Awful Villain Tanjiro slashes Hantengu's neck but fails to cut through it due to his blade's diminishing flames. He is then confronted by the manifestation of Hantengu's hatred, Zohakuten, whose Blood Demon Art is giant wooden dragons. Genya realizes Zohakuten is actually Sekido after absorbing Karaku, Urogi, and Aizetsu to fuse their strength into one body. Zohakuten shields Hantengu inside a burl and denounces the Demon Slayers as villains for causing him harm. Tanjiro retaliates against his accusation, angering him. Elsewhere, Gyokko enters Kozo's shed to find him and Hotaru, who is polishing Tanjiro's blade. Despite sustaining several wounds, Hotaru continues to ignore Gyokko, annoying him with his concentration. Muichiro, close to death, suddenly sees Tanjiro, who reassures him that despite his mistakes, someone will come and help. Kotetsu appears and fruitlessly tries to stab the pot. He is attacked by a small demon who stabs him in the solar plexus. Despite Muichiro attempting to dissuade him from helping, Kotetsu blows bubbles into the pot, giving him the oxygen to use one more attack and successfully break free. Muichiro realizes the reason Tanjiro seems to be familiar to him is because he shares the same eye color as his father.