Iguro Obanai

A garden date with the Serpent Hashira. Obanai is a fairly muscular man of short stature and a pale complexion. He has straight-edged black hair of varying lengths, the longest reaching down to his shoulders and the shortest stopping at his cheekbones, which he wears down with two shorter strands hanging between his eyes. His eyes are almond-shaped and tilt upwards on the far sides, and are unusual due to Obanai possessing heterochromia—his right eye is yellow and his left eye is turquoise. He is partially blind, barely able to see out of his right eye.

Obanai's mouth is also unusual: when he was twelve, it was forcefully cut from its corners to his ears to make it appear more like that of a snake, leaving a large wound that he keeps hidden under the bandage he wears over his lower face.

He wears a navy blue version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform, along with a black and white pinstriped haori, the hem and cuffs of which are striped length ways rather than vertically, which covers his hands. Obanai also sports bandages in place of the leg-wraps around his calves giving the resemblance of kyahan, as well as another set of bandages that cover his mouth, and white with blue-strapped zōri on his feet. He is also always seen with his white snake, Kaburamaru, wrapped around his shoulders.

During their battle with Muzan, Obanai and the other remaining Hashira are attacked by the demon's flailing whips, and Obanai is left with three long slanted scratches over his eyes, rendering him completely blind.

When he was a child, Obanai had waist-length hair that he wore tied down his back with a long white bandage and a regular-looking mouth before it got cut by his family. He also wore a plain white kimono.

Personality Obanai is a very harsh and strict individual who shows no concern for those who do not abide by the Demon Slayer rules. His expectations for his fellow Demon Slayers are quite unrealistic, as he was seen berating Tengen Uzui for suffering heavy wounds against the "weakest" Upper Rank and telling him to "fight to the death" when Tengen insists on retiring. Tengen's retirement also highlights Obanai's devotion to the future of the Demon Slayer Corps, often at others' expense, such as when he ties up lower-ranked Demon Slayers and uses them as obstacles during Hashira Training for relatively petty reasons. He also sees the newer Demon Slayer recruits as weak and incapable of improvement, expressing surprise when Tengen informs him that Tanjiro Kamado survived the battle with Daki and Gyutaro. Obanai has a rather prominent habit of pointing at people with his finger while berating them or talking badly about someone.

Despite his merciless personality, there are two people he cares deeply about: Kagaya Ubuyashiki and Mitsuri Kanroji. He has a crush on Mitsuri, as he often lets his feelings shine through by sharing meals with her and giving gifts, such as the green socks she wears with her uniform. Obanai seems to let his overprotectiveness of Mitsuri show at times, such as when he threatens Tanjiro for growing too close to her. It was implied that he has a crush on Mitsuri because of her cheerful personality that didn't let any of the hellish training she had gone through to radiate in the slightest. Talking with her also made him forget all the strife and conflict he had encountered during his past and made him feel as if he was an ordinary young man. Like all the Hashira, Obanai has a great deal of respect for Kagaya too.

Obanai is also noted to possess an immense sense of self-loathing due to the fact that he was born to a selfish and immoral clan who would mercilessly sacrifice even newborn children to a demon for their own monetary gain. Obanai considers himself and his family so tainted that years after they were killed, he still felt as if his family were digging their nails into his skin to make sure he couldn't go anywhere. He even goes as far as to believe that, in order for him to ever be worthy of Mitsuri, he would first have to die and cleanse himself of his corrupted blood before confessing his feelings to her. His upbringing also seems to be the cause of his gynophobia since he was born into a family of only women who treated him like a tool. The trauma of his past can also be seen in the form of his face bandages that he dons to cover the nasty scars he received, never removing it until the final battle.

Obanai has an incredible sense of determination, continuing the fight against Muzan even after he is completely blinded and covered in wounds. His ability to protect Giyu and Tanjiro throughout the fight, as well as thanking Tanjiro for helping him and later even took a blow for him proves that Obanai was able to drop his initial grudges and become friendlier with people he was rude to prior.

Abilities Overall Abilities As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Obanai is a very powerful and skilled combatant. It was revealed that he was more or less blind in his right eye, meaning he ascended to the highest rank in the Demon Slayer Corps with one functioning eye. This combined with his small physique and subpar physical strength holding him back (most likely due to his harsh upbringing) makes it especially impressive that Obanai managed to attain Hashira status.

During the Infinity Castle Arc, Obanai was able to quickly decapitate numerous demons on par with Lower Ranks with ease and hold back the newly appointed Upper Rank Four, Nakime. When engaging in battle with the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, Obanai was able to land a great deal of hits on him, slashing off limbs and nearly beheading him over the course of the battle. After Obanai, Giyu, Sanemi, Gyomei, Zenitsu, Inosuke and Kanao were heavily injured by Muzan's attack, Obanai was the first to regain consciousness and aid Tanjiro despite having his eyes clawed out during the attack earlier. Even though Muzan was severely weakened by the drugs in his system, he and Tanjiro managed to fend off and push the Demon King into a corner by themselves, displaying incredible stamina and endurance. After getting directly hit by Muzan's Shockwave Energy Blast technique, he still took a hit for Tanjiro when Muzan was about to bite his head off. When the Demon King swelled his flesh and exponentially grew in size, Obanai still possessed enough stamina to unleash one technique that aided in slowing Muzan down. Even though Obanai lost his life at the end of the battle, he was undoubtedly one of the biggest contributors in subduing the Demon King.

Kaburamaru (鏑かぶら丸まる Kaburamaru?): Obanai, having always been partially blind in his right eye, developed a combat technique utilizing his pet snake Kaburamaru. Kaburamaru possesses a unique ability which allows him to read and predict a target's attacks and then relay that information to Obanai. The full extent of this technique is demonstrated when Obanai is completely blinded by Muzan, but he is still able to continue fighting effectively. Kaburamaru also seems to be capable of understanding human speech and emotions, as he understood Tanjiro's instructions to grab Yushiro's paper talisman and later shed tears when watching Obanai and Mitsuri pass away. Kanao herself stated that Kaburamaru was exceptionally clever.

Demon Slayer Abilities Demon Slayer Mark: During the final battle against Muzan, Obanai awakened his own Demon Slayer Mark. His Demon Slayer Mark took the form of three snake like tattoo patterns with large dots, stretching from his left arm to the left side of his chest that then boosted all of Obanai's natural abilities, as seen where he was able to land powerful sword slashes against him, swiftly dodge and maneuver himself to avoid all of Muzan's immensely fast attacks, increase his physical stamina and durability allowing him to fight despite being severely injured.

Bright Red Nichirin Sword: After remembering how Muichiro Tokito turned his blade red, Obanai puts all of his strength into gripping his blade, turning it bright red. However, he put too much strength into his grip and almost fainted due to the lack of oxygen. Turning his Nichirin Sword bright red proved to be extremely effective against Muzan, allowing his attacks to hamper his immediate regeneration and giving the other Demon Slayers a chance to turn their blades bright red as well to increase their offensive output. Transparent World: Though briefly, Obanai managed to access the Transparent World and see Muzan's twelve vital organs (seven hearts and five brains) for a split-second after Gyomei instructed everyone to attempt to do so.

Physical Abilities Enhanced Strength: Despite his short stature and lesser physical strength due to his upbringing, Obanai possesses a great amount of physical strength, as shown when he pins Tanjiro to the ground with so much force that he couldn't move or breathe. He was also one of the only Demon Slayers able to turn his Nichirin Sword bright red through sheer grip strength, the other being Muichiro Tokito. Despite this, he is the second-weakest Hashira in terms of physical strength, with only Shinobu being weaker than him.

Immense Speed & Reflexes: As a Hashira, Obanai possesses superhuman levels of speed and reflexes. When Tanjiro Kamado was about to get hit by what would likely have been a fatal strike from Muzan, Obanai managed to jump in and save him in time. He was capable of keeping up with Muzan Kibutsuji's whip attacks for an extended period of time without the boost granted by the Demon Slayer Mark and still managed to land many hits on the Demon King. After awakening the mark, Obanai was fast enough to slice off both of Muzan's limbs. Even when completely blinded, Obanai was able to evade many of Muzan's attacks, push him into a corner, and caught up to him and pierced his body when he was fleeing, albeit Muzan was severely weakened then. Obanai was ranked 7th in a race against his fellow Hashira.

Immense Stamina & Endurance: Obanai has displayed his phenomenal stamina and endurance on multiple occasions during the Infinity Castle Arc and final battle. Obanai, along with Mitsuri, were able to play an exhausting game of cat and mouse with Upper Rank Four, Nakime for an extended period of time and still had enough energy to arrive to Tanjiro's and Giyu's aid. At the surface, Obanai and his allies were able to stall Muzan for around half an hour, sustaining injuries from poison and his flesh whips, before the Demon King overpowered them.

When Muzan incapacitated him, Giyu, Sanemi, Gyomei, Zenitsu, Inosuke and Kanao, Obanai was the first to recover, before all his other fellow Hashira did, despite receiving a nasty injury which clawed out his eyes. Afterwards, Obanai, with Tanjiro's aid, managed to drive Muzan into a corner and fend him of by themselves for another 35 minutes before being hit by Muzan's Shockwave Energy Blast technique which greatly damaged his nervous system. Despite this, Obanai remained steadfast and took a blow for Tanjiro when Muzan was poised to bite his head off. Nearing the end of the battle, Obanai still had enough energy to muster a technique. Out of all the Demon Slayers that fought in that battle, Obanai lasted the longest.

Fighting Style Master Swordsman: As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Obanai was one of the most powerful and skilled swordsmen in the entire organization. This was shown during the Hashira Training Arc where he was entrusted to teach all the other Demon Slayers about sword wielding techniques. Obanai makes use of a unique swordsmanship style that utilizes slithering motions to bending his sword and attacks in impossible ways, allowing him to weave through narrow openings with ease despite wielding a standard wooden sword. His swordsmanship prowess allowed him to keep up with the Demon King himself, Muzan Kibutsuji.

Breathing Style Serpent Breathing (蛇へびの呼こ吸きゅう Hebi no kokyū?): A Breathing Style Obanai created himself and mastered. This swordsmanship style makes use of twists and turns similar to how a serpent slithers to attack in strange ways. Obanai also learnt to incorporate his pet snake, Kaburamaru (鏑かぶら丸まる Kaburamaru?), into this Breathing Style, making it extremely effective in combat as seen in the final battle where he could keep up with a weakened Muzan while completely blind and still managed to drive him into a corner.

Techniques First Form: Winding Serpent Slash (壱いちノ型かた　委い蛇だ斬ぎり Ichi no kata: Idagiri?) - The user moves like a slithering snake and releases several slashes in a winding pattern.

Second Form: Venom Fangs of the Narrow Head (弐にノ型かた　狭きょう頭ずの毒どく牙が Ni no kata: Kyōzu no Dokuga?) - The user dashes behind their opponent at blinding speed and aims to swiftly slice off their head.

Third Form: Coil Choke (参さんノ型かた　塒とぐろ締じめ San no kata: Toguro Jime?) - The user circles around their opponent while using their sword to slice them from all directions.

Fourth Form: Twin-Headed Reptile (肆しノ型かた　頸けい蛇じゃ双そう生せい Shi no kata: Keija Sōsei?) - The user leaps forward and performs a horizontal slash that slices through the target.

Fifth Form: Slithering Serpent (伍ごノ型かた　蜿えん蜿えん長ちょう蛇だ Go no kata: En'en Chōda?) - The user curves their sword in multiple directions and slices their opponent, making it capable of decapitating multiple enemies at once.

Equipment Twisted Nichirin Katana: Obanai carries around a heavily modified Nichirin katana similar in appearance to an Indonesian Kris Sword, with the sword's shape modeled into waves resembling a slithering snake, which is lavender in color. His katana's handguard has a gold circular shape engraved with two snakes connected by several plant-like patterns. As a Hashira, the words Destroyer of Demons (惡あっ鬼き滅めっ殺さつ Akki Messatsu?) are engraved on the side of the blade. Obanai also carries along a special scabbard made of leather held together by a weak magnetic pull that opens up whenever he uses his katana. It is designed so that Obanai unsheathes his sword vertically instead of horizontally.

Obanai was born into a clan of thieves who lived off the riches that had been stolen from those who had been killed by a demon that they worshiped. This demon took the form of a woman with a snake-like lower body and face, and had a great taste for newborn babies, which is what the family sacrificed to her in exchange for their riches.

As the first boy born into the family for 370 years, Obanai Iguro lived out the beginning of his life locked in a wooden cage being excessively spoiled by his family, who insisted on bringing him so many plates of rich food that he became sick of it due to the overally pungent odors of the food and the poor ventilation of his room. The Serpent Demon also took a liking to Obanai, since he was a rare male child with heterochromia, and would spend the nights slithering around his cage in the dark and staring at him, which frightened Obanai so much that he couldn't sleep until the noises were gone

When he turned twelve, Obanai was finally allowed to leave his cell for the first time in his entire life. He was taken into a room that appeared to be an expensive shrine, and put face to face with the Serpent Demon for the first time, immediately causing him to shake in fear and terror at the demon's appearance and the realization that this was the very same thing slithering in his room staring at him every night of his life. The demon remarked that Obanai was very small and decided that she should wait to eat him when he was bigger. She ordered his mouth to be cut wider, all the way to his ears, to match hers due to her "liking" him. The blood that he shed from this procedure was then collected into a chalice that she then drank from.

Imprisoned back in his cell with his wound now covered by a bandage, Obanai began only to think of escape and survival upon realizing his fate. He began to scratch away at the lattice of his cell with a stolen hairpin he took from one of his relatives that he would then use during the night in order to prevent anyone from noticing his attempt to escape. Day by day he would be in a constant state of worry and fear, shaking in terror at the possibility of what would happen if the Serpent Demon or his family would discover his attempt at freedom. The only being then that he could trust was a small snake that had somehow strayed into his cage and became his only friend, Kaburamaru.

Eventually, Obanai finally manage to completely remove a wooden chunk of the bars and escape into the night. As he ran, the Serpent Demon began to pursue him, almost catching up to him and killing him before the Flame Hashira, Shinjuro Rengoku, by chance came to his rescue. Because of Obanai's escape, the Serpent Demon had killed nearly all fifty of his relatives; the only surviving member of his bloodline was his older cousin, who had also been saved by the Hashira. When they were reunited, however, she rejected him and began to violently attack and claw at him due to her blaming him for their family's deaths at the hand of the demon due to them messing up and allowing him to escape, screaming at him that he should have just let her eat him.

Due to these harsh words from his cousin and his own sense of self loathing and guilt for having been born into such a family and allowing them to die for his survival, Obanai joined the Demon Slayer Corps and decided to turn all his rage onto whatever demons he could find, believing that he would feel like a better person if he risked his life for the sake of others and somehow ease his guilt. Despite this, he constantly felt as if his dead family would continue to drag him down despite the good he accomplished as a Demon Slayer, and his lingering self loathing would haunt him everyday.

After some time, Obanai found someone within the Demon Slayer Corps who was distressed over getting lost; Mitsuri Kanroji. Helping the young woman to find her way, they became acquainted and quickly became close. Obanai especially enjoyed being with Mitsuri as he felt like he was a normal boy due to her brimming optimism.