Tanjiro Kamado kills Hantengu, the Upper Rank Four, with the decisive sword strike against his hidden main body. Nezuko and the other Demon Slayers matter to the fight, but the killing blow is Tanjiro’s. The confusion comes from Hantengu’s manifestations, and from an earlier cut that looks like it should have ended things but does not.
Which Upper Rank Four is meant
The Upper Rank Four in the Swordsmith Village Arc is Hantengu. Hantengu is a demon whose body splits into several manifestations, and the sequence where Tanjiro finishes him takes place in the Swordsmith Village confrontation, in the anime’s Episode 11, “A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light,” as summarized on the official anime site.
Why the first cut does not end the fight
Tanjiro’s first strike lands on a neck that is not the neck of Hantengu’s main body. Readers often count that cut as the finishing move because it is the first decapitation they see, but it is only one of the manifestations. The official synopsis presents it as a failed strike, and the battle continues while Hantengu tries to reach the nearby swordsmiths in an attempt to recover.
How the fight reaches its end
The final phase unfolds in a sequence that depends on timing:
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- Tanjiro’s first cut misses the main body, so Hantengu survives and keeps moving toward the swordsmiths.
- Muichiro passes Tanjiro the sword sharpened by Haganezuka, which gives Tanjiro the blade he needs for the final strike.
- As daybreak approaches, Tanjiro has to weigh striking Hantengu against protecting Nezuko from the rising sun.
- Tanjiro’s decisive strike reaches Hantengu’s main body, and Hantengu dies.
The Crunchyroll News recap of Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 11, published June 21, 2023, confirms that Tanjiro’s final strike kills the Upper Rank Four. The episode’s own synopsis places the Nezuko choice at daybreak, just before that strike.
Where Nezuko and the group fit in
Nezuko’s role is part of the sequence that leads to the kill, but she does not deliver the final blow. The victory is a shared effort across several Demon Slayers, with Muichiro’s handoff of the sharpened sword being the detail the official synopsis calls out. Credit the kill to Tanjiro, and treat the rest of the group as the reason he got the chance to land it.
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Quick reference
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Upper Rank Four in this fight | Hantengu | Official episode synopsis, Episode 11 |
| Who lands the killing blow | Tanjiro Kamado | Crunchyroll News recap, June 21, 2023 |
| Is the first cut fatal | No; it strikes a manifestation’s neck, not the main body | Official episode synopsis, Episode 11 |
| Role of Nezuko | Part of the fight, but not the final blow | Official episode synopsis and recap |
Note that these details come from the episode’s official synopsis and a recap from the time of broadcast. Hantengu’s manifestations are a point of frequent confusion across episodes, so if you are checking a specific scene, match it against the Episode 11 timestamp rather than relying on memory of earlier fights.
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