Chapter 117

Swordsmith is the one hundred and seventeenth chapter of Koyoharu Gotōge's Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Summary
Still trapped in Gyokko's Water Prison Pot, Muichiro Tokito thinks to himself that he has enough air for one attack, proceeding to use Mist Breathing First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze. His attempt is unsuccessful and, without any more air in his lungs, he accepts his fate, thanking Kagaya Ubuyashiki for his support and wishes him luck finding someone to replace his Hashira position. However, he is surprised by a vision of Tanjiro Kamado who tells him that nobody knows what the future will be like, a statement Tanjiro had never said to him.

In the nearby shed, Kozo Kanamori gets slashed by Gyokko as he desperately shields Hotaru Haganezuka from the Demon. Unaware of their presence, Hotaru fixates himself on restoring the blade given to him by Tanjiro and mutters about the incredible quality of its craftsmanship. Gyokko observes him, confirming that he is not the chief due to his age. The Demon calls out to him, but Hotaru does not respond and continues muttering about the eccentricity of the blade, a level of concentration that astonishes Gyokko. Jealous of Hotaru's fixation for his craft, Gyokko slashes him multiple times and summons another fish Demon that attacks Kozo. Hotaru continues to ignore him as his mask falls off from the attack, revealing his face, and Kozo rushes to try and snap him out of his trance. Gyokko vows to break the swordsmith's continuous persistence.

Outside, Muichiro slowly loses his ability to breathe. Tanjiro's vision keeps appearing in front of him and expresses how Muichiro himself would decide his own fate. Muichiro dismisses his word, but Tanjiro continues and informs the Mist Hashira that someone would come save him. Although he tries to disclose his distaste for relying on someone else, the vision of Tanjiro tells him that he sometimes has to rely on others as he cannot do everything on his own.

Muichiro listens to his remark and berates himself for not working hard enough to prevent mistakes from happening and, additionally, for overestimating himself. Suddenly, a knife enters the water and Kotetsu begs Muichiro to not die as he futilely struggles to pierces the prison. Muichiro tries to get him to go protect the chief rather than worry about him, but Kotetsu persistently keeps trying. One of Gyokko's minions appears behind the child and slashes at him; as he runs, the Demon uses its claw to stab Kotetsu at his solar plexus. Seeing this attack on his vital point, Muichiro deems the boy dead.

However, Kotetsu stays standing and returns back to the water, blowing air into it and transferring a breath from him to Muichiro. As Muichiro inhales the air, he remembers Tanjiro's words about how helping others would in turn help him and connects his words to a man, Muichiro's father. Freshly motivated, the Hashira uses Mist Breathing Second Form: Eight-Layered Mist and successfully destroys the water prison.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Muichiro Tokito
 * Kagaya Ubuyashiki (memory)
 * Tanjiro Kamado (memory)
 * Kozo Kanamori
 * Gyokko
 * Hotaru Haganezuka
 * Kotetsu
 * Muichiro's Father (memory)

Events

 * Hotaru's face is revealed.
 * Muichiro begins to regain his memories.
 * With Kotetsu's help, Muichiro successfully manages to escape the water prison.

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