Until your last breath, you haven’t been defeated yet. You may find yourself face down in the mud… lose your house or drink muddy water… people may curse you for stealing money… but as long as you’re alive… you have a chance to win one day. You will win. I moved forward with that conviction.
Kaigaku’s ideology in the box of happiness
Kaigaku (獪かい岳がく Kaigaku?) appears as a secondary antagonist in the Infinity Castle Arc of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a demon affiliated with the Twelve Kizuki, occupying top rank six (上じょう弦げんの陸ろく Jōgen no Roku?), replacing Daki and Gyutaro after their deaths.
Previously, Kaigaku was a demon hunter and Zenitsu Agatsuma’s main disciple, under the tutelage of the previous Hashira of Thunder (鳴なり柱ばしら Nari Bashira?), Jigoro Kuwajima. However, during the Hashira training arc, Kaigaku encounters Kokushibo, who defeats him, prompting him to submit and become a demon, then a member of the Twelve Kizuki. 🔥PRODUCTS OF THE MOMENT🔥Child’s Demon Slayer Tanjiro Sweatshirt in 3 Colors
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Appearance
As a human, Kaigaku is a muscular young man of medium height, with black hair and turquoise eyes. After his transformation into a demon, he acquires many demonic traits, including four black flame-like markings on either side of his cheeks, fangs, pale skin, sharp black nails and pointed ears. As a member of the Twelve Kizuki and occupying top rank six, his eyes bear the kanji of “top rank” (上じょう弦げん Jōgen?) and “six” (陸ろく Roku?).
Kaigaku is usually dressed in a black kimono with a blue belt over his demon hunter uniform, which features yellow flame-like markings near the chest area. He also wears several necklaces around his neck and wrists, with green strings holding blue magatama-shaped pendants, which were yellow when he was human.
Personality
Despite his brash, arrogant appearance, Kaigaku is actually cowardly and selfish. Like many orphans living on the streets, he has had to resort to stealing and other immoral means to survive. He’s even willing to sacrifice the lives of other orphans in Gyomei’s care to save his own skin. This has engendered in him an intense form of self-preservation, often driving him to act in his own interest at the expense of others.
Some time later, Kaigaku met and became the disciple of Jigoro Kuwajima. Despite his great talent with the sword, he was poised to become the next Hashira of Thunder. However, unlike the other orphans who joined the Demon Hunter Corps, Kaigaku never developed a desire to kill demons or protect people. Faced with a more powerful opponent, Kaigaku is quick to surrender. Moreover, he seems to have developed a form of hypocrisy, calling Zenitsu Agatsuma scum for his lack of pride and courage, and feeling disgust at the idea of succeeding Jigoro at the same time as himself. Kaigaku also has a distorted view of “good” and “evil”, believing that those who judge him positively (i.e. consider him worthy) are good, while those who judge him negatively and think badly of him are evil. What’s more, he has high self-esteem, seeing himself as special and gifted.
In the end, even after being beheaded and at death’s door, Kaigaku remains unrepentant and looks forward to Zenitsu dying with him. However, Yushiro arrives and taunts him, telling him that he’ll get nothing because he’s never learned to give, and that Kaigaku’s fate was sealed the moment he let his desires get the better of him. Seeing Yushiro save Zenitsu, Kaigaku screams in anger as the rest of his body disintegrates.
History
Kaigaku was an orphan and a thief who had to feed on scraps and steal to survive. He was one of the orphans taken into Gyomei Himejima’s care at his temple. After being discovered by the other children while stealing money from the temple, he was cast out and, that night, met a demon to whom he opened the temple door in exchange for his own life.
Kaigaku developed the conviction that strength and survival were the only things worthy of respect, and he was willing to crawl and beg for his life if he had to in order to survive. Eventually, he was taken in by Jigoro at the same time as Zenitsu and taught the thunder breath. He was determined to become Jigoro’s successor and the new Hashira of Thunder. However, Jigoro insisted that he and Zenitsu become his successors, despite Zenitsu’s weakness and shyness.
Synopsis
Mount Natagumo Arch
Although Kaigaku doesn’t appear in person, Zenitsu remembers him in a flashback where Kaigaku throws him a peach for calling him “grandpa” while berating him for trying to learn thunder breathing.
Hashira training bow
During the Hashira training arc, Zenitsu learns that Kaigaku has become a demon and that Jigoro committed suicide to atone for this. Kaigaku had the misfortune to meet Kokushibo and, faced with the immense power of the higher rank, he knelt before him and submitted to save his life. As a demon, Kaigaku killed many people and became powerful enough to become the new top rank six of the Twelve Kizuki at the start of the Infinity Castle arc.
Infinity Castle arc
Inside Infinity Castle, Kaigaku and Zenitsu search for each other. Finally, Kaigaku is decapitated by Zenitsu’s Honoikazuchi no Kami technique. Kaigaku notes with frustration that their master favored Zenitsu by teaching him a technique, but Zenitsu admits that the technique was actually his own creation, so that he could fight alongside Kaigaku as equals. Kaigaku notes that Zenitsu was about to die of exhaustion, but is saved by Yushiro at the last second. Kaigaku’s head screams in anger as the rest of his body disintegrates.
Abilities
General abilities: As a member of the higher ranks, Kaigaku possesses immense power. Combined with his sword skills as an experienced demon hunter, he is an extremely dangerous demon. This is confirmed by the fact that he had to receive a large amount of Muzan Kibutsuji’s blood to transform into a demon, as users of Total Concentration Breath are more resistant to the effects of the Demon King’s blood. Zenitsu also noted that Kaigaku had killed many humans in the short time between the Hashira training bow and the Infinity Castle bow, a testament to his strength.
According to Yushiro, while Kaigaku was at top rank six, he hadn’t yet mastered his techniques and abilities and could have killed Zenitsu immediately within a year.
Exceptional speed and reflexes: As a Thunderbreath user turned higher-ranking demon, Kaigaku possesses extraordinary speed and reflexes thanks to the Thunderbreath fencing style, which emphasizes speed and bursts of speed. Thanks to the assimilation of huge quantities of Muzan blood, Kaigaku is an extremely fast fighter, as evidenced by his ability to keep up with Zenitsu, a demon slayer who trained with the same teacher to learn the same breathing style, and even dominate him for most of their fight.
Fighting style
Master swordsman: As the initial contender for Jigoro’s position as Thunder Hashira, Kaigaku is an extremely skilled swordsman, mastering Thunder Breath. His swordplay differs from that of other demon slayers, as he wears the scabbard of his katana on his back rather than on either side of his waist. However, his mastery of the sword is comparable to that of Zenitsu, who has already taken on higher-ranking demons. Thanks to his Blood Demon Art, Kaigaku’s swordsmanship has also been greatly enhanced.
Breathing style
Thunder Breath (雷かみなりの呼こ吸きゅう Kaminari no kokyū?): A breathing style Kaigaku learned from a former Hashira, Jigoro Kuwajima. It was implied that Kaigaku was talented enough in learning this breathing style, so much so that Jigoro wanted Zenitsu to imitate him. However, Kaigaku was unable to learn the first and most fundamental form of thunder breathing, the Thunderclap and Flash, although he was able to learn and master the other five techniques of this breathing style. However, some Demon Hunters have claimed that, due to Kaigaku’s inability to master the first form, the other five techniques he learned are not worth much.
After becoming a demon and developing the Art of the Blood Demon, Kaigaku’s thunder breathing took shape through the manipulation of lightning and electricity, which greatly enhanced the offensive power of this breathing style. Kaigaku even declared that he had “surpassed the Thunder Breath”.
Art of the Blood Demon
Electrokinesis: Complementing his breathing style, Thunder Breath, Kaigaku’s Blood Demon Art gives him special electrokinetic abilities, enabling him to generate and manipulate black lightning and electricity from his flesh and blood. This lightning-like art of the blood demon creates a special effect that tears the flesh of its target while burning it, greatly increasing the lethality and offensive capacity of its attacks. The wounds caused by Kaigaku’s sword strikes almost destroyed Zenitsu’s eyeballs, leaving him severely injured after the fight.
Kaigaku uses this blood demon art strategically, combining lightning with his thunder breathing techniques to improve the range and speed of his attacks, making it difficult even for Zenitsu to follow them. It’s implied that this blood demon art has compensated for Kaigaku’s inability to execute the most fundamental technique of the thunder breathing style, the Thunderbolt and Flash, making him the most powerful user of thunder breathing, as he has already mastered the other five standard forms of the breathing style.
Techniques
Description
- Second form: Rice Spirit (弐にノ型かた 稲いな魂だま Ni no kata: Inadama?) – Kaigaku releases five arcing blows accompanied by lightning bolts in rapid succession.
- Third form: Thunder swarm (参さんノ型かた 聚しゅう蚊ぶん成せい雷らい San no kata: Shūbun Seirai?) – Kaigaku surrounds the enemy with waves of arcing lightning and attacks him from all sides.
- Fourth form: Distant Thunder (肆しノ型かた 遠えん雷らい Shi no kata: Enrai?) – Kaigaku generates a ball of electricity that releases waves of powerful multidirectional lightning from afar.
- Fifth form: Heat Lightning (伍ごノ型かた 熱ねつ界かい雷らい Go no kata: Netsu Kairai?) – Kaigaku unleashes a long-range upward sword strike accompanied by lightning.
- Sixth form: Rumble and Flash (陸ろくノ型かた 電でん轟ごう雷らい轟ごう Roku no kata: Dengō Raigō?) – Kaigaku strings together a series of powerful long-range lightning attacks that strike his opponent from afar.
Equipment
Flesh-and-blood katana: Like his Kokushibo brothers, Kaigaku carries a modified version of a standard Nichirin katana that’s made from his flesh and blood. However, unlike the Kokushibo katana, Kaigaku’s katana is not heavily deformed and almost resembles his original katana. His flesh katana features a pattern of black lightning bolts on both sides of the yellow-tinted blade, as well as a black and gold handle. Given that Kaigaku opted for a flesh katana rather than continuing to use a traditional Nichirin katana, we can assume that his katana is sharper and stronger than a sword made from scarlet ore. We can also assume that his flesh blade facilitates the use of his Blood Demon Art, as he can channel his blood through it when using his techniques. In addition to his katana, he wears a deep-black scabbard on his back.
Battle
Infinity Castle Arch
- Zenitsu Agatsuma versus Kaigaku
Anecdotes
- Because of the movement pattern of the Thunder Breath’s first form, it is speculated that one of the reasons Kaigaku had trouble mastering it was that he placed his scabbard on his back instead of wearing it at his waist.
- Kaigaku is the second known demon slayer to become a demon, after Kokushibo.
- Kaigaku’s necklaces and bracelets are Taijitu/magatama (tomoe) symbols. Before his transformation into a demon, the symbol is yellow (representing good, brightness), and it turns blue (representing evil, darkness, depth) after his transformation. The fractured magatama itself seems to represent his broken, unstable state of mind.
- Kaigaku ranked 21st in the second character popularity poll with 865 votes.
- Kaigaku was given a kimono identical to his own by his sensei, Jigoro Kuwajima, but he never wore it.
Quotes
- (To Zenitsu Agatsuma) “Grandpa? Don’t talk about him colloquially! Sensei is a former Hashira! Someone who reached the highest rank in the demon slayer corps! Very few people are lucky enough to be trained by a former Hashira! The time sensei spends training you is a waste of time! You’re trash, okay? Get out of my sight! Why are you here? Why do you insist on hanging here?”
- (To Zenitsu Agatsuma about his sensei) “I don’t care! So what? You mean I should be sad? That I should repent? I don’t care about those who don’t respect me! At every moment, I always serve those who recognize my value!”
- “There’s no shame in kneeling before someone whose strength is overwhelming. As long as you stay alive, everything will work out in the end. As long as you don’t die, you haven’t lost. You may drag yourself through the dirt… you may lose your house or drink muddy water… people may curse you for stealing money… but as long as you’re alive… you can win someday. You will. I moved forward with that conviction.”
- (To Zenitsu Agatsuma about good and evil) “Those who judge me correctly and recognize my worth are good! Those who think badly of me are bad!”
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