Operation: Entertainment District

Tengen lords his authority over the three Demon Slayers, styling himself a god and demanding their deference. Tanjiro plays along and innocently asks what Tengen rules, prompting the Hashira to name himself the god of festivals. Inosuke instantly counters that he is the god of the mountain, which only disgusts Tengen. He leads the group to a wisteria house, sprinting so far ahead they must scramble to keep up.

At the house Tengen reveals he is hunting for his wives, kunoichi who fell out of contact after narrowing down the demon's likely location. Zenitsu refuses to believe a man like Tengen has three wives, earning a punch that knocks him cold. Inosuke bluntly suggests the wives may already be dead and is laid out the same way.

The chapter explains the workings of the Entertainment District, where many workers are sold into the trade through debt and where the most celebrated courtesan, the oiran, is reserved for the wealthiest patrons. Using his striking looks, Tengen places the disguised boys into different houses, handing Tanjiro to the Tokito House and Inosuke to the Ogimoto House.

Along the street the group spots a procession for the oiran Koinatsu on her way to a suitor. Zenitsu, fuming at Tengen's constant showboating, demands to know if she too is a wife and takes a blow for it. With the others placed, Zenitsu realizes in dread that he is the last one left at the Hashira's side.

This chapter establishes the undercover premise of the arc and introduces the courtesan setting of Yoshiwara. Tengen's three wives, Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma, appear in brief cameos. The oiran Koinatsu also debuts here. The events match anime Episode 35, and the chapter begins Volume 9.