Last chapter (183) discussion about buying time and prolong the fight until daybreak made me think that maybe,
maybe the 13th form of DotFG is related to a single detail about the DotFG that passed down in Kamado family: that it's a dance performed by repeating its 12 forms nonstop from sunset until sunrise. Like, the unknown 13th form is a special, additional form that needs to be unlocked by performing a complete set of DotFG all night, or something like that. That could somewhat explain why it didn't get passed down in the family. I wished that to happen instead of the usual "power-up after a flashback/vision/dream/inherited memory". Would be nice to see Tanjirou learning something all by himself instead of being shown by others for once.
Though, looking at his current condition, that would seem improbable, so there goes my theory.
Of course there's no way Tanjirou would be gone for good
now, otherwise Croc-sensei introducing the 13th form of DotFG to the story wouldn't make any sense. That said, while not already dead, he might be actually dying. Muzan's blood had infected him for quite a while and the bloated flesh in his right eye sure looks painful.
Nezuko coming to save him now would be unlikely imo, not only because she's currently struggling with the cure in a place that presumably far away from the battle, but also because bringing her near Muzan would be a terrible idea. (though, in this arc she hasn't gotten into the spotlight. She needs to get some relevance. I wonder when.)
And even if in his near-death state Tanjirou somehow learns about the 13th form, it's not like it would help him fight the poison unless the 13th form is related to Nezuko's poison-burning technique or self-healing.
So, the other way I can think of for Tanjirou to survive this is to become a demon, which I thought unlikely at first;
The official translation gave me the impression that there are 2 types of Muzan's blood; one is for demonification, the other one is to turn his victim into a big dead mess of goo, which would mean Tanjirou got infected with the goo potion and wouldn't get turned into a demon.
But seems like I was wrong about that
. The original wording makes me inclined towards
/a/nonymous' translation, that it's just Muzan's blood, except in large dose which makes it lethal. If so, then it would makes sense for Tanjirou to become a demon despite Muzan said that he won't, considering that the lethality of the poison probably got lessened thanks to Tamayo's drug and the possibility of Tanjirou being partly resistant to demon blood.
If he does get turned into a demon though, imagine his desperate struggle to resist the urge to eat his dead allies. And that assuming he could regain his consciousness at all. And that assuming he could somehow break free from Muzan's curse in a short time so Muzan can't insta-kill him like he killed Nakime.
Either way, I can't see a pretty way out of this. Though if becoming a demon means his eye can be healed, I guess I can live with that.
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Now I wonder about how Himejima and Sanemi are doing. We have some snippets about Zenitsu and the others' whereabouts but we haven't seen anything about those two since they defeated Kokushibou, have we?
