To pass Final Selection, one must survive for seven days on Mt. Fujikasane where demons captured by the Demon Slayers have been imprisoned. So begins the battle for survival between the young swordsmen and the demons. Armed with the breathing techniques and stances he'd learned from Sakonji Urokodaki, Tanjiro slashes demon after demon. His two years of training have not gone to waste. But just then, a morphed demon appears out of nowhere.

Tanjiro's next destination, according to his Kasugai Crow, is to the south-southeast. On the way, Tanjiro runs into his fellow Final Selection survivor, the swordsman Zenitsu Agatsuma. Tanjiro has a hard time dealing with Zenitsu's passive attitude as they head deep into the mountains. They encounter two children whose older brother was taken away right in front of their house. There, Zenitsu hears the sound of a tsuzumi ringing out from somewhere.

Swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps known as Hashiras have arrived on Mt. Natagumo. Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira, slays the Father Spider Demon with a single strike. Inosuke, thrilled to see such a display of swordsmanship by someone in a totally different league from himself, challenges Giyu to a duel. Meanwhile, Zenitsu lies near death as the poison circulates throughout his body. Just then, the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho appears before him.

Seeing Tanjiro try to protect Nezuko even as he collapses triggers memories of Rui’s own past. Once a sickly boy, he became a demon after meeting Muzan Kibutsuji who gave him a share of his blood. But after he turns into a demon, his own parents try to kill him. Ever since then, he has been searching for a family. Seeking a bond that he can never hope to acquire...

Tanjiro and Uzui have been separated by Gyutaro’s Blood Demon Art. As Tanjiro joins the struggling Zenitsu and Inosuke, they manage to decapitate Daki at last thanks to their coordinated barrage of sword strikes. However, when Inosuke tries to run off with Daki’s head, he gets pierced by Gyutaro’s scythe. Uzui has also collapsed, leaving Tanjiro and the others with their backs to the wall.

Uzui deflects all of Gyutaro's Blood Demon Art attacks, and despite getting pierced in the jaw, Tanjiro is able to slice off Gyutaro's head. Though wounded from head to toe, Zenitsu and Inosuke also behead Daki, and they succeed in decapitating both demons at the same time. Just when it seems as though they've defeated the Upper Six demons after a fierce struggle, Gyutaro unleashes his Blood Demon Art...

Muichiro, with the help of air blown by Kotetsu to him, escapes Gyokko's Water Prison Pot. Muichiro finally recalls his tragic past.