Episode 41

Gathering (集結) is the 41st episode of the Kimetsu no Yaiba TV anime series, and the 15th episode of its second season.

Synopsis
Uzui battles furiously, taking on both Daki and the other demon who emerged from her body, Gyutaro. But he’s gradually losing strength, due to the poison from Gyutaro’s scythe. Just then, Inosuke, the sleeping Zenitsu, and Tanjiro, who’s managed to get Nezuko to sleep, all come rushing to Uzui’s aid...

Plot
Running away with Nezuko asleep in his arms, Tanjiro takes her back to her box and whisper for her to sleep tight. Tying the torn strap into a knot, he declares he will fight to the end and carries her box again as he heads on out to continue the fight.

Gyutaro sarcastically compliments Tengen for his looks, three wives and confident swagger, further mentioning none of the Hashira he has killed are like him. The semon makes the claim he was born special, cursing him for being chosen talent and hoping he will kill him quickly. Tengen shoots down his words and declares he isn't anyone special. He mocks Gyutaro and Daki for their lack of awareness living in Yoshiwara their whole lives and that they know nothing.

He states that Japan is a vast country teeming with people that would fill you with awe; people like Gyomei who are complete enigmas, and people like Muichiro, who became a Hashira only two months after first holding a sword. Tengen angrily claims he isn't chosen like them and rhetorically asks how many lives has he let slip through his grasp, knowing he can never be like the proud and honorable Kyojuro. Gyutaro asks why is he not special when he's still alive, as his Kamas are coated in poison, to which Tengen asserts he is a shinobi and has developed resistance to poison. Daki claims the shinobi were wiped out back in the Edo Era, to which he agrees.

The Sound Hashira reminisces on his past; as a child he had nine siblings. Seven were killed when he was only 15, causing his aggressive father to subject the rest to brutal training; the only two survivors were him and his brother two years younger. He had treated his wives as expendables tools to produce heirs and Tengen vehemently refused to be him. When he and his wives met with a young Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the master reflects on the difficult path they had chosen. The shinobi had all rejected the ideologies instilled in them in order to be Demon Slayers, and Kagaya can only question how hard it must be for them. Yet in the face of all this, they persist and continue to protect innocent lives. Kagaya warmly thanks him and calls him a "remarkable child."

Remembering his words, Tengen declares that for Kagaya, he will always lay his life for him. Gyutaro watches as Tengen begins breathing harder and mocks him for acting tough when the poison is indeed working slowly. Tengen stabs the ground and exuberantly denies this, now fully excited to battle. He twirls his cleaver into Gyutaro, forcing him and Daki back. He separates the two by kicking Daki in the air and slashing at her brother.

As the two converge on Tengen, he hurls bombs around himself to fend them off. Though Gyutaro dodges them, Daki is blown away after hitting one and is decapitated by Tengen, to which Gyutaro realizes that they explode with little friction. Tengen swings at Gyutaro, using his fingertips to hold one edge to extend the other's range and slitting the Upper Rank's throat. Daki, realizing she's been beheaded again, angrily curses herself for always being the one to be hit.

Gyutaro claims Tengen he will fail in the end, as the poison will eventually kill him. At that moment, Inosuke and Zenitsu appear to assist him. Daki and Gyutaro stare in wonder at the two before they are then joined by Tanjiro. Yoshiwara is evacuated in its entirety, the operation led by Makio and Suma. Hinatsuru recovers from her ordeal and slowly makes her way out the Kirimise. Tengen applauds the trio for their "flashy entrances" while Gyutaro mocks them and claims they will all die anyway. Tanjiro realizes that Daki is indeed alive but Gyutaro is emitting a stronger demonic scent and must be the main unit of Upper Rank Six.

Daki claims they can't win with the Hashira poisoned, to Tanjiro's horror. Tengen instead proclaims they will succeed and dares them not to underestimate humans, claiming the three are his brilliant Tsuguko. Tengen reveals he has identified that to kill them means simultaneous decapitation of both, his excitement and will reminding Tanjiro of Kyojuro, to his amazement. Gyutaro mocks their plan, as none of the Hashira they face had ever succeeded in beheading them; Gyutaro personally devouring fifteen and Daki having devoured seven.

Daki attacks Tengen without warning, but Zenitsu intercepts her obi and uses the energy of his attack to launch both of them out the house and into the sky. As Tanjiro calls out to him, Inosuke instructs him to ignore Zenitsu, as he and himself will take on Daki, leaving Tengen and Tanjiro with Gyutaro. Landing on the rooftops, Daki realizes he is the one she had struck before. Zenitsu menacingly demands she apologize to the young girl she had hurt, claiming that the girls who helped her aren't her belongings.

Daki refuses to hear his lecture and claims that in this city, women are merchandise; they are only here to be sold, bought and destroyed. Zenitsu tells her not to push her pain onto others; hearing this, Daki claims he is wrong and begins to speak with her and Gyutaro's voices together.

As one, they state they hurt others and benefit from their debts, because they cannot make up for their own misfortune unless they collect it from the blessed. They claim it is their way of life, as Daki reveals Gyutaro's eye on her forehead; they've killed everyone who accused them and soon they will slash the throats of the Demon Slayers just like the others.

Unable to believe the sheer virulence of Gyutaro's bloodlist, Tanjiro tries to focus that he is now facing the true Upper Rank Six. He plans to protect Tengen by reacting as soon as the demon moves, only for the Upper Rank to suddenly rush forward. He tries to stab Tanjiro in the jaw, forcing Tengen to fling Tanjiro back and engage him, while the latter berates himself for being too slow and hindering the battle.

As Tengen and Gyutaro trade blows, they are intercepted by Daki's obi punching into the house. With his eye in her, Daki and Gyutaro begin to work as one and sync their attack to fend off all four Demon Slayers. The obi are blocked by Tanjiro but he struggles with the sheer number of them. Having joined Zenitsu, Inosuke hears Daki claim she is now at her true power, to which he tells her to be shut up for her shrill voice. Gyutaro watches Tengen and Tanjiro struggle with the obi, while Daki uses more to attack her assailants. Inosuke and Zenitsu parry them away, to which Inosuke claims if she wanted to prove her strength, she can try to kill them. Daki happily obliges and attacks with even more ferocity. With the sheer number of attacks overwhelming the Demon Slayers, the separate confrontations become one giant battle. Tengen is forced to dodge both the obi and Gyutaro's Kamas, using his bombs to free himself from the onslaught. Gyutaro engages him again and quickly overwhelms him with his praying mantis-like fighting style, causing Tengen to sustain several cuts. Using Blood Demon Art: Flying Blood Sickles, Gyutaro launches blood blades and they fly backwards to slice Tengen, but Tanjiro blocks them from hitting him. As he struggles with the weight of the blades, he remembers that Water Breathing's flexibility is better defensively and parries the blades away from him, freeing Tengen to attack. The Sound Hashira then retaliates with Sound Breathing, Fifth Form: String Performance, destroying the blades and sending Gyutaro into the streets away from the house; Gyutaro mocks his efforts and decides to assist Daki with more blood blades.

With Zenitsu and Inosuke now forced to avoid the blades and obi, the two struggle to get close to Daki; Inosuke adds that he can sense the blood blades are extremely deadly. Tanjiro joins Tengen and Gyutaro's clash by stabbing the obi into the ground.Tengen watches as Tanjiro continues to fight despite his deep shoulder wound, realizing he may not continue for longer. Tanjiro realizes he is losing breath again and switches to Recovery Breathing.

Watching Tengen and Gyutaro battle from above, Hinatsuru arrives with a kunai volley crossbow. She fires the hail of knives at Gyutaro, but he blocks them with Blood Demon Art: Rampant Arc Rampage. Amused that some had even stuck into Tengen, he is shocked to see him continue to charge forward and slice both his legs.

Gyutaro is then hit by another kunai in the neck and soon realizes they are laced with something wisteria based, since his legs aren't regenerating. Using Tengen's attack, Tanjiro sees his chance and rushes in, swinging his sword into Gyutaro's neck, as the Upper Rank commends him for regaining focus in a short time.

Anime Notes

 * In the anime, while avoiding Daki's obi, Inosuke taunts her into attacking with her full strength, leading her to launch even more obis at them; these then punch into the house and stall Tengen and Tanjiro's attempts at attacking Gyutaro. This sequence is not in the manga.
 * Gyutaro succeeds in cutting and poisoning Tengen twice more in the anime.