Ichi the Witch Chapter 97 Release Date, Chapter 96 Full Breakdown, and Fan Predictions

Ichi the Witch Chapter 97 is shaping up to be one of those chapters that fans are going to talk about long after the weekly release. Chapter 96 didn’t just throw another big fight at us. It took one of the series’ most important character traits — Ichi’s habit of handling everything alone — and finally put it directly in the spotlight.

And honestly, I loved that choice.

There are plenty of battle manga where the protagonist gets stronger by unlocking a new technique or discovering some hidden power. Ichi the Witch has been taking a much more interesting route. Ichi is already terrifyingly capable when it comes to hunting and surviving, but his biggest weakness has never really been physical. It’s the fact that he still thinks like someone who has to survive alone.

Chapter 96 finally starts breaking that mentality.

With the story now heading toward Ichi and Desscaras fighting Hakari together, Chapter 97 has the chance to deliver one of the most satisfying team battles in the series so far. Here’s what happened in Chapter 96, when Chapter 97 releases, and what I think could happen next.

Ichi the Witch Chapter 97 Release Date

Ichi the Witch Chapter 97 is scheduled to release on Sunday, September 6, 2026. International readers should be able to read the chapter through the official digital releases from VIZ and MANGA Plus, following the regular simultaneous weekly schedule.

For anyone following the manga weekly, this is particularly exciting because Chapter 96 ends on a genuine cliffhanger rather than simply teasing another attack. The next chapter has an actual setup to pay off: Ichi and Desscaras are finally stepping into the same fight as partners.

Chapter 96 Recap: The Hunt Inside Hakari’s Moving Tower

Chapter 96, titled “96th Hunt: The Greatest Tag Team,” throws the witches into a brutal survival trial inside Hakari’s enormous Moving Tower.

The objective sounds simple on paper: the participants need to find the three shards of their magic stone and restore them. The problem is that Hakari isn’t standing around waiting for them to finish.

The entire trial is essentially a moving game of survival. The witches have to search for the shards while constantly avoiding Hakari, with the threat of death hanging over every mistake.

That immediately creates an interesting tactical problem. The group can’t simply focus all of its strength on Hakari, because somebody still has to locate the magic stone shards.

So the witches split their responsibilities.

The Heavy Gunfire Diversion

The first major move comes from the combat-focused witches, who attempt to suppress Hakari long enough for the others to search.

Muscat is activated, producing a gigantic multi-barreled machine gun that absolutely fills the scene with firepower. It’s a ridiculous visual in the best possible way, and it’s another reminder that Ichi the Witch doesn’t always take the conventional fantasy approach to magic.

While the barrage keeps Hakari occupied, another senior witch arrives inside a huge metallic capsule. The entrance immediately changes the battlefield, giving the witches another powerful fighter capable of physically challenging Hakari.

The order is straightforward: find the magic stone shards and don’t let Hakari catch you.

Hakari Reveals Their Own Trick

For a moment, it looks like the witches have managed to overwhelm Hakari through numbers and coordination.

They haven’t.

Hakari quickly points out that the witches aren’t the only ones capable of using teamwork. That’s when the chapter reveals one of the more entertaining surprises: Hakari has a hidden Majik named Sukemaru, a strange, fluffy, almost absurdly adorable creature capable of making Hakari invisible.

Considering how dangerous Hakari already is, invisibility sounds completely broken.

Then Ichi happens.

Ichi Turns Sukemaru Into His Secret Weapon

This is easily my favorite part of Chapter 96.

Hakari calls for Sukemaru to activate the invisibility ability. But before the spell can become a serious problem, the perspective shifts.

Ichi is already holding Sukemaru.

He tracked the creature simply by following the presence he could sense.

There isn’t some giant new transformation or complicated magical counter. Ichi basically does what Ichi always does: he hunts.

Hakari’s reaction tells us everything we need to know. Sukemaru clearly isn’t just another disposable Majik. Hakari genuinely cares about the creature, which means Ichi has accidentally found the one thing that can make the supposedly unstoppable trial master hesitate.

And Ichi immediately understands the advantage.

He ties Sukemaru to himself and runs.

Yes, seriously.

Ichi basically turns himself into bait.

Ichi’s Hunter Training Becomes the Real Strategy

This is where Chapter 96 becomes more than a cool action chapter.

Ichi remembers the survival lessons from his childhood in the mountains. A hunter shouldn’t simply turn his back and run without understanding what he’s doing. Showing prey or an opponent that you’re escaping can trigger the instinct to chase.

Ichi uses that principle against Hakari.

By running away with Sukemaru, he creates an irresistible target. Hakari becomes too focused on recovering their companion to properly consider the larger battle.

Meanwhile, the rest of the witches get an opportunity to continue searching for the magic stone shards.

From a tactical perspective, it’s clever.

From a character perspective, though, it exposes Ichi’s biggest problem.

He decided to do it completely by himself.

Desscaras Finally Calls Ichi Out

Desscaras catches up with Ichi before he can continue his solo mission indefinitely, and this confrontation might actually be more important than the fight itself.

She isn’t angry because his idea was stupid. In fact, she basically acknowledges that using a decoy could be useful.

She’s angry because Ichi never bothered to tell anyone.

That distinction matters.

Ichi comes from a life where relying on yourself was necessary. If you were hunting in the mountains, there wasn’t exactly a team waiting nearby to cover you. But his current situation is completely different. He has allies. He has people who trust him. And those people are willing to fight beside him.

Desscaras essentially forces him to recognize that.

And then we get the payoff.

The Greatest Tag Team Is Born

Ichi stops running.

Desscaras stands beside him.

Instead of continuing the familiar pattern of Ichi acting as the lone hunter while everyone else handles their own problems, the two finally face Hakari together.

Their declaration that they will win the game of tag together is a fantastic closing moment because it represents actual character development rather than just a cool battle pose.

Ichi isn’t suddenly weaker or stronger.

He’s simply learning that being part of a team doesn’t make him less capable.

It makes him more dangerous.

My Predictions for Ichi the Witch Chapter 97

Now comes the fun part.

Obviously, nobody outside the creators knows exactly what Chapter 97 will contain, but the ending gives us several very strong possibilities.

1. Ichi and Desscaras Will Fight as a Real Duo

This is the prediction I’m most confident about.

Chapter 97 should spend a significant amount of time showing how Ichi and Desscaras actually complement each other in combat.

Ichi is incredibly mobile and relies heavily on instinct, positioning, tracking, and physical skill. Desscaras brings a completely different kind of power to the battlefield through her witch abilities.

That combination could create some fantastic choreography.

I can easily imagine Ichi forcing Hakari into a predictable movement pattern before Desscaras attacks from an unexpected angle. Then Desscaras could create an opening that allows Ichi to close the distance.

The important thing is that neither character should simply become the other’s support character. The fun would be seeing them actively build their attacks around each other’s strengths.

2. Kumugi’s Team Will Find the Magic Stone Shards

While the main battle gets all the attention, Kumugi and the others still have a critical mission.

They need to find the shards.

Chapter 97 could easily alternate between the Ichi/Desscaras fight and Kumugi’s search team navigating the Moving Tower.

I particularly hope the manga doesn’t rush this part. The entire trial has been built around strategy, so the search for the shards should feel like an actual puzzle rather than something that happens conveniently in the background.

If the first or second shard is recovered while Ichi and Desscaras are keeping Hakari busy, the chapter could end with the situation suddenly becoming much more manageable — or much worse.

3. Sukemaru Could Completely Ruin Hakari’s Strategy

And then there’s Sukemaru.

I don’t think the fluffy little Majik is just a joke character. Hakari’s reaction makes it obvious that Sukemaru matters.

As long as Ichi has Sukemaru with him, Hakari has to think twice before using attacks that could hurt their companion.

That creates a hilarious but genuinely useful form of psychological warfare.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Chapter 97 plays with this dynamic repeatedly. Ichi could deliberately keep Sukemaru visible, forcing Hakari to hesitate whenever they attempt a large attack.

At the same time, I could see Hakari eventually finding a way to counter this advantage. The manga probably won’t let Ichi’s hostage strategy solve the entire trial by itself.

Why Chapter 96 Works So Well

For me, the best thing about Chapter 96 isn’t the giant machine gun, the invisible Hakari, or even the final confrontation.

It’s the fact that the chapter understands what Ichi’s real character arc is about.

He doesn’t need another lesson about how to survive.

He’s already exceptionally good at that.

What he needs to learn is how to live and fight with other people.

Desscaras calling him out feels like a natural continuation of that development. She isn’t telling him to stop being Ichi. She’s telling him that he doesn’t have to carry every problem alone anymore.

That’s a much more meaningful power-up than simply giving him another magical ability.

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What I Expect From Chapter 97

If I had to make one overall prediction, I’d expect Chapter 97 to be a heavy action chapter with a strong focus on Ichi and Desscaras’ teamwork, while keeping the magic stone search moving in the background.

I’m especially interested in whether Ichi can actually follow Desscaras’ advice. It’s one thing to agree that teamwork is important. It’s another thing to trust somebody enough to let them take part in your plan while you’re fighting.

That’s the part I want to see.

Because if Ichi and Desscaras genuinely start fighting as equals, this could become one of the defining battles of the current arc.

Final Thoughts

Ichi the Witch Chapter 96 was a surprisingly important chapter. On the surface, it’s another frantic trial involving magic, monsters, giant weapons, and a protagonist sprinting through a dangerous tower with a fluffy creature tied to his chest.

But underneath all of that, the chapter is about Ichi learning one simple lesson: survival doesn’t always have to be a solo job.

The final image of Ichi and Desscaras standing together is powerful precisely because we’ve seen how reluctant Ichi has been to depend on anyone.

Now he has a partner.

Hakari has the advantage of invisibility, overwhelming power, and a terrifying trial environment. But Ichi and Desscaras have something arguably more important — coordination.

And after that ending, I genuinely can’t wait to see what happens when they finally put that teamwork to the test.

Ichi the Witch Chapter 97 releases on September 6, 2026. If the manga follows through on the setup from Chapter 96, we could be looking at one of the most entertaining fights of this entire arc.