Chapter Summaries

Kiyohiko, a demon with a Bond System, fought and mocked the Hand Demon on Mount Fujikasane while waiting for the Final Selection to begin. When human candidates arrived, he refused the Hand Demon’s offer to escape together and set off to find Tanjiro Kamado.

• Kiyohiko explained that he had transmigrated to Mount Fujikasane and had fought the Hand Demon since learning it was the Taisho era.
• The Hand Demon sensed the Final Selection candidates approaching and eagerly anticipated eating them.
• Kiyohiko decided to leave the Hand Demon and seek out Tanjiro Kamado to build a bond with him.
• The Hand Demon offered to let Kiyohiko eat the candidates if they joined forces to escape and take revenge on Urokodaki.
• Kiyohiko rejected the offer, insulted the Hand Demon, and walked away as their Bond Value fell to -70.

Kiyohiko found Zenitsu in the forest and pranked him, only to discover that Zenitsu became lethally skilled while asleep. After surviving a near-fatal sword strike, Kiyohiko woke Zenitsu and watched him start to faint again.

• Kiyohiko heard Zenitsu screaming in the forest and found him clinging to a tree in terror.
• Kiyohiko startled Zenitsu, who screamed himself unconscious.
• Kiyohiko remembered that Zenitsu fought more powerfully while asleep, just as Zenitsu used Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash to cut Kiyohiko's neck.
• Kiyohiko regenerated, cursed at the sleeping Zenitsu, and struggled to resist his hunger for human blood.
• Kiyohiko woke Zenitsu, who saw his demonic face and began to scream before nearly fainting again.

Kiyohiko kept Zenitsu from panicking after Zenitsu slashed him in his sleep, then enlisted Zenitsu’s hearing to search for Tanjiro during the selection. They found a gravely wounded candidate instead, and Kiyohiko began trying to save him.

• Kiyohiko restrained Zenitsu and explained that he would not eat him, despite Zenitsu’s fear and his negative Bond Value.
• Zenitsu introduced himself and said his grandfather had forced him into the selection, and Kiyohiko offered to protect him in exchange for help finding someone.
• Kiyohiko described Tanjiro as a gentle-sounding person with a hard head, and Zenitsu used his hearing to locate a faint sound nearby.
• Kiyohiko and Zenitsu found an unfamiliar selection candidate gravely injured and near death.
• Kiyohiko approached the wounded candidate and pressed his palm to the man’s mangled chest to save him.

Kiyohiko searched for Tanjiro with Zenitsu, repeatedly healing injured swordsmen before the Hand Demon’s stench led him to the creature. He reached a clearing where Tanjiro faced the Hand Demon and stepped in front of him.

• Kiyohiko healed an injured swordsman by transferring the man’s wounds to himself, then sent him away after his own body regenerated.
• Zenitsu led Kiyohiko to three more injured swordsmen, whom Kiyohiko healed while complaining that they were not Tanjiro.
• Kiyohiko heard the Hand Demon approaching and told Zenitsu to hide until sunrise before racing toward the stench.
• Kiyohiko found Tanjiro facing the Hand Demon beside two fallen Demon Slayer Corps members and confronted the demon.

Kiyohiko faced the Hand Demon while protecting Tanjiro, and Tanjiro’s bond with him grew after the demon mocked him for saving people. When the Hand Demon trapped Tanjiro in a cage of arms, Kiyohiko rushed in and took the attack, leaving himself pierced and bleeding.

• The Hand Demon mocked Kiyohiko for becoming weak and saving humans, and Tanjiro realized Kiyohiko was a demon who protected people.
• Tanjiro’s bond value with Kiyohiko rose to 45, and Kiyohiko taunted the Hand Demon before its attack resumed.
• Kiyohiko dodged the Hand Demon’s many arms while Tanjiro used Water Breathing, second form: Water Wheel, to sever several of them.
• The Hand Demon twisted its arms into a cage that trapped Tanjiro, and Kiyohiko charged in to save him.
• The Hand Demon’s arms pierced Kiyohiko through the abdomen, shoulder, and thigh as he shielded Tanjiro.

Kiyohiko helped Tanjiro kill the Hand Demon, then fought his hunger to use his Blood Demon Art to heal two dying candidates by taking their injuries onto himself. The healing left Kiyohiko showing signs of losing control, after he told Tanjiro to cut off his head if he turned on them.

• Kiyohiko held the Hand Demon's arm in place, giving Tanjiro an opening to decapitate it with Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash.
• Zenitsu returned and found Tanjiro supporting the badly wounded Kiyohiko.
• Kiyohiko smelled the blood of two dying candidates and struggled to resist his urge to eat them.
• Kiyohiko warned Tanjiro to cut off his head if he lost control, then used his Blood Demon Art to transfer the candidates' injuries to himself and save them.
• Kiyohiko's eyes turned scarlet, his pupils narrowed, and his fangs grew as he began to lose control.

Tanjiro knocked Kiyohiko unconscious with a headbutt when the demon lost control, then decided to carry him to safety. Two swordsmen Kiyohiko had rescued joined Tanjiro and Zenitsu to vouch for him at the finish line.

• Tanjiro headbutted Kiyohiko unconscious and explained to Zenitsu that he would not kill a demon who had saved someone.
• Tanjiro gagged Kiyohiko and asked Zenitsu to help hide him from the rising sun; Kiyohiko shrank to the size of a child as his strength ran out.
• Tanjiro and Zenitsu received system rewards for increased bond levels with Kiyohiko unconscious.
• A young swordsman recognized Kiyohiko as the demon who had healed injuries from an attack the previous night and offered to vouch for him.
• A scarred female swordswoman said Kiyohiko had restored her eyesight and joined the group to repay him.

At the end of Final Selection, the Ubuyashiki twins ordered Tanjiro to abandon the unconscious demon Kiyohiko, but the people he had saved stood with Tanjiro to protect him. Kagaya Ubuyashiki heard about the unprecedented defiance and ordered that Kiyohiko be spared and taken to Shinobu.

• The Ubuyashiki twins barred Tanjiro from entering Mount Fujikasane with Kiyohiko and demanded that he kill or abandon the demon.
• Genya Shinazugawa confronted Tanjiro, while Tanjiro refused to give Kiyohiko up and explained that Kiyohiko had saved lives.
• The swordsmen Kiyohiko had treated, along with Zenitsu, formed a protective circle around him and defied the twins.
• The Ubuyashiki twins sent a Kasugai Crow to report the situation to Oyakata-sama.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki learned that twelve candidates had survived and that several were protecting Kiyohiko.
• Kagaya ordered that Kiyohiko not be harmed and be taken to Shinobu, hoping he would wake safely.

Kiyohiko woke up restrained at the Butterfly Mansion after recovering from his injuries and discovered that Shinobu Kocho was keeping him under observation. He offended Shinobu by bluntly telling her that she smelled bad, and she responded by drawing her Nichirin Blade.

• Kiyohiko woke after sleeping for two days and found himself strapped to a bed in a dark room.
• Shinobu Kocho introduced herself and explained that the Master had ordered her to keep Kiyohiko alive for observation.
• Shinobu questioned Kiyohiko about saving people and tested whether he wanted to attack her.
• Kiyohiko told Shinobu that her Wisteria scent smelled bad and made him feel sick.
• Shinobu's bond value dropped to -30, and she drew her Nichirin Blade as Kiyohiko pleaded with her to put it down.

Kiyohiko woke as a demon under Shinobu Kocho’s watch, and she fed him rice balls and Wisteria tea while warning him not to misbehave. The chapter ended with him sprawled on the bed after drinking the tea, seemingly incapacitated.

• Kiyohiko asked Shinobu why she hated him, and she explained that the Demon Slayer Corps despised demons for eating people and destroying families.
• Kiyohiko’s stomach growled, so he asked Shinobu for food; she left to get something while warning him that her poison would kill him if he showed his fangs.
• Shinobu returned with rice balls and tea, loosened the restraint on Kiyohiko’s right hand, and let him eat.
• Kiyohiko found the rice ball nearly inedible but noticed that eating it eased his craving for humans.
• Kiyohiko pointed out that Shinobu’s smile hid her anger, and she ordered him to drink her Wisteria tea.
• Shinobu forced the tea on Kiyohiko, leaving him sprawled on the bed with his eyes rolled back and his tongue hanging out.

Shinobu Kocho tested Kiyohiko with wisteria extract and questioned why he had risked himself to save humans on Mount Fujikasane. She grew more willing to trust him, but warned that the other Hashira still objected to him and that he would soon meet them and the Master.

• Kiyohiko pretended the wisteria extract was killing him until Shinobu explained it would only cause numbness and weakness.
• Kiyohiko told Shinobu that he had saved the young demon slayers because he could not bear to watch them die, and insisted he had never harmed anyone since becoming aware.
• Kiyohiko said he had taken the tea because Shinobu was a doctor and he wanted to ease her anger; his Bond Value with Shinobu Kocho rose to -10.
• Shinobu offered to have fish brought for Kiyohiko and told him a Kakushi would take him to see the Master and the Hashira, urging him to hold back if they challenged him.
• Kiyohiko asked Shinobu to say “moshi moshi,” and Shinobu privately wondered whether they should kill the strange demon after all.

Kiyohiko faced the Hashira’s suspicion while Sanemi tested his restraint with Marechi blood. Just as Kiyohiko’s reason began to fail, the Master arrived.

• Kiyohiko knelt before the nine Hashira, and Mitsuri showed him a positive bond value while Obanai’s dropped further.
• Tanjiro defended Kiyohiko, saying he had saved the candidates from the Hand Demon, while Zenitsu panicked beside him.
• Sanemi rejected Tanjiro’s defense and drew his Nichirin Blade, cutting his own arm to expose Kiyohiko to his Marechi blood.
• Kiyohiko struggled to resist the blood as Sanemi grabbed his hair and forced him to face it.
• Shinobu pulled Sanemi’s arm away, and two voices announced that the Master had arrived.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki spared Kiyohiko after he resisted the urge to drink Sanemi Shinazugawa’s blood, and Shinobu Kocho agreed to supervise him at the Butterfly Mansion. Kiyohiko was left flustered when Shinobu repeated the phrase he had once asked her to say.

• Kagaya Ubuyashiki stopped the Hashira from executing Kiyohiko and judged that he had proved his reason by resisting Sanemi Shinazugawa’s blood.
• Kagaya announced that Shinobu Kocho would supervise and treat Kiyohiko at the Butterfly Mansion, with six newly selected corps members also vouching for him.
• Tanjiro Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma hugged Kiyohiko after the meeting ended.
• Shinobu ordered Tanjiro and Zenitsu to return to training and Kiyohiko to be taken to her private laboratory.
• Shinobu whispered “Moshi moshi” to Kiyohiko and called him her test subject, leaving him flustered.

Kiyohiko shrank into a child-sized form to travel safely through the sunlight, leaving Tanjiro and Zenitsu behind as the Kakushi carried him to Shinobu Kocho. He arrived at Shinobu’s place for an examination and changed back into his normal form in the shade.

• Kiyohiko complained to Tanjiro and Zenitsu that Shinobu would experiment on him, while Zenitsu envied Kiyohiko for being taken in by her.
• Kiyohiko shrank to child size and climbed into a light-blocking box so the Kakushi could transport him safely.
• Kiyohiko said goodbye to Tanjiro and Zenitsu, and their Bond Values rose as they wished him well.
• During the dark journey, Kiyohiko found himself thinking about Shinobu and her voice.
• Shinobu opened the box and teased Kiyohiko before he changed back to his normal size in the shade.

Kiyohiko recovered his adult form and underwent a blood test while Shinobu Kocho teased him. After he asked why she smelled so strongly of Wisteria, Shinobu said it was a self-defense measure because she lacked the strength to behead demons.

• Kiyohiko stood up after recovering, and Shinobu Kocho examined him and called him her charge.
• Shinobu Kocho drew Kiyohiko’s blood while he daydreamed about earning Bond Value at the Butterfly Mansion.
• Shinobu Kocho flicked Kiyohiko’s forehead when he ignored her, then finished the blood draw.
• Kiyohiko complained about Shinobu Kocho’s strong Wisteria scent and asked why she used so much of it.
• Shinobu Kocho explained that Wisteria helped protect her because she lacked the strength to cut off a demon’s head.

Kiyohiko offered to kill demons for Shinobu Kocho, but his joking demands for food quickly irritated her again. He was escorted to a Wisteria-free room at the Butterfly Mansion and received animal blood to eat.

• Kiyohiko told Shinobu Kocho he would kill demons for her, and his Bond Value with her rose to 5.
• Shinobu Kocho ended the examination and said a Kakushi member would take Kiyohiko to a room without Wisteria.
• Kiyohiko asked for a soft bed and blood, causing his Bond Value with Shinobu Kocho to drop to -1.
• Shinobu Kocho agreed to have Aoi prepare animal blood and warned Kiyohiko not to complain or attack anyone.
• A Kakushi member led Kiyohiko to a secluded, Wisteria-free room and left a food box at the door.

After eating pig blood soup, Kiyohiko wondered why Shinobu Kocho kept shifting between kindness and hostility, then fell asleep. Shinobu privately reflected on how he had unsettled her usual composure and decided to keep observing him, while planning to add something extra to his examination the next day.

• Kiyohiko devoured the pig blood soup and blamed Shinobu’s mood swings on her personality rather than anything he had done.
• Kiyohiko fell asleep, still thinking that Shinobu’s smile would look better if it were genuine.
• Shinobu fed her goldfish Fugu and recalled how Kiyohiko had made her lose her composure several times.
• Shinobu remembered feeling moved when Kiyohiko acknowledged her suffering and promised to help kill demons.
• Shinobu decided to keep observing Kiyohiko and planned to make his physical examination more unpleasant the next day.

Kiyohiko woke from a dream of taking revenge on Shinobu Kocho and was sent to train at the Butterfly Mansion dojo. He found Shinobu waiting in the dark with a wooden sword, amused by what he had said in his sleep.

• Aoi Kanzaki woke Kiyohiko and told him to drink a special breakfast of deer blood before training.
• Kiyohiko drank the blood, learned that Aoi would supervise his daily routine, and teased her by calling her Sunflower Seed.
• Aoi guided Kiyohiko through the sunny hallway, slowing down and shielding him from the light as he struggled to walk.
• Aoi led Kiyohiko into the dark dojo, where Shinobu Kocho greeted him with a wooden sword and mentioned his dream about flicking her forehead.

Kiyohiko underwent Shinobu Kocho’s punishing reflex test in the dojo and showed improving agility without fighting back. Shinobu then announced she would test his healing Blood Demon Art, hinting that she had someone injured for him to treat.

• Aoi Kanzaki shoved Kiyohiko into the dark dojo with Shinobu after he tried to deny the rumor about praising her.
• Shinobu Kocho made Kiyohiko dodge her wooden-sword attacks and warned him not to attack her back.
• Kiyohiko dodged Shinobu’s strikes for twenty minutes and grew more adept at following her movements.
• Shinobu asked why Kiyohiko had not fought back, and he flattered her by saying he did not want to hurt her.
• Shinobu told Kiyohiko to rest before testing his healing Blood Demon Art, then said someone in the dojo was injured.

Kiyohiko discovered that Shinobu Kocho had saturated her body with an enormous dose of Wisteria poison and confronted her about the danger. After healing her cut by transferring it to himself, he showed her that the poison had left his wound unable to heal.

• Shinobu Kocho cut her palm and challenged Kiyohiko to demonstrate how a demon saved people.
• Kiyohiko smelled the concentrated Wisteria poison in Shinobu Kocho's blood, seized her wrist, and accused her of turning herself into a walking jar of poison.
• Shinobu Kocho warned Kiyohiko to release her, but he used his ability to heal her palm by transferring the wound to his own hand.
• Kiyohiko showed Shinobu Kocho that his transferred wound remained unhealed, its edges blackened and smoking from the poison.