How to Eat Sushi

Barem launches into his ritual, claiming proper sushi enjoyment runs from mild toppings to rich ones. Denji tells him to get lost, but Barem warns that playing along is the only way to see Nayuta, so Denji grudgingly eats the tamago nigiri. Handed squid sushi next, Denji wolfs it down in a way that irritates the Flamethrower Hybrid. Knocking the plates aside, Denji asks whether simply killing the Public Safety agents outside would earn him a meeting with his sister. Barem explains that Public Safety, along with what remains of the Chainsaw Man Church, wants a cut of the power Chainsaw Man holds. He calls Denji's present form incomplete, saying they desire the Chainsaw Devil capable of erasing concepts from reality.

Clueless about that ability, Denji argues it makes no sense, since saws only fell trees. Barem theorizes that chainsaws may have held other purposes before those were erased, leaving tree-cutting as the lone surviving memory. Offering lean tuna, he says two ingredients summon the Chainsaw Devil: universal fear and Denji's own misery. He notes the former was once impossible given Denji's heroic image, but the Fire Devil has now made people dread him. Announcing fatty tuna as the next course, Barem instructs the chef to release 'it' onto the conveyor. The patrons of Sushishi, Denji's companions among them, recoil in shock and confusion. Denji looks over to find the arriving dish is Nayuta's severed head.

Barem makes Denji eat through a sushi course while revealing that Public Safety and the Church want the concept-erasing Chainsaw Devil, not his current form.

He explains the Devil is summoned through fear and Denji's misery, then has a final dish sent out: Nayuta's severed head.

Released July 3, 2024 in Volume 19, this chapter moves the Aging Devil arc from Chapter 169 toward Chapter 171. The Japanese title is Sushi no Tabekata across fifteen pages. The idea of chainsaws holding forgotten powers nods to their origin as surgical instruments, and the volume edition fixed a missing mole on Nayuta's severed head.