Mount Natagumo (
Summary[]
While sitting on the footpath to the mountain, Zenitsu wonders if Tanjiro and Inosuke hate him, believing that if they were his friends, they would encourage him to join them and he would travelled along. Instead, they entered Mount Natagumo without hesitating or looking back at him. He is then joined by his sparrow.
Trying to speak to him, the little bird tries to encourage him, saying that sulking does nothing good and asking him to help his friends. However, Zenitsu does not understand his message, instead envying the bird for not being able to understand humanity. Aggravated, the sparrow begins biting Zenitsu's hand, who starts scolding him for not acting cute and citing Nezuko as an example. He then realizes that Nezuko is with Tanjiro, now inside Mount Natagumo's forests, and frantically runs into the woods in search of her.
Meanwhile, within the mountain, Inosuke and Tanjiro have engaged in combat with their fellow Demon Slayers. Inosuke belittles their intelligence for attacking them until Tanjiro realizes from their strange movements that they are being controlled by an unseen force. Inosuke announces that he is going to "cut them up" before Tanjiro yells at him to avoid doing so, saying that they shouldn't defile their comrades' corpses. Angered by his words, Inosuke faces Tanjiro and headbutts him saying that he doesn't like to be told what to do.
In the midst of the chaos, Murata, the swordsman they discovered on the mountain, is suddenly attacked by two Demon Slayers. The two boys rush forward to protect him and Tanjiro discovers an unsettling sweet smell behind him. He slashes near the Demon Slayer's back and the body falls, having sliced nearly invisible threads. He yells his discovery to Inosuke and tells him to quickly free the controlled swordsman from the threads, doing so by leaping over them and cutting rapidly, freeing their bodies from control.
Tanjiro tries to search for the demon responsible but is distracted by a foul odor. He discovers small spiders spinning threads trying to gain control of his arms. He frees himself and discovers that they are responsible for controlling the Corps members, watching as the Demon Slayer bodies they freed standing upright once again. Seeing that cutting the threads is pointless and further repulsed by the scent in the wind, Tanjiro tries to figure out a plan. Inosuke tries killing the spiders but they prove too numerous to be effective.
In the middle of his instruction, a boy appears from above and warns that the Demon Slayers to not disturb his family. Tanjiro notices the young boy to be balancing on threads, before the boys makes the threat that "Mother" will kill them. Inosuke leaps up into the air and slashes at the boy but misses, cursing him as he falls back down. Tanjiro yells at Inosuke to not mind the boy and find the demon controlling the spiders. In response, Inosuke pierces his blades into the ground and crouches down to preform his Beast Breathing, Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness: it is revealed that due to Inosuke growing up in the mountains, he has developed an extremely fine sense of touch, which, when coupled with his Beast Breathing, enables him to sense something's presence through the air. He is able to locate the presence of a female demon in the distance.
Alone and standing atop his threads, the boy gazes up at the moon as he eerily chants that he will not allow anyone to cut bonds of his family, drawing a web in his hands.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
Events[]
- Tanjiro Kamado and Inosuke Hashibira vs the Natagumo Demon Slayers.
- Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Murata discover the Demon Slayers are being controlled by threads.
- A demon warns them and threatens to get them killed.
- Inosuke locates a demon in the distance with his Beast Breathing.