Successors

While Tanjiro and Giyu race through the shifting Infinity Castle, a Kasugai crow announces Shinobu's death at the hands of the Upper Rank Two, bringing Tanjiro to tears for Kanao and the Butterfly Mansion girls. Yushiro's talismans appear on Kiriya, Kanata, and Kuina, who confirm Shinobu's death and report the surviving Hashira. Now the eldest son, Kiriya takes the role of Oyakata at age eight, setting aside grief for his lost parents and sisters to focus on the mission, with his sisters doing the same. He orders the crows to spread talismans and direct the slayers northward.

Kaigaku taunts Zenitsu as a weak runt who can still use only the first form, and Zenitsu retorts that his rival has merely filled an empty slot among the Upper Ranks. Zenitsu demands to know why someone poised to inherit Thunder Breathing would become a demon, then reveals that Jigoro committed seppuku because of Kaigaku's defection, dying slowly and alone since no one could behead him.

Kaigaku laughs off the news, claiming Jigoro deserved it for not naming him sole successor and insulting their master. Zenitsu rejects his words, calling himself scum and Kaigaku trash, and pities Jigoro for having such pathetic heirs, noting that he himself can use only the first form while Kaigaku can use everything but it. Enraged, Kaigaku attacks with a Thunder Breathing form, but Zenitsu darts past and slits his neck, and the stunned demon remarks that his movement is now that of an utterly changed man.

The chapter establishes Kiriya as the Corps' new leader, with his sisters mapping the castle through Yushiro's vision talismans to coordinate the battle. It also reveals the cause of Jigoro's death and shows Zenitsu's growth, landing a decisive blow that marks the turning point of his fight with Kaigaku.