Who is Muzan scared of? Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Tanjiro Kamado!
Muzan Kibutsuji – the cruel Demon King and scourge of the Demon Slayer corps – has terrorized humanity from the shadows for a millennium. But TWO mortal warriors have struck utter terror into his wicked heart: the peerless swordsman Yoriichi Tsugikuni, and Tanjiro Kamado centuries later!
Yoriichi Tsugikuni: The swordsman who nearly ended Muzan
Legends tell of Yoriichi, born with a distinctive Demon Slayer Mark signaling prodigious talent. His otherworldly gifts manifested early, allowing the solitary boy to develop the first Breath Style at age 6! Analyzing the sun‘s rhythmic movements, Yoriichi innovated what would become the most formidable technique in Demon Slayer history: Sun Breathing.
By age 12, Yoriichi had already surpassed his father – Tsugikuni Kagaya, Supreme Demon Killing Pillar of the era. But tragedy struck when a jealous Kagaya plotted to assassinate his own gifted son! Though Yoriichi emerged victorious, the shredded bonds of family affected him deeply. Roused by anger at demonkind, the peerless prodigy honed his skills ever sharper – soon surpassing limits deemed possible for swordsmen.
When the fabled slayer crossed paths with Muzan centuries ago, his mastery of Sun Breathing had reached transcendent levels. According to the Demonology Encyclopedia, Yoriichi remains the only fighter to push Muzan to his absolute limits! So let‘s analyze the extraordinary confluence of talents that nearly enabled this virtuous paragon to triumph over the evil Demon King:
Swordsmanship
Yoriichi‘s bladework surpassed human boundaries – he executed 13 distinct Sun Breathing forms where 10 was deemed the pinnacle. This singular innovation and mastery let Yoriichi strike 13 times per breath compared to a typical fighter‘s 9-10. What‘s more, he intuited a 14th form – the secret, unescapable Selfless State strike – during the death duel with his adoptive father.
Against the archdemon Muzan, Yoriichi utilized his flawless Sun Breathing to inflict grievous wounds. In fact, intertextual analysis reveals his strikes severed Muzan‘s 7 hearts and 5 brains – shocking organ redundancy that enables Muzan‘s nigh-immortality!
Physical Prowess
Endowed with the Demon Slayer Mark since birth, Yoriichi harnessed this gift to hone his physiology to utmost perfection. By unlocking the mark‘s advanced transformation at will, his strength, speed, stamina and healing reached transcendent capacity.
In Demon Slayer Volume 0, the manga depicts an untransformed Yoriichi easily defeating 2 Upper Rank demons simultaneously! So against Muzan‘s strongest form, the Sun Breather‘s enhanced physique faced no limitations in responding to the Demon King‘s eminent power.
Strategic Mastery
Though taciturn in nature, Yoriichi proved an incredibly analytic fighter, leveraging decades of combat experience to outmaneuver every opponent. According to the author‘s fanbook interview, this mastery let Yoriichi push Muzan closer to oblivion than any foe before Tanjiro!
So how did the stoic slayer unleash his genius against the King of Demons? Research shows that after targeting Muzan‘s vital organs, Yoriichi deduced his foe‘s next desperate gambit: self-splitting as a survival tactic! Thus forewarned, this peerless prodigy slaughtered a staggering 1500 of the 1800 Demons Muzan created from his partitioned body.
Truly, only Muzan‘s cowardly escape prevented history‘s deadliest Demon Hunter from victoriously ending his ancient evil!
Tanjiro Kamado: Muzan‘s ultimate nemesis
Centuries after his dance with death against Yoriichi, the scarred Demon King waged war against Tanjiro Kamado‘s line for reasons tied to their bloodline. For analysis shows Tanjiro awakens uncanny parallels to the legendary Tsugikuni – from determined quest for vengeance to emerging mastery over gracefully lethal Sun Breathing techniques!
Personal Tragedy
As we know, calamity befell young Tanjiro when Muzan massacred his family, leaving sister Nezuko the sole warped survivor. This tragedy catalyzed our hero into the Demon Slayer Corps – embarking on a quest to cure Nezuko and avenge his loved ones by destroying the Demon King!
Hinokami Kagura
According to author interviews, this ancient swordsmanship style – passed down among Kamado flameworkers for generations – was invented to slay Muzan himself! Though Tanjiro begins at novice level, his aptitude allows our hero to integrate its acrobatic maneuvers and fiery strikes with ever-growing mastery!
Foreshadowing by Tanjiro‘s spiritual mentors implies he may fully unlock techniques that Muzan greatly fears – all to finally exact vengeance for those the evil Overlord has killed!
Sun Breathing Parallels
While the Hinokami Kagura provides specialized anti-Muzan weaponry, Tanjiro further boosts his threat level through mimicking Yoriichi‘s formidable Sun Breathing. He subconsciously manifests 10 of its forms – tapping the style‘s underlying inborn power and potential for evolution!
This surely exacerbates Muzan‘s trauma, as Tanjiro‘s counterpart technique evokes the historical nightmare of Yoriichi‘s transcendent onslaught those centuries ago!
Conclusion
In the fated bloodlines of Yoriichi and Tanjiro, Muzan faces no mere mortals – but his destined destroyers bearing generational wrath!
Yoriichi proved peerless skill could nearly slay the strongest Demon. Now, Tanjiro‘s courageous heart harnesses ancestral flames to forge anew such sublime gifts – devoted utterly to ending Muzan‘s despotic evil!
So brace yourself for Tanjiro‘s preordained triumph, friends! Once our young hero awakens the consummate techniques slumbering in his warrior blood, no vile force shall spare the Devil King his judgement day!
