WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2, Episode 15, "Gathering," now streaming on Funimation, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.
As it turns out, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's flashiest Hashira isn't quite as cocky as he would have people believe. Tengen Uzui's showdown against Gyutaro, Upper-Rank Six of the Twelve Kizuki, is off to a rough start now that the Sound Hashira has gotten himself poisoned. Although Gyutaro can't get over how attractive and full of swagger Tengen is, the shinobi-turned-Hashira revealed that he harbors quite the inferiority complex toward his fellow Hashira. The late Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, seems to be someone Tengen especially admired, and the self-proclaimed God of Festivals seeks inspiration from his fallen comrade.
Kyojuro Rengoku's most impressive accomplishment was that during the conflict with Enmu (Lower One) and Akaza (Upper Three) aboard the Mugen Train, he did not allow a single one of the 200 passengers to die. In the "Entertainment District" arc, scores of people have already been killed when Daki used her belts to obliterate an entire city block. Tengen proclaimed himself to be nothing compared to some of the other Hashira and wished he could have handled this situation as skillfully as Rengoku handled the Mugen Train fiasco.
Tengen Uzui has had a rough life, to put it mildly. The Hashira's family's shinobi training was so intense that seven of his siblings died from it, and his only surviving brother was as cold and cruel as their father. In a flashback to a conversation with Ubuyashiki, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps empathized with Tengen, knowing how heavy a burden it must be for Tengen to have rejected his family's ideology by fleeing the clan with his wives. As Tengen's self-esteem began to fade in light of his mistakes to this point in his hunt for demons, the Sound Hashira doubled down on his determination rather than let his own dark thoughts consume him.
If there's one thing that fans of Demon Slayer have wanted but not received thus far in the series, it's an exploration of the character relationships between the Hashira. Most of the Hashira have had limited screen time and not many have been seen interacting with one another, but it's clear that Tengen had a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the late Kyojuro. In fact, Tengen began channeling Kyojuro's persona while staring down Gyutaro and Daki, smiling through a loud declaration that he and his new Tsuguko are going to win this battle for sure.
Similar to his fallen comrade, Tengen Uzui has taken a shine to Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu, applauding their flashy entrances as they came to his aid. Tengen's inspiration from Kyojuro's demeanor was so clear that even Tanjiro noticed the striking resemblance in attitude between the two Hashira. Unfortunately, despite his bravado, Tengen's confidence was a façade as he lamented the fact that he's forcing a wounded and exhausted Tanjiro to continue fighting despite being on the verge of collapse.
The boys weren't fans of Tengen Uzui at the beginning of the "Entertainment District" arc, but they have all rallied to his side, with Inosuke making flashy exclamations and Tanjiro doing whatever it takes to protect the wounded Hashira. Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu are also hero-worshipped Rengoku, so the fact that Tengen does too might spur them all into pushing past their limits to fight at Tengen's side. Leave it to Kyojuro Rengoku to help his fellow Demon Slayers even from beyond the grave, as his spirit encouraged and complimented Tengen's swordsmanship and asked him to look after the boys.
