After witnessing the grueling events in Season 3, Kokushibo is undoubtedly one of the strongest demons in the popular series. Many are prompted to ask: is Kokushibo stronger than Muzan? To answer this question, we must take a look at their weaknesses and abilities.
Muzan Kibutsuji’s Weaknesses
Muzan is the origin of other demons, which included Kokushibo. Like other demons, Muzan has weaknesses, and if we focus on them, we could learn how to defeat Muzan.
Sunlight
He has two weaknesses: sunlight and decapitation. These are pretty simple. Muzan could be killed if his head falls off or if he gets ignited by the sunlight.
We can see this in the final battle with Muzan. The Demon Slayer Corps give their best to take Muzan to fight until sunrise. Because of that, they successfully kill Muzan once and for all.
But when it comes to cutting his head off, it’s just simply impossible. Muzan is the first demon and has lived for a thousand years; he has eaten countless people to level up his power. Because of the level of his powers, the only way the Demon Slayer Corps can win is if they can get Muzan to fight until sunrise instead of cutting his head off.
Decapitation
They couldn’t do that. If there is someone who could do that, it’s only Yoriichi Tsukiguni. He was the legendary swordsman who lived hundreds of years ago. He was the one who created Sun Breathing – the origin of other breathings – and took the Demon Slayer Corps to its golden age.
One time Muzan and Yoriichi met each other, Yoriichi beat Muzan. On the verge of death, the King of Demons ran away like a coward. No one aside from Yoriichi can cut Muzan’s head off. So, it is impossible neither for modern Demon Slayers nor the Twelve Kizuki to do so.
Poison
The minor third way to defeat Muzan is through the effects of poison. In the final battle, the poison of Tamayo is a huge factor in killing Muzan.
But even when he got poisoned, no one could touch his head. So, in the end, the sunlight was the only real weakness of Muzan.
Is Kokushibo Stronger Than Muzan?
If we look at Kokushibo, we don’t see any reason why he would kill Muzan. So, we can assume that Kokushibo is weaker than Muzan by A LOT.
But wait for it. Let’s find out the gap between them. We could find something useful. Kokushibo used to be a human. So, we will take a look at his human life.
If He is Still Human, is Kokushibo Stronger Than Muzan?
Despite Kokushibo and Yoriichi being twin brothers, their lives were completely different from each other.
Yoriichi was given the gift of God when he was born. He got the Demon Slayer Mark and Transparent World when he was born. Upon growing up, he was the one who created the very first Breathing technique in the world.
Kokushibo, whose real name was Michikatsu Tsukiguni, was so jealous of his young brother. He gave up everything to get stronger. But everything he did was make him look like a fool trying to copy his young brother.
He got the Demon Slayer Mark after Yoriichi, and because he couldn’t learn Sun Breathing, he created Moon Breathing. Before he turned into a demon himself, Moon Breathing and Demon Slayer Mark were two things Kokushibo used as an ace to fight against demons.
What would have happened if Kokushibo did not accept Muzan in the past?
They probably fought each other. Kokushibo would use Moon Breathing and Demon Slayer Mark to fight Muzan. On the other hand, Muzan would kill him.
Of course, Kokushibo could make Muzan use up all of his powers. But in the end, it was Kokushibo who would die.
Muzan has many attacks with a wide area and deals tons of damage at high speed. In the final battle, or in Chapter 188 exactly, we can see how strong Muzan is when he makes all the Hashira become dancers – because all they can do is dance to dodge the attacks of Muzan.
At this time, the Hashira got the Marks and increased their strength a lot. However, Muzan fought five marked Hashira and still prevailed.
So, Kokushibo might take some blood off Muzan. But in the end, Muzan would kill Kokushibo if he received a refusal from him. But how about Kokushibo after turning into a demon? Is Kokushibo stronger than Muzan as a demon?
The Strongest Demon of Twelve Kizuki: Upper Moon One
After turning into a demon, Kokushibo keeps everything he achieved as a human and even gets stronger.
He could get into the Transparent World, which allows him to see everything from his opponents, even their next attacks. He also gets Blood Demon Art to control and create blades from his body.
These two powers, combined with a Demon Slayer mark and Moon Breathing, truly make him one of the strongest demons. That’s why he could keep the Upper Moon One position for so long.
Among the Twelve Kizuki, the lower ranks could challenge the higher ranks in a battle for that position. Kokushibo was strong enough to win all three times that he got challenged.
He also kills many strong Hashira after becoming a demon. The power of Kokushibo is more than what he held in the past and more vital than everyone in the Demon Slayer’s history.
One more thing that becoming a demon gave him is resilience. Kokushibo could recuperate quickly after getting attacked. In the final battle between him and Himejima, Sanemi, Genya, and Muichiro, he loses his head… literally.
But ambition and regeneration save Kokushibo from death. After that, he turned into a monster with stronger power.
In fact, if it were not for the torment deep in his heart, he would have killed Himejima and Sanemi.
So, is Kokushibo Stronger Than Muzan?
With this powers, it’s easy to say Kokushibo is the strongest character, behind Yoriichi and Muzan. It’s sad but true. Even with this power, Kokushibo still couldn’t harm Muzan.
Think about it. Kokushibo turned into a demon because of Muzan’s blood, which means Muzan can control him if he wants.
Becoming a demon gave Kokushibo so much power, but he also gave one thing to Muzan: his freedom. He must fight for Muzan and be under his command. If Muzan wants, he could make Kokushibo’s head explode as he did with Nakime in Chapter 183.
And the closer he gets to Muzan, the more he is under control. With that said, Kokushibo is WEAKER than Muzan, either as a human or as a demon.