Chapter 34

## Robust Blade

**Robust Blade** (強 (きょう) 靱 (じん) な刃 (やいば) , *Kyōjin'na Yaiba*?) is the thirty-fourth chapter of Koyoharu Gotoge's Kimetsu no Yaiba.

## Summary

As Zenitsu recalls Gramps's message to master even a single thing, the Spider Demon launches another **Poison Sputum** blob, nearly hitting his body and dissolving his haori. More of the demon's spiders appear and force Zenitsu on the defensive, who begins to feel the poison making his hands and feet numb. He realizes that the poison will soon cause him pain.

He remembers a time in his past when he was berated by another unnamed student of Gramps. The boy angrily scolds Zenitsu for crying all day and wonders why he was still being taught the Thunder Breathing techniques. The student feels he is worth their trainer's time, unlike Zenitsu. When he tries to interject and explain Gramps' reasoning, the boy throws a peach in his face and tells him to stop calling their trainer "Gramps" as an act of familiar. He remarks that their trainer is a former Hashira, and as one of the most highly regarded men in the Demon Slayer Corps, he believes training Zenitsu to be a waste of time and angrily dismisses him.

Zenitsu remarks that being an orphan meant he had no one to give hope or believe in him. *"No one dreamed of a future where I'd latch on to something and fulfill a dream."* Be it being useful or protecting someone, no one had the expectations that he could succeed. No one except Gramps. He would scold him continuously, and whenever Zenitsu tried to run away, he was there to pull him back, and though he was at times harsh, Gramps never gave up on him.

   The Spider Demon commands his spiders to inject Zenitsu with more poison; using their barbed tongues, they attempt to stab him but miss. Zenitsu suddenly vomits blood while moving to evade them, allowing the spiders to pile on him. Suddenly, the Demon Slayer grips his blade and the air begins to vibrate, causing the spiders to fall off of him. He uses **Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold** and speeds towards the Spider Demon, launching six powerful dashes before decapitating his opponent instantly.

As the demon dies, Zenitsu falls atop the house, satisfied that he had accomplished his dream of protecting people. He realizes that the time spent with Gramps was truly not wasted, but as the poison takes hold, he struggles to cling to life. He urges himself not to give up and uses his breathing to slow the circulation of the poison. He fights to survive, unwilling to let Gramps or Tanjiro be disappointed.

Elsewhere in the forests, Tanjiro hears the sound of a lightning strike — Zenitsu's attack — but becomes confused since he doesn't smell thunderclouds. Inosuke is not bothered to investigate while Tanjiro intends to. He tells Inosuke to descend the mountain but his friend vehemently denies being hurt, much to his confusion.

Suddenly, they hear a nearby splash across the river: a pale young demon. Inosuke immediately gives chase but the demon calls out to her father. Emerging from the forest, a giant humanoid Spider Demon appears, angrily demand the Demon Slayers stay away from his family. He throws a punch against the riverbed that knocks back Tanjiro and Inosuke from the sheer force.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Spider Demon (Son)
* Zenitsu Agatsuma
* Unnamed student (Flashback)
* Shoichi (Vision)
* Kiyoshi (Vision)
* Teruko (Vision)
* Nezuko Kamado (Vision)
* "Gramps" (Flashback)
* Unnamed student (Flashback)
* Tanjiro Kamado
* Inosuke Hashibira
* Spider Demon (Daughter)
* Spider Demon (Father)

## Events

* Zenitsu Agatsuma vs Spider Demon (Son).
* Zenitsu kills the Spider Demon with an self-taught extension of his first form.
* Tanjiro and Inosuke find a female demon similar to Mother and Rui.
* The female demon calls out to "Father", who immediately attack them.
* Tanjiro Kamado and Inosuke Hashibira vs Spider Demon (Father).