A young boy, Tanjiro Kamado, carries a visibly-wounded, unconscious girl through a snowy path on his back.The demon describes the strongest student as having peach colored hair and a scar by his mouth, as well as the most agile student as a girl who wore a floral kimono.When Tanjiro asks why she was willing to teach him, she only replies, "we all really like Urokodaki-san," as her catch phrase. Makomo also informs Tanjiro that Sabito and her are not siblings, rather orphans taken in by Sakonji along with many children that are currently watching him. She continues to guide him as he keeps battling against Sabito, though the latter always manages to defeat him. Half a year of training passes, and Sabito finally comes to challenge Tanjiro with a real sword with Makomo as a bystander. A determined and changed Tanjiro tells Sabito that he will win, striking at his opponent before he could react. Tanjiro's blade cuts Sabito's mask in half to reveal a gentle, smiling boy with a scar on his right cheek. Makomo, keeping her promise to witness Tanjiro's progress, tells Tanjiro to win and triumph against "that person," fades away as mist clouds her and Sabito.Upon detecting Tanjiro's hesitation, Sakonji realizes Tanjiro has overflowing empathy and kindness even towards a Demon and berates Giyu in his mind, telling him that this boy isn't a suitable candidate.He bids Urokodaki farewell, entrusting him to care for Nezuko, Sabito, and Makomo while he's away, Urokodaki is left astonished as he reveals that Sabito and Makomo were the deceased spirits of his previous students and that Tanjiro shouldn't have known who they were.Before the demon is able to eat the boy, Tanjiro intervenes by using Water Breathing: Second Form - Water Wheel to slice one of the limbs off of the demon, who glaring back at Tanjiro commenting that "Another of [his] dear foxes has come!" The chapter starts off with Makomo asking Sabito if their intuition to believe in Tanjiro was correct to which he responds, "I don't know but no amount of effort is too much."Sakonji Urokodaki informs a curious Tanjiro Kamado about the Demon Slayer Corps, an organization composed of skilled swordsmen trained to kill Demons, despite not being acknowledged or officially recognized by the government.He utilizes the Water Breathing: Fourth Form - Striking Tide to slice the 'threads' that he smelled, and successfully defeats the demons which boosts his confidence in completing the selection.The boy laughs at Tanjiro's ignorance and declares that as someone who had succeeded in splitting the boulder, he wouldn't be hurt by someone weaker.The scene flashes to Tanjiro completing his training for the Final Selection, and realizing his newly acquired technique of smelling the 'lines of intervals'.Tanjiro invites Hotaru into the home, he explains that the katana he brought was a special nichirin sword, which changes color depending on the wielder, and was eager to see what color Tanjiro's katana would be.

Tanjiro grips onto his blade which begins to glow and transform to a shade of black.Tanjiro's crow interrupts the dispute to inform Tanjiro to disembark on his first mission, to resolve the mystery of girls disappearing night after night in a neighboring town.After Giyu's departure, Tanjiro buries the dead members of his family beside their house while Nezuko looks on. The Kamado siblings take each others' hands and starts on their journey to look for Sakonji.Following Giyu Tomioka's advice to keep Nezuko Kamado away from the sun, Tanjiro Kamado buys a bamboo basket and covers it with a cloth so that he will be able to travel with his sister during daylight.As Tanjiro continues hesitating, the first rays of sunlight appear and instantly burn the Demon to ashes, causing Tanjiro to realize why Nezuko dislikes the sun so much.Sakonji then introduces his role as one of the many 'cultivators', individuals who train and furnish swordsmen with a variety of techniques and skills.After receiving this information from Sakonji, Tanjiro vigorously trains by descending the mountain daily while simultaneously avoiding traps.After having realized that the demon was describing both Sabito and Makomo, Tanjiro lashes out and attacks the demon after he makes insulting remarks regarding Makomo's death.The Ubuyashiki twins proceed to inform the survivors of their ranks as mizunoto demon slayers, as well as gift then an assignment crow known as a kasugai crow.Fifteen days pass after Tanjiro's return and an unexpected guest arrives at the camp, a tall man approaches Tanjiro and introduces himself as Hotaru, the swordsmith who forged his katana.His younger siblings, Hanako Kamado and Shigeru Kamado, overhear him and beg to go as well, but their mother sternly refuses, saying they would only cause him trouble.Tanjiro calls out to his younger brother, Takeo Kamado, and asks him to chop the firewood while he's away, much to the latter's disappointment as he hints that he wanted to chop wood with his older brother.The swordsman appears behind a tree and asks them to look for an elder named Sakonji Urokodaki, who lives at the foot of Sagiri Mountain, and to tell him that Giyu Tomioka sent them.An old man with a tengu mask named Sakonji Urokodaki receives a letter from a crow sent by Giyu Tomioka.Before setting off, Tanjiro receives a hand carved fox mask, similar to the ones worn by Sabito and Makomo, from Urokodaki and says goodbye to a sleeping Nezuko.Having just arrived to the Final Selection at Mount Fujikasane, Tanjiro admires the wisteria flowers glistening the steps as he climbs the stairs.Unfazed by the sudden assault on his sister, the other twin, Kiriya, proceeds to have the participants choose an ore which would be welded into their katanas.As Tanjiro weeps in his sister's arms, Urokodaki comes out and hugs both of the siblings, shedding tears of joy at Tanjiro's arrival.A moment of silence is shared until Hotaru angrily lashes out at Tanjiro for unintentionally producing a black blade instead of a flaring red blade like he had wished to see.One of the villagers cries out to Tanjiro and asks him to take a whiff of a broken vase to figure out who the culprit was.Tanjiro wakes up with tears in his eyes, and Nezuko, with a bamboo muzzle in her mouth to rein her fangs, laid unconscious but alive beside him.The Demon proceeds to force Tanjiro onto the ground with his agility and strength, but Nezuko kicks his head clean off from his neck while Tanjiro watches, shocked over her ability to kill.However, the Demon's body continues to attack Tanjiro despite being beheaded, prompting Nezuko to give the headless body another kick.He also observes that the boy possesses the same particularly good sense of smell as Sakonji and requests Sakonji train him, given he could potentially become the old man's successor.Tanjiro pauses before answering and Sakonji slaps him, reprimanding him for being too hesitant.He instructs Tanjiro that if anyone desires to join the ranks of the Demon Slayers, they must first survive an event known as the Final Selection, held at Fujikasane Mountain.Sakonji tells the boy to continue improving his techniques and challenges the boy to split a huge boulder in half in order to prove his worth and participate in the Final Selection test.Two curators organizing the event, inform the students that the Wisteria flowers seen along the path, serves as demon repellent on the mountain.Back at the Selection, Tanjiro is beginning to face the Hand Demon who informs him of his reign as one of the strongest demons on the mountain, he also reveals that it was Urokodaki who trapped him on the mountain to begin with.Tanjiro continues to evade the demons attacks and persists forth until the demon's life thread finally becomes visible before Tanjiro's eyes.Tanjiro swings his katana and is able to successfully penetrate and slice the demon's neck.Tanjiro thinks of Sabito and Makomo and informs them of his victory, he reassures that they as well as the other dead children, can be at peace and return home to Urokodaki.Tanjiro treks frantically through the snow and begs her to stay alive, vowing he would save her.As he sets off, he runs into Nezuko who is rocking the youngest child, Rokuta Kamado, to sleep.She mentions their younger siblings' attachment to Tanjiro, and they depart.Tanjiro tells him not to worry as his nose can quickly smell out danger, but Saburo insists he take refuge in his house for the night in case of a Demon attack; Tanjiro finally gives in to the persistent man.As Nezuko is the only one with warmth in her body, Tanjiro hurriedly carries her on his back to see a doctor.While Tanjiro is left forlorn, the swordsman stabs Nezuko in the chest, causing her great pain.While the swordsman is distracted, Nezuko rushes to Tanjiro's motionless body.The Demon shoots the siblings a glance and warns them that this is his feasting grounds.Upon seeing the bloodied bodies, Nezuko starts to salivate and Tanjiro falls into a state of shock at his first encounter of a man-eating Demon.He charges at Tanjiro but the boy proceeds to headbutt and pin him onto a nearby tree with his axe handle.Tanjiro tackles the body off the cliff and is narrowly saved by Nezuko, making the headless body fall straight onto the ground below.When Tanjiro approaches the man, he introduces himself as Sakonji Urokodaki.Tanjiro replies that he understands, to which Sakonji responds he should bring Nezuko and follow him for a test.He recalls that Nezuko has always been patiently enduring suffering throughout her whole life.Tanjiro firmly decides that he will turn her back into a human and give everything to her to make up for the things he is unable to do now for his deceased siblings.By adjusting his breathing and concentrating, he attempts to smell out the distinctly different human traps.Through this, he increases his stamina and becomes capable of detecting scents much quicker.Soon after, Sakonji teaches Tanjiro the way of the sword, recovery positions after getting thrown, and breathing techniques.Surprised, Tanjiro observes that the voice came from a person wearing a fox mask who was perched on top of the boulder, a person who did not have a scent nor a presence.The masked boy tells Tanjiro to shut up like a man and attacks him with a wooden blade, which Tanjiro clumsily blocks.The boy notes the extent of Tanjiro's weaknesses, deeming him unsuitable to be a Demon Slayer.The boy with a fox mask challenges Tanjiro to a fight to which he declines, as the stranger is only wielding a wooden sword while Tanjiro has with him a real sword.He proves this by easily defeating Tanjiro, telling him that he does not yet fully understand Sakonji's breathing techniques to be able to utilize them properly.As the masked stranger walks away, a girl with a floral patterned kimono approaches, and the boy tells her to take care of the rest.Over time, Makomo acts as Tanjiro's teacher to aid him in correcting his sword postures and breathing techniques.He meets with Urokodaki who praises his abilities and hard work before giving him his blessing to participate in the selection.They go further on to explain that in order to pass the selection, they must survive for seven nights in the region of the mountain where the Wisteria doesn't bloom, and where the demons roam free.As the children daunt on the stunning claims, the demon begins to taunt Tanjiro by saying that he has eaten many of Urokodaki's students before and that he would be next.In a shocking turn of events, the demon reveals that he has claimed the lives of 13 of Urokodaki's students with two specific ones being the most memorable.Sabito remarks that Tanjiro's emotions are starting to interfere with his focus and he ends up getting momentarily knocked out after being slammed into a tree.In his final moments, the demon curses Tanjiro for defeating him and for looking upon him as something unclean and with a look of disgust, he has flashbacks of his past and how he became a demon after killing and eating his brother.Witnessing this, Tanjiro is overcome with emotion, and holds his hand praying for him to not become a demon when he is reborn in his next life.He remarks that if he had died he also would've returned to Mt. Sagiri to be with him as well as Nezuko.Seven days have passed since Tanjiro defeated the demon and the Final Selection has come to an end, He arrives back to the entrance and is congratulated by the same mysterious twins who welcomed him at the beginning of the selection.The chapter ends with a crow informing a mysterious new character of the admission of not four but five new demon slayers into the Corps.He arrives at the base of the camp where he's stunned to see the comatose Nezuko kick down the door and strut outside.As the New Year arrives, Tanjiro intends to go to town and sell some charcoal in order to have enough food on the table for the holiday.Tanjiro bids farewell to his mother and siblings as they remind him to stay safe.As Tanjiro arrives in the town, everyone is delighted to see him and immediately call him over to buy some of his charcoal.The boy's keen sense of smell is able to detect that it was a cat at fault and not the villager who was being held responsible for it.

As the sun begins to set, Tanjiro begins his journey home.The first thing he sees is a bloodied Nezuko holding Rokuta lying on the snowy ground.Sakonji then subsequently leaves.