Warning: Contains spoilers for Chainsaw Man chapter #170.One of the most mysterious aspects of Chainsaw Man has always been its titular character’s ultimate ability: the power to erase the Devils he consumes from history. The powers of Devils are typically just extensions of the fears they embody, yet Chainsaw Man seemed to be an outlier with powers completely removed from the specific fear of chainsaws.

The reasoning behind Chainsaw Man’s powers has always been a mystery, but Chainsaw Man part 2 has finally addressed that. Chapter #170 continued where the previous chapter left off with Barem’s sudden reappearance in front of Denji. Their conversation led to Barem explaining to Denji why Chainsaw Man can erase Devils from existence.

Said reveal makes Chainsaw Man and Devils, in general, even more terrifying than they were before, and overall, it does a great job of adding to Chainsaw Man’s overarching lore.

Chainsaw Man’s Strongest Power Has A Surprisingly Simple Explanation

The Mystery Behind Chainsaw Man’s Power Explained

In Chainsaw Man chapter #170, Barem explained to Denji that he needed him to return to the same state he was in during the Control Devil arc, which led to Denji finally learning that Chainsaw Man has the power to erase any Devils he consumes from existence. While fans and many characters in the story already knew that, it’s the first time Denji hears about it, so he points out that chainsaws have nothing to do with something like that.

Barem then explains what is, according to him the logic behind Chainsaw Man’s power: chainsaws did once have a use related to erasing Devils, but Chainsaw Man erased so many Devils that people eventually forgot about it. The explanation for Chainsaw Man’s power is very simple in retrospect, and it’s also very realistic. In real life, countless tools and practices have uses far removed from whatever they were originally conceived for.

Incidentally, the chainsaw was originally used as a surgical tool before it was used for cutting down trees and other outdoor activities. With how creative Tatsuki Fujimoto is, it’s not hard to imagine he took inspiration from this fact to create Chainsaw Man’s power. Making people forget that chainsaws were associated with killing Devils would be a perfectly simple explanation for this mystery.

The Explanation For Chainsaw Man’s Power Makes Devils Even More Terrifying

Obviously, this is just Barem’s hypothesis, and it could turn out to not be true, but it would be weird if the author inserted it in the story without an actual reason. It’s also interesting to note that Chainsaw Man’s power to erase Devils persisted even after this use of chainsaws was forgotten, meaning that Chainsaw Man’s power is not as connected to the human world as that of other Devils. This was already confirmed with the explanation that Chainsaw Man draws power from the fear of Devils, besides humans.

Regardless of what the truth will turn out to be, it’s clear that Fujimoto is saving the explanation of the mystery of the Chainsaw Devil’s power for a key point in the series’ future, as Chainsaw Man now is focusing a lot more on Denji’s emotional struggles, which is part of what makes the series so interesting.