Chapter Summaries

Tanjiro and Zenitsu encountered Inosuke amid the burning ruins, where Inosuke attacked after sensing Nezuko in Tanjiro’s box. Tanjiro tried to protect Nezuko and avoid fighting a fellow Corps member, but Inosuke threw him down, and Tanjiro prepared to fight after Inosuke promised to let Nezuko go if he won.

• Zenitsu panicked when Inosuke emerged from the flames wearing a boar mask, while Tanjiro recognized him as a human survivor of the Mount Fujikasane trial.
• Inosuke charged at Tanjiro, who blocked his blade and explained that Nezuko was his sister and a good demon approved by headquarters.
• Inosuke refused to accept Tanjiro’s explanation and demanded that he hand Nezuko over, while Tanjiro refused and reminded him that Corps members could not fight each other.
• Inosuke put down his blades but attacked Tanjiro barehanded, ignoring Tanjiro’s objections and throwing him to the ground.
• Tanjiro removed Nezuko’s box and prepared to fight after Inosuke promised to let Nezuko go if Tanjiro defeated him.

Tanjiro fought Inosuke, adapting to his low, unpredictable attacks and unusual flexibility. Tanjiro finally headbutted Inosuke, who staggered and fell.

• Inosuke repeatedly knocked Tanjiro down with low attacks, throws, and kicks, while Tanjiro struggled to predict his movements.
• Tanjiro dodged Inosuke's repeated leg sweep and realized he had to watch Inosuke closely instead of relying on experience fighting people.
• Inosuke demonstrated his extreme flexibility by bending backward until his head poked between his legs, then resumed attacking Tanjiro.
• Tanjiro grabbed Inosuke's shoulders and headbutted him to make him calm down.
• Tanjiro shook off the impact as Inosuke swayed and fell to the ground.

Inosuke woke at the Wisteria House and reunited with Tanjiro and Zenitsu, then told them how he had joined the Demon Slayer Corps. The three settled in for the night after dinner, with Tanjiro and Zenitsu learning Inosuke had won his Nichirin Blade in a contest with a Corps member.

• Inosuke woke at the Wisteria House, put on his boar mask, and went outside to find Tanjiro and Zenitsu arguing about the old lady.
• Inosuke challenged Tanjiro to fight again, while Tanjiro corrected him about his name and the old lady invited them to dinner.
• At dinner, Inosuke said he had killed three demons in the house, and Tanjiro praised him.
• Zenitsu said Tanjiro had knocked Inosuke out with a headbutt, prompting Inosuke to think that getting hit could make his skull harder.
• Tanjiro asked Inosuke why he joined the Demon Slayer Corps, and Inosuke explained that he had beaten a Corps member in a contest and taken his sword.
• Inosuke said the member had told him about demons and Final Selection, after which he joined the Corps.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke reached Mount Natagumo after sensing the powerful scent of demons and seeing a Corps member dragged into the woods. Tanjiro and Inosuke entered the mountain to help, while Zenitsu followed reluctantly.

• Nezuko climbed out of her box, and Zenitsu angrily accused Tanjiro of traveling with his adorable sister while he risked his life fighting demons.
• Zenitsu, Tanjiro, and Inosuke approached the mountain, where Tanjiro detected a strong demonic scent and ran toward it.
• The three found a Demon Slayer Corps member being lifted into the woods, and Tanjiro resolved to go up the mountain despite Zenitsu's fear.
• Inosuke charged up the mountain ahead of Tanjiro, and Zenitsu hurried after them rather than remain alone.
• Tanjiro introduced himself as a Mizunoto swordsman to a Corps member in the woods, who questioned why no Hashira had been sent; Inosuke struck him.

Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Murata discovered that tiny spiders were controlling Demon Slayer Corps members with invisible threads and set out to find the demon behind them. Elsewhere, Zenitsu wandered alone through the forest with his sparrow until he came face-to-face with a spider bearing a human head.

• Murata explained that Corps members had begun attacking one another after a strange creaking sound, and Tanjiro realized invisible threads were controlling them.
• Tanjiro and Inosuke cut the threads to free the attackers, but Tanjiro spotted tiny spiders reattaching the silk and concluded they had to find the demon controlling them.
• Inosuke used Beast Breathing, Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness to locate the demon, then rushed off as Tanjiro followed after Murata offered to hold the others back.
• Zenitsu wandered through the woods calling for Nezuko, Tanjiro, and the others, with Chun-Taro's company giving him some comfort.
• After something pricked his hand, Zenitsu noticed spiders all around him and screamed when he saw one with a human head.

Tanjiro and Inosuke worked together to defeat the Spider Mother’s strongest puppet. Tanjiro then found the Spider Mother and killed her gently with Water Breathing, Fifth Form.

• Tanjiro caught up with Inosuke and joined him in fighting the headless corpse controlled by the Spider Mother’s threads.
• Tanjiro and Inosuke attacked the corpse from opposite sides, but the Spider Mother pulled it into the air to keep it out of reach.
• Tanjiro crouched so Inosuke could leap from his back and land on the airborne corpse, where Inosuke severed its head.
• Inosuke threw Tanjiro into the air, and Tanjiro followed the Spider Mother’s scent to her hiding place.
• Tanjiro used Water Breathing, Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought, to kill the Spider Mother peacefully.

Zenitsu confronted Spider Demon Brother, who told him the poison in his hand would turn him into a spider. After Zenitsu passed out, he awakened in a fighting stance and used Thunder Breathing: Sixfold Strike to cut Spider Demon Brother down.

• Zenitsu fled into a clearing and saw Spider Demon Brother descending from a suspended wooden house.
• Spider Demon Brother revealed that Zenitsu had been poisoned and would turn into a spider within half an hour.
• Zenitsu panicked at the thought of transforming, then fainted after finding a handful of his yellow hair in his hand.
• As little spiders approached the unconscious Zenitsu, he vanished and reappeared ready to fight.
• Zenitsu used Thunder Breathing: First Form, Thunderclap and Flash: Sixfold Strike, and decapitated Spider Demon Brother.

Tanjiro and Inosuke fought Spider Father, whose strength and size increased as he regenerated, while Tanjiro was sent flying and Inosuke faced him alone. Meanwhile, poisoned Zenitsu struggled to stay conscious until a mysterious figure asked if he could still hear them.

• Tanjiro and Inosuke encountered Spider Sister and Spider Father, and Inosuke attacked Spider Father to protect her family.
• Tanjiro and Inosuke fought together, breaking one of Spider Father's arms before he knocked Tanjiro far away.
• Inosuke broke Spider Father's other arm, but Spider Father regenerated both arms and grew larger and stronger.
• Inosuke dodged Spider Father's attacks and shouted, "Boar Blast!" as the demon charged at him.
• Zenitsu struggled against the poison's effects and saw a mysterious figure who asked, "Moshi moshi, can you still hear me?"

Tanjiro fought Rui, Lower Five, and refused to surrender Nezuko, who risked herself to protect him. Rui trapped Nezuko and overwhelmed Tanjiro with stronger threads, leaving Tanjiro to invoke Hinokami Kagura.

• Tanjiro battled Rui with Water Breathing but was wounded by Rui's spider threads.
• Nezuko burst from her box and shielded Tanjiro from Rui's web, prompting Rui to offer to take her as his sister.
• Tanjiro rejected Rui's deal and learned Rui was Lower Five, recalling Teiichi's warning that he was not yet strong enough to face a Lower Rank.
• Rui suspended Nezuko in spider threads, and Tanjiro used Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux, to cut through the threads attacking him.
• Rui unleashed blood-red threads that Tanjiro could not cut, and Tanjiro began Hinokami Kagura.

Tanjiro decapitated Rui, but Rui revealed he had severed his own head and threatened Nezuko with Tanjiro’s sword. Meanwhile, Kobayashi Kanon arrived to reinforce Inosuke, defeated the spider father’s defenses, and drew Inosuke’s challenge.

• Tanjiro used Nezuko’s blood to help cut through Rui’s neck, but Rui reattached his head after revealing he had severed it himself with his threads.
• Rui took Tanjiro’s Nichirin Blade and approached Nezuko, but turned toward a figure emerging from the forest.
• Inosuke ran out of gunpowder while fighting the spider father, then was knocked into a tree after clashing with him using his twin blades.
• Kobayashi Kanon introduced herself as a Kinoe-ranked swordswoman sent as reinforcement and stepped in to face the spider father.
• Kanon used Flower Breathing, Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility, to cut through the spider father’s defenses.
• Inosuke, impressed by Kanon’s attack, demanded that she fight a duel with him.

Giyu Tomioka defeated Rui and protected Tanjiro and Nezuko, then clashed with Shinobu Kocho over whether Nezuko should be killed. The chapter ended as Shinobu thrust her blade toward Nezuko and Giyu blocked her attack.

• Giyu used Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm to nullify Rui's threads, then killed him.
• Tanjiro checked that Nezuko was safe and asked Giyu not to trample Rui's remains.
• Shinobu Kocho arrived and questioned Giyu before declaring that Corps rules required her to kill Nezuko.
• Giyu defended Nezuko, telling Tanjiro to stay close as Shinobu attacked.
• Shinobu vanished and thrust her blade toward Nezuko, but Giyu blocked the strike.

Kanon joined Shinobu Kocho in fighting Giyu Tomioka after Tanjiro fled with Nezuko, while Inosuke was knocked unconscious. Shinobu caught up to Tanjiro and thrust her blade toward Nezuko, but Giyu shouted that Kato and Kanae knew about the siblings.

• Kanon told Inosuke that someone stronger than her was ahead, and he eagerly followed her toward the fighting.
• After arriving, Kanon sided with Shinobu Kocho against Giyu Tomioka and knocked Inosuke unconscious when he moved to help Tanjiro.
• Giyu urged Tanjiro to run with Nezuko, and Shinobu Kocho and Kanon continued battling Giyu to pursue them.
• Shinobu Kocho caught up to Tanjiro and aimed her Nichirin Blade at Nezuko as Giyu and Kanon raced after them.
• As Tanjiro despaired that he could not protect Nezuko, Giyu shouted that Kato and Kanae knew about them.

Giyu revealed that Teiichi and Kanae knew about Nezuko and accepted her, persuading Shinobu to let Nezuko live. At Cape Ashizuri, Teiichi told White Feather he supported Nezuko and sent word to Kanae to help protect her at the Hashira trial.

• Giyu told Shinobu and Kanon that Teiichi and Kanae knew about Tanjiro and Nezuko, and that he had asked them to keep it secret.
• Tanjiro explained that Teiichi accepted Nezuko and that she had never eaten anyone, so Shinobu agreed to accept her existence.
• A Kasugai Crow announced orders to take Tanjiro and Nezuko to headquarters, and Shinobu said she would see what Kanae intended at the trial.
• White Feather told Teiichi that Nezuko had been taken to headquarters and that Ubuyashiki wanted his opinion.
• Teiichi told White Feather he accepted Nezuko and asked him to tell Kanae to support her and find a way to save her if the decision was to kill her.
• White Feather complained that Teiichi had made him fly against the wind, and Teiichi promised to change the wind next time.

Shinobu Kocho, Giyu Tomioka, and a Kakushi brought Tanjiro and Nezuko to Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters for a Hashira meeting. The Hashira questioned why Giyu had spared Nezuko, and Tanjiro woke to find himself before them.

• Shinobu handed Nezuko's box to Kanae while the Kakushi laid the unconscious Tanjiro in the courtyard.
• Sanemi asked Shinobu about the report of a swordsman traveling with a demon, and she explained that a Kasugai Crow had ordered them to bring Tanjiro back.
• Giyu admitted that he had stopped Shinobu from killing Tanjiro and said Nezuko was different from ordinary demons.
• Kanae explained that Tanjiro and Nezuko were siblings, and the Hashira recognized that judging them was an important matter at the meeting.
• The Kakushi woke Tanjiro and shoved his head down, telling him to show respect to the ten Hashira.

Tanjiro woke to find the Hashira debating whether to execute him and Nezuko, and he learned that Kanae and Giyu had evidence Nezuko had never eaten a human. The Hashira remained uncertain, and Shinobu asked Tanjiro to explain how Nezuko became a demon and why he kept her with him.

• Obanai, Kyojuro, and Tengen argued for executing Tanjiro and Nezuko, while Mitsuri felt reluctant to kill them.
• Kanae had the Kakushi release Tanjiro and told him Nezuko was safe inside her box in a sunless room.
• Kanae revealed she had visited Tanjiro on Mount Sagiri and said Nezuko was unlike other demons because she did not eat humans.
• Obanai challenged the evidence, but Kanae cited Tanjiro's Kasugai Crow and Giyu confirmed Nezuko had not eaten anyone since becoming a demon.
• Giyu explained that Nezuko and Tanjiro had stayed with Sakonji Urokodaki before Tanjiro joined the Corps, and Shinobu asked Tanjiro why Nezuko became a demon and why he kept her with him.

Tanjiro defended Nezuko before the Hashira, but several of them still demanded that she be killed. Kagaya Ubuyashiki asked the Hashira to accept her, and the chapter ended with a calm voice pledging to kill both siblings and commit seppuku if Nezuko ever ate someone.

• Kanae gave the wounded Tanjiro water, and he began recounting what had happened to his family.
• Gyomei Himejima, Obanai Iguro, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and Kyojuro Rengoku opposed sparing Nezuko, while Tanjiro argued that Hashira should distinguish good demons from evil ones.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki arrived and revealed that he had accepted Nezuko's existence, asking the Hashira to do the same.
• When Sanemi challenged Tanjiro to guarantee Nezuko would never eat anyone, Tanjiro promised to kill her himself if she did.
• A calm voice promised to find and kill Tanjiro and Nezuko, then commit seppuku, if Nezuko ever ate someone.

The Hashira voted to allow Nezuko to live, with Kagaya Ubuyashiki announcing that the decision passed seven to four. At the Butterfly Mansion, Tanjiro recovered and greeted the newly awakened Zenitsu, who described being bitten by a spider demon.

• Giyu Tomioka and Tanjiro defended Nezuko, while several Hashira argued that she should be killed.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki called for a vote, and six Hashira accepted Nezuko while four rejected her.
• Giyu promised to kill anyone Nezuko might eat and then commit seppuku himself, and the Hashira raised no further objections.
• Tanjiro was taken to the Butterfly Mansion for treatment and later saw Zenitsu wake in the next bed.
• Tanjiro asked whether Zenitsu had gone into the mountain again, and Zenitsu said a spider had bitten him and nearly turned him into one.

After recovering from Mount Natagumo, Tanjiro and Zenitsu endured grueling training before meeting Inosuke at the station for their mission aboard the Mugen Train. The chapter ended with Tanjiro mistaking the train for a guardian deity and then recognizing it as a steam train.

• Tanjiro reunited with Zenitsu and Murata in the ward, learned Inosuke had become the Sound Hashira's Tsuguko, and resolved to train harder.
• Tanjiro endured intensified training arranged by the Insect Hashira, and Zenitsu grew anxious as his own training approached.
• Zenitsu struggled through physical conditioning and stretching, wondering whether he should attend training the next day.
• Tanjiro and Zenitsu hurried to the station, where they found Inosuke treating the Mugen Train as a dangerous creature ruling the land.
• Zenitsu explained that the train carried people, and Tanjiro compared it to a steam train.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke boarded the Mugen Train to support Kyojuro Rengoku, while Tanjiro worried that he had failed to tell Mr. Kato about the mission. They found Rengoku eating in a carriage, and he recognized Tanjiro and agreed not to harm Nezuko unless she hurt someone.

• Tanjiro regretted not notifying Mr. Kato that he was going on a railway-train mission, but Zenitsu said he could explain later.
• Inosuke charged toward the Mugen Train, struck his forehead against it, and then boarded with Tanjiro and Zenitsu.
• Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke searched the train carriages for the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku.
• The three found Rengoku eating and repeatedly calling the food delicious, and Tanjiro tried to speak with him.
• Rengoku recognized Tanjiro as the boy traveling with a demon and promised not to kill Nezuko unless she harmed someone.
• Tanjiro told Rengoku that they had come to provide support because casualties aboard the Mugen Train had continued to rise.

Tanjiro asked Kyojuro about Hinokami Kagura, but Kyojuro did not recognize it and encouraged Tanjiro to use the style that suited him. After the group fell asleep on the Mugen Train, Tanjiro dreamed that Kyojuro defeated a demon and accepted Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke as Tsuguko; the dream ended with Inosuke chasing a train centipede alongside animal-like versions of the others.

• Tanjiro explained Hinokami Kagura to Kyojuro, who watched him use it and said he had never seen the style before.
• Kyojuro reassured Tanjiro that he could use any Breathing Style that suited him and offered to make him his Tsuguko.
• A conductor checked the group's tickets, and an overwhelming drowsiness soon caused Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Kyojuro to fall asleep.
• In Tanjiro's dream, Kyojuro defeated a demon on the Mugen Train and agreed to train Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke as Tsuguko.
• In the dream, Inosuke chased a train centipede through a cave while Nezuko, Zenitsu, Tanjiro, Uzui, Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma cheered him on.