WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2, Episode 15, "Gathering," now streaming on Funimation, Hulu and Crunchyroll.
Beneath his flashy demands for worship and praise, Tengen Uzui just might be Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's most insecure Hashira. In the eighth episode of the "Entertainment District" arc, Upper Six Gyutaro couldn't stop gushing over his man-crush on Tengen. The Sound Hashira, however, declared that if Gyutaro thinks Tengen is all that, he'd be blown away by some of his fellow Hashira. Considering that Tengen, a monster of a Hashira, believes himself to be lacking any natural gifts, one can only imagine how powerful the Hashira that Tengen looks up to must be.
It's exceedingly rare in Demon Slayer when more than one Hashira appears onscreen at the same time. The one time they all gathered, they spoke to Tanjiro and Ubuyashiki more than they did each other. Tengen Uzui's clear admiration for Kyojuro Rengoku, as well as his high praise for Gyomei Himejima and Muichiro Tokito, is the only real clue that the audience has gotten about how the Hashira feel about one another. As it turns out, even the Sound Hashira has his own headcanon about the Demon Slayer Corps' most powerful Hashira.
Kyojuro Rengoku Is Even Idolized By Other Hashira
Tengen can surely be forgiven for harboring an inferiority complex when it comes to the fallen Flame Hashira, as Kyojuro inspired people everywhere he went. Kyojuro's final act was to give his life fighting against Upper-Rank Three of the Twelve Kizuki after saving the lives of 200 people aboard the Mugen Train. Such a noble legacy is hard to live up to, especially for someone like Tengen, who could stand to believe in himself just a little more. Uzui is guilt-ridden over the lives that have already been lost as a result of his search for Daki and Gyutaro, and the Sound Hashira can't help but wonder if someone like Kyojuro Rengoku would have done a better job.
Of the Hashira that Tengen named in this episode, only Rengoku's skill in battle has ever been seen onscreen. Using every Flame-Breathing Technique in his arsenal, Kyojuro was able to hold his ground against Akaza, even if Upper Three wasn't giving it his all for most of the battle. That Kyojuro wasn't killed instantly by Upper Three as Tengen struggles to fend off Upper Six seems to imply that Rengoku is indeed stronger. However, even if Tengen is on the weaker end of the spectrum as far as Hashira go, he's still one of the most skilled swordsmen in the world.
Gyomei Himejima Is a Mystery Wrapped In An Enigma
The audience hasn't learned much about the Demon Slayer Corps' Stone Hashira, and it turns out that Tengen doesn't know much about him either. The only context that could be gleaned from Tengen's words was that Gyomei is seven feet, two inches of demon-killing badassery. When speaking to Gyutaro of people who would rock the sheltered demon's world, Himejima was the first to come to Tengen's mind. Considering that Tengen has been fighting Upper-Rank demons as equals, that he considers Gyomei his superior likely means that the Stone Hashira is an absolute wrecking ball of a Demon Slayer.
Muichiro Tokito Became A Hashira In Two Months
Even though Kyojuro semi-joked to Tanjiro that there are 10,000 steps to becoming a Hashira, Muichiro Tokito apparently completed each and every one of them a mere 60 days after picking up a sword for the first time. For reference, it took Tanjiro two years to just learn how to use Breathing Techniques. Tokito is pretty spacey, considering he wasn't entirely aware of the conflict at the Hashira meeting in Season 1, and he had no outward reaction to the news of Rengoku's death in Mugen Train. If Tokito is skilled enough to become a Hashira so quickly, it's no wonder Tengen considers him to be a naturally gifted swordsman whose skill far surpasses Tengen's.
