might have eaten the young man’s parents, but the young man’s longing and nostalgia for her contradicted the theory.

A government official brought Tetsu no Sosuke an old photograph he had missed while examining records. The family portrait appeared to reveal the identities of the young man and Nakime, leaving Tetsu no Sosuke with crucial evidence for his theory.

• A neatly dressed government official visited Tetsu no Sosuke at the Inn.
• The official gave Tetsu no Sosuke an old photograph he had found among the records.
• Tetsu no Sosuke saw that the father in the portrait looked almost identical to the young man.
• After comparing the woman’s features, Tetsu no Sosuke recognized her as Nakime.

Tetsu no Sosuke traveled to the Butterfly Estate to investigate the young man who resembled someone in a photograph with Nakime. The young man recognized the people in the picture as his parents, leaving Tetsu no Sosuke with a possible answer about their connection.

• Tetsu no Sosuke saw Nakime, a man, and a child in a photograph and suspected they were family.
• Tetsu no Sosuke learned that the young man had been taken to the Butterfly Estate and traveled there.
• Tetsu no Sosuke arrived at the Butterfly Estate and learned that Shinobu Kocho was away while the young man remained there.
• Tetsu no Sosuke showed the young man the photograph, and the young man called the man and woman in it Dad and Mom.

Tetsu no Sosuke pieced together Nakime’s tragic past and realized she returned to the hillside each month searching for her lost son. After reaching Tokyo, he wrote to Ubuyashiki Kagaya to begin a plan to confront her, starting by calling for help.

• Tetsu no Sosuke left the Butterfly Estate after warning the three girls not to fight over his photograph.
• On the train to Tokyo, Tetsu no Sosuke concluded that Nakime had lost her husband and son, and that mother and son might have failed to recognize each other when they reunited years later.
• Tetsu no Sosuke accepted the photograph as evidence and considered how Nakime’s monthly visits could help him.
• After returning to his inn in Tokyo, Tetsu no Sosuke wrote to Ubuyashiki Kagaya to put his plan into action.
• Tetsu no Sosuke decided to call for help before facing Nakime, despite being less afraid of an Upper Rank Demon.

Tetsu no Sosuke assembled a team to capture Nakime and waited for her to appear, passing the time by buying gifts for Kanae. After another week, Shinobu Kocho and Yushiro arrived to join the effort.

• Tetsu no Sosuke chose the Wind Pillar, his sister-in-law, Giyu Tomioka, and Yushiro to help capture Nakime.
• Tetsu no Sosuke worried that Nakime might become more dangerous or pull everyone into the Infinity Castle when she saw them.
• Tetsu no Sosuke waited for Nakime, wandering, buying gifts for Kanae, and sleeping at the Inn.
• Shinobu Kocho arrived with Yushiro, who placed a paper talisman in the room before leaving.
• Tetsu no Sosuke asked Shinobu Kocho if she had bullied Yushiro, and she replied that Yushiro clearly hated him.

Tetsu no Sosuke waited for the others to arrive before explaining his plan, while Shinobu Kocho inspected his room for Photinia’s scent on behalf of her older sister. Shinobu left after a brief exchange, and Tetsu no Sosuke was left puzzling over her changing attitude toward him.

• Tetsu no Sosuke said that even Demons disliked him, and Shinobu Kocho asked what his plan was.
• Tetsu no Sosuke said he would wait until everyone arrived so he would not have to explain his plan repeatedly.
• Shinobu Kocho sniffed around Tetsu no Sosuke’s room, explaining that she was checking for Photinia on behalf of her older sister.
• Shinobu Kocho said good night and left, while Tetsu no Sosuke wondered about her complicated feelings toward him.

Tetsu no Sosuke briefed the Demon Slayers on Nakime’s Infinity Castle and explained why killing her was essential to defeating Muzan. Two days later, he waited on a tree branch above the same hillside as the group prepared to move.

• Tetsu no Sosuke gathered Sanemi Shinazugawa, Giyu Tomioka, Shinobu Kocho, and Yushiro for a pre-battle briefing.
• Tetsu no Sosuke said they would move the night after tomorrow to target Nakime.
• Tetsu no Sosuke explained that Nakime could use the Infinity Castle to control space and send people to places she knew.
• Sanemi Shinazugawa warned that Nakime might have reinforcements, and Tetsu no Sosuke said he would need Sanemi’s cooperation.
• Tetsu no Sosuke said Nakime had to die because the Infinity Castle could make Kibutsuji Muzan invincible.
• Two days later, Tetsu no Sosuke waited on a tree branch overlooking the hillside.

Tetsu no Sosuke and Shinobu Kocho waited for Nakime to return to the hillside where she searched for her son. After Nakime recognized the young man and tried to flee, Tetsu no Sosuke used Sanemi Shinazugawa’s threat against him to keep her from summoning Kibutsuji Muzan.

• Tetsu no Sosuke sensed Nakime approaching, and she appeared on the slope, searching for something she could not remember.
• Nakime recognized the young man who approached with Tetsu no Sosuke and reached toward him before abruptly trying to leave.
• Tetsu no Sosuke confronted Nakime and warned her against summoning Kibutsuji Muzan.
• Nakime saw Sanemi Shinazugawa holding a blade to the young man’s neck, and the young man called her the One-Eyed Goddess.

Tetsu no Sosuke used the young man to make Nakime transport him toward the Wind Pillar, hoping to prevent her from helping Kibutsuji Muzan. In the Infinity Castle, Nakime did not attack but silently watched the young man with longing.

• Tetsu no Sosuke threatened Nakime with her son, and she summoned rooms and corridors of the Infinity Castle.
• Tetsu no Sosuke sent a Kasugai Crow to locate the Wind Pillar through Yushiro's mental link.
• Tetsu no Sosuke confirmed that the others had reached their assigned positions and hoped the Wind Pillar would hold to the plan.
• The Wind Pillar found Nakime sitting opposite him and the young man without attacking or trying to take the young man away.
• Nakime watched the young man with longing and seemed about to speak, but held back.