novelraw Chapter 178: Alright, All the Emotions Are Back
Chapter 178: Alright, All the Emotions Are Back
The eighth day of the Lunar New Year.Finally.Today was the day—Chapters 23 and 24 of Chainsaw Man were getting updated.
Noon.Su Deqiang sat in front of his computer, grinding his teeth.“It’s finally updating! You third-rate old hack! You actually left us hanging before the New Year! If this update doesn’t deliver… I swear I’m gonna roast you to death!”
The truth is, emotions have an expiration date.Something that felt unbearable in the moment might not seem like such a big deal in hindsight.
Especially during the holidays.There’s so much free time, and every form of entertainment is saturated with joy.When he first saw that cliffhanger, Su Deqiang felt like he was going to explode.But then New Year’s Eve rolled around… and he calmed down.
As time went on, that feeling of frustration started to fade. Eventually, it was reduced to nothing more than a faint memory.At this point, it wasn’t really anger Su Deqiang felt—it was more like he wanted to recapture that emotion.Yeah, to find that feeling of waiting excitedly for the next update...
But what could he do?It was the New Year, and with the manga taking a week off, his hype had completely cooled off.
“…No idea if this week’s update will even be good.”Actually, this wasn’t the first time Su Deqiang had felt this way. When it came to stories he loved, if he hadn’t seen an update in a while, he’d always experience this emotional lull.Luckily, the fix was simple: just reread a few pages, and if he truly liked it, the characters and plot would all come flooding back.
But Chainsaw Man… how to put it—Su Deqiang wasn’t so sure this time. The death in the last chapter had come way too suddenly. And in his burst of frustration, he’d seen other readers worrying that the plot was going off the rails.
So now, even though the emotional high wasn’t there anymore, the memory of those heated reader discussions stayed fresh in his mind.He was afraid he’d open the update and see the story heading exactly where he didn’t want it to.
Like... maybe this chapter would feature a funeral for Makima—what if she really was dead?And even worse, what if it didn’t even make sense? Just killing her off for shock value? As he opened ANF, Su Deqiang was still distracted by all these thoughts.But his fingers moved with practiced ease—he could navigate to the manga section with his eyes closed.
Couldn’t be helped.He was that familiar.
Ever since ANF was acquired, he’d been spending more and more time on the site.From Chainsaw Man’s year-end female lead death debacle to nearly six months of consistent platform upgrades, anime acquisitions, UI improvements, and the release of clear user guidelines...
The site was visibly getting better. The user base was growing.He genuinely liked ANF.
Once he clicked into the manga section, Su Deqiang snapped back to reality and found himself staring at the Chainsaw Man page.The “New” tags above Chapters 23 and 24 stood out vividly.
He gripped his mouse, hesitated briefly, then clicked on Chapter 23.
“Just don’t let the site get better while the manga goes to sh*t.”
He muttered to himself and focused on the screen.
Chapter 23.The story didn’t pick up directly from the previous chapter—instead, it shifted perspectives.The camera panned over to the main cast.
Some were eating in a restaurant.Others were out responding to reports of devil activity.A few were just asking for directions...
Huh?
Su Deqiang raised an eyebrow.Was this deliberate? Did the third-rate author have a change of heart over the holiday? Was the plot about to take a sharp turn?
Just as he had that thought—
...he scrolled down.
In the frame where the devil hunters were dealing with reports of devils appearing, a background passerby—who’d seemed totally irrelevant—slowly reached into his coat...
Meanwhile, the devil hunter asking for directions had just thanked an old lady for pointing the way and was about to leave.
That old lady, eyes squinting and frail-looking, reached into her coat——And also pulled out a gun, aiming it directly at the backs of the two devil hunters.
Six whole pages!Not a single line of dialogue!Just pure, masterful paneling that built up an overwhelming sense of dread.
Seeing that—Su Deqiang instantly sat up straight! He was completely pulled back in!
The previous chapters of Chainsaw Man came flooding back to him, and his excitement returned in full.So this wasn’t just an attack on Makima—it was a full-on ambush against all devil hunters?
His heart pounding, Su Deqiang scrolled down.
And sure enough, the story confirmed his suspicions.
Gunshots rang out where the devil hunters were patrolling.Back at the restaurant, Denji and the others heard the noise but didn’t know what was happening. Denji just thought the sound was odd.
Then, a scruffy guy at a nearby table started chatting them up, complaining about how bad the food was.
He rambled on about taste buds.
And just as Su Deqiang was starting to wonder, what the hell is this tangent about—The scruffy guy suddenly shifted the topic to his grandfather and even showed Denji a photo.
His grandfather... was the Yakuza boss that Denji killed in Chapter 1.
Next scene—The scruffy guy pulled out a gun and aimed it at Denji. “The Gun Devil wants your heart.”
Then—no wasting time.
Bang!
Blood splattered everywhere.Denji took a bullet to the head and collapsed backward.
His companions reacted instantly.And the next sequence of panels—despite being still images with barely any dialogue—let Su Deqiang feel the exact tension of every movement and decision they made.
So intense.
He watched as the Fox Devil suddenly appeared and bit through an entire floor of the building.
That was Su Deqiang’s only thought: Damn, that was strong.
He kept scrolling.Despite the team’s quick reaction, two members still got shot.
Both Himeno and Denji lay in the rubble.
And as Aki stared at his wounded teammates in shock, the Fox Devil said he had swallowed something terrible.
Then—Just like Denji, a devil with blades for arms and a blade-covered head broke out of the Fox Devil’s mouth.
The Katana Devil.
Aki immediately drew his sword.
The chapter wasn’t long.But it was amazing—from the surprise attack to the Katana Devil’s entrance.
A perfect flow.
“…”
Without even thinking, Su Deqiang clicked on the next chapter.
He couldn’t help it.
His emotions were back!
Just from the beginning, he was already hooked again.Was the Gun Devil really behind this? Why attack all devil hunters? Why did it want Denji’s heart? What would happen next?
Those questions swirled through Su Deqiang’s mind.
He needed to know what happened next!
Thankfully, the third-rate author didn’t disappoint—The next chapter was already up.
Chapter 24.The story picked up right where Aki drew his sword.
A full-on battle chapter.
As always, the paneling was superb—cinematic and full of tension.
There weren’t many lines… but Su Deqiang was completely engrossed.
He watched as Aki used his amazing movement skills and a mysterious devil named Kas to finally take down the Katana Devil.
Su Deqiang let out a long breath, just about to shout, “That was awesome!”
Next scene—Aki raised his arm, seemingly realizing something was off. Then he looked over at Himeno, who was also shot.
Just as he was about to take her to the hospital—A mysterious woman appeared.
She walked over to the fallen Katana Devil.Did something—no one knew what.
And then—She lifted the Katana Devil like it was nothing.
In Aki’s stunned gaze,The Katana Devil came back to life, lowered its stance, and took position again.
Aki didn’t even have time to be shocked. He quickly drew his sword again, face tense.
But the moment he unsheathed it—
The Katana Devil appeared behind him.
The two passed each other.A beat of silence.
Sweat beaded on Aki’s face.
Then—
SPLURT—
With the Katana Devil grinning savagely,Aki arched backward as blood burst from his chest.
AORI TEXT: “Blood sprayed in all directions!”
Chapter End.
“…”
Not long ago, Su Deqiang had been worried he wouldn’t be able to get back into it.But now—he had read every frame with full focus, fully immersed.
When that scene hit, he was stunned.
And instinctively, he clicked for the next chapter.
The familiar pop-up appeared:
"You’re all caught up~"
Su Deqiang stared at the message, leaned back in his chair, and went blank.
Welp.
All his emotions had come flooding back.The shock, the suspense, the burning need to see what happened next…
But godd*mn it—Right when it got good, there’s nothing else to read!!
I…
You…
Su Deqiang’s mouth twitched.Should’ve just left it alone!!If you forgot, just let it go! Why the hell did you have to rush and catch up?!
Now you have to wait another week!!!
He sat there fuming for a while, then finally took a deep breath, grabbed his mouse, and closed the tab.
He was about to go see what other readers were saying.
But just as he returned to the homepage, he froze again.
The site banner had changed without him noticing.
…A crossover event?