Denji’s decision to rematch Makima in a cemetery proved to be well-thought-out. Dinner plans were already set as well. The penultimate chapter of Chainsaw Man Part 1 features all the crazy action and surprises fans have come to anticipate from the series. Still, the sickest scene is also one of the most understated: Denji can be seen eating Makima’s remains at the very end of the chapter.
The question is how Chapter #96 gets to this stage. It starts with Makima holding Denji’s heart, or Chainsaw Man, with tenderness. Finally letting her guard down, her first words reveal that she hopes to spend the rest of her life with Chainsaw Man. She eventually wants to use Chainsaw’s Power to create a utopia, but now she’s acting like a smitten teenage girl.
It turns out that “Denji” Makima thought he was battling was actually Pochita dressed as Chainsaw Man. Denji could operate independently of Pochita (his heart) for a short while, allowing him to surprise Makima. While Makima may not have realized it then, her early trash talk was directed toward her idol. Denji, the person Makima dismissed as unimportant, kills her with a weapon fashioned from Power, whom she brutally slaughtered in the past, as a final flourish.
Reading the chapter’s concluding panels again will disclose more information. Denji isn’t trying to be metaphorical when he says that he and Makima will “become one.” That he compliments her taste is not meant as a romantic metaphor. Denji has been seen to be consuming what is left of Makima. Near the end of their conflict, Denji tells Makima he’s sorry for what he’s about to do. Denji is almost ready to sever Makima’s head when the author abruptly shifts to the following scenario with Kishibe. Denji had only earlier observed Kishibe’s arrival at the cemetery and remarked, “Master’s arrived to fetch us up.” Denji won’t abandon Makima to his death when he finds out what’s happening. She is accompanying him, albeit dismembered.
Denji not only wins the fight himself but also consumes Makima. Keep in mind that Makima once declared that if she was destined to lose to Chainsaw Man, she desired the privilege of being eaten by her hero. Denji effectively thwarts her hopes of ever becoming like him by consuming her as part of himself. Because he underestimated her, he was able to defeat her in battle, and now he’s added insult to injury by preventing Makima from dying in her favorite way. This means she’s out of the Chainsaw Devil. She will instead become a part of Denji.
The next step is. No one knows, not even Denji or Kishibe. While it’s true that Denji is consuming Makima, his lack of Chainsaw Devil powers means that it must be clarified whether this will genuinely destroy her. Makima could probably recover from this even if he is severely injured. Considering her agreement with the Japanese prime minister, she still has some leverage.
Denji, on the other hand, appears sure that the Chainsaw generated from Power’s ability and blood manipulation properties are sufficient to prevent or slow Makima’s regeneration. Is the idea of “control” going to vanish with her if her regeneration is nullified and she is killed by being digested? We have yet to learn what a world devoid of authority might look like. Fujimoto may be able to explain all of these questions in the next chapter, given how much he crammed into this one. However, he may also choose to save some mysteries for Part 2.