The Boar Bares Its Fangs, Zenitsu Sleeps

Terrified, Zenitsu pleads with the Tongue Demon to stay away as he and Shoichi flee, but the creature gives chase and corners them in a dead-end room. Zenitsu berates himself for cowardice and begs the boy to run. When the demon threatens to eat his brain through his ear, the fear overwhelms him and he collapses, genuinely asleep, confusing the demon, which reaches for Shoichi instead.

In an instant the tongue is severed and Zenitsu rises. Bowing his head, he draws breath and unleashes the First Form of Thunder Breathing, beheading the demon at once. He jolts awake screaming at the rolling head and, misreading the scene, thanks Shoichi for saving them, while the speechless boy decides to say nothing.

Elsewhere in the shifting mansion, the boar-masked slayer storms through the corridors, irritated by the Drum Demon. A hulking Horned Demon ambushes him, praising his agility and calling him fine prey. Without pause, the masked fighter slices off its arms and decapitates it using his self-taught Third Fang of Beast Breathing, then springs off the body and barrels onward with a shout.

Alone in a chamber, the Drum Demon mutters about marechi, the rare-blooded humans whose flesh equals devouring a hundred people. Determined to climb back into the Twelve Kizuki, he turns his eye to expose the engraving marking the position he once held, Lower Six.

The chapter establishes that Zenitsu becomes a formidable fighter only while unconscious, a defining trait, and introduces Inosuke in action even before his name is known, showcasing his original Beast Breathing.

It also reveals that the Drum Demon, later called Kyogai, once belonged to the Twelve Kizuki before being demoted, and introduces the concept of marechi blood, deepening the lore of how demons gain strength by consuming humans.