Yoriichi Tsugikuni

Yoriichi Tsugikuni is a major recurring character in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a Demon Slayer who lived nearly 500 years ago during the Sengoku era. He was the most powerful Demon Slayer to have ever existed.

He is also the inventor of Breathing Styles, being the one who created the first ever Breathing Style, Sun Breathing, that would eventually become the Hinokami Kagura used by Tanjiro Kamado and members of the Kamado Family.

Yoriichi is the younger twin brother of Michikatsu Tsugikuni, who later became a demon and joined the Twelve Kizuki.

Appearance
Yoriichi is a tall man with a lean muscular build, fair skin, maroon eyes, and long spiky hair with red tips that he kept in a ponytail. He has a similar overall appearance to his twin brother Michikatsu, but unlike him, he was slightly more slender, had shorter bangs, and wavier hair than him. Yoriichi is mostly expressionless, though sometimes a little solemn and aloof.

Yoriichi wore a red haori over a very pale orange-colored nagagi kimono with a black umanori-styled hakama, a pair of zōri with red straps and white tabi socks, with a Nichirin Sword carried at the left side of his waist, conventional to most Demon Slayers. He sported hanafuda earrings created by his mother as charms when he was thought to be deaf; he later gave them to his friend Sumiyoshi Kamado, who then passed the earrings down to his descendants and eventually Tanjiro as well.

Personality
Yoriichi was a calm and respectful individual who wore a solemn and reserved expression at all times, rarely showing outbreaks of emotion. Generally, Yoriichi had a matching low and serene disposition, evident when he killed demons without changing expression or when Muzan was caught offguard by his immense skill because he appeared unassuming. Because of his gentle disposition and unchanging facial expression, most could not tell what he was feeling: the only person who could read his feelings without difficulty was his wife Uta.

He was also extremely humble, seeing himself as just another man and no one special despite his extraordinary abilities; an example being the time he performed the Sun Breathing's forms for Suyako at her request and almost seemed embarrassed afterwards. Yoriichi was also noted by his brother to always have had faith in the future and was confident that despite the immense power of the Demon Slayers after they started using Breathing Styles, a generation would emerge that would surpass their own.

Despite appearing mostly nonchalant, he experiences emotions like any other person; he grieved the loss of Uta and their unborn child for ten straight days and was driven to tears seeing the joy Sumire showed at the simple act of being lifted up as it represented the very same joy that his unborn child was tragically denied of. He also smiled warmly and expressed gratitude to Sumiyoshi after his friend told him his life was not worthless and promised to preserve his Sun Breathing forms through his descendants. Yoriichi is also very kind, shown when he was on the way to fetch a midwife in preparation of the birth of his child, only to stop and help an old man he met along the way reach his dying son. Additionally, despite his own immense skill and strength, he was not above admitting his own weaknesses, acknowledging that even a scratch by Muzan could kill him and experiencing fear for the first time in his life.

As a child, Yoriichi looked up to his older brother Michikatsu. Michikatsu's dream was to become the strongest samurai in the land, so he said that he would become the second strongest. Even in his childhood, he was extremely reserved and quiet, even being believed to be deaf by his family for seven years as he never spoke.

Yoriichi cared for his ailing mother when no one else knew she was ill and protected his father by not telling anyone about how he berated him as a child, even when his father did not love him. He loved and respected his older twin brother and he kept the flute Michikatsu gave him before he left home all the way till his death. When he met him after sixty years, the latter having embraced his new life as a demon. Yoriichi was deeply devastated by what his brother had become and cried. Nonetheless, he attempted to kill Michikatsu in order to stop him as a traitor to the Demon Slayer Corps.

Overall Abilities
Yoriichi is the strongest Demon Slayer in history, being born with the Demon Slayer Mark, access to the Transparent World, and Selfless State, as well as possessing a physique polished to the highest caliber and innate swordsmanship talent. As a seven-year-old child who has never picked up a sword before, he was able to defeat a trained sword instructor effortlessly and he was referred to as a miraculous prodigy beyond compare. After training as a Demon Slayer, Yoriichi could defeat multiple demons to where his older brother stated that he as a child couldn't even compare to him as an adult.

He alone among the Demon Slayer Corps was able to corner Muzan Kibutsuji and overpowered him in an instant, having him on the verge of death until he barely managed to escape. Despite having avoided death, Muzan was deeply scarred by that encounter, referring to him as the true "monster" between the two of them, and even the sight of his earrings made him tremble in shock, while mere memories of Yoriichi caused the bodies of other demons who have never met him to tremble.

Shortly before his death of at least 85 years in age, he battled Michikatsu, now a demon by the name of Kokushibo and holder of the title of Upper Rank One. Despite his advanced age, he quickly gained the upper-hand in the battle with a single move, slitting his throat before he finally died standing up, unscathed. Kokushibo himself admits that if Yoriichi launched a second swing before dying, he would have killed him, while commenting Yoriichi's power was still in his prime.

Genius Intellect: As a child prodigy, Yoriichi is extremely intelligent. Despite not speaking for most of his childhood, his first words were very clear and pronounced. He also displayed maturity beyond his age as he noticed her mother's illness and helped her all the way till her death. As another testament to his keen intellect, he could immediately use the Transparent World in combat despite never fighting before, being able to intuitively figure out that the lungs of a person will expand before they attack and that he needed to watch their bone movement, muscle contraction, and blood flow, which he used to his advantage instantly in the midst of battle.

Even with just the knowledge of how to hold a sword properly and go into a stance, he was able to instantly overpower a trained sword instructor, causing him to go unconscious and inflicting many injuries all over his body. His unique intellect brought about the "Golden Age of the Demon Slayers" as he invented the Breathing Styles and modified the original Breathing Technique to suit the abilities and individual strengths of others. Furthermore, he was able to surmise that Muzan's weaknesses were his seven hearts and five brains and created an entirely new technique in that split second to overwhelm him.

Demon Slayer Abilities
Demon Slayer Mark: Yoriichi is the progenitor of the Demon Slayer Mark, being born with it, possessing the tremendous physical abilities granted by its effects all throughout his lifespan. Unlike all other users of the Marks in his era, Yoriichi was able to defy fate and lived to about 85 years of age. It is presently unknown why Yoriichi is immune to the Mark's effects, but it is presumably because he was the first one ever to have it and born with it naturally, unlike all other Mark bearers who must train to attain it.
 * Bright Red Nichirin Sword: Yoriichi is the first person ever to be able to turn his Nichirin Sword into a bright red color, and he subsequently gave other users the ability to turn their blade bright red as well. When fighting, Yoriichi can turn his normally black sword bright red at will, allowing him to hamper the enhanced regeneration of demons, even Muzan's instant regeneration, burning him at a cellular level and leaving scars on his body for hundreds of years. It has also been noted by Muzan himself that Yoriichi's bright red blade was far more effective than those of the modern era Hashira and Tanjiro, as Yoriichi could completely negate Muzan's near-absolute regeneration for a short period of time while the Taisho era Demon Slayers can only slightly slow it down, despite the fact that Muzan was in a much weaker condition because of the Anti-Kibutsuji Drug.
 * Transparent World: Yoriichi had access to the Transparent World since birth, and could use it with incredible proficiency, evident when he could watch for lung expansions and muscle contractions within a person and surmise when to strike them, even as a child. This ability also granted him an advantage against Muzan, allowing him to find his weaknesses instantly and overwhelm him.

Selfless State: During their confrontation, Muzan noted that Yoriichi emanated absolutely no sense of drive, hatred, anger, fighting spirit, animosity or even bloodlust despite being in mid-battle against him, rendering it practically impossible for Muzan to detect him, predict his movements or gauge how powerful he was with his senses. This gave Yoriichi an edge in battle against Muzan as he underestimated his strength, a mistake that haunted the Demon King for the rest of his life.

Physical Abilities
Immeasurable Speed & Reflexes: Yoriichi possessed unparalleled levels of speed that surpass all other characters in the series, including that of the Demon King, shown when he was able to dodge every attack that Muzan launched at him and near-fatally injure Muzan with one move, despite the demon's own immeasurable speed and strength. Even when Muzan divided himself into 1,800 flesh pieces to escape, Yoriichi still managed to reduce the number down to 300 in mere moments.

Even on the last day of his life, he was able to easily blitz Kokushibo, Muzan's strongest subordinate, nearly severing his neck instantly, despite Yoriichi telling him when he will strike. As another testament to his godlike movement speed, Yoriichi Type Zero, the robot doll modeled after him used by Demon Slayers to train, was built with six arms because two arms alone couldn't replicate Yoriichi's movements.

Immeasurable Stamina & Endurance: Even as a seven-year-old child, Yoriichi could run for a whole day without rest; he even remarked that he didn't feel the least bit enervated. His vitality is also beyond peak-human level, being able to survive without food or water for ten whole days when he was embracing his dead wife. Moreover, Yoriichi lived to his 80s without his power waning in the slightest, as shown when he instantly outmatched Kokushibo during their final confrontation.

Immeasurable Strength: Yoriichi possesses tremendous levels of physical strength possibly beyond that of nearly all other Demon Slayers in existence. As a child, he could knock out a grown man with inclined physical abilities with a wooden blade, even causing extremely severe bruises the size of fists. When he was an adult, he was able to effortlessly slice off the neck of Muzan Kibutsuji, the most fortified body part of the strongest demon in existence.

Supernatural Abilities
Extrasensory Perception: Outside of the sixth sense granted by the Transparent World which allowed him to see the inner workings of a person, Yoriichi also has extremely honed sensory abilities, able to detect things outside the normal range of perception. Like most high-level Demon Slayers, Yoriichi would be able to discern the aura of demons from humans while also be able to tell the strength of his enemies at a glance. During Yoriichi's first encounter with Muzan, he could immediately tell that, by destiny, he was born into this world to defeat him. Yoriichi was also able to accurately sense the Demon King's aura, which he describes as magma erupting from a volcano.

Fighting Style
Unparalleled Swordsmanship: Yoriichi is the greatest swordsman to have ever lived. Even as a seven-year-old child with no training, he was capable of easily defeating a trained swordsman the very first time he ever picked up a sword, striking him in multiple areas across his body faster than the eye can process. His swordsmanship was so tremendous that a battle doll modelled after him had to be made with 6 arms wielding katanas and utilizing 108 techniques to even attempt to imitate Yoriichi's skills, and even then, the doll was still vastly inferior compared to him. His swordsmanship easily overwhelmed the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji and he would have killed his twin brother, Kokushibo, the strongest swordsman in the current era, if he didn't die of old age.

Breathing Style
Sun Breathing (の): Created by Yoriichi himself as the original Breathing Style which all other subsequent styles would be modeled after and was later replicated by Sumiyoshi Kamado who called it Hinokami Kagura (ヒノカミ). Yoriichi was incredibly proficient and unrivalled in his Sun Breathing, being able to take down demons effortlessly and even overwhelm the Demon King and the strongest Upper Rank. When looking through the memories of his ancestor, Tanjiro remarked that when Yoriichi performed the techniques of Sun Breathing, the forms were so strikingly beautiful and breathtaking, he appeared more like a spirit than a man. Even after watching Yoriichi perform Sun Breathing first-hand, it's been noted by Muzan that Tanjiro's techniques were still far inferior to Yoriichi's.

Techniques

 * Dance - The user performs a singular downwards vertical slash in an arcing motion.


 * Clear Blue Sky (の) - The user spins and twists their upper body in a circular motion, releasing a 360° slash.


 * Raging Sun - The user unleashes two consecutive horizontal arcing slashes around themselves to strike incoming attacks.


 * Burning Bones, Summer Sun - The user performs a singular slash utilizing a spiraling motion which extends in front of themselves to defend from imminent frontal attacks.


 * Setting Sun Transformation - The user backflips into the air before performing a singular horizontal slash which aims to decapitate the target.


 * Solar Heat Haze - The user rushes forth, now attempting to deliver a strike seemingly enveloped in a heat-haze, masking the true length and location of the blade to deliver an unexpected strike.


 * Beneficent Radiance - The user spirals into the air whilst performing a swirling slash upwards to strike the target.


 * Sunflower Thrust - The user performs a singular thrust utilizing the tip of their blade to strike the target.


 * Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance (の・い) - The user assumes a high stance, before unleashing a number of consecutive slashes in a fluid motion in the form of a Japanese dragon made of solar flames. This technique is capable of decapitating multiple targets at once.


 * Fire Wheel - The user flips into the air behind the opponent before unleashing a singular vertical slash in a circular motion to swiftly cut the target in half.


 * Fake Rainbow - The user performs high-speed twists and rotations, thus creating afterimages used mostly to evade attacks. The afterimages work most effectively on enemies with sharp vision.


 * Flame Dance - A two-combo strike which starts with a vertical slash leading into a horizontal slash right after.


 * Thirteenth Form (ノ) - The user continuously performs all twelve forms of Sun Breathing in repetitive succession to increase the accuracy and agility of their movements, and attacks. This form was created solely for the purpose of killing Muzan Kibutsuji, since the repetition of all twelve forms aims to destroy Muzan's twelve vital organs (seven hearts and five brains) that move freely inside his body.

Equipment
Standard Nichirin Katana: Yoriichi carries around a standard sized and shaped Nichirin katana that is deep black in color, but changes bright red during combat. His katana's hilt is circular shaped with 4 slight indentations, with a black center and a golden border. Yoriichi's katana also has the words Slay engraved on the side. Along with his katana, Yoriichi also carries a standard sword sheath that is black in color. It is implied that his katana was discovered after his death and hidden in the battle doll made in his image, Yoriichi Type Zero.

Trivia

 * Yoriichi's family name is composed of the Kun'yomi reading of the kanji for "to inherit, succeed" and "country, kingdom". His given name contains the Kun'yomi reading aswell and means "fate, destiny" and the traditional daiji for "one".
 * The bag in which Yoriichi carried his brother's flute may have possibly been made of the cloth of his late wife's kimono, as the cloth patterns between the bag and kimono are quite similar.
 * There are times where Uta believed he was the spirit of "Kṣitigarbha/Jizō" (a bodhisattva known for this vows of instruction of the Six Worlds of Saṃsāra and not attaining buddhahood until all Naraka hells are empty) or "Zashiki-warashi", a young-childlike yōkai who protects households.
 * After his mother Akeno gave him his signature Hanafuda earrings, Yoriichi realized he received them because his family had considered him deaf. She was the first person he had ever spoken to.
 * Although he is normally quiet and calm in nature, he chatted frequently after getting along with the Hashira of the Sengoku Era. Despite their initial anger for his brother's transformation, some of the Hashira would continue to speak with Yoriichi after his banishment, due to their close friendship.
 * In the Volume 23 extras, it is strongly implied that Yoriichi and his wife Uta reincarnated into modern time and became a very happy couple with kids.

Quotes

 * (To Sumiyoshi Kamado) "Sumiyoshi... those who master their trade all arrive at the same place. Even if the times change or the way to that place changes they are certain to reach the same place. You seem to think I'm someone that's special but I'm not. I cannot protect anything that's important to me and I was unable to accomplish even one thing that I should have in this life. I am a man without any value."
 * (To Kokushibo) "My brother... we are not that great. We are merely a fragment of humankind's long, long history. At this moment, those whose talent will surpass ours are uttering their first cries. They may come to reach the same place. There is no need to worry. We can draw the curtain of life closed without unease at any time. Does that not exhilarate you? Brother? Someday the children now being born will surpass us and ascend to even greater heights."
 * (To Kokushibo) "My brother, is your dream to become the strongest samurai in the land? I want to be like you. I... want to become the second strongest samurai."
 * "My dream was to live a quiet life with my family in a small house where we would sleep side by side. I would be close enough to see the beloved faces of my wife and child and close enough to reach out and take their hands. That would have been enough. But even that did not come true. Demons exist in this beautiful world."
 * "The Demon Slayers defeated demons, one after the next. When demons killed my elder brother's subordinates, he too became a Demon Slayer and lent us his strength. Soon after, I found the demon's progenitor. And in that moment I knew that I had been born for the purpose of defeating him."
 * (To Muzan) "What is the value of a life to you?"
 * (To Sumiyoshi) "I think I was born with special strength for the purpose of defeating Muzan Kibutsuji. But I was lacking. In the end, I failed. Because of that, many more people will die. And that pains me."

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