Hantengu

Hantengu, along with Gyokko, is the primary antagonist of the Swordsmith Village Arc of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a demon affiliated with the Twelve Kizuki, holding the position of Upper Rank Four (の).

Appearance
Hantengu = Hantengu is a short frail man with a very thin and skeletal body, covered with veins and wrinkles and is usually seen crouching. His most noticeable feature is a large bump on the top of his head, accompanied by two curved horns.

His face is thin with a sharp chin and he constantly wears an expression of terror and fear, with a prominent brow ridge that lacks eyebrows. His eyes are narrow and often appear to be squinting, lacking any visible pupils. Hantengu also has the kanji for "fear" etched into his tongue.

He has dark shoulder-length wavy hair with a low hairline, only growing out from the back of his head and ears, which themselves are sharper and longer than normal humans. His nails are long but not sharp like most other demons and retain their natural square form.

Hantengu wears a dark kimono that is split in the middle, the right half being covered in a pattern of flowers and lines with the left half being dark and lacking any detailed features. He also wears black hakama pants and a pair of zōri.

Sekido = Sekido is a fairly tall young adult male with a muscular build, long wavy hair that goes past his shoulders, with narrow and deep red eyes that have the kanji of "Upper Rank" and "Four" engraved into them. He has two prominent curved horns on his forehead and markings under his eyes that give his face a cracked appearance. Sekido has pointed ears and sharp nails on each finger. He is usually seen wearing an irritated or enraged expression on his face. Sekido also has the kanji for "anger" etched into his tongue.

Sekido wears the same kimono as Hantengu, with the right half being covered in a pattern of flowers and lines with the left half being dark and lacking any detailed features. He also wears dark hakama pants and a pair of zōri. Sekido is always seen carrying around a Khakkhara.

Personality
Hantengu = Hantengu's primary form has a persona of extreme cowardice and agitation. He is easily frightened by what occurred in his surroundings, showing traits of paranoia, fear and delusion. He is always shown to cry out in fear at even the most insignificant things, such as the number of years since the last meeting of the Upper Ranks being 113. Moreover, during said meeting, Hantengu spent most of the situation crying out and cowering in fear over everything around him. This extreme paranoia is especially evident in the fact that he always chooses to crawl instead of walking up straight. Even in combat, Hantengu was shown to be extremely cowardly and afraid, crying when he was slashed by Muichiro Tokito and when he was hiding from the Demon Slayers.

Hantengu also seems to believe he is completely innocent despite the obvious evidence pointing toward his numerous crimes as a human. He has a habit of deflecting the blame towards anything but himself, even proclaiming at one point that his hands were guilty but not himself as a whole. Even as a demon, killing and eating scores of innocent people, he stubbornly and erroneously maintained that he was innocent.

Sekido = As the manifestation of Hantengu's anger, Sekido is in a constant state of vexation, irritation, and rage, even towards his fellow clones, which could be seen when he easily got angered when they failed to meet his expectations and were subdued by the Demon Slayers. Sekido is also seen to care very little about his brethren, as shown when he forcibly absorbed them against their will even as Aizetsu protested. He also showed himself to be the most dominant of the emotion clones and appeared to be the leader, as he was the one who gave out orders to them and took charge at critical junctures when they were battling the Demon Slayers.

Karaku = As the manifestation of Hantengu's pleasure, Karaku showcased himself to be the most relaxed and laid-back of Hantengu's clones. The entire time he was battling against Genya, Tanjiro and Nezuko, he was constantly praising them and, instead of taking the battle seriously, he saw it as nothing more than a game, seeming to only take interest in the new experiences he was obtaining in the battle. This was demonstrated during his battle with Nezuko, when, instead of finishing her off immediately, he decided to tease and play with her despite being able to easily overpower her anytime he wanted. He also seems to display masochistic tendencies, which could be seen when he happily expressed his interest in the new sensation upon being shot by Genya, commenting that he had never been injured like that before.

This behavior easily got on the nerves of his fellow clones, specifically Sekido, who constantly berated him for taking so long in battle.

Aizetsu = As the manifestation of Hantengu's sorrow, Aizetsu is portrayed to be completely dejected, sour, and negative, constantly describing everything as depressing. Out of all the manifestations, Aizetsu was shown to be the calmest and most collected out of all five of them, as seen when instead of frivolously wasting time on entertainment as Urogi and Karaku or immediately getting agitated and enraged by anything like Sekido, Aizetsu was shown to calmly analyze his opponents and think out his strategy and figure out his opponents' abilities and weaknesses before attacking.

Urogi = As the manifestation of Hantengu's joy, Urogi is the most jovial and giddy of Hantengu's clones. Similar to Karaku, he seemed to view the entire battle against the Demon Slayers as nothing more than a game or as a source of entertainment, as seen when he happily complemented Tanjiro on his intelligence for correctly guessing that neither one of the four clones was the "real" body and constantly exclaimed that the entire fight against Tanjiro was delightful.

Zohakuten = As the manifestation of Hantengu's hatred, Zohakuten shared many personality traits with Sekido, as he too was easily enraged and was incredibly spiteful and hateful towards his enemies, due to him deeming them as "evil" for bullying his "weak and innocent" self. Like Sekido, he was also incredibly foul-mouthed as seen when he constantly insulted his opponents and referred to Mitsuri as a harlot, constantly calling her various degrading names in his thoughts.

He also seemed to harbor an immense sense of loyalty towards Muzan, as seen when he told Mitsuri that he only heeds and follows the orders of one man in the entire world. Out of all the clones, he was shown to be the most intelligent and insightful aside from Sekido, as seen when he easily analyzed why Mitsuri survived his powerful attacks and figured out the true source of her strength.

Urami = As the manifestation of Hantengu's resentment, Urami was shown to be just as hypocritical and delusional as Zohakuten and Hantengu, as he angrily told Tanjiro not to bully and hurt his "weak and innocent" self. He angrily asked why Tanjiro couldn't "see" his innocence and, true to his name, he has shown to be the embodiment of Hantengu's resentment due to him being punished and persecuted for crimes that he was "innocent" of.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: As the holder of the fourth highest title in the Twelve Kizuki, Hantengu is an extremely powerful demon. Through his Blood Demon Art, he is able to create four clones that were manifestations of his emotions, each of them possessing an Upper Rank demon's level of strength. They were able to hold off and overwhelm the combined efforts of Tanjiro, Nezuko and Genya, all of whom were powerful and seasoned Demon Slayers. Genya stated that Hantengu was particularly difficult to defeat as the Demon Slayers would have to play a cat-and-mouse game instead of a traditional confrontation, looking for the main body while being chased down by four Upper Rank-level demons.

As another testament to their strength, when the four clones fused into one body, Zohakuten, he was once again capable of fending off all three Demon Slayers as well as the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, one of the strongest Demon Slayers in the Demon Slayer Corps singlehandedly. Even after the Love Hashira awakened her Demon Slayer Mark, she could only evade and dodge Zohakuten's attacks and stall until the Demon Slayers defeated the main body, Hantengu. As Zohakuten and Tanjiro stated, Mitsuri would've run out of stamina and died if not for the sun rising and Hantengu being killed.

Hantengu = Enhanced Stealth: Hantengu possesses immense skill in stealth, which can be seen when he managed to easily infiltrate the Swordsmith Village, one of the Demon Slayer Corps' most vital and well fortified bases, without any of the numerous Demon Slayers stationed there noticing. Hantengu later managed to sneak into Muichiro's and Tanjiro's room without any of them detecting him, despite the former possessing the ability to sense the presence of demons and the latter possessing an incredibly acute sense of smell that would've sensed a demon's presences from extremely long distances. His stealth also enabled him to trick both Muichiro and Tanjiro into a false sense of security, as it was not until he got close to attack them that they realized Hantengu was truly an Upper Rank.

Immense Durability: Hantengu possesses a body so durable that not even Genya's pellets could leave a dent on his body, the same bullets which tore of the necks of his clones. Even when Genya tried to cut off Hantengu's body with his Nichirin Sword, his katana broke before it could do any damage. Even with the use of his bright red blade, Tanjiro was initially unable to make a dent in his neck.

Immense Speed & Reflexes: As an Upper Rank demon, Hantengu possesses incredible movement speed and reflexes, being able to evade both Muichiro's Mist Breathing technique and Tanjiro's Hinokami Kagura's technique with little effort. When he was in his smallest form, he could run fast enough that Tanjiro, Nezuko, or Genya, then enhanced with the flesh of an Upper Rank, could not keep up.

Size Alteration: Hantengu has the ability to change his size at will, as shown when he shrunk himself to a small enough size to fit into a wooden burl during most of Zohakuten's battle with the Demon Slayers, allowing him to stay hidden until the Demon Slayers began to actively seek him out.

Sekido = Biological Absorption: Sekido displayed the ability to draw in and absorb the bodies of Karaku, Urogi, and Aizetsu, fusing to become Zohakuten.

 Flesh Manipulation: Like all demons, Sekido possesses the ability to control and alter his flesh to a certain extent. Sekido uses this ability to shape his flesh into a Khakkhara which he uses as a means to channel his Blood Demon Art. He is shown to be capable of creating more than one at a time.

Immense Speed & Reflexes: As an Upper Rank demon, Sekido possesses incredible speed and reflexes comparable to that of the Hashira. This was shown when he was fast enough to block the bullets from Genya's shotgun before they could reach him.

Karaku = Flesh Manipulation: Like all demons, Karaku possesses the ability to control and alter his flesh to a certain extent. Karaku uses this ability to shape his flesh into a maple leaf-shaped Uchiwa. Similar to Sekido, Karaku can create more than one Uchiwa at a time, even creating an enlarged version of it to increase its area of effect.

Immense Strength: Karaku displayed incredible physical strength as he was able to pierce Nezuko's durable body with a single kick and ripped her arms off with his bare hands.

Unlimited Stamina & Endurance: Like all demons, Karaku possesses infinite stamina and endurance. When Genya shot off his head with his shotgun, leaving his head dangling on a piece of flesh and having his neck bones exposed, Karaku never showed any signs of pain but rather exclaimed in excitement over how he has never felt an attack like that and proclaimed that it was fun.

Aizetsu = Flesh Manipulation: Like all demons, Aizetsu possesses the ability to control and alter his flesh to a certain extent. Aizetsu uses this ability to shape his flesh into a Jūmonji Yari.

Unlimited Stamina & Endurance: Like all demons, Aizetsu possesses infinite stamina and endurance. This was shown when he was able to engage in battle with Genya for an extended period of time without showing any signs of fatigue in the slightest. Aizetsu was also completely nonchalant when Genya destroyed his neck with a shotgun that fired Nichirin steel shot, even managing to attack without his head intact.

Urogi = Avian Physiology: Urogi has the ability to mimic the attributes and abilities of avian creatures, namely in his large feathered wings and sharp talons. These large wings grant Urogi the ability to fly at incredibly high speeds while his talons are powerful enough to cut through diamond. A drawback to this ability is that his body has to be extremely light for him to fly, giving an opportunity for his opponents to use Urogi's flight ability against him.

Zohakuten = Menacing Aura: Zohakuten possesses an extremely menacing and overwhelming presence. Tanjiro choked on his breath and felt immense pain in his heart from Zohakuten's mere gaze. His aura is so strong that Genya could barely stand and caused him to start sweating profusely.

Urami = Size Alteration: As Hantengu's last ditch attempt to escape from the Demon Slayers, Urami has the ability to greatly increase his size in order for Hantengu to hide in his heart.

Blood Demon Art
Hantengu = Emotion Manifestation: Hantengu's Blood Demon Art allows him to manifest his emotions as powerful younger clones of himself with their own unique appearances, personalities and abilities. These clones are centered around a certain emotion Hantengu has felt before. Each one is identified by a kanji marked on their tongue that labels their core emotion. Hantengu can control these clones however he sees fit, though he usually lets them act on their own will. However, he did control and command Urami's body to kill a group of swordsmiths after he was beheaded.

This ability is activated when Hantengu's head is cut off, where his head and body turn into two separate clones, with those clones splitting into two after they are decapitated. However, they are at their strongest when there are only four of them. Damaging the clones' tongues has shown to slow their regeneration speed momentarily. Additionally, his clones will never die as long as the main body is still alive, making it nearly impossible to fight and defeat Hantengu alone.

It is later revealed that Hantengu developed this ability through being constantly cornered throughout his life, causing the intense emotions he felt to manifest through his blood.

Sekido = Electrokinesis: Sekido's Blood Demon Art allows him to generate lightning from his Khakkhara. The lightning he creates have a wide area of effect and can cause those hit by it to lose consciousness or paralyze his opponents in an instant, allowing him to subdue multiple targets at once. One drawback to his lightning is that it cannot pass through anything made from his own cells, such as the body parts of any of Hantengu's clones, which Tanjiro utilized to avoid getting stunned by Sekido again.

Karaku = Aerokinesis: Karaku's Blood Demon Art allows him to generate and manipulate powerful gusts of wind using his flesh maple leaf-shaped Uchiwa. By simply swinging his Uchiwa down, Karaku can generate a gust of wind strong enough to blow Muichiro into a forest in an instant, leave gigantic craters, level an entire building, and crush Demon Slayer and demon alike under its immense pressure, even knocking them unconscious.

Karaku is capable of using his Blood Demon Art tactically, hitting the entire battlefield with gusts of strong wind in order to make it harder for his opponents to move. However, this ability can be used against him by anyone who has possession of his Uchiwa, as shown when Nezuko used Karaku's own fan to blow him away.

Aizetsu = Spear Projection: Aizetsu's Blood Demon Art allows him to project the thrusting attack of his Yari over great distances, allowing him to attack his targets from afar.

Urogi = Sonic Scream: Urogi's Blood Demon Art allows him to generate powerful sound waves from his mouth. The power from Urogi's scream is strong enough to make Tanjiro bleed from his nose and ear, momentarily stunning him. He can even utilize it while not whole, as shown when his leg was severed but still attached to Tanjiro, enabling him to manipulate his flesh into a mouth to use the scream again. However, the strength of his attack appears to be at a specific level, as Tanjiro noticed that the scream of his leg's mouth was not as potent as before.

Zohakuten = Wood Manipulation: Zohakuten's main Blood Demon Art grants him the ability to manipulate and alter wood from the flora in his surroundings by tapping one of the many drums on his back. This Blood Demon Art can be used both close ranged and far ranged. Zohakuten mainly uses this ability to shape the wood into 5 massive dragon heads that can stretch up to twenty meters in length. He uses his dragon heads to bite his targets or to swallow them and crush them inside their jaws. Zohakuten can also create dragon heads within the main dragon heads in order to increase its length. He also displayed the ability to manipulate branch whips to use to attack his targets.

Ability Combination: As the combination of Sekido, Karaku, Aizetsu, and Urogi, Zohakuten can use enhanced versions of the Blood Demon Arts of all four demon clones as a part of his own to attack with. The dragon heads fashioned from wood that Zohakuten manipulates can unleash lightning strikes like Sekido, generate powerful gushes of wind that leave gigantic maple leaf-shaped craters like Karaku, emit powerful sound waves like Urogi, and manifest spear-like attacks out of thin air like Aizetsu. Zohakuten himself is also capable of using these abilities, as seen when he generated Urogi's sound waves without the use of his wooden dragons.

Techniques

 * -|Description =


 * Weeping Spears: Aizetsu violently thrusts his Yari, creating multiple long-ranged projections of the spear attack.


 * Crazed Cry of Thunder Death: Zohakuten commands his wooden dragons to unleash bolts of lightning and powerful sound waves from their mouths.


 * Countless Striking Trees: Zohakuten commands his wooden dragons to attack his target, making them rapidly grow bigger and multiply as they rush towards his opponent.


 * Compressed Sound Waves: Using's Urogi's powers, Zohakuten opens his mouth and releases close ranged sound waves powerful enough to disorientate and knock a Hashira unconscious.


 * -|Demonstrations =

Equipment
Sekido = Khakkhara: Sekido wields a Khakkhara fashioned from his flesh and blood. It serves as his main tool in combat when used in conjunction with his Blood Demon Art, allowing him to generate lightning from his Khakkhara itself at wide ranges to electrocute, paralyze, and incapacitate his targets. They also seem to be sharper than it seems, as it can easily pierce through Nezuko Kamado's neck.

Karaku = Uchiwa: Karaku possesses a maple leaf-shaped Uchiwa fashioned from his flesh and blood. It serves as his main tool in combat when used in conjunction with his Blood Demon Art, allowing him to generate powerful gusts of wind to launch his enemies a far distance and to level any battlefield and turn it into one full of torrents of wind, making it extremely difficult for his opponents to fight or even move. However, this Uchiwa can be used by anyone, which allows Karaku's opponents to use his wind Blood Demon Art against him.

Aizetsu = Jūmonji Yari: Aizetsu wields a Jūmonji Yari fashioned from his flesh and blood. It serves as his main tool in combat, being used to unleash close to mid-ranged thrusting or slicing attacks as well as allowing Aizetsu to block and parry attacks from his opponents. His Blood Demon Art works in conjunction with his Yari, allowing him to project and lengthen the spear's attacks to strike his targets from afar.

Trivia

 * The alias "Hantengu" contains the On'yomi reading of the kanji for "half" (半), "heaven" (天) and "hound" (狗). The last two kanji in his name means Tengu, a winged yōkai that uses fans in battle. The aspects of the Tengu are shared between two of (and thus half of) Hantengu's four basic emotions (Urogi's wings and Karaku's fans), hence the name.
 * Hantengu's first four emotions are derived from the "Yojijukugo (four-character idiom)", which can be used to describe the range of human emotions people (rather demons in this instance) feel as a whole.
 * The drums behind Zohakuten's back represent the Taiko drums of the Shintō kami "Raijin". Whenever Raijin strikes the drums levitating behind his back, lightning strikes upon both the human world and the underworld.
 * Muzan sees Hantengu as normal but sometimes he's so annoying it's intolerable.
 * Even as a child, Hantengu lied to make those around him look bad and gain sympathy.
 * Hantengu lied about his name, age, and background so much that he forgot about what his real name, age, or background really is.
 * Hantengu has married and had children several times. This didn't last though as whenever he would be accused of dishonesty, he would feel as if he was mistreated and kill his wives and children in anger.
 * This cycle of marrying, having children, and killing seem to have continued until he met Muzan.
 * His appearance was described to look like an 87-year-old man.

Quotes

 * (To himself) "Since the day I was born I've never lied... not even once! I'm a good natured weakling! I deserve pity, but no one has any sympathy for me."

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