Hinokami

A winter recollection opens the chapter. As a boy, Tanjiro watches his father perform a ritual dance in the cold while his mother explains that the family, who work with fire, offer prayers and movement each new year to the fire deity for protection. Curious how his father lasts so long without tiring, the young Tanjiro is told there is a method of breathing that wards off exhaustion, and his father urges him to keep the family earrings on whenever the dance is performed.

Back in the present, the memory transforms his fighting style. His Water Breathing shifts into flame as he calls on the Hinokami Kagura, cutting through the threads Rui throws in his way. Tanjiro knows the technique will leave him drained, but he presses forward, willing to give everything to end the demon and free Nezuko.

Tanjiro performs the Hinokami Kagura for the very first time, channeling his father's ritual into combat. Trapped within Rui's webbing, Nezuko is roused by a vision of her mother, who tells her she must act before her brother dies.

Nezuko stretches toward the pair and unleashes Blood Demon Art: Exploding Blood, setting the threads in Tanjiro's path ablaze. With his blade carrying a trace of her flaming blood, Tanjiro drives through Rui's neck and beheads the Lower Rank Five demon in a ring of fire.

The chapter establishes the origin of the Hinokami Kagura and ties it directly to the Kamado family's earrings and yearly rite. It also marks Nezuko's first use of her own Blood Demon Art, showing that her abilities complement her brother's swordsmanship rather than simply protecting herself.

This installment corresponds to Episode 19 of the anime adaptation and appears in Volume 5 of the manga.