I am You, Chihiro. Kagurabachi Chapter 52 Spoilers

In the previous Kagurabachi chapter, we see Samura in action as he reveals his echolocation sensory abilities, Iaido swordplay and religious commitment.

Chapter 52 is titled “Just the two of us”

This chapter has 19 pages

Editor’s note: “Information of the Hishaku that cannot be caught..!” 

We begin with a flashback of Chapter 1 after Chihiro took down some Hishaku sorcerers and return to Chihiro’s trial in Chapter 46.

This is from Chihiro having a conversation with Hiyuki, where he tells Hiyuki that all they know about the Hishaku’s origins is that they emerged around four years ago as a small organization of elite sorcerers.

Hiyuki affirms that the Hishaku went underground after the Kamunabi strengthened their response to the group’s emergence and yet the Kamunabi still do not know what they even are.

We return to Chihiro’s battle with that we left off in Chapter 49: Equilibrium, facing off against Hiruhiko and unleashing Nishiki.

Hiruhiko looks excitedly at Chihiro as a worthy opponent to go all out on and shares a bit about himself.

Like Chihiro, he is 18 but unlike Chihiro, he takes passion in killing people because he learned to enjoy it ever since he was 3 years old.

This shows that Chihiro has grown to be a monster with no attachment to humanity and treats others his age as not worth his time but in Chihiro, he sees him as a “friend”, an 18-year-old “made from killing” just like him.

Uh-oh…Hiruhiko really is the Mahito of Kagurabachi. 

And Hiruhiko is using Killua’s logic in befriending Gon, saying they are both the same age and should be friends.

Killua was also raised a heartless killer but he wanted to be human and he found that through Gon while in Kagurabachi, Hiruhiko reminds him that they are not human because they are “made from killing”.

This makes Chihiro mad with disgust but he is surrounded by the Datenseki fodder and Hiruhiko scatters paper around to make a quick escape.

Chihiro recalls how Hiruhiko called the sorcerers the “Anti-Enten Special Forces” in Chapter 49.

Meanwhile, Hiruhiko has some “fun” by watching a play in a theater about the “Battle for Sanoshima”, letting the assassins take care of Uruha and Samura.

However, Hiruhiko does not seem to like the play, seeing the protagonist, “Sasuke” as lame because even after Sasuke defeats “the Black Ogre”, restore his family and bring peace to the island, Hiruhiko does not like his bland characterization and finds the sword-fighting uninteresting.

Oh, a man of culture I see. Good thing Kagurabachi has some antagonists that enjoy actual entertainment instead of only caring about murder and big plans.

The narration somewhat sounds like Naruto, specifically about a “restored family” and a peaceful land.

One of the audience members notices the stomach wound on Hiruhiko and the latter warns him about Chihiro.

He seems extremely casual sharing this information and exposing his wounded state.

Back to the fight, Chihiro is above the road while Hiruhiko’s paper surrounds him and the Datenseki fodder.

He realizes that the origami paper is being remote controlled by Hiruhiko to distract Chihiro during the fight, since they were shown to be quite deadly.

While watching the play, Hiruhiko reflects on the Datenseki-stone as a weapon and drug to use on fodder who are a ragtag bunch and reveals that he actually placed three “personally selected stray dogs”

Chihiro slices through one of the men and lands safely but as it turns out, he landed right in the theater that Hiruhiko was watching, causing blood to spill to the frightened audience.

Here, Hiruhiko calls Chihiro “the villain”.

Again, we hear the limits fo the Datenseki: even if made from the same substance as the Blades, it is a one-time use weapon that does not compare to the Enchanted Blades, which get stronger over time.

Even with this disturbance, the show goes on.

Hiruhiko comments on how Chihiro remains uninjured, which is expected of someone with 3 years worth of Enchanted Blade knowledge.

The audience panics as Chihiro looks at them, his eyes emphasized as being hollow.

Hiruhiko makes Chihiro realize that they are alike as to the ordinary person, Chihiro is a monster.

I am reminded of Chapter 129 of Vinland Saga, where the Jomsvikings tell Thorfinn that in spite of his choice not to be violent, he was raised as a warrior and “a wolf cannot live among the sheep” because he is only a monster to the common folk, the sheep who flee at the mere sight of him.

Chihiro recalls how his father died and angrily asks, “who do you think made me be like this?”

Hiruhiko then says that only he can understand Chihrio as he calmly sits down to watch the show he made while the audience leaves in panic.

The chapter seems to set up another meaningful antagonist dynamic for Chihiro that could make him reflect on his journey.

Of course, this will not be a Vinland Saga-esque story of disavowing violence, considering the fantasy setting but this could alter how Chihiro pursues the Enchanted Blades or the Hishaku, in one way or another.

Next Issue: Cover and Lead Color Page! The battle accelerates yet again..!

Next Issue Preview: “Sharpening developments..! Boredom. slashed to pieces. Slash open the future of Jump! A magnifique collection of (true gem ‘Shinuchi’ stars..!).. Gathering the Enchanted Blades, cutting evil in two with a singular strike..! Chihiro and Hiruhiko, their collective experiences intersect..

Chapter 53 will be released on October 13, 2024.

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