Trial by Hashira

Disoriented and injured, Tanjiro learns from Shinobu that he stands at the Corps headquarters and faces judgment. The Hashira are introduced as the nine most powerful slayers, the pillars who hold the organization together. Their reactions vary sharply: Kyojuro Rengoku deems a trial pointless and would execute the siblings outright, Tengen Uzui volunteers to do it, while Mitsuri Kanroji refuses to harm the boy and Muichiro Tokito barely pays attention.

Tanjiro pleads that his sister has never eaten a human in the two years since her transformation and could fight for the Corps. His words are dismissed by several Hashira, and the tension escalates when a newcomer enters and mocks him.

Tanjiro is formally put on trial before the assembled Hashira. With only Giyu, Mitsuri, and Shinobu willing to spare them, the rest favor killing both siblings.

Sanemi Shinazugawa, the Wind Hashira, stabs Nezuko's box to wound her and provoke Tanjiro. Tanjiro charges and headbutts him after Giyu's warning of the master's arrival breaks Sanemi's focus. The standoff is interrupted when Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the Corps' leader, finally appears.

This chapter introduces nearly the full roster of Hashira, each defined by a distinct attitude toward the Kamado siblings, and establishes the deep rift between Giyu and the others. Sanemi's aggression and Mitsuri's softness set up dynamics that recur across the series.

The installment opens the Rehabilitation Training Arc, corresponds to Episode 22, and appears in Volume 6.