Demon Slayer: Nezuko Can’t Heal Kagaya – Here’s Why!

Nezuko Kamado is one of the most important characters from the Demon Slayer manga. Tanjirō’s little sister, Nezuko was the only survivor of Muzan’s brutal attack on the Kamado family (Tanjirō was not present, so he also survived). In turn, she was transformed into a demon. Being special, Nezuko retained a large portion of her initial humanity and never attacked humans, but she also has some other unique abilities as well, and one of them is her supposed healing ability. Nezuko’s Exploding Blood technique isn’t a healing technique per see, but it did allow her to heal both Inosuke and Tengen in the Entertainment District. This article will explain why Nezuko’s ability cannot heal Kagaya Ubuyashiki.

Nezuko’s Exploding Blood technique cannot heal Kagaya Ubuyashiki because it is not a healing technique; it is a special technique that simply burns demons and demonic material, which allows Nezuko to burn away the poisoning caused by Gyūtarō’s toxic blood. Since Kagaya was not poisoned by a Demon but rather cursed, Nezuko couldn’t really do anything about him.

In this article, we are going to tell you two things. First, you will find out about Nezuko’s ability and why she could heal her friends without actually having a healing ability. Secondly, we will tell you about the Ubuyashiki family curse, which is how you will understand why Nezuko could not heal Kagaya in the first place. Some spoilers might be present, so be careful when reading.

Nezuko does not have a healing ability, but she can neutralize demonic toxins

Returning to the Entertainment District, we must remember the scene where Gyūtarō, the main part of the Upper-Rank Six duo, poisoned Inosuke and Tengen Uzui with his blood. Gyūtarō’s blood was extremely toxic, and the poison in their bodies would have killed them without a doubt. But this is where Nezuko stepped in. Young Nezuko has many powers and abilities, including the Blood Explosion technique, which she managed to activate when her brother fought Rui.

But, the issue here is that Blood Explosion is not actually a healing technique but rather an offensive technique that allows Nezuko to set her own blood on flames. Every drop of blood from her body can, thus, become fire, and while it is quite powerful, it is harmful only to Demons and not humans. So, how was this technique successful in healing Inosuke and Tengen? Well, it’s actually easier than you think.

Namely, Nezuko’s technique actually burns away demonic material and is harmful only to demonic cells. This means that even if Nezuko would burn a human with it, they would suffer no damage at all. This is the first important fact. The second one is pure biology – poisons, as well as open wounds, can be healed by using fire. The flame will burn away the toxin and will also seal up a wound.

So, since Inosuke’s and Tengen’s wounds were of demonic origin, they contained demonic cells. Nezuko was thus able to use simple biology to heal their wounds without harming them. This is how an offensive technique was used for healing purposes, but sadly, it did not make Nezuko a healer.

A demon did not poison Kagaya Ubuyashiki – he was cursed

Now, to understand why Nezuko was not able to heal Kagaya, we have to understand the nature of Kagaya’s disease, and to do that, we have to go back to the Ubuyashiki family history, as it was presented in the Demon Slayer manga and anime. As you know, the Ubuyashiki Family was introduced through Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the current leader of the family, as well as the current leader of the Demon Slayer Corps.

As for his family history, we know that the Ubuyashiki Family has been leading the Demon Slayer Corps for millennia. They have made it their goal to eliminate the Demons and to kill Muzan. And while it is implied that the family members themselves have never personally fought, they have been the leaders of the Corps for… well, forever, as it seems.

But, while it might seem normal that someone wants to get rid of Muzan and his Demons, the Ubuyashiki Family considers this fight quite personal. Namely, the members of the Ubuyashiki Family – including Kagaya – are relatives of Muzan Kibutsuji. Of course, Kagaya is a distant relative, but back in the day, one of Kagaya’s ancestors was a close relative of Muzan.

Because their bloodline produced the progenitor of all Demons, the Ubuyashiki Family was cursed, and every male child born in the family was cursed to be born with a disease that would kill them before they were fully grown. Wanting to get rid of the curse, the members of the Ubuyashiki Family visited a priest, who told them that they should make it their life goal to kill Muzan and make their male heirs marry a woman picked by a priest. This seemed to work, as the Ubuyashiki children managed to survive into adulthood, although they were still plagued by illness and died in early adulthood.

This is why the Ubuyashiki Family wants to see Muzan dead, but you were wrong if you thought Muzan did not care for them. Muzan vehemently hated them as well and despised them for their weaknesses. The fact that they were related was of no importance to him; in fact, it seemed that he loathed them even more exactly because of that fact. His Demons knew that finding and eliminating the Ubuyashiki Family was one of their main goals, as confirmed by Muzan himself, which confirms just how much they loathed each other and how much they influenced each other over the course of the story.

So, as you can see, Kagaya’s disease is not of demonic origin – it is a cure and an actual disease at that. This is why Nezuko couldn’t really do anything to help Kagaya and why she was unable to heal him. There was simply nothing to burn away.