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Akaza, a demon with blood-stained hands, yet bound by an unspoken code, was one of the strongest members of the 12 Kizuki who stood as a paradox in the world of Demon Slayer. His ferocity in battle placed him among the top three of the Twelve Moons and was considered a warrior whose mastery of martial arts made him a fearsome opponent.
But, beneath that terrifying strength lay an enigma that puzzled many. Why did he refuse to kill or consume women? Muzan himself, the Demon King, granted him special permission for this peculiar restraint but why? Well, it seems the answer lay buried in the past, hidden in the life of the boy who once bore the name Hakuji.
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Akaza pic.twitter.com/eCDK3Ygbcg
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— Demon Slayer (@DemonSlayerPS) January 25, 2025
Born into a life of hardship, Hakuji knew nothing but struggle. His father, bedridden and ailing, needed medicine that they could never afford. Soon desperation drove Hakuji to steal, and time after time, he was caught, branded as a criminal.
But the true punishment came not from the officials who beat him, nor the marks that covered his body. Instead, it came from his father’s choice to end his own life upon learning of his son’s deeds. As a result, Hakuji got exiled from Edo and he wandered, consumed by a rage he did not know how to tame.
It was fate that led him to a man named Keizo, a dojo master with a heart as open as the sky. Hakuji, raw with anger, lashed out, challenging Keizo to a fight, only to be soundly defeated. However, instead of punishment, Keizo offered kindness, a place to stay, and a purpose for Hakuji – caring for his sickly daughter, Koyuki.
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Days turned into months, and the boy who once knew only violence now found solace in quiet moments spent by Koyuki’s side. He trained, he laughed, he healed and when Keizo saw the bond that had formed between them, he entrusted Hakuji with both his dojo and his daughter’s future.
But happiness is fragile. The rival dojo that had once tasted defeat could not accept their loss and they did not challenge Hakuji again in the open. No, they chose the most cowardly path—poisoning the well, taking from him the two people who had given him purpose.
When Hakuji returned from visiting his father’s grave, he found only silence, alongside Koyuki and Keizo, the two persons closest to his heart, in a lifeless state. It seemed everything had been stolen from him once more.
What followed was a massacre. Sixty-seven men fell at his hands, their bodies torn apart in a storm of fury. It was this carnage that drew the attention of Muzan, who saw in him the makings of a perfect demon. And so, Hakuji was no more. In his place stood Akaza, a warrior reborn in darkness.
Akaza entrance pic.twitter.com/bXGC3dME6Z
— Demon Slayer (@DemonSlayerPS) December 15, 2024
Despite turning into a demon, something of Hakuji’s past lingered. The woman who had once brightened his days, whose frail hands he had held—Koyuki’s memory remained, unshaken by time or transformation. He had failed to protect her once, and perhaps, in some twisted way, his refusal to harm women was his atonement and a whisper of the man he used to be.
Muzan, known for his expert manipulative tactics, must have known this, allowing the exception not out of kindness, but because he understood Akaza’s loyalty lay not in sentiment, but in strength.
Akaza’s backstory in Demon Slayer is Peak Storytelling pic.twitter.com/mLVshRs2d2
— JON (@DemonSlayerJon) July 26, 2022
The manga never carved this truth in stone, never explicitly confirmed the reason. But the pieces fit—a martial artist bound by honor, a lover haunted by loss, a demon who, despite the blood on his hands, still clung to the last remnant of his humanity.
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