Charred Remains

Sore from the groin kicks delivered by Yoru and Katana Man, Denji presses the group for Nayuta's location. Yoru, unfamiliar with the name, tries to yank Denji's ripcord to rouse Pochita, but he stops her, promising to fight her as long as she wants once he confirms Nayuta is safe. Asa reclaims control of her body and asks what happened, and the group travels back to Denji's apartment, now nothing but blackened debris.

Haruka warns that if Nayuta is absent, there is nothing more they can do, but Denji wordlessly sifts through the rubble. Yoru bluntly suggests that if Nayuta was last seen surrounded by armed adults, she is surely dead, which Denji refuses to accept. Asa takes his hand and recalls how he once grasped her pain while rescuing her, insisting she now understands his and will help however she can. Frustrated by the kick and her abrupt tenderness, Denji snaps that she makes no sense, with Haruka agreeing. Asa offers him a normal life once they fight, but he refuses, explaining that becoming Chainsaw Man only brings him agony and that finding Nayuta is all that matters. When Asa asks Fami for help, Fami guesses Denji simply lacks the appetite to fight because he is hungry. His growling stomach proves her right, and Asa offers any food except sushi, which she dislikes, drawing an insult from Katana Man as Denji keeps digging through the ash.

Denji makes locating Nayuta his sole priority and returns to his home, only to find it reduced to charred ruins, which he searches without responding to the others' grim conclusions.

Asa empathizes with Denji and proposes restoring his normal life if he fights, but he refuses, stating that transforming into Chainsaw Man brings only suffering. Fami correctly diagnoses his reluctance as hunger.

Published May 1, 2024 and collected in Volume 18, this chapter continues the Aging Devil arc between Chapter 163 and Chapter 165. The Japanese title reads Yakeato. Asa's gesture deliberately echoes the earlier rescue depicted in Chapter 127. Nayuta is referenced throughout but does not appear.