Chapters 164 and 165 of Chainsaw Man, “Charred Remains” and “Everyday Scenery” are short chapters, which could potentially be building up to the return of a missing character.
Chapter 164, “Charred Remains” begins right after Denji’s balls were attacked by Yoru and Katana Man.
Denji, however, has his priorities clear, being desperate to find Nayuta.
Yoru holds no interest in this, but Denji’s pleading is enough to allow Asa to regain control of her body and ask him what happened.
Denji then takes the group to the remains of his burned down apartment.
We see Denji mindlessly sifting through the rubble like a grief driven zombie, while Asa and Yoru try to coax him into fighting them.
Yoru is blunt and cruel, telling Denji that Nayuta is dead and that he should face reality.
I know Fujimoto likes to kill off his characters, but I cannot imagine he would kill Nayuta off screen.
She’ll show up again.
That way Fujimoto can kill her on screen. 
Dark humor aside, Asa attempts to coax Denji into a fight are much more sympathetic.
Although, telling someone, “I know how it feels when a family member dies because of you” is probably not the most sensitive thing to say.
Well, at least she’s trying.
Asa’s earnest attempt to comfort Denji naturally frustrates him, since Asa seems to be acting mean one moment and kind the next.
Denji still does not know about the existence of Yoru but, knowing Fujimoto, he will hit him with that revelation when it is most painful.
Realizing she’s not getting through to Denji, Asa asks Fami for help who, predictably, thinks Denji won’t fight because he’s hungry.
“Hunger makes you negative,” she says and, once again, I have to state how constantly amusing I find it that the literal Famine Devil is such a glutton.
Going along with Fami’s suggestion, Asa tells Denji to name whatever he wants to eat.
However, when Denji decides upon sushi, Asa immediately backtracks, telling him she hates sushi more than anything.
“What a bitch!” Katana Man declares and, when he of all people is calling you that, you know you’ve screwed up.
“Charred Remains” then ends with another prime Asa reaction shot to add to the collection, as she ruefully realizes she’s going to have to get Denji sushi.
Chapter 165, “Everyday Scenery” begins with a perfect juxtaposition of that title.
The “Everyday Scenery” Denji sees is that of dead bodies strewn around, injured people, buildings destroyed, and barely anyone reacting to this.
“That’s just expected at this point,” Asa states, showing just how quickly everyone had become used to the state of the world.
The group pile onto a train, with Fami listing possible sushi places which have not been destroyed by the current war,
Denji, however, wants to know why Asa is out to fight him.
Her response, “Because if I can fight you and win, you’ll be saved,” makes Denji draw the humorous conclusion that Asa has been brainwashed by the cult because, well, what she just said sounded insane.
Fami then explains that she wants to break Denji’s contract with Pochita so he will emerge.
They will then defeat him and transplant a human heart into Denji’s body so he can be normal again.
Honestly, this explanation is just as nuts.
Where would they even get a human heart to transplant into Denji in the first place?
Not only that but Fami absolutely refuses to elaborate on anything when questioned, which basically proves she’s lying here.
In the end, Denji lets it go, saying he cannot live a normal life, talking about how he literally used to eat toilet paper to survive but stopped once he no longer had to worry about being hungry.
Asa, unfortunately, sees this as a weird metaphor rather than the horrible truth it is, and promises to save Denji, no matter what.
Her determination is touching but, even if she can save Denji, there will probably be a whole lot of trauma and heartbreak before she gets to that point.
Asa’s poignant statement is then undercut by Katana Man, who has a rather unique suggestion on how to get Denji’s spirits up enough to fight them.
This suggestion?
Take Denji to a brothel so he can get laid, of course!
Who ever thought that the two of them would become such bros?
In all seriousness, I do have to wonder how enthusiastic Denji will actually be about this.
We know one of his main goals in life is to have sex but, now that his sister’s missing, this has most likely gone way down in his list of priorities.
As for story implications, Katana Man taking Denji to a brothel could see the return of a character who has not been seen since Part One ended… Kobeni.
Way back in the first Eternity Devil Arc, Kobeni said the choice her parents gave her was to either become a Devil Hunter or a sex worker.
We saw that Kobeni left the Devil Hunting profession in the last arc of Part One so, horrifying as it is to think about, her parents may have forced her into prostitution.
Kobeni showing up at the brothel would also be significant because her brother Nobana is with the group, and wouldn’t that just be awkward?
However, although I would love Kobeni to come back into the story, making her a sex worker might be taking things a bridge too far.
Kobeni’s suffering is played for laughs, often quite effectively, but her being forced into sex work would just feel gratuitous.
Of course, if she had not had to serve anyone yet and Denji’s arrival allows her to escape, I would feel a lot better about it.
That is if Kobeni is at the brothel.
After all, there has been wrong speculation about different characters returning at multiple points in Part Two.
Remember the theory that Reze was going to be the one to break Denji out of prison?
Either way, “Charred Remains” and “Everyday Scenery” are both good Chainsaw Man chapters, which provide humorous moments, and interesting interactions between Asa and Denji.
As for whether Kobeni will return next chapter or not, well, we will find out that tomorrow.