Kaigaku

## Portrayal

**Kaigaku** is a major antagonist in both Demon Slayer and Demon Slayer: Blade of the Night. He originally trained with Jigoro Kuwajima alongside Zenitsu Agatsuma, but abandoned his humanity to become a Demon, rising to the rank of a Temporary Upper Moon. Currently, he holds the position of Lower Moon 1.

## **Appearance:**

Kaigaku has the appearance of a tall young man, with a muscular body shape. In his first fight against Zenitsu, his relative age to his rival is evident, seeing as he didn't try to appear either younger nor older. Kaigaku, however, has grown to 'adulthood', significantly bulking up and growing taller, to a size almost identical to Zenitsu's.

Kaigaku has short black hair, which used to have two prominent strands in the front, but was subsequently swapped out for longer, more uniform strands, reaching just below his ears. He also possesses four black flame-like markings on both sides of his cheeks

During his short period as a Demon Slayer, and subsequently as an Upper Moon, Kaigaku wore a regular Demon Slayer Uniform, while as a demon he also added a black kimono tied with a blue sash. Kaigaku, after the 25 year timeskip, ditched the uniform, and rather began wearing just his kimono, much like he did before completing the Final Selection

Kaigaku also wears a loose necklace with a blue magatama pendant.

## **Personality:**

Kaigaku portrays himself as an arrogant, overconfident man, who is described by Rui as "self-centered, egotistical and vain". He tends to mock others he considers inferior, seen especially with Zenitsu, and does not tolerate any sort of disobedience or insolence of any kind from others, as he was the only one to speak up to order Hito to sit, and proceeding to be displeased at the demon for doing so in a manner he considered "mocking".

Kaigaku is also amazingly sadistic, making fun of Hagane Haganezuka seconds after orphaning the boy, while also having no subsequent thoughts on what he did.

## **Synopsis:**

Kaigaku was an orphan and a thief who had to eat scraps and steal to survive. He was one of the orphans Gyomei Himejima cared for at his temple. After he was caught by the other children for stealing temple money, he was chased out at night and encountered a demon, which he then let in to the temple in exchange for having his life spared

Kaigaku developed the belief that strength and survival were the only things worth respecting and was willing to grovel and beg for his life if it was what it took to survive. Eventually, he was taken in by Jigoro along with Zenitsu, learning Thunder Breathing. He became determined to become Jigoro's successor and the new Thunder Pillar. Jigoro, however, insisted that both he and Zenitsu would become his successors, despite Zenitsu's weakness and timid nature.

## **Abilities:**

**Monumental Strength:** Yet to be shown, Kaigaku is quite strong, given that he is stronger than Rui, who himself is quite a physically powerful demon

**Monumental Speed:** Kaigaku was able to blitz Hagane Haganezuka, and easily outmaneuver him, only suffering one strike, but doing so while countering.

**Monumental Durability:** Kaigaku was able to sustain the full brunt of a hammer strike to his chin without much reaction, also being able to counter the blow with another, even more devastating one.

**Enhanced Stealth:** Kaigaku was able to dissuade Hagane's senses, sneaking into his home, and the Steel Pillar was only awakened by the cries of his brother, rather than Kaigaku's presence.

**Immense Regeneration:** Kaigaku can be surmised to be quite a powerful regenerator, given his rank as Lower Moon 1

## **Fighting Style:**

**Master Swordsman:** Kaigaku is quite capable at using a sword, given he was able to contend with Zenitsu Agatsuma, and is shown to be quite confident in his skill

### **Breathing Style:**

**Thunder Breathing** *(Kaminari no Kokyu)*: Kaigaku has utilized the Thunder Breathing with a relative amount of competence, though he was unable to master the First Form. It is currently unknown why.

#### **Techniques:**

* **Second Form: Rice Spirit** *(Ni no Kata: Inadama)* - The user releases an uninterrupted series of five arched slashes in quick succession. This attack possesses great range and speed, the slashes can be done at any chosen angle, giving the user the option to go around or destroy the opponent's defences.

* **Third Form: Thunder Swarm** *(San no Kata: Shubun Seirai)* - The user jumps up in a wave-like motion, surrounding the foe with continuous, incredibly long-ranged slashes from every single direction.

* **Fourth Form: Distant Thunder** *(Shi no Kata: Enrai)* - The user draws their blade, slashing all around themselves in a defensive motion, proceeding to dash while slashing in a manner similar to the First Form. While more defensive, this form is slower and less accurate than Thunderclap and Flash.

* **Fifth Form: Heat Lightning** *(Go no Kata: Netsu Kairai)* - The user unleashes a quick, long ranged upwards slash, causing immense damage. This attack is incredibly heavy, despite its speed. The user can utilize the momentum to avoid any other attacks around themselves, or to increase the attack's strength.

* **Sixth Form: Rumble and Flash** *(Roku no Kata: Dengo Raigo)* - The user unleashes continuous slashes mimicking the previous forms, combining their attacks into a chaotic vortex of attacks that devastates what it crosses, using dashes and slashes to strike all around themselves, the user turning into a storm itself.

### **Blood Demon Art:**

**Black Storm** *(Kuro no Arashi)*: Kaigaku's Blood Demon Art allows him to create and control freely black lightning bolts. These have more speed and destructive power than average lightning.

## **Equipment:**

**Demonized Nichirin Katana:** After contaminating his own sword with his flesh, Kaigaku's Katana remains visually the same from his time as a human, but it now can be used as a medium for his ability, and regenerate, though it has yet to be broken, and therefore, the Nichirin metal is still in there. His handguard is identical to the one used by Zenitsu Agatsuma, being circular shaped with 4 slight indentations, the center has a silver tone with small triangles and has a golden border.

## **Familiars:**

* **Kure:** Kaigaku's crow, Kure, now resides with Zenitsu, though it doesn't get along with Chuntaro. It is very depressed that its owner switched sides, even if Kaigaku wasn't particularly nice to it.

## **Battles:**

* Kaigaku vs Zenitsu
* Kaigaku vs Hagane

## **Trivia:**

* Kaigaku's name is composed of [Kai], meaning "Sly/Cunning/Crafty", and [Gaku], meaning "Tall Mountain/Peak", while his surname, [Inadama], is composed of [Ina], referring to a particular type of rice, and [Dama], meaning "Gem/Jewel".