The fight between the three begins, a way for Tanjiro to avenge the death of the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, a man Tanjiro admired with all his heart, who died at the hands of the Upper Rank.
Giyu saves Tanjiro from Rui's attack.
After awakening his demon slayer mark, Giyu greatly overpowers Akaza. However, he is able to keep up with the fight only because of Tanjiro. If Giyu had soloed against Akaza, he would have died.
Tanjiro tells Akaza: "The strong protect the weak.
Rengoku was able to hold off an Upper Moon 3 Akaza and even managed to get him desperate towards the end. Every aspect of Rengoku's combat abilities seem to be better than Tengen's. However, he would put up a good fight as it will not be an easy victory for Rengoku.
Akaza also hated weakness, which was something he saw in Tanjiro from the moment that they met. His fight against Tanjiro unlocked the rest of his suppressed memories and allowed him to finally accept his death. Akaza hated Tanjiro as a demon, but he only let go of that hatred when he finally remembered his humanity.
Shinobu Kocho Is The Weakest Hashira
Of the three Hashira who were killed by Upper-Ranks -- Rengoku, Shinobu and Tokito -- Shinobu was the only one who was killed almost instantly when she encountered Doma, Upper-Rank Two.
During that instance, Tanjiro began to call Akaza a coward for trying to escape while insulting Kyojuro claiming that he was the true winner of the battle.
Akaza can sense fighting spirit, but he can't detect Tanjiro's. It's because his spirit isn't aiming to kill, but to survive; calm, relaxed, and not thrill to kill.
In the final moments of the film, a gravely wounded Rengoku tells a tearful Tanjiro “If you are feeling disheartened, that you are somehow not enough, set your heart ablaze. Dry your eyes and look ahead.
In conclusion, Nezuko cannot beat Akaza in Demon Slayer. In terms of power, physical abilities, regeneration rate and overall combat ability, Akaza is far superior compared to Nezuko.
At the end of the day, none of the Hashira could've defeated Akaza – even though a few of them could've succeeded in decapitating him. Akaza proved himself to be too strong to be dragged into sunlight, meaning there'd be no way for any of the Hashira to kill him.
He would be disoriented by the shockwaves created by Akaza's blows. Tengen has anti-demon bombs that can disorient them for a short period of time, but this wouldn't be an effective strategy when Akaza uses Compass Needle, which allows him to accurately pinpoint and aim for his opponent's weak spots.
With his improved combat skills and newly learned Water Breathing techniques, Tanjiro successfully decapitates two demons.
Tengen Uzui
Even though he is large and muscular, and uses that to his advantage, his fighting style relies more on aesthetics and flashiness. He is the fastest Hashira, and the second physically strongest.
7 Kyojuro Rengoku, The Flame Hashira.
Between all of Tanjiro's skills and his mannerisms, Muzan is certainly scared of Tanjiro. Tanjiro represents and certainly ends up being the core threat to Muzan's quest to step back into the sunlight.
Muzan is displeased with Akaza's "accomplishment", declaring that one victory is meaningless until the entire demon slayer corps are destroyed and that Akaza failed to kill the other three Demon Slayers at the train. He punishes Akaza by making him bleed profoundly and dismisses him.
Apart from that, Muzan doesn't hate Akaza because of his obedience. The only Demon he despises the most is the Upper Rank Two: Doma. It is quite a shocker that the second most potent Demon in the Demon Slayer is not Muzan's favorite.
Since Muzan favored Gyutaro so much, he chose to incorporate the latter's sister Daki as well. The demon king believed that she was the only tool that could be used to control Gyutaro. However, he deemed Daki weak and believed she was the prime reason for her brother's death.
In Demon Slayer, Tanjiro used Rengoku's hilt on his sword since he looked up to and respected him. Based on their relationship, fans can say that Rengoku was more of a mentor than Giyu was.
tanjiro breaks his sword 3rd time.
1. Gyomei Himejima. Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira, is the strongest Hashira in the Demon Slayer corps in terms of strength and swordsmanship.
Obanai Iguro is one of the harsher Hashira members. He demanded that Giyuu be punished for allowing Nezuko to get away unharmed, and later restrained Tanjiro as he tried to help his sister. He hates demons and has little regard for his fellow Hashira, except Mitsuri Kanroji later on.