Recaps

Teiichi and Akaza fought fiercely in the woods as Akaza’s Compass Needle helped him counter the Demon Slayer’s attacks. Teiichi revealed iron weights strapped to his arm and launched a sudden sword strike that left Akaza wondering if he was about to die.

• Teiichi and Akaza exchanged rapid sword strikes and Blood Demon Art attacks as Akaza relished the long-awaited battle.
• Akaza used Compass Needle to detect openings in Teiichi’s forms and attacked despite taking wounds from the wind blades.
• Akaza shattered the ground with Ten Thousand Leaves Flashing Willow, raising a curtain of snow and soil to obscure their vision.
• Akaza punched through the curtain, but his fist struck iron weights strapped to Teiichi’s arm.
• Teiichi followed the clash with Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash, and Akaza saw the green blade rapidly approach.

Akaza began regenerating his head after breaking through the limit, while Muzan attacked the Kamado family and turned Nezuko and Rokuta into demons. Teiichi removed his weights and resolved to keep Akaza pinned down until sunrise.

• Akaza's head began dissolving, but his desperate will to survive made his headless body start growing it back.
• Muzan killed Delia, Takeo, Shigeru, Kie, and Rokuta, then injected Nezuko and Rokuta with his blood before leaving.
• Muzan sensed a presence to the southeast, while Kokushibo and Doma separately reacted to Akaza's change.
• Teiichi watched Akaza regenerate, removed his weights, and decided to hold him until the sun rose.

Akaza regenerated his head and resumed fighting Teiichi, convinced that breaking past his limits had made him impossible to kill. Teiichi kept defending and cutting Akaza apart, but Akaza’s reckless attacks pushed him back until Teiichi severed Akaza’s head again.

• Akaza regenerated his head, challenged Teiichi to continue the fight, and noticed that Teiichi had removed his weights.
• Akaza charged Teiichi, who blocked his fist and countered with Wind Breathing, Third Form: Clean Storm Wind Tree.
• Teiichi and Akaza traded rapid attacks, and Teiichi realized Akaza was sacrificing defense because decapitation no longer seemed to matter to him.
• Akaza’s disregard for his wounds let him press Teiichi back, even as Teiichi severed his arms.
• Teiichi cut off Akaza’s raised arm before he could finish his attack, then used Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash to sever his head again.

Teiichi fought Akaza, who had surpassed his limits and could survive decapitation, and realized that he only needed to keep the demon occupied until sunrise. As Akaza regrew his head and welcomed another attack, Teiichi charged back into the fight.

• Akaza’s headless body regrew its arms and attacked Teiichi, who parried the blow and struck with Wind Breathing’s Seventh Form.
• Akaza sensed Teiichi’s wind blades despite lacking a head and shattered them with Destructive Death: Air Type; Teiichi then charged through the shock waves.
• Teiichi severed Akaza’s partially regrown head, but Akaza continued attacking and sent Teiichi flying with a powerful blow.
• Teiichi realized Akaza’s decapitation would not kill him and decided to stall until sunrise rather than fight to the death.
• As Akaza regrew most of his head, Teiichi charged again, and Akaza grinned and urged him to continue fighting.

Teiichi and Akaza fought fiercely in the woods, with Akaza repeatedly regenerating and urging Teiichi to become a demon. Their battle ended in an explosion that forced them apart, and Akaza noticed dawn approaching and began considering how to escape.

• Teiichi and Akaza traded rapid attacks, with Akaza ignoring injuries and losing limbs while Teiichi guarded against his strikes.
• Akaza invited Teiichi to become a demon and fight alongside him, but Teiichi firmly refused.
• Akaza resumed his assault and unleashed Destructive Death: Annihilation Style, while Teiichi countered with Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist.
• The two were thrown apart by the resulting explosion, and Akaza noticed the growing light on the horizon and considered escaping.

Akaza tried to escape Teiichi by hiding his retreat behind a storm of mud and snow, but Teiichi pursued him and forced him to confront the fight. Akaza abandoned his flight and met Teiichi in a fierce battle, which continued with Akaza showing no fear of death.

• Akaza unleashed Air Type and Annihilation Style to obscure the battlefield and flee, but Teiichi’s Dust Whirlwind Cutter cleared a path through the mud and snow.
• Teiichi caught sight of Akaza and pursued him, keeping close enough that Akaza realized he could not escape to safety from the sunlight.
• Akaza stopped himself by crashing into a tree, then turned and charged at Teiichi.
• Teiichi attacked with Claws: Koto Wind, and Akaza answered with Annihilation Style before they resumed fighting at close range.
• Teiichi saw Akaza’s savage fighting spirit and lack of fear of death, and resolved to give him the battle he had always wanted.

Teiichi unleashed his full speed against Akaza, beheading him and then battling through Akaza’s attacks as he regenerated. Akaza awakened the Supreme Territory, gaining the ability to read Teiichi’s movements without relying on Compass Needle.

• Teiichi used Wind Breathing’s Eighth Form, Primary Gale Slash, and beheaded Akaza.
• Akaza unleashed Blue Silver Chaotic Afterglow, forcing Teiichi to deflect a barrage of projectiles while Akaza regenerated.
• Akaza charged with Eight-Layered Demon Core, and Teiichi countered with Third Form: Clean Storm Wind Tree as they clashed fiercely.
• Akaza began perceiving Teiichi’s movements and breathing clearly, dodged a slash, and struck Teiichi with Disorder.
• Teiichi dodged Akaza’s first punch but suffered a wound on his left cheek, then blocked the next blow and was thrown backward.
• Akaza wept and recognized his awakening as the Supreme Territory.

Akaza reached the Supreme Territory and awakened the Transparent World, forcing Teiichi into an even fiercer battle. As the rising sun began to burn Akaza, they acknowledged each other as worthy opponents, and a pipa sounded through the forest.

• Akaza reached the Supreme Territory and realized he felt calm rather than joyful.
• Akaza and Teiichi resumed their fight, clashing at speeds beyond a Hashira's ability to follow.
• Teiichi used Wind Breathing forms against Akaza, but Akaza's increased speed and strength let him pressure Teiichi.
• Akaza kicked apart Teiichi's Primary Gale Slash and continued exchanging blows with him, devastating the forest around them.
• The sunlight began burning Akaza, and he and Teiichi praised each other as worthy opponents.
• Akaza looked at the sun for the first time in his memory as a pipa's note rang through the forest.

Teiichi nearly killed Akaza, but Muzan pulled Akaza into the Infinity Castle before the fight could end. Akaza recovered from his sunburns in the castle, where he encountered Gyokko.

• A door to the Infinity Castle opened beneath Akaza, and Teiichi rushed to attack him as he fell through it.
• Akaza vanished when the door closed, leaving Teiichi frustrated and wondering why Muzan had intervened.
• Teiichi concluded that Akaza had drawn Muzan's attention by breaking through his limits, then abandoned his scattered weights and headed down the mountain.
• Akaza landed in the Infinity Castle and realized that Muzan had saved him.
• Gyokko emerged from a pot and asked about Akaza's injuries, but Akaza tore away his sunburned flesh and rapidly regenerated.

Akaza gathered with the Upper Ranks in Nakime’s room and struck Doma after Doma touched his shoulder, surprising the other demons. When the biwa sounded to bring in Kokushibo, Akaza sensed something in the direction of a closed room and stared toward it.

• Hantengu, Daki, Doma, and Gyokko gathered with Akaza while Nakime waited for Muzan’s arrival.
• Doma teased Akaza and put a hand on his shoulder, so Akaza punched him and landed a real injury.
• Gyokko tried to smooth things over with Doma, who invited him to visit and see a pot decorated with a woman’s head.
• After Nakime’s biwa sounded, Doma counted the gathered Upper Ranks and guessed that Kokushibo had arrived.
• Akaza sensed something near a floating room with closed doors, and everyone turned to look as tapping sounds came from inside.

Kokushibo, Doma, and the other Upper Ranks gathered in the Infinity Castle, where Muzan rebuked Akaza for failing to kill a powerful swordsman despite breaking through the limits of demons and mastering the Transparent World. Akaza revealed that the swordsman had told him he was not a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, and Doma laughed at Akaza for believing him.

• Doma greeted Kokushibo and learned from Hantengu that 110 years had passed since the Upper Ranks were last summoned.
• Kokushibo recognized that Akaza had broken through the limits of demons and grasped the Transparent World, while Doma asked to learn the same skill.
• Muzan arrived, and the Upper Ranks knelt before him as he expressed disappointment that Akaza had failed to defeat a Hashira and needed rescuing.
• Hantengu and Doma worried about facing the powerful swordsman, and Akaza told them the man was no longer in the Demon Slayer Corps.
• Doma questioned Akaza's claim, then laughed at him for believing the swordsman's word.

Akaza identified Teiichi as the powerful Wind Breathing Demon Slayer who had defeated him, and Kokushibo volunteered to eliminate him. Muzan rebuked Akaza for challenging his decision and confirmed that Kokushibo would go after Teiichi that night.

• Kokushibo questioned Akaza about losing to the Demon Slayer, and Akaza said he had run out of time before sunrise after mastering the Transparent World.
• Doma recalled meeting a black-haired Wind Breathing Demon Slayer about four years earlier, and Akaza and Kokushibo concluded that he was likely Teiichi.
• Kokushibo offered to eliminate Teiichi, and Muzan approved his request.
• Akaza asked Muzan to let him handle Teiichi, but Muzan accused him of making excuses and reminded him that he was only a tool.
• Akaza apologized under Muzan's oppressive aura, and Muzan confirmed that Kokushibo would deal with Teiichi that night.

After Muzan ordered Kokushibo to deal with a Demon Slayer, the Upper Ranks clashed over Akaza’s treatment of Doma and their place in the hierarchy. The meeting ended with the others leaving Doma alone, and he returned to his role as cult leader to receive a believer.

• Muzan ordered Kokushibo to deal with the Demon Slayer that night and left the Infinity Castle.
• Doma asked Kokushibo to take him along, and Akaza sliced off half of Doma’s head for speaking without Muzan’s orders.
• Kokushibo warned Akaza to respect Doma’s higher rank, and Akaza replied that the warning applied to Kokushibo too.
• Kokushibo left, and Hantengu, Gyokko, and Daki asked Nakime to send them away rather than stay with Doma.
• Nakime returned Doma to his room, where he put on the Eternal Paradise Cult leader’s hat and prepared to receive a believer.

Tanjiro returned home to find his family dead and Nezuko alive but transformed into a demon. As Nezuko attacked him on the way to town, Giyu Tomioka arrived to kill her, and Tanjiro moved to protect her.

• Tanjiro thanked Grandpa Saburo and headed home after selling his charcoal.
• Tanjiro smelled blood, found his family dead, and carried the still-warm Nezuko down the mountain.
• Nezuko woke and attacked Tanjiro, who realized her eyes had become those of a demon.
• Tanjiro pleaded with Nezuko to resist turning into a demon, and she began to cry.
• Giyu Tomioka struck at Nezuko, but Tanjiro pulled her aside, leaving Giyu wondering why he had saved a demon.

Giyu tested Tanjiro’s resolve and prepared to kill Nezuko, but she broke free and protected her unconscious brother. Seeing Nezuko defend a human, Giyu recalled an old lesson and sheathed his Nichirin Blade.

• Giyu told Tanjiro that Nezuko was a demon and said he would kill her, while Tanjiro pleaded that she could be cured and had not eaten anyone.
• Giyu rebuked Tanjiro for kneeling and urged him to get angry and fight, then stabbed Nezuko with his Nichirin Blade.
• Tanjiro threw a stone and charged Giyu with his axe, but Giyu knocked him unconscious with the sword’s hilt before spotting the axe flying at him.
• Nezuko grew stronger, escaped Giyu’s grip, kicked him away, and stood protectively in front of Tanjiro before attacking Giyu.
• Giyu watched Nezuko protect Tanjiro, recalled a black-haired boy’s words about judging by heart and actions, and sheathed his Nichirin Blade.

After eating twenty bowls of pork cutlet rice, Teiichi resumed his nighttime patrol despite the bitter winter weather. As the town fell asleep and he walked alone, a biwa sounded again in the mountain woods where he had fought Akaza.

• Teiichi put on his damaged haori and left the inn after sleeping through most of the day.
• Yoshihara and Shiya bet on how many bowls Teiichi could eat, wagering that the loser would walk home with scallions stuck up his nostrils.
• Teiichi ate twenty bowls of pork cutlet rice, surpassing both men's predictions.
• Teiichi rejected the idea of resting and began patrolling the town before planning to search the mountains near dawn.
• Everyone else eventually disappeared indoors, leaving Teiichi alone on the dark, snowy streets.
• A biwa sounded in the mountain woods, where traces of Teiichi and Akaza's battle remained.

Kokushibo confronted Teiichi and led him away from town to question him before they fought. Teiichi denied having a Demon Slayer Mark, the Transparent World, or a Red Nichirin Blade, leaving Kokushibo to conclude that his power came from pure strength.

• Kokushibo arrived at the battlefield where Akaza had fought and tracked Teiichi to the town.
• Teiichi recognized Kokushibo as Upper Rank One and agreed to move their encounter into the mountains to protect the townspeople.
• Kokushibo promised to ask Teiichi only about himself, and the two walked into the mountains.
• Kokushibo asked whether Teiichi had awakened a Demon Slayer Mark, the Transparent World, or a Red Nichirin Blade, and Teiichi denied having each one.
• Kokushibo stopped and concluded that Teiichi relied on pure strength.

Kokushibo told Teiichi about his human life and the fear of seeing a summit he could never reach, while Teiichi revealed what the Demon Slayer Corps recorded about him. The conversation ended with Kokushibo learning that the Corps believed he had murdered an Oyakata-sama and vanished.

• Kokushibo reflected on Teiichi’s strength and told him that a Demon Slayer Mark would shorten his life.
• Kokushibo revealed that he had once been called Tsugikuni Michikatsu and recounted his upbringing as a samurai family’s eldest son.
• As they walked to the site of their previous battle, Kokushibo explained that he became a demon because he could not bear to see the summit of swordsmanship without reaching it.
• Teiichi named Yoriichi Tsugikuni, and Kokushibo reacted with anguish as he remembered his unreachable rival.
• Teiichi described the Demon Slayer Corps’ records of Michikatsu, including the claim that he murdered an Oyakata-sama and then disappeared.
• Kokushibo coldly questioned why the Corps had not considered that he deserted and became a demon.

Kokushibo recounted how jealousy of his gifted younger twin, Yoriichi, led him to become a Demon Slayer and eventually a demon after learning the Demon Slayer Mark would shorten his life. Teiichi refused Kokushibo’s offer to become a demon, and Kokushibo saw in him the same indifference he resented in Yoriichi before demanding that he draw his sword.

• Kokushibo told Teiichi that he and Yoriichi were twins, and that Yoriichi’s innate talent led their father to favor him as heir.
• Kokushibo described how Yoriichi left home, later saved him from a demon, and inspired him to join the Demon Slayer Corps and develop Moon Breathing.
• Kokushibo learned that marked swordsmen would die before age twenty-five, then met Lord Muzan and became a demon to pursue Yoriichi’s strength indefinitely.
• Kokushibo asked Teiichi to become a demon, but Teiichi refused and said future geniuses could preserve or surpass his skills.
• Kokushibo recalled Yoriichi’s belief that others would eventually reach their level, then told Teiichi to draw his sword.

Teiichi faced Kokushibo in a sword fight and struggled to keep up with the Upper Moon’s speed and strength. As Teiichi unleashed Wind Breathing’s Fifth Form, Kokushibo prepared to counter with Moon Breathing.

• Teiichi drew his Nichirin Blade and faced Kokushibo, who drew his flesh-and-blood sword, Kyokokukamusari.
• Teiichi attacked first, but Kokushibo blocked his strikes and countered with fast slashes that forced Teiichi to dodge and defend.
• Teiichi and Kokushibo exchanged a rapid series of sword blows among the trees, with Kokushibo’s Transparent World helping him read Teiichi’s movements.
• Teiichi used Wind Breathing’s Fifth Form, Cold Mountain Wind, and sent a powerful Wind Blade toward Kokushibo.
• Kokushibo read Teiichi’s attack and raised Kyokokukamusari behind him as he began Moon Breathing.

Teiichi and Kokushibo fought through a prolonged exchange of Moon and Wind Breathing forms, with Teiichi growing increasingly exhausted. Their blades locked after a clash of powerful eighth forms, and Kokushibo’s blade sprouted a point-blank branch that cut Teiichi above the brow.

• Kokushibo struck with Moon Breathing’s Eighth Form, and Teiichi countered with Wind Breathing before the two resumed their battle.
• Kokushibo repeatedly sent moon blades and crescents at Teiichi, who blocked or dodged them while conserving his stamina.
• Kokushibo and Teiichi fought at close range, and Teiichi used Wind Breathing’s Third Form to counter Kokushibo’s Sixth Form.
• Kokushibo unleashed the Eighth Form again, and Teiichi met it with Wind Breathing’s Eighth Form, locking their blades together.
• Kokushibo’s sword sprouted several blades, and one cut Teiichi at the forehead near his brow.

Teiichi fought Kokushibo through exhaustion and refused his offer to become a demon, choosing to keep struggling because he still wanted to live. The clash of their strongest attacks ended with Teiichi's Nichirin Blade snapping.

• Kokushibo warned that Teiichi would die if he kept fighting and urged him to become a demon, but Teiichi refused because he could not accept eating people.
• Kokushibo unleashed Seventh Form: Mirror of Misfortune, Moonlit, and Teiichi dodged the crescent blades before resuming their clash.
• Teiichi realized that he still wanted to live as memories of his loved ones and fellow Demon Slayers came to mind.
• Kokushibo attacked with Ninth Form: Waning Moonswaths, and Teiichi blocked the blow with Wind Breathing's Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist.
• Kokushibo's repeated strikes wore down the same point on Teiichi's Nichirin Blade, and their final collision snapped it.

Kanae woke from a nightmare worried that something had happened to Teiichi, while Teiichi lay gravely wounded after Kokushibo broke his Nichirin Blade. Teiichi awakened the Transparent World and stopped his bleeding, then rose to face Kokushibo with his broken weapon.

• Kanae woke from a nightmare and worried that Teiichi might be in danger, while Shinobu Kocho tried to reassure her.
• Kokushibo broke Teiichi's Nichirin Blade and slashed him, sending him crashing through several trees with a severe chest wound.
• As Teiichi drifted toward unconsciousness, he sensed memories of his past and then opened his eyes to perceive the world in extraordinary detail.
• Teiichi recognized that he had entered the Transparent World and used his control over his body to stop the bleeding.
• Kokushibo questioned how Teiichi could fight while gravely wounded and holding a broken blade, as Teiichi rose and silently apologized to his weapon.

After awakening the Transparent World, Teiichi faced Kokushibo with a broken blade and declared he could fight him with it. He evaded Kokushibo’s attacks until he found an opening and struck toward Kokushibo’s neck.

• Teiichi assessed his exhausted body and broken blade, then told Kokushibo he would fight with what he had.
• Kokushibo attacked with Moon Breathing, Eighth Form: Moon-Dragon Ringtail.
• Teiichi used the Transparent World to evade Kokushibo’s close-range slashes without striking back.
• After recovering some strength, Teiichi deflected Kokushibo’s downward attack and threw him off balance.
• Teiichi’s broken blade rebounded and went straight for Kokushibo’s neck.

Teiichi used Wind Breathing and a concealed Wind Blade to break through Kokushibo’s defenses, but Kokushibo’s counterattack forced him to abandon the attempt to behead him. As they resumed fighting, Kokushibo questioned why Teiichi had grown so powerful, and Teiichi said talent separated Kokushibo from Yoriichi Tsugikuni by an unbridgeable chasm.

• Kokushibo covered his body with blades, forcing Teiichi to plan how to reach his neck while blocking the blades and Kyokokukamusari.
• Teiichi used Ninth Form: Idaten Typhoon to fill the battlefield with wind and snow, while Kokushibo’s Fourteenth Form dispersed the storm.
• Teiichi struck Kokushibo with a Wind Blade from behind, kicked him off balance, and used Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash to shatter the blades protecting him.
• Kokushibo released moon blades from his severed body blades, making Teiichi retreat from his attempt to cut off Kokushibo’s head.
• Kokushibo asked why Teiichi’s Transparent World had made him so strong, and Teiichi answered that talent separated Kokushibo from Yoriichi Tsugikuni.