It Was You

The Swamp Demon recalls a moment when Muzan Kibutsuji had once seized him by the throat and warned him never to speak his name aloud, promising that he would always be aware of any betrayal. Paralyzed by that terror, the demon refuses to answer any of Tanjiro's questions and instead lashes out, leaving the young slayer no choice but to behead him. Once again Tanjiro is left without the information he had hoped to gather.

Returning to a sleeping Nezuko, he apologizes for failing her, then comforts the grieving Kazumi, who has lost the woman he loved. Tanjiro hands him a hair ornament that belonged to Satoko so he has a keepsake, and Kazumi, ashamed of his earlier bitterness, makes peace with him. A Kasugai Crow soon arrives with a fresh assignment, directing Tanjiro toward a rumor of a demon hiding in Asakusa.

Tanjiro learns that ordinary demons live in fear of Muzan and will die before naming him. He destroys the Swamp Demon, comforts Kazumi, and receives a new mission. Two days later he and Nezuko reach the crowded streets of Asakusa, where the rural-raised Tanjiro is overwhelmed by the lights and throngs of people. While waiting for food, he catches a scent he recognizes and traces it to Muzan himself, who is moving through the crowd carrying a small child and accompanied by a woman. To deflect suspicion, Muzan scratches a passerby and turns the man into a demon before Tanjiro can act.

This chapter marks Tanjiro's first direct sighting of the series antagonist, establishing that Muzan hides in plain sight within a human family. The Asakusa setting introduces the modern Taisho-era cityscape and sets up the encounter with the newly created demon and the figures Tamayo and Yushiro who follow.