Yoriichi Tsugikuni | Demon Slayer

Name: Yoriichi. Last Name: Tsugikuni. Age: 26. Height: 190 cm.

Affiliation:

• Demon Slayer Corps. Occupation:
• Demon Slayer. Combat Style:
• Sun Breathing.

Hair Color: Black with Red tips Eye Color: Maroon

Appearance: Yoriichi was a tall man with a lean, muscular build, fair skin, and maroon eyes. His overall appearance was similar to his twin brother Michikatsu's. Unlike his brother, however, Yoriichi was slightly more slender, had wavier hair, and shorter bangs that framed both sides of his face. His ponytail-tied hair was long, black and red at the tips. Yoriichi was mostly expressionless, though sometimes rather solemn and aloof. As the first person who gained the Demon Slayer Mark, he had blood-red, flame-like patterns on the left of his forehead, which extended down to the side of his temple. Yoriichi wore a red haori over a pale orange-colored nagagi kimono, a black umanori-styled hakama, and a white uwa-obi. He also wore a pair of zōri with red straps and white tabi socks. Conventional to most Demon Slayers, his Nichirin Sword was carried at the left side of his waist. He sported hanafuda-like earrings created by his mother as charms when he was thought to be deaf.

Personality: Yoriichi was a calm and respectful individual who wore a solemn and reserved expression at all times, rarely showing outbursts of emotion. Generally, Yoriichi had a matching low and serene disposition, evident when he killed demons without changing expression or when Muzan was caught off guard 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. In his own words, the world was beautiful and he believed it was a blessing to be born into it. He was also quiet and extremely humble, seeing himself as 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, bowing his head in a bashful manner. Yoriichi also lacked self-worth, as seen when he was conversing with Sumiyoshi, he believed he was a man of no worth after failing to protect what was precious to him. Additonally, Yoriichi was noted by his brother to have always 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 experienced 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 earrings and Sun Breathing forms through his descendants. Yoriichi was 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. 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. Despite this, 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. Yoriichi looked up to his older brother Michikatsu: when his dream was to become the strongest samurai in the land, he decided that he would become the second strongest in deference to 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. Yoriichi was deeply devastated by what his brother had become and cried, feeling deep pity for him.

Relationships:

• Uta: Soon after he ran away from home, Yoriichi encountered Uta in the mountains at a paddy, standing still all by herself, while holding a bucket in her hands. After a while, Yoriichi asked her what she was doing. Uta replied that she was all alone now, as her family had died due to a disease and felt lonely. So, she decided to take some tadpoles to her home, but continued to stand still. As the sun began to set, she lowered her bucket and let the tadpoles go. Yoriichi asked her why she decided not to take them home with her, and Uta responded that she felt bad about separating the tadpoles from their parents and siblings. Then, Yoriichi offered to go with Uta instead, and she agreed. Ten years after they first met, the two got married. The final month of Uta's pregnancy approached, Yoriichi had to leave her at home as he went to fetch a midwife, however upon returning he found that his wife and unborn child had both been slaughtered in cold blood by a Demon. Yoriichi was devastated by this, and spent a full 10 days embracing their corpses until a Demon Slayer (Enjuro Rengoku) passed by and advised him to bury them. Uta meant a great deal to Yoriichi, as he never married another woman after her, as he had no heirs. In addition, he would also carry a bag made from Uta's kimono with him, for the rest of his life to remember her by. In his last conversation with Sumiyoshi, he confessed that his only desire was to live a simple and quiet life with Uta and their child, emphasizing how she was the love of his life.

• Enjuro Rengoku: Yoriichi considered Enjuro a close friend after their time together and after Enjuro helped him bury Uta. He spent most of his time with him while still in the Corps, feeling comfortable around someone who, though often serious and stern, was a very good friend with a bright, warm soul. He was also grateful for his protection, albeit unnecessary, after the failed attempt to kill Muzan and the fact that Michikatsu had become a demon, and for protecting him from the other Hashira. Yoriichi would forever remember that the Enjuro family's distinctive hair would be flame-like hair, ranging from golden yellow to deep scarlet. Therefore, Yoriichi would always recognize Enjuro's descendants.

• Michikatsu Tsugikuni: Due to being older, he was in line to be their father's successor while Yoriichi was to be sent off to a monastery when he was old enough. Yoriichi would be all alone by himself in their house while Michikatsu received all the attention as the heir to their father. Yoriichi would always cling to their mother and his brother found this to be pitiful. Michikatsu made his brother a wooden flute, and Yoriichi kept it with himself until the day he died. Yoriichi attempted to learn sword fighting alongside him and greatly outclassed Michikatsu's teacher, who his elder brother had barely even managed to strike throughout his training. When their mother suddenly died of an illness Michikatsu found out that she had been weak in her left side due to the sickness and deduced that Yoriichi always clinging to their mother was in fact to support her and Yoriichi left home because he knew that their father had been considering to make Yoriichi his heir after learning of his exquisite sword fighting skills. Michikatsu soon became jealous of his younger brother's powers. After years of separation, he rushed to save Michikatsu when his forces were battling demons. Swiftly dealing with them all, Yoriichi turned around and apologised to his brother for being late and not being able to save any of his men. Michikatsu was greatly jealous of his younger brother and upon seeing him again those feelings reignited and he followed him into the Demon Slayer Corps. He couldn't use Yoriichi's Sun Breathing, so he created a new form of Breathing called Moon Breathing. Confident in his and his brother's progress, Michikatsu once declared to Yoriichi that they were the greatest swordsmen of all time and that no one else would ever be able to rival them. Yoriichi disagreed and told his brother that they were but small droplets in the vast history of the world and that there would surely come a time where someone who surpassed them would appear and that they should feel secure with this knowledge. Still frustrated at his continued failure to overtake Yoriichi, Michikatsu's jealousy and his fear that death at a young age would rob him of the chance to grow even stronger spurred him into accepting Muzan Kibutsuji's offer to turn him into a demon when the man approached him.

Genius Intellect: As a child prodigy, Yoriichi was 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 determine 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 basic stance, he was able to instantly overpower a trained sword instructor, causing him to go unconscious and inflicting many injuries all over his body. He was also responsible for the fact that the modern Demon Slayer Corps can use Breathing Techniques at all; not only did he invent Sun Breathing, but he also gave rise to the five fundamental Breathing Styles as well - Flame, Water, Wind, Stone, and Thunder. By modifying Sun Breathing to suit each student's individual strengths and weaknesses due to them not being as innately talented as him, Yoriichi taught the first generation of Hashira. Furthermore, during his battle with Muzan, he was able to surmise that Muzan's weaknesses were his seven hearts and five brains within moments of the latter attacking and created an entirely new technique in that split second to overwhelm him.

Demon Slayer Mark: Yoriichi was the progenitor of the Demon Slayer Mark, having been born with it and possessing the tremendous physical abilities granted by its effects all throughout his lifespan. Unlike all other users who possessed the mark in his era, which cursed them to die before the age of 25, Yoriichi was able to defy fate. It is presently unknown why Yoriichi is immune to the Mark's effects, but it is presumably because he was born with it, unlike other Demon Slayers who have to obtain it themselves.

Bright Red Nichirin Sword: Yoriichi was 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 could 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.

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 as a child. This ability also granted him an advantage against Muzan, allowing him to find his weaknesses instantly and overwhelm him.

Immeasurable Strength: Yoriichi possessed 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 exceptional physical abilities using a wooden blade, even causing extremely severe bruises the size of fists.

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 was also beyond the level of any human, being able to survive without food or water for ten whole days when he was embracing his dead wife.

Immeasurable Speed & Reflexes: Yoriichi possessed unparalleled levels of speed, far surpassing all other Demon Slayers and eclipsing even that of the Demon King. He was able to dodge every attack that Muzan launched at him at point-blank range and without warning, and he near-fatally maim him before he could even react, despite the demon's own tremendous speed and strength.

Unparalleled Swordsmanship: Yoriichi was undeniably 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 picked up a sword, striking him in multiple areas across his body faster than the eye could process.