Demon Slayer: Who Is Hairō & What Happened to Him?

When one decides to talk about Demon Slayer, one usually talks about the demon slayers themselves or the demons. But, the series has offered us a variety of other intriguing characters who do not belong to the two aforementioned groups. Still, this article’s focus will be a demon character from the Demon Slayer lore called Hairō. Hairō is a Demon, a former Lower Rank, who appeared in the two-part manga spin-off Kyojuro Rengoku’s Story, focusing on the life of the former Flame Hashira. Hairō’s story will also be the topic of this article, as we will tell you who he is and what happened to him.

The identity of Tanjirō’s grandfather is not known in Demon Slayer. An unnamed grandmother was mentioned, but neither his maternal nor paternal grandfather have been mentioned. We know that his father’s name was Tanjurō Kamado, that his mother was named Kie, and that he had an ancestor named Sumiyoshi, who lived during the Sengoku era.

The rest of this article will focus on Hairō’s story and history in the Demon Slayer lore, as well as his role in the story and his influence on the plot. Hairō is a character who will probably not appear in the anime. However, he still has an important role in the overall lore and definitely deserves our attention, as he is connected to some well-known characters from the series. Be careful, though, as the article will be filled with spoilers.

Hairō was the former Lower Rank Two

Most fans of Demon Slayer know only the basic lore from the main manga and anime series. But Demon Slayer has also presented us with some additional works, including manga spin-offs and light novels, which are part of the larger canon and expand on the main story of the Demon Slayer manga. One such work is the two-part manga spin-off titled Kyojuro Rengoku’s Story, which focuses on the life of the former Flame Hashira and also features other characters from the lore, both new and old ones.

The story is part of a special volume titled Kimetsu no Yaiba: Stories of Water and Flame, which contains stories based on the world created by Gotoge in the main manga. Among the characters who appear in Kyojuro Rengoku’s Story is a Demon called Hairō, who was a dangerous foe and the Lower Rank Two in the story. We are now going to tell you who Hairō is.

A former Lower Rank Two, Hairō, died before the story began. At a time when he was already transformed, he was nearly killed by Shinjurō Rengoku but escaped or was spared, then grew in strength until he became a Lower Moon. Ironically, he died at the hand of the latter’s son, the first-rank Slayer Kyōjurō Rengoku: it was following this mission the latter was promoted as the new Flame Hashira to replace his father.

Now, as for his past, not much has been revealed. He was a human male, and at one point, he mastered the Bushidō, the samurai moral code, but was harassed by a gang of marksmen who made fun of his swordsmanship skills, which made him feel horrible. It is not known when and under what circumstances he became a Demon. Due to being harassed, he was constantly angry and emotionally unstable.

He obviously had serious anger management problems causing him “suicidal” impulses, only managing to calm them down by committing suicide – without permanent death, however, since he was a demon – with his firearm: the reason for this is probably due to the mistreatment suffered in his former life as a samurai within the Shinsengumi. But despite this lingering anger, he retained his pride as a warrior and could show humility, admiring son Rengoku’s swordsmanship when the two fought.

While he was still an unranked Demon, at one point, he met with the then-Flame Hashira, Shinjurō Rengoku. He stood no chance against the powerful Demon Slayer and was defeated, but, as we have said, he managed to survive. Whether he escaped somehow or was spared for some reason by Shinjurō is unknown. We know that after that, he trained to become much stronger and eventually reached the rank of the Lower Moon Two at the time.

While a ranked Demon, he faced both Mitsuri Kanroji and Kyōjurō Rengoku. His fight with the latter was the focus of the spin-off story, and Hairō ultimately died at Kyōjurō’s hand, with this kill being enough for Kyōjurō to be named his father’s successor as the new Flame Hashira.

Despite being only a Lower Moon, Hairō was quite powerful. Comparatively, he was stronger than the Demons Kamanue, Rui, Mukago, and Wakuraba, and was on the same level as Rokuro. His skills were not enough to surpass those of a Hashira or a Kinoe-level Demon Slayer, but he could easily surpass the then-inexperienced Mitsuri Kanroji, who would go on to become a Hashira later in the series.

He was physically strong, he had quite powerful regenerative skills, and he was exceptionally fast, especially for a Lower Rank. He was so fast that he could make it seem like he teleported, as he did during his fight against Mitsuri. Most of these powers were the basic powers of all Demons.

As for his specific powers and abilities, it has to be said that, due to his human skills and abilities, Hairō was an expert swordsman, as he was a former samurai, but he was also an expert marksman, which is somewhat ironic based on what we know about his human life. His Blood Demon Art was called Umbrakinesis, allowing him to manipulate shadows.

The shadows allowed him to absorb attacks, but he could also use them for offensive purposes. What was interesting here is the fact that the shadows also serve as some sort of dimensional pocket, allowing Hairō to keep weapons and other objects inside them. This is why he had a large number of guns stored inside his shadows, which he used to surprise his enemies.