Chapter Summaries

Teiichi insisted that Rena see a physician after she coughed up blood, and the doctor diagnosed her as seriously ill and prescribed costly new medicine. After paying for her treatment, Teiichi prepared to leave for Aomori City, while Rena asked for his address so she could repay him.

• Teiichi visited Rena with fresh fruit and urged her to see a physician after she coughed up blood.
• Rena agreed to go with Teiichi to a clinic, where the doctor warned that her illness was life-threatening without treatment.
• Teiichi agreed to pay for two injections and medicine, despite Rena's concern about the cost.
• After Rena received the injections, Teiichi told her he was leaving that afternoon for a task near Aomori City.
• Rena thanked Teiichi and asked for his address so she could repay his medical expenses, and he gave it to her.

Nine days after leaving Aomori City, Teiichi intervened when the Tentacle Demon attacked a family in the woods. He saved the wounded father with a Wind Blade, then faced the demon as it asked what Breathing Style he used.

• Teiichi followed a trail of blood through the woods and reassured a fleeing mother that he would handle the danger.
• Teiichi reached the courtyard, where a wounded man with an axe was fighting the Tentacle Demon.
• The Tentacle Demon attacked the man with three tentacles, and Teiichi cut them off with a blue-green Wind Blade.
• Teiichi told the man he was a Demon Slayer and ordered him to leave, but the man sat against a distant wall to watch.
• The Tentacle Demon asked Teiichi what Breathing Style he used.

Teiichi defeated the tentacled demon and returned to Aomori City to check on Rena after learning she had been seriously ill. Manager Yamamoto told him that Rena had died.

• Teiichi dodged the tentacled demon's attacks and cut off a tentacle when the demon targeted the man watching the fight.
• Teiichi pursued the fleeing demon through the woods and killed him with First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter.
• Teiichi told White Feather to report the mission and inform the mother and son who had fled that they could return.
• Teiichi went to Rena's house the next afternoon, found no one there, and went to ask Manager Yamamoto about her.
• Manager Yamamoto told Teiichi that Rena had died.

Teiichi learned from Manager Yamamoto that Rena had died of an illness and that her grieving father, Mr. Yoshida, had chosen euthanasia. He traveled to their cemetery to pay his respects, leaving the story with him mourning their deaths beneath the rising moon.

• Manager Yamamoto told Teiichi that Rena had been found dead at home and that the police and hospital had concluded she died of an illness.
• Teiichi learned that Mr. Yoshida had also died by euthanasia after losing Rena, his only daughter and source of support.
• Teiichi asked Manager Yamamoto where Rena and her father were buried, and Manager Yamamoto drew him directions to their cemetery.
• Teiichi followed the winding mountain paths for hours and found the graves near sunset.
• Teiichi placed flowers and fruit at the gravestones, bowed, and mourned Rena and her father as night fell.

Teiichi returned to Manager Yamamoto’s flowing somen shop after visiting Rena’s grave, where the two talked about her and Teiichi’s life. He planned to stay a couple more days before leaving once he felt ready.

• Teiichi woke to colder weather after spending the previous evening at Rena’s grave and moved to a less expensive inn.
• Teiichi returned to Manager Yamamoto’s shop for dinner, and Manager Yamamoto offered to pay on Rena’s behalf.
• Teiichi told Manager Yamamoto that he had found Rena’s grave and stayed there until around seven or eight.
• Manager Yamamoto learned that Teiichi was fourteen, an orphan, and supported by a master.
• Teiichi said he would remain in town for a couple of days before leaving.

Teiichi developed a high fever and spent two days recovering at an inn, where Mimiko arranged meals for him. While eating, he coughed blood into his hand.

• Teiichi woke feeling unwell, then continued his daily training in the woods for four more days.
• Teiichi became feverish and had to stop training and rest in his room.
• Teiichi asked Mimiko to arrange meals for him and declined her offer to call a doctor.
• Two days later, Teiichi received his lunch and struggled to eat despite his illness.
• Teiichi suffered a violent coughing fit and saw blood dripping from his palm.

After coughing up blood like Rena, Teiichi realized a demon's Blood Demon Art had likely caused her illness and dug up her grave to confirm she was missing. Fearing his own worsening condition, he decided to leave and seek help, but hesitated while restoring the graves.

• Teiichi coughed up blood and connected his symptoms to the illness that had killed Rena.
• Teiichi rushed to the woods and found Yoshida Tetsuya's grave opened and Rena's grave empty.
• Teiichi concluded a demon had infected Rena with its Blood Demon Art, let her die, and then eaten her from her grave.
• Teiichi weighed luring the demon out against fleeing, then decided to leave and ask White Feather to find a skilled tracker.
• Teiichi refilled Yoshida Tetsuya's grave and froze while reaching to close Rena's coffin.

After discovering scratches inside Rena’s coffin, Teiichi resolved to confront the ghost and arranged for Nakamura Koji to bury him alive as part of a plan. Koji and his men buried Teiichi in a prepared grave, leaving a pipe connected to the coffin unblocked.

• Teiichi found scratches at the bottom of Rena’s coffin and suspected she had been buried while still alive, then refilled the grave and left the cemetery.
• Kobayashi Ken offered Nakamura Koji membership in the Billowing Waves Society if he attacked a night-market sushi shop, but Koji refused because it was Genyosha territory.
• Teiichi stopped Koji from punching him, then offered him ten thousand to collect and bury his corpse at a specified time and place.
• The next afternoon, Koji brought several underlings to the hotel and transported Teiichi’s remains to the secluded burial site.
• Koji’s men covered Teiichi’s coffin with dirt while following his instructions to keep the pipe connected to the lid unblocked.

Teiichi waited in a coffin for the demon, but a corrosive attack left him in a coma until he woke and recovered enough to fight. He ambushed the demon when it opened the coffin, but missed its neck and was kicked away, then recognized it as Wakuraba.

• Teiichi was buried in a coffin with a ventilation pipe, food, and water while he waited for the demon to arrive.
• The demon approached Teiichi's grave and used corrosive energy to worsen his illness, leaving him unconscious.
• Teiichi woke in the coffin, drank water, ate meat pies, and used Wind Breathing to regain some strength.
• When the demon began digging, Teiichi prepared his Nichirin Blade and attacked as it opened the coffin, but failed to cut its neck.
• The demon kicked Teiichi away, and he recognized it as Wakuraba.

Teiichi fought Wakuraba, a Lower Rank demon, while a mysterious illness weakened his body and dulled his mind. Wakuraba revealed that his Blood Demon Art, Pestilence Erosion, had caused Teiichi’s worsening condition and explained how he used it to kill and secretly eat humans.

• Teiichi recognized Wakuraba as Lower Rank Three and launched a Wind Breathing attack, but Wakuraba dodged and countered with his claws.
• Teiichi and Wakuraba exchanged blows across the battlefield until Teiichi’s exhaustion forced him to leap back.
• Wakuraba guessed that Teiichi was a Hashira and said he had used his Blood Demon Art on him for two nights.
• Teiichi asked whether Wakuraba’s Blood Demon Art caused illness, and Wakuraba described how Pestilence Erosion gradually weakened humans.
• Wakuraba admitted that he made victims appear to die naturally, then dug them up and ate them.

Teiichi fought Wakuraba despite his illness, but Wakuraba broke his left hand and urged him to become a demon. Teiichi rejected him and continued battling, though his strength dwindled and he was forced to retreat.

• Wakuraba called humans livestock, and Teiichi attacked him with Wind Breathing, forcing him onto the defensive.
• Wakuraba grabbed Teiichi's Nichirin Blade and punched him, breaking his left hand.
• Wakuraba mocked Teiichi's injuries and offered to turn him into a demon, but Teiichi rejected the offer and vowed to drive demons out.
• Teiichi resumed the fight with Wind Breathing's Fifth Form and nearly struck Wakuraba's neck, but Wakuraba blocked the blow with his claws.
• Teiichi and Wakuraba struggled over the blade until Teiichi's right arm began trembling and he used Wakuraba's push to leap backward.

Teiichi fought Wakuraba while struggling with exhaustion, then learned that Rena had still been alive when Wakuraba went to dig her up. Teiichi killed Wakuraba with a copied Wind Breathing technique, but remained kneeling and badly wounded.

• Teiichi and Wakuraba paused at a distance as Teiichi struggled to recover his strength.
• Wakuraba used his Blood Demon Art while asking Teiichi about Rena, and Teiichi realized Wakuraba had weakened him during their conversation.
• Wakuraba revealed that Rena had still been alive when he went to dig her up, and Teiichi charged him in a fury.
• Teiichi continued fighting despite his exhaustion and let Wakuraba slash his chest to create an opening.
• Teiichi used Wind Breathing, Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash, and decapitated Wakuraba.
• Wakuraba died lamenting that he had not become an Upper Rank, while Teiichi knelt, leaning on his sword.

After killing Wakuraba, Teiichi collapsed from his injuries and lost consciousness. He later woke at the Butterfly Mansion, where he began recovering under the Demon Slayer Corps’ care.

• Teiichi survived long enough to collapse after killing Wakuraba, then lost consciousness from blood loss and exhaustion.
• In Asakusa, a scarlet-eyed young man sensed the death of a Lower Rank demon and decided he would need to find another one.
• Teiichi woke in the Butterfly Mansion with his chest bandaged and his left arm in a cast.
• Teiichi recognized the Butterfly Mansion, but his weakness kept him in bed as he rested.

Shinobu Kocho trained Kobayashi Kanon in Flower Breathing while Teiichi remained unconscious, then learned that he had awakened. The chapter ended with Shinobu and Kanon hurrying to respond to the news.

• Shinobu Kocho watched Kobayashi Kanon practice Flower Breathing and corrected her Second Form.
• Kobayashi Kanon improved her sword forms and asked Shinobu when Teiichi would wake up.
• Shinobu reassured Kanon that Teiichi was recovering from exhaustion after the battle.
• A little girl examining patients discovered that Teiichi was awake and called to Kanon.

Kato Teiichi woke at the Butterfly Mansion and reunited with Kobayashi Kanon, who was relieved but worried about his injuries and future missions. He met Shinobu Kocho and Aoi Kanzaki, then stayed behind as Kanon and Shinobu returned to training and Aoi offered to bring him food.

• Kobayashi Kanon rushed to Teiichi's sickroom after hearing he had awakened and cried with relief as she held his hand.
• Shinobu Kocho teased Kanon, then estimated Teiichi's chest would take weeks to heal and his broken arm could take two to six months.
• Teiichi introduced himself to Shinobu Kocho and Aoi Kanzaki, and learned that Kanae Kocho was away on a mission.
• Shinobu told Teiichi not to get ideas about Kanae, then sent Kanon back to training with the promise she could visit during a break.
• Teiichi said he was hungry, and Aoi offered to fetch him food while Kanon and Shinobu went to train.

As Teiichi recovered at the Butterfly Mansion, Shinobu explained Kanao's past and revealed that her sister Kanae was a sixteen-year-old Hashira, prompting Teiichi to worry about Kanae's fate. A white Kasugai Crow then asked why Teiichi had been injured, and he revealed that he had encountered Lower Rank Three.

• Teiichi joined Shinobu, Kanon, and Kanao for dinner for the first time in five days, though his left arm remained in a sling.
• Shinobu explained that she and her sister had rescued Kanao from a human trafficker and that Kanao used a coin to make decisions.
• Shinobu said Kanae was a Hashira and was sixteen, leading Teiichi to worry about preventing her death at seventeen.
• A white Kasugai Crow relayed Oyakata-sama's question about Teiichi's injury, and Teiichi said he had encountered Lower Rank Three.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki decided to promote Teiichi to Hashira after he killed Lower Rank Three, despite Amane’s concerns about his injuries and poor investigation skills. At the Butterfly Mansion, Teiichi discovered that meditation had deepened his connection with nature, and he resolved to keep developing his unusual talent while avoiding the Demon Slayer Mark if possible.

• Kagaya Ubuyashiki told Amane that Teiichi would become a Hashira because he had slain Lower Rank Three while gravely ill, and he explained how the Corps would address Teiichi’s weakness at tracking demons.
• White Feather reported that Teiichi was recovering at the Butterfly Mansion and would need another two or three months to heal, so Kagaya expected him to attend the next year’s Hashira Meeting as the new Wind Hashira.
• Teiichi meditated at the Butterfly Mansion and sensed the earth, wind, water, and people around him with an unprecedented depth.
• Teiichi concluded that his talent focused on comprehending nature rather than developing his body, and he chose to continue meditating despite not sensing spiritual energy.
• Teiichi hoped meditation would make him strong enough to avoid awakening the Demon Slayer Mark, though he would use it if an Upper Rank threatened his life.

Teiichi tried blowing up a training gourd and shattered it with such force that the fragments nearly hit Shinobu Kocho. After apologizing, he watched Shinobu practice and learned that she was trying to create her own Breathing Style.

• Teiichi went to the courtyard to practice and found Shinobu Kocho and Kobayashi Kanon training.
• Kanon told Teiichi she had been unable to blow apart her large gourd, and he offered to try.
• Teiichi blew the gourd apart, sending fragments flying toward Shinobu Kocho, who dodged them and angrily confronted him.
• Teiichi apologized to Shinobu Kocho, and she told him to be more careful next time.
• Teiichi watched Shinobu Kocho's sword practice and asked why her forms looked unusual.
• Shinobu Kocho told Teiichi she was trying to create her own Breathing Style.

Shinobu Kocho told Teiichi she wanted to create a Breathing Style suited to her strength and fighting methods, then asked whether he considered her weak. Teiichi urged her to build on her speed and adapt around her weakness, and Shinobu left the courtyard calling him her friend.

• Shinobu Kocho explained that she could not decapitate demons and wanted a style focused on speed and thrusts.
• Shinobu asked Teiichi whether he thought she was a weakling, and Teiichi used a gourd to show how she could work around her weakness.
• Teiichi told Shinobu to focus on her speed and strengths, using his own near-death fight with a Lower Rank Three as an example.
• Shinobu laughed at Teiichi's awkward attempt to comfort her, then called him her friend and asked him to call her Shinobu.

Teiichi spent New Year's Eve helping Kanae Kocho and the Butterfly Mansion residents prepare for the holiday, finding warmth in the shared work and celebration. As Kanae served tea at the New Year's gathering, a guest loudly proposed to her.

• After three months of recovery, Teiichi trained in the snowy courtyard as Kanae Kocho reminded him that the Butterfly Mansion needed cleaning for New Year's Eve.
• Kanae asked Teiichi how he used to celebrate New Year, and he said he had never done anything special beyond eating an extra meal.
• Teiichi helped clean and decorate the Butterfly Mansion, carrying water and putting up pine, bamboo, and shimenawa decorations.
• Kanae prepared a festive dinner, and the residents, patients, and Kakushi members gathered at the Butterfly Mansion to celebrate the approaching New Year.
• As Kanae served tea, someone shouted that they were her dog and asked whether she would marry them someday.