Yoshida's plan in Chainsaw Man Chapter 188 could be a plot to betray Denji

Modified Jan 01, 2025 10:05 GMT

Following the sneak peek at the first page which the Jump Festa 2025 event offered, fans were fairly confident in what Chainsaw Man Chapter 188 had in store for them. Officially released earlier this week, this collective inference was proven correct when Denji did indeed throw up Hirofumi Yoshida, hence the issue’s title of “Octopus, War, Chainsaw.”

Likewise, the chapter primarily focused on Yoshida calling a truce between him and Asa and Denji before coming up with a plan to try and escape the Aging Devil’s world. However, Yoshida’s dialogue in Chainsaw Man Chapter 188 serves as legitimate evidence that he may be plotting to betray Denji.

Yoshida’s human-and-bear analogy in Chainsaw Man Chapter 188 all but confirms his untrustworthiness

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Chainsaw Man Chapter 188’s final panels saw Yoshida begin to enact what appears to be his plan to get himself, Denji, and Asa Mitaka out of the Aging Devil’s world. Based on what fans currently know, his plan seems to rely on getting his hand to stick out of Pochita’s mouth in reality, thus allowing him to use the Octopus Devil’s powers. The most logical assumption from there is that he’ll order Octopus to teleport them out of Aging’s world and back into reality.

However, there is also another option which is definitely the smarter move if Yoshida’s intention is to betray Denji and continue supporting Public Safety as he always has. If Yoshida were to instead use the Octopus Devil to bring Aging and Pochita into Aging’s world, there’s a very real chance that they wouldn’t be able to escape without Pochita eating Aging. After all, Aging themselves said they didn’t build an exit into their world.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 188 also explicitly reminds readers that Devil powers don’t work inside of Aging Devil’s world. It’s very possible that this would include the Aging Devil itself if its physical body were to somehow become trapped in its own world. Likewise, Fujimoto recently made it very clear that even though Aging “appeared” in its own world to speak to Denji, its physical body was anchored in reality.

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A major reason why such a betrayal seems so likely is the analogy he claims his teacher once made about bears and humans. While the message is one of cooperation, it’s clear that this is due to the human, in this case likely Denji, being physically inferior to the bear, or Yoshida. Likewise, Yoshida could be communicating that he’s simply waiting for the right time to betray Denji rather than perish the thought of it completely for the sake of cooperation.

Yoshida would obviously have plenty to gain from doing so, currying favor with both Public Safety and the Aging Devil (at least in the final few moments before its death). He’d also earn legendary status amongst Devil Hunters not just for earning a Primal Fear Devil’s respect and gratitude, but for besting the Chainsaw Devil itself. In turn, this choice could catapult Yoshida into a role of being Denji’s long-term nemesis in the story.

Final thoughts

Yoshida may still be Denji and Asa's enemy despite his words in Chainsaw Man Chapter 188 (Image via Shueisha)

While there is only limited narrative information suggesting Yoshida could be plotting a betrayal, it’s certainly a legitimate possibility. This would also explain why Yoshida has had such a major role in Part 2, as such an act would presumably establish him as the main antagonist to Denji in the rest of Part 2 and whatever may come after.