Someone's Dream

Kokushibo severs Akaza's arm and rebukes him for poisoning the bonds between Upper Ranks, suggesting he challenge Doma for the second seat if he is truly bothered. Doma taunts Akaza about his lower standing despite his shorter time as a demon, fueling his rage. Akaza vows to defeat Kokushibo one day and storms off, ignoring Doma entirely.

The Biwa Demon dispatches Gyokko and Hantengu to their next assignment and sends a sulking Doma back to his cult. The scene then shifts to a quiet house where a man is served tea and food by Sumiyoshi Kamado, who insists he owes the stranger his family's survival and offers to preserve his story.

The man gently declines, saying his legacy will return on its own and lamenting that he failed to protect what mattered most. Tanjiro, dreaming this memory, silently begs the man not to despise himself and wakes in tears, heavily bandaged. Kanao, startled in the doorway, reveals he has been unconscious for two months.

Kokushibo cuts off Akaza's arm during the Upper Ranks meeting.

Gyokko and Hantengu are transported to their next destination.

Tanjiro experiences an inherited memory involving Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Sumiyoshi Kamado.

Tanjiro regains consciousness after the Yoshiwara battle.

Part of the Swordsmith Village Arc, this Volume 12 chapter was adapted in Episode 45. The dream sequence plants early hints of a connection between the Kamado line and a mysterious swordsman, a thread that becomes central later in the story.