Akaza/Synopsis

Human Life as Hakuji
Hakuji was born and raised in the slums to a sickly father he deeply loved. In order to pay for medicine, Hakuji pickpocketed from people in town, but was caught three times. The magistrate beat him and marked him with tattoos, threatening to cut his arms off the next time he was caught and calling him a "Demon Child". When Hakuji returned home after his third beating, a villager informed him that his father, having heard of his arrest, hung himself. In the letter he left, he stated he wanted Hakuji to live a full life and didn't want to take medicine if it was earned by dishonest means.

With his criminal tattoos and no home to return to, Hakuji was eventually banished from Edo. Devastated by the loss of his father and enraged at this society they lived in where he couldn't afford his father's medicine, he picked fights with people and beat them up. One day, after nearly killing seven adult men in a village, he was approached by Keizo, the owner of a local dojo. Annoyed by the man's cheerful demeanor, Hakuji challenged him to a fight, but was defeated with ease.

Keizo then took him in so he could nurse Koyuki, Keizo's sickly daughter. Her mother, her previous caretaker, drowned herself due to stress and Keizo had to work handyman jobs to keep them afloat, so Hakuji was tasked with tending to her. Already accustomed to caring for his father, he had little trouble, though he found it awkward when she burst into tears seemingly at random. One of those times, unbeknownst to him, he had indirectly motivated her by telling her that "there will be a next year" to see a local fireworks show.

One day, he discovered that Koyuki had been forced outside and left there by the heir of the nearby kenjutsu dojo that had always sought Keizo's land for themselves and prevented him from getting any students before Hakuji. Enraged, Keizo and Hakuji fought the dojo, and after defeating nine people, Hakuji made them promise to never get involved with the Soryuu dojo or Koyuki again. The heir of the rival dojo became enraged and swung a sword at Hakuji, only for him to punch the side of the blade and break it. The other members of the dojo were so moved by the beauty of this technique that they accepted their loss and apologized for the rudeness of the heir, leaving the Soryuu dojo in peace.

Two years later, Koyuki's health improved enough that she could stand and do chores. Hakuji continued training as Keizo's pupil of the Soryu style, and the dojo began to grow. One day, Keizo offered to let Hakuji take over the dojo&mdash;and take Koyuki as his bride, to Hakuji's surprise and embarrassment. He agreed, silently vowing to protect both of them, even at the cost of his own life. At a festival, Koyuki told him of her past, asking if he was really okay with the proposal, to which he reaffirmed his vows to her, promising to protect her for the rest of his life. The heir of the rival dojo heard about Hakuji's marriage to Koyuki, so he gathered some angered disciples and fought Hakuji, but they lost. Tragically, this victory was short-lived. Hakuji went to visit his father's grave to inform him of his marriage, but quickly realized something was amiss upon his return. A student from the dojo informed him that the rival dojo had poisoned the well where Koyuki and Keizo drank water from. The two died shortly after drinking that water while Hakuji had been away.

Enraged, Hakuji killed all sixty-seven members of the rivaling dojo with his bare hands, pulverizing them to the point where their corpses were no longer recognizable. This incident caught Muzan Kibutsuji's attention and, though he was disappointed to find it had been a human rather than a Demon who'd done such a gruesome act, he decided to make Hakuji one of the Twelve Kizuki. Hakuji, with nothing left to protect and having lost his will to live, accepts and becomes the demon Akaza.

Demon Life as "Akaza"
After transforming, he lost his memories of the time he became a human, with only one single desire to become stronger despite not knowing the reason why he wanted to become strong. Despite this, as noted by Doma, he refused to ever eat or harm women. Due to his strength, loyalty and will to become stronger, he became one of Muzan's favourites and dispatched him only for special missions, such as searching for the Blue Spider Lily.

During his time as a Demon, Akaza noted that he had met and battled several Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps during his hundreds of years of life. During these meeting, Akaza had invited every single one of them to become a Demon due to Akaza liking the natural strength, genius and skill the Hashira had possessed, wishing to continue battling against them forever. However Akaza was turned down by every single one of them due to them wanting to stay as humans, causing him much confusion as he could not understand their desire to stay as humans.

Although not exactly specified, it has been stated by Akaza that each of the Hashira that he battled did not use the Flame Breathing, showing that his battle with Kyojuro Rengoku was the first time he had come across a Flame Hashira.

Fifty years prior to his battle and death against Tanjiro and Giyu in the Infinity Castle, Akaza had come across and battled a powerful Water Hashira of noteworthy skill and power in the usage of the Breathing Style and successfully killed him and for the next half century did not come across anyone else of the same skill level until his duel against Giyu.

Mugen Train Arc
Akaza appears shortly after Tanjiro, Kyojuro, Inosuke, Zenitsu and Nezuko have defeated Enmu and rescued the passengers. Noticing a downed Tanjiro, he immediately rushes forward to kill him, when Kyojuro stops the attack and slices his arm in half. Quickly healing the wound and complimenting his blade, Akaza is then asked why he would attack an already injured person, to which he states he simply wanted to rid him quickly before talking to Kyojuro. Deeming him as at the peak of his fighting spirit as a Hashira, he attempts to persuade him to become a demon. He states that as a human, he would eventually become old and die, whereas as a demon, he could continue to become more powerful. When Kyojuro repeatedly refuses the offer and refutes his statements, an annoyed Akaza declares he would instead kill him, and activates Destructive Death: Compass Needle.

Akaza and Kyojuro battle fiercely, with Tanjiro and Inosuke looking from a distance, both knowing the two are on a completely different level of power. Akaza is repeatedly cut but instantly regenerates his wounds, all while taunting Kyojuro by saying all the Hashiras he had killed had never once taken his offer to change. The demon launches in the air and hits Kyojuro with Air Type, knocking him back temporarily, though the attack is quickly beaten. Knowing a battle at a distance will be difficult, the Flame Hashira rushes forward and tries to attack up close, though all his swings are deflected and dodged. Akaza again taunts him for his weakening human stamina compared to his demonic physiology and tries again to persuade Kyojuro to change, which fails as Kyojuro repeats he will not become like him. They trade attacks again, with even Inosuke noting that if he tried to help Kyojuro, he would be too slow and killed instantly. Akaza starts to make contact with his attacks, severely injuring the Hashira. All of Kyojuro's sword blows are futile with the demon's rapid healing abilities and he starts to become desperate with multiple Flame Breathing attacks. Akaza suddenly backs away, allowing Kyojuro to catch his breath, only for Tanjiro and Inosuke to see him bleeding profusely, in contrast to a completely fine and healed Akaza.

Akaza, once again, taunts Kyojuro for his numerous injuries, whereas his had already healed instantly because of being a demon and for fighting a losing battle as a human. Kyojuro's body suddenly becomes engulfed in fire, declaring he will fulfil his duty as a Hashira, to the demon's confusion and wonder. Kyojuro decide he would try to injure him as much as possible, even if it means dying, and speeds forward with Flame Breathing: Esoteric Art. Akaza is amazed at his opponent's fighting spirit, and decide he must become a demon so they can battle forever. Declaring he is the Flame Hashira, he uses Flame Breathing, Ninth Form: Rengoku, and rushes forward. Akaza responds with Destructive Death: Annihilation Type. They hit each other; with Kyojuro slicing Akaza's arm, torso and almost through his neck, and Akaza driving his arm through Rengoku's solar plexus. Akaza desperately begs him to become a demon, knowing the wound he inflicted is fatal and amazed at his opponent's will to fight, declares him one of the few chosen strong ones. Kyojuro refuses once more, remembering his mother's promise to him to protect the weak, and drives his sword deeper through his neck, even catching his fist when Akaza tries to punch him with his free hand, shocking the demon. The sun begins to rise and Akaza attempts to flee but is held in place by Kyojuro refusing to surrender. Tanjiro and Inosuke attempt to aid the Hashira, Inosuke using Fang One: Pierce to attack the demon. Akaza suddenly rips off his own arms from Kyojuro's body and stomps the ground, creating a shockwave to knocks Inosuke away and giving him the chance to flee. Tanjiro frantically gives chase and hurls his Nichirin Blade at the Upper Moon, piercing his chest. Akaza hears Tanjiro's cries, calling him a coward for retreating, enraging him as he mutters to himself that he was fleeing from the sun, not him. Deciding the battle over and Kyojuro will soon die, Akaza flees to safety in the forest, leaving Inosuke and Tanjiro with a dying Kyojuro.

Entertainment District Arc
Akaza appears before Muzan and reports to him that he could not find the Blue Spider Lily, instead, he took down one of the Hashira. Muzan retorts it was only one Hashira and declaring his desire is for all to be dead. Angered at his failure, Muzan takes control of Akaza's cells and causes him to bleed heavily. The Demon Lord mocks him for acting proud when three other demon slayers were still alive and he could have killed them as well, ending his rant by claiming "even Upper Moon Three was brought to the ground". When dismissed by Muzan for his failure, he takes notice of Tanjiro's nearby blade. Remembering how he called him a coward, he furiously smashes it to pieces and declare he would spill his brains the next time they meet. Some time later, Akaza is suddenly transported to the Infinity Castle by Nakime. He is greeted by Gyokko and Hantengu but is disinterested in talking to them. He asks the Biwa Demon on Muzan's whereabouts and where is Upper Moon One when he is cheerfully greeted by Doma. Annoyed by his attempts to have a conversation with, he irritably asks Doma to take his arm off him, then violently shatters his jaw when he doesn't. An unfazed Doma continues trying to talk and evens believes the attack is simply a sign of their "friendship". Nakime answers his question and states that Upper Moon One is the first to arrive, who then announces Muzan's appearance. Muzan voices his disappointment in Gyutaro and wonders aloud why the Upper Moons are still around with no longer a proper purpose, shocking them all; Akaza himself doesn't respond knowing his recent failure. Gyokko suddenly states that he has new information for their leader and Doma unwittingly asks if he can participate in a mission, causing Akaza to angrily destroy his superior's head for "disobeying Muzan's orders". Suddenly, his hand falls off, and Kokushibo appears before him, reprimanding him for disrupting the hierarchy. A regenerated Doma tries to calm down Upper Moon One but he angrily tells Akaza if he wanted to take Doma's place and beat him, he should do so in a proper battle. A silent Akaza overhears Doma's statement that such a battle would be fruitless, since even the more recently turned Doma is far more powerful than he is, earning his ire. Doma continues to try defending Akaza but Kokushibo directly asks him if he understood what he declared. Akaza complies but quietly threatens to kill him as well. As Kokushibo disappears, Akaza rushes out of the Infinity Castle, ignoring Doma's attempts at another conversation.

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Akaza/Sinopsis