Chapter 269: Hugs of Love and New Serialization
"It's finally coming to a temporary end...".
Professor Kenji Tanaka looked at the manga magazine with mixed feelings.
The cover of this issue... was, once again, Chainsaw Man. The image of a young Denji sleeping with Pochita in his arms was different from any other color page or cover of Chainsaw Man. This cover overflowed with tranquility and peace.
This would mark the temporary end of Chainsaw Man.
After the end of the first season, Chainsaw Man announced an indefinite hiatus, a piece of news that almost all fans knew online.
Even those who didn't browse the internet found out at the end of this issue.
Chainsaw Man had been serialized for a year and a half, and everyone had fallen deeply in love with the story.
They fell in love with each character: Himeno, Arai, Reze, the Shark Fiend Beam, the Violence Fiend, Quanxi, Koji Higashiyama, Aki Hayakawa, Power, Pochita, Denji, and even Kishibe... and many more.
Each of these characters has brought countless moving moments and tears to the fans.
Now, the Chainsaw Man manga is coming to a temporary end. I wonder if I'll live to see it completed...
But for now, we officially welcome the end of the first part of this story!
Professor Kenji Tanaka found a comfortable angle and opened the manga to its final chapter.
"Chapter 97" - Love, Love, Chainsaw.
But the opening scene was shocking: Ren tasting various meat delicacies.
Boiled pork slices...
fried pork chops...
husband and wife lung slices...
curry stew...
steamed dumplings...
stew...
a variety of tempting delicacies appeared in the manga, making one's eyes flutter.
After reading the previous chapter, Professor Kenji Tanaka knew they were all... Makima!
The braised ginger pork and pork rib soup from the previous chapter were already quite outrageous, but to think that Ren was still at it!
The idea that these dishes were made with Makima made Professor Kenji Tanaka and other fans think that Ren was completely insane.
But then, the "delicacies" tasting scene ended.
Instead, Denji led a dozen dogs towards Kishibe, who was sitting on a park bench.
They looked like... the dogs Makima had kept at her house? And sitting on Kishibe's head was a cat, the same one Power had had.
Apparently, after the incident, Kishibe had adopted Power's cat.
The two sat together quietly, and Denji said calmly, "I ate it all."
He devoured Makima without hesitation; truly... cruel.
This also meant that his method was working. Makima, the immortal ruling devil, was just food that could multiply infinitely.
Kishibe looked at him.
"Makima is not in my stomach, nor did she resurrect in the bathroom," said Denji.
Professor Kenji Tanaka, upon seeing this, immediately analyzed, "Because when the Chainsaw Man devours a devil, it completely eliminates its power and concepts."
In the manga...
"...it seems to be true," said Kishibe, accepting the fact.
But then he asked Denji, "But normal attacks are ineffective against Makima. How did you kill her?".
"I never intended to hurt Makima," said Denji seriously, looking at the dog in front of him. "This is my sincere opinion. I ate her and became one with her."
He pinched the dog's face and said, "This is not an attack. This is love, love."
"Huh?".
Professor Kenji Tanaka made a sound of bewilderment, his eyes wide. "You call this love? Wait... Denji says that if he treats this as love instead of an attack, will the contract that turned the attack on Makima into a contract be invalidated?".
"Is that even possible? The power of thought?".
He asked with a face full of question marks.
It's true... normal people cannot comprehend the mentality of a person with mental problems.
Other fans were also perplexed upon seeing this.
"No, you call this love, huh?"
"I don't think it's an attack, so I avoided the contract. Isn't that a bug?!"
"What bug? It's the feature of the contract!"
"Old rogue Ren... your reasoning is something normal people can't imagine. I thought he only considered Makima as an infinitely multiplying food, but I didn't expect him not to make Makima's contract effective."
"I repeat, if you can understand Amamiya-sensei's reasoning, I suggest you send her to Arkham Asylum."
...
In the manga, Kishibe finally understood and said, "The content of the contract? That's why it went so well this time. It's just that..."
He continued to ask, "There's one thing I can't figure out."
"Why didn't she see you when you attacked Makima?" asked Kishibe. "It's Makima, she should have noticed immediately."
Denji thought sadly.
"I've learned something from previous conversations and enemy news."
He lowered his head and said, "Makima distinguishes people by smell...".
"She doesn't remember any of our faces... She remembers each of our smells."
"So I took a chance. I bet that Makima has always only remembered the Chainsaw Man, not me...".
"She never noticed me from the beginning...".
These words from Denji... It's very sad.
After all, he still likes Makima, but Makima has never had him in her sights. Instead, she has always remembered the scent of Pochita on Denji.
It's as if the literary double knew he was a double.
Nothing can be sadder than this.
But just then, a little girl suddenly appeared before Denji, apparently playing with the dog Makima had adopted.
"Hey, little one..."
Denji reached out, trying to shoo the girl away, saying, "We're talking about something secret. Go play somewhere else."
But then, the little girl opened her mouth... and bit Denji's index finger.
"That hurts..."
Denji felt the pain in his finger, the familiar force...
It reminded him of Makima's words, "Remember it, until, even without seeing it, you can tell by the force of the bite that it was me."
"That force..." shouted Denji in horror, looking at the girl with the familiar circular eyes in front of him. "Makima?!".
"What? Has Makima been resurrected? Or..." speculated Professor Kenji Tanaka, looking at the girl with the same eyes as Makima.
Kishibe then revealed the truth: he had stumbled upon this and had secretly brought it back.
"But she's not Makima anymore. She's the new Control Devil," said Kishibe.
At that moment, Professor Kenji Tanaka suddenly remembered the theory of demonic reincarnation in the worldview of Chainsaw Man.
After the death of a devil in the human world, it is reincarnated into a new demonic individual.
Although it is the same demonic concept, it is not the original individual, just like the reincarnation of humans in mythology.
"Makima is dead," said Kishibe at that moment. "There should be no trace of Makima left in her."
However, with the manga's explanation, the speculation of Professor Kenji Tanaka and many fans that Denji shared the Chainsaw Man's ability to devour devils and completely annihilate their existence and concept has been refuted.
After all, the Makima devoured by Denji has been reborn as a new Control Devil.
The Chainsaw Man's ability to devour devils and completely annihilate their existence and concept definitely does not reside in Denji.
Finally, Kishibe entrusted this new Control Devil to Denji... to take care of her, not to use her as food.
Seeing the new Control Devil lying on the dog, unable to refuse his offer to adopt and care for her, Denji finally changed his mind.
"Little girl... what's your name?" asked Denji.
"Nayuta," said the new Control Devil.
Finally, Denji took Nayuta home. After giving her the bread she so longed for, they both slept separately.
Although they shared the same room, they slept separately.
Denji slept on a dog, while Nayuta slept on the other sofa.
But in his dream...
Denji dreamed that the dog next to him transformed into Pochita.
Pochita affectionately licked Denji's face, evoking memories of their childhood hugs in the rented apartment.
"Pochita..."
Denji hugged her tightly.
Pochita, apparently enjoying it, said to Denji, "Denji... my dream has always been to be in someone's arms."
Pochita's words were disconcerting.
"You must think this is simple," Pochita told Denji, "but because my power is too great, this wish has never been fulfilled."
So... Pochita's greatest wish had always been simply to be in someone's arms.
He had previously rescued those in need from hell simply because he wanted a hug.
But due to his immense power, those seeking help were ultimately torn apart by his immense strength...
How sad.
"But, Denji, you have fulfilled my dream," said Pochita.
Denji stared at her, his eyes filled with surprise.
"Denji..." continued Pochita, "I hope you can also fulfill the dream of the Control Devil."
"As a ruling devil, she has always longed for a relationship of equality with humans."
"She has always been able to use the power of fear just to get along with others, but in reality, she has always longed for someone to treat her like a family member."
"That's why she tried to use this flawed method to create such a world."
"So Denji... this time, it's up to you to create a world like that for her."
Pochita's words left Professor Kenji Tanaka and the fans in silence.
Did Makima long for Pochita because she wanted someone to treat her like a family member?
Precisely because of Pochita's heroic style, different from other devils, she believed he would be different and would treat her like a family member.
Unfortunately, for many reasons Makima had, they were no excuse for hurting others.
But Makima is already dead, after being decomposed and devoured by Denji.
Death is the end of everything.
And although Nayuta is the reincarnation of Makima, they are actually two different people.
They say that death is the end of everything, and since Makima is dead, there is nothing left.
Nayuta cannot be Makima, nor can Makima be Nayuta.
So...
"Pochita, what do I do?" asked Denji hopefully.
Pochita smiled tenderly and happily, and then said, "Hug her tight."
In the manga, Denji hugged Nayuta tightly and they fell asleep together.
But then, there was a scene where a devil was attacking... a high school.
The students, clearly in school uniforms, and the teachers in professional attire were fleeing frantically.
"Did the Chainsaw Man defeat the devil again?!".
"It seems he did it for fun."
"I heard he only saves girls!"
"Hey, did you hear?"
"It seems the Chainsaw Man is a high school student."
Suddenly, an image of Denji in his school uniform appeared, walking against the current, revving the engine.
In the end, it said:
"The first Public Safety Arc... is over!".
Meanwhile, on the last color page, the news of the hiatus of Chainsaw Man and the beginning of a new series was announced:
"The first part of Chainsaw Man is over, temporarily on hiatus!".
"Parasyte!, the new work by the popular mangaka Ren, will begin publication next week!".
After reading the final chapter of the first series of Chainsaw Man, Professor Kenji Tanaka felt a deep loss.
Everything was over...
This final chapter had no dramatic twists, it simply revealed the true death of Makima.
Meanwhile, a new ruling devil appeared.
The most heartbreaking thing is, in fact, what Denji said. The reason he succeeded in his surprise attack on Makima was because Makima never remembered him, but she did remember Pochita's scent.
That's why Denji succeeded in his surprise attack.
And the appearance of Nayuta at the end is also very moving.
Although she has some similarities with Makima, Nayuta is not Makima.
But thinking about this, Professor Kenji Tanaka suddenly realized that something was wrong.
"I'm looking for the shadow of Makima's past in Nayuta."
He chuckled and said, "Isn't that the same as when Makima looked for Pochita in Denji?".
"Pochita just wanted to be hugged, but Makima thought Pochita was just going crazy..." said Professor Kenji Tanaka in a low voice. "Makima still doesn't understand Pochita."
"But the end of the first part of Chainsaw Man was sublime... It's a shame the second part was discontinued."
Thinking about this, he smiled and said, "But the mangaka Ren has a new work... Let's look forward to it."
Professor Kenji Tanaka closed the manga magazine.
- - - - - -
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