Kokushibo | Demon Slayer

Name: Kokushibo. Alias: Michikatsu Tsugikuni (Human Name). Age: 480. Height: 190 cm. Species: Demon.

Eye Color: Gold with Red Sclera. Hair Color: Black with Red Tips.

Affiliation:

• Demon Slayer Corps (Formerly)
• Twelve Kizuki Occupation:
• Samurai (Formerly)
• Demon Slayer (Formerly) Combat Style: Moon Breathing.

Appearance: Kokushibo is a tall man with a muscular build, and a pale skin complexion. He possesses long, spiky black hair with red tips that he keeps in a ponytail, along with two shoulder-length, flowing, wavy bangs on each side that reaches to his collarbone. His most notable feature is the three sets of eyes on his face with yellow irises and red flesh sclera that have black, straight lines diverging from each iris. His middle set of eyes has the kanji of "Upper Rank" on engraved on his left eye, and daiji for "One" on his right. His other sets of eyes feature black pupils and a cracked pattern in the irises. His top set of eyes replaced his eyebrows. Kokushibo also possesses a Demon Slayer Mark that resembles flames on the top left side of his forehead that extends down to his left temple, and the bottom right of his cheek that extended down to his neck. Kokushibo wears a purple-and-black hexagonal-patterned nagagi kimono and black umanori-styled hakama pants tied with a white uwa-obi. He also wears a pair of zōri with purple straps, and white tabi socks. He carries a fleshy katana at his waist that has eyes in the space between the tsuka ito wrapping of the handle of his sword. The tsuba and blade are shown to have eyes and veins. The scabbard is also fleshy in appearance.

Personality: Kokushibo is reserved, silent, and aloof, maintaining an aura of unnerving tranquility and mystery that complements his position as Upper Rank One. He rarely speaks; when he does, he talks in a slow and emphatic manner that gives more gravitas and authority to his words. He is an adamant, punctual rule-follower and shows deep respect to the hierarchy of the Twelve Kizuki. Kokushibo is shown to be humble as well, and isn't hesitant to admit his failure or complain of any difficulty. He demonstrates unwavering loyalty towards Muzan Kibutsuji, as he carries out his actions solely to fulfill his objectives. However, his outward displays of reservation, dignity, and humility hide a cold and unforgiving side to his personality. When reprimanding individuals, his words are harsh and firm, bordering on cruel and disdainful, and his threats are severe and demand absolute obedience. Having abandoned his humanity in the pursuit of strength, Kokushibo shows a scornful view on humans and their values. Throughout his life, Kokushibo was shown to be a man that greatly valued the concept of legacy. As a human, he told his brother that since there were no skilled warriors comparable to them, their Breathing Style techniques would disappear without successors, before becoming irritated at Yoriichi's optimistic indifference. When he realized that those that had awakened their Demon Slayer Mark died before reaching the age of 25 and grew worried that he was without a future, he accepted Muzan's offer to become a demon to further perfect his techniques. He possesses a complex relationship with his human past. It is revealed that, as a human, Kokushibo, then Michikatsu, pitied Yoriichi during the period of time when he was mute, viewing him as a meek and callow boy dependent on his mother. He gifted him a flute to use when he needed his brother, and smiled at him despite being bruised from his father's beatings. However, he later harbored an immense sense of envy towards his younger twin brother for his natural talent and incredible abilities. These feelings of jealousy and contempt only became stronger upon seeing his brother become a peerless warrior of unmatched caliber among even the Demon Slayer Corps, with none of the Hashira coming close to his level of strength. This fostered a drive to become as strong or surpass his brother, a sentiment so strong that he abandoned his family to pursue becoming a Demon Slayer, and later, into a demon. His envy peaks when he discovers that Yoriichi is still alive and in old age, completely surpassing the curse of the Demon Slayer Marks that killed anyone that awakened them before they turned 25. However, despite this immense jealousy, spite, and outright hatred he harbors for Yoriichi, he still deeply cares for his brother, as seen when he was touched by Yoriichi treasuring the handmade flute he had made for him as a child; Kokushibo sheds tears over his brother's death and even goes as far as keeping the flute itself for the following centuries as a memento.

Biological Absorption: Kokushibo possesses the ability to absorb human and demon bodies through physical contact. Although this trait has never been displayed, it was stated that Kokushibo would absorb the demons that challenged him and were defeated.He presumably used this method as a faster alternative of consuming humans as well.

Tactical Intellect: As a talented swordsman who has existed for nearly five centuries, Kokushibo has experienced countless battle situations and threats, which he has learned to overcome. This was displayed during his battle with three Marked Hashira and a demon-enhanced Demon Slayer, where he was able to adapt to their unique fighting styles and tactics almost instantly after witnessing it.

Flesh Manipulation: Like all demons, Kokushibo possesses the ability to manipulate his own flesh to a high degree. In terms of changing his body, he can alter his face to posses two more pairs of eyes while also elongating his forehead. Most notoriously, he uses this ability to create an extremely durable and sharp katana, complete with a tsuba, a tsuka, and its own scabbard. Because of this, his katana can never be destroyed, as he can regenerate it like he would with normal wounds. He also displayed the ability to grow and protrude dozens of blades from his body, allowing him to perform a multitude of slashes from them without a swinging motion.

Demon Slayer Mark: Kokushibo awakened his Mark when he trained under Yoriichi. The Demon Slayer Mark drastically improves the abilities of an individual, making them much stronger and faster than what they can achieve normally, though at the cost of being cursed to die at the age of 25. However, by turning into a demon and gaining immortality, Kokushibo is no longer bound by the curse.

Transparent World: Kokushibo has the ability to access the Transparent World, allowing him to see the muscles, blood flow, and joint movements of his opponents, as well as accurately predict and anticipate their movements and attacks.

Unlimited Stamina & Endurance: Like all demons, Kokushibo possesses virtually limitless stamina and vitality, never tiring and always remaining in optimal physical and mental condition all the time, as well as being able to endure waves of onslaught as if it were nothing. Despite having his limbs and whole chunks of his body repeatedly torn off and destroyed, he continued to heal and fight the Demon Slayers with little trouble.

Immense Strength: As a former Demon Slayer who has mastered Total Concentration Breathing and has gained the Demon Slayer Marks prior to becoming a demon, Kokushibo possesses immense physical strength, superior to that of all the other Upper Ranks

Immense Speed & Reflexes: Kokushibo possesses immense levels of speed far surpassing that of the other Upper Ranks, as first shown when he slashed off Akaza's arm before he, or any of the other demons present, realized.

Moon Breathing: His Breathing Style, in particular, is one of the most dangerous and powerful ones displayed thus far. Enhanced with his Blood Demon Art, he can create many chaotic crescent-moon blades when slashing that vary in length and size in crescent shaped sword attacks. Kokushibo had continued to develop this Breathing Style and had created over a dozen techniques over the centuries he had lived.

Master Swordsman: Due to training and refining his swordsmanship skills for almost 500 years and getting a major boost to his physical capabilities as a demon, Kokushibo has become one of the most powerful and skilled swordsmen to have ever lived. As a Demon Slayer in the Golden Age of Demon Slayers, his swordsmanship was already outstanding, as he learned many of his techniques from Yoriichi himself. According to himself, his techniques were so refined and legendary that they have no hopes of being passed down for future generations.

Flesh Katana: As a former Demon Slayer and user of a Breathing Style, Kokushibo wields a warped version of a Nichirin katana. Created from his own flesh and blood, his body's immense durability and hardness allow it to be just as sharp, if not more so, as a normal Nichirin weapon made from Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Ore. Its blade is blood-red, with a veiny appearance, and numerous eyes cover the blade and the tsuka.

Human Life: Born in the Sengoku Period, Kokushibo's birth name was Michikatsu Tsugikuni. When he and his brother Yoriichi were born, twins were considered a bad omen, and when their father saw that Yoriichi had a strange birthmark on his forehead, he declared that he would kill Yoriichi. However, their mother Akeno Tsugikuni was outraged at his announcement, and an agreement was made that instead of being killed, Yoriichi would be sent to the temple and become a priest upon turning ten. Yoriichi and Michikatsu grew up very differently, Yoriichi being confined to a three-tatami room separate from the rest of the house and kept away from his brother. Michikatsu, who snuck around behind their father's back to see his brother, pitied Yoriichi, who was thought to be deaf until he was seven and clung to his mother's side at all time. At some point, he gave Yoriichi a flute he made as a gift. Around when Michikatsu was seven, he was practicing sword swings while his brother watched. It was then that Yoriichi spoke for the first time, shocking Michikatsu; however, Yoriichi's declaration of his goal to become a samurai like his brother was dismissed, as he would be sent to the temple when he was ten. Nonetheless, Yoriichi continued to watch Michikatsu's training, and one day, one of their father's men offered to give Yoriichi some instruction. Though he only showed Yoriichi a basic stance, the boy was able to quickly land four blows on the man. This incident bewildered Michikatsu, who had never before landed a successful blow, and he begged his brother to teach him his secret. To Michikatsu's disappointment, Yoriichi only expressed his distaste for combat and stated that he no longer wanted to become a samurai. However, during one occasion, Yoriichi mentioned that before he took a stance, he breathed deeply, examining his bone alignment, muscle contraction, and blood flow, implying an early form of the Sun Breathing style that Yoriichi would later adopt. This conversation caused Michikatsu to realize that for Yoriichi, the bodies of living things were transparent, causing him to pursue mastery of the blade with renewed intensity. As Michikatsu continued training, he felt envious of his brother, believing he was squandering his natural physical talent. He also feared that, now that their father likely knew about Yoriichi's immense potential, their roles would be changed and he would be the one sent to the temple in Yoriichi's place. The night that their mother finally succumbed to her illness, he came to Michikatsu's room at three in the morning to tell his brother the news and bid goodbye to Michikatsu. Yoriichi expressed gratitude to his brother for giving him heart and fondly held the flute that Michikatsu had given him earlier. Michikatsu, however, was irritated, wondering how Yoriichi could treasure a flute that couldn't even play in tune, and watched his brother depart while saying nothing. His jealousy of his brother only grew when he read his mother's diary following her death, which revealed that Yoriichi had known everything about their mother's illness from when she would die and the increasing weakness of the left side of her body, and had planned accordingly. From then, Michikatsu resented Yoriichi, who he realized to be not only physically gifted, but a genius as well. He wished for his brother's death and for the next few years, not hearing anything from him, he believed it to be true. Ten years later, Michikatsu became a samurai and married where he had two children. One night, a demon attacked his camp and left him the only survivor, but was quickly killed by Yoriichi who came to his rescue and apologized for not being able to save his subordinates. Seeing the object of his hatred again and twisted by jealousy, Michikatsu abandoned his family and became a Demon Slayer to train with Yoriichi. He saw his brother attempt to teach the other Demon Slayers his own breathing techniques without success. Regardless, he altered them to suit their own strength, creating the first Breathing Techniques. During that time, he trained alongside a Wind Breathing user and polished his sword skills together with them. Eventually, Michikatsu awakened a Demon Slayer Mark and developed a Breathing Style derived from Sun Breathing, later known as Moon Breathing. Despite this accomplishment, it left a bitter taste as it was still not as powerful as Yoriichi's own Sun Breathing. As a Demon Slayer, Michikatsu was often prideful in the uniqueness of their generation, but was irritated by his brother's optimism when he brought up the fact that the pair had no successors in line for their unique Breathing Styles: Sun Breathing and Moon Breathing.