Legendary Hunter Arc

The **Legendary Hunter Arc** is the third story arc of *Golden Kamuy*.

## Summary

### Yuk

Asirpa and Sugimoto continue through the snowy forest, searching for deer. Asirpa tells Sugimoto to hurry, but Sugimoto is exhausted because his feet keep getting stuck in the thick layers of snow. Asirpa suggests they take a short break and chew *hupca* (needles of a Sakhalin fir) for energy boost. Sugimoto finds *hupca* quite bitter, and Asirpa makes fun of him for being a *sisam* with delicate test buds. After trying to chew *hupca*, Sugimoto is thirsty. He asks Asirpa for some water, but the girl drinks all the remaining water they have, refusing to give Sugimoto any. Sugimoto considers eating snow, but Asirpa stops him, warning that he will get cold. Instead, she suggests they cut the Hardy kiwi vines to drink its sap. Asirpa crafts a makeshift pair of snowshoes from the vines for Sugimoto, so they can continue travelling the forest in comfort.

Asirpa notices traces left by the deer and takes out her *sutu* then rubs it against the tree bark, making a sound so the deer would come back to investigate. She explains that deer are an essential part of the Ainu way of life and that they're used for many things, like making shoes or crafting arrow footings, *makanit*. Asirpa retells Sugimoto an old Ainu legend that she learned from Huci. In the old days, there were more deer than there are now. So many, that people went hunting after they put their pot on the fire to start cooking. Unlike the *kimun kamuy* (bear) or *horkew kamuy* (wolf), the Ainu do not call deer *kamuy*. Instead, they're called *yuk*, which means "prey". The Ainu believe that the god who rules over the deer spread *yuk* all over the land so that humans would have something to eat. But one winter, the snow was so deep that the deer couldn't dig deep enough to reach the grass. A great number of deer died, which in its turn caused the wolves that hunted them to follow the same fate. Asirpa thinks that people didn't have proper respect for the deer that the gods sent to them, so the gods refused to send any more.

As Asirpa finishes her tale, a deer appears nearby. Sugimoto tries to slowly load his gun. However, the sound alerts the deer and it runs away. Sugimoto attempts to shoot it but misses, grazing it instead. Asirpa and Sugimoto follow the deer's tracks, and Asirpa finds drops of the animal's blood on the bamboo grass. Sugimoto is worried about his missing shot. Asirpa sees tracks that belong to a dog and two men. Upon examining the tracks, she realizes that one of those man must be Genjirou Tanigaki.

Someplace else in the forest, a man with his dog is talking to Tanigaki. He claims that the bears Tanigaki hunted as Matagi are merely cubs compared to those they have in Hokkaido. The man says that his dog is of the breed that the Ainu have trained to be fearless when going up against bears. Tanigaki makes note of the Murata rifle the man is using, saying his Matagi father would also use one for hunting. The rifle is one-shot, which is not useful. Tanigaki claims that using a rifle like that isn't a personal preference but simply ignoring the march of progress. The man scoffs at that but remarks that Tanigaki's rifle can hold five rounds and so it must be mighty useful.

The man's dog, Ryu, rushes to the bear that is sleeping its den. The man commands Tanigaki to stand out of the fight, as its the duel between him and the bear. Tanigaki wonders if the man has prepared other rounds since hunters that use the Murata rifle always hold spare rounds between their fingers to quickly reload the gun. The man retorts, saying that having five rounds gives you an illusion of having five chances, which is wrong. The bear comes out of its den and approaches the hunter, standing on its hind legs. The hunter successfully shoots the bear, and Tanigaki reveals that in his hometown he once heard stories about legendary bear-killer from Hokkaido. Tanigaki concludes that the man's name is Tetsuzou Nihei, and that the man in front of him is in fact the legendary hunter.

Nihei asks Tanigaki how long he is going to tag along with him, teasing the young man that he didn't rescue him because he wanted a new lover. Tanigaki replies that he isn't in the mood for jokes and that he knows that Nihei is after the same thing as he is: the white wolf.

After defeating the bear, Nihei explains to Tanigaki that the bear would have definitely become a man-eater. Tanigaki is curious about it, and Nihei cuts the bear open to demonstrate her insides to Tanigaki. Nihei concludes that the bear is a six-year old sow that has not had any cubs before, which is typical of bears that would later become aggressive. Nihei jokes that female bears are more emotional and scarier, just like female humans. As he continues to skin the bear, Nihei talks about bear character traits. He reveals that he has killed over 200 bears on his own, and each time was different. Nihei guesses that Tanigaki has never hunted a wolf, prompting Tanigaki to ask if Nihei has fought a wolf before. Nihei replies that he's never hunted one and doesn't know a thing about wolves, that's why he wants to hunt it down. He then recounts how the wolves were exterminated by humans after they started hunting livestock. Yet, there's a wolf that survived the battle of wits against mankind, the last of its kind. Hunting that wolf down excites Nihei, as he wants to find out who is more cunning out of them two.

Meanwhile, Asirpa and Sugimoto continue to chase the deer. Sugimoto says they must hurry, and Asirpa worries that if the deer keeps running, the stress will make its meat taste worse. Asirpa and Sugimoto plan to ambush the animal, which is hiding in a Sakhalin fir down the slope. Asirpa promptly slides down by using a hiking stick, which alarms the deer. Sugimoto runs after the buck, but falls down and loses the prey. Asirpa suggests they make a quick temporary shelter out of a stunted Sakhalin fir. Inside their makeshift tent, Asirpa and Sugimoto start a fire, but it's still cold. Asirpa tells Sugimoto to take his coat off and turn his back to the fire so his body could absorb the heat. She explains that in Ainu they call it *setur sesekka*, warming one's back. Sugimoto looks upset, and Asirpa assumes he is worried about the flavor of the deer's meat. However, Sugimoto is anxious about completely other thing...

In another part of the forest, Tanigaki and Nihei are dining on the bear meat. Nihei presents his special dish, "Nihei style roasted heart". Nihei says that eating fresh heart is a privilege reserved only for hunters, like him and Tanigaki. He then asks Tanigaki if Matagi drink bear's blood, then tells the soldier about the recipe he learned from a Mongolian friend — "Nihei style blood sausages". Nihei eats the sausages and warns Tanigaki that the sausages fill you with a lot of energy so he should watch himself to not blow off the roof of his hut. Nihei, clearly overly energetic, loudly exclaims "BONER!", which doesn't get any reaction from Tanigaki.

Nihei notes that Tanigaki is very quiet and that the Matagi lifestyle really rubbed off on him. Tanigaki replies that Nihei must have met a really talkative Matagi before, as most of them don't talk about their lifestyle much. Nihei wonders why Tanigaki is here with him, and why he is still wearing the army cap; he asks why Tanigaki doesn't go back to his hometown to become a Matagi again. Tanigaki reveals that he has his own reasons for remaining in the army and he was fully prepared to abandon his hometown in Akita. But when he came to the mountains, Tanigaki felt like a toxin deep inside of him was slowly seeping away. As Tanigaki recites the Matagi chant that they say to guide the spirits of bears to the afterlife, he laments that he never said those words for the people he killed during the war.

Having heard his tale, Nihei says that hunting the wolf is just an excuse for Tanigaki, as he is unable to return back to the army or go back home. Instead, his hunter's spirit is wandering aimlessly through the forests of Hokkaido. Nihei tells Tanigaki that after they've killed the wolf, Tanigaki should take its pelt and return to his hometown. Tanigaki takes off his cap and throws it into the fire, and the two men laugh.

That night, Sugimoto sees a nightmare where he is suddenly back at war, with flying bullets, flesh, and blood all around him. As badly injured Sugimoto keeps running, he tells himself that he refuses to lay down and die; he will survive, no matter what. In the morning, Asirpa and Sugimoto continue their search for the deer. Asirpa finds traces of the deer's presence: the place where it slept and its droppings.

In the meantime, Nihei and Tanigaki are discussing their hunting strategy. Nihei suggests they shoot a deer to use it as bait for the wolf. Tanigaki says they have leftover bear meat, but Nihei tells him about the American Rancher who spread strychnine-laced bait all over his ranch to protect his horses. The man also advised this method to other ranches, which resulted in most of Hokkaido wolves being exterminated, with at least a dozen of wolves dying every day. However, there was a wolf that raised his leg and urinated on the poisoned meat instead of eating it; due to being extremely clever, that wolf managed to survive till this day.

Asirpa shows Sugimoto more deer droppings; she says it's still warm and puts it in Sugimoto's hand, warning him that he can't eat this kind of *osoma*. Sugimoto throws away the droppings, yelling that there is no kind of *osoma* anyone can eat. They notice more tracks, and Asirpa concludes that the deer must be getting tired. She points at the tree nearby and tells Sugimoto that the deer must be hiding in there. She explains her strategy to Sugimoto, and Sugimoto mentally prepares to shoot the deer, promising himself he will take the animal down in one shot, ending its suffering.

Nihei and Tanigaki search for a deer to hunt. Nihei praises his dog Ryu, saying he can pick out the freshest, strongest scent from a jumble of different deer tracks. Nihei notes that Ryu is considerate of his owners and will check up if they're keeping up, adjusting his own pace to match with that of the hunters. Nihei then asks Tanigaki if his broken leg bothers him. Ryu starts fidgeting and acting strange, refusing to go any further. The legendary hunter realizes that Ryu must have picked up a wolf's scent, so Nihei grabs his dog by the leash and leads his party into the wolf territory.

When Asirpa lures the deer out of its hiding, Sugimoto draws his gun at it. But as he sees the deer running at him, Sugimoto hesitates, seeing his own frenzied self in the face of the deer. The deer hits Sugimoto's rifle with its horns, causing it to go off, and escapes. However, it gets caught by Retar who pins it down to the ground. Asirpa and Sugimoto walk up to the struggling deer. Asirpa asks Sugimoto why didn't he shoot even though he said he would finish it off. Anxious, Sugimoto attempts to explain why he hesitated. Seeing the deer fight for its life despite the blood that was pouring from its wound getting frozen, Sugimoto couldn't move a muscle as he realizes that the deer is *him*.

Asirpa stabs the deer in the neck, killing it swiftly. She calls Sugimoto out, saying that if he isn't ready to see it through to the end, he shouldn't fire his gun in the first place. She then cuts the deer's stomach open and asks Sugimoto to put his hands inside of its body. Sugimoto does as Asirpa said and comments that his numb hands are getting warmer from the heat of the body. Asirpa tells Sugimoto that the deer warmed him in its death, the warmth reaching him and giving him life. Hearing her words, Sugimoto is reassured.

In the distance, Nihei and Tanigaki realize they just heard a gunshot from a Type 30 rifle, the same one Tanigaki carries.

Asirpa and Sugimoto continue to cut the deer up. Asirpa offers Sugimoto to try some raw liver but, after concluding it's too bitter because of the stress the deer sustained, she gives it to Retar. After eating the liver, Retar sniffs something in the air and starts acting strange. He pushes Asirpa to go faster, clearly agitated by someone's presence. In fact, Retar detected the powerful scent of death that was coming from Tanigaki and Nihei and realized something unpleasant was approaching. Asirpa explains that wolves are very cautious animals and normally, Retar would have been gone by now but he is staying to tell them to hurry up. Asirpa thinks to herself that it must be the soldier from the other day and that he must be still following them. She suggests Sugimoto they take as much as they can carry and head back.

Tanigaki and Nihei find the deer's carcass. Nihei notices wolf tracks and says that, judging by the state of the carcass, some hunters must have stolen the wolf's kill. However, they left a lot of meat instead of putting it in the safe spot, which is strange. Tanigaki observes the human tracks and recognizes they belong to the man and the Ainu girl he encountered the other day. He tells Nihei that the meat was probably left for the wolf to eat, but the animal sensed them coming and ran away. Tanigaki thinks that the wolf doesn't seem to be afraid of the Ainu girl, and that he might come back to eat the rest of the deer. Nihei looks pensive but then suggests Tanigaki the two of them head down to the river and give each other a good scrub.

All this time, Asirpa and Sugimoto have been watching the hunters from afar. Sugimoto wonders if the two might be hunters. Later, they return to one of their hunting huts but find it occupied. Sugimoto draws his gun but turns out it was just Shiraishi who came back from town. He presents them a bottle of sake, and the trio proceed to cook the deer meat. Asirpa feeds Shiraishi some brain while Sugimoto eats raw lungs. She then announces they're going to make *citatap* from deer's windpipe, *sewri*. Shiraishi starts chopping the windpipe but seems disappointed as he wanted to eat some actual meat. Asirpa, who's already drunk some sake, yells at Shiraishi for not saying *citatap* out loud. She calls Shiraishi and Sugimoto pathetic little city boys for not being able to enjoy raw meat and agrees to cook loin meat, even roasting it using salt.

The trio enjoys their meal and drinks, getting progressively more drunk. When Sugimoto says he is already full and can't finish his food, Asirpa gets mad and slaps Shiraishi, then passionately delivers a speech on honoring one's prey and remembering it after death. Sugimoto feels touched by those words and asks if Asirpa would remember him if he dies.

Asirpa starts crying and begs Sugimoto to not die. Sugimoto says he is immortal, and Shiraishi feeds Asirpa another spoon of *citatap* to comfort her. Asirpa shouts that *citatap* is wonderful and jumps, breaking through the roof of their hunting hut. Meanwhile, Shiraishi tells Sugimoto that he's managed to get some info about a tattooed convict. A fur trader told him that a man who was sentenced to prison years ago for killing three men showed up out of the blue. Shiraishi claims that he knows the man, as he happens to be another Abashiri convict. He says that the prisoner is more like a wild animal than a man. The prisoner is a ridiculously skilled hunter, so the fur traders started calling him "the man who makes hibernating bears tremble with fear", "every bear's worst nightmare... Nihei Tetsuzou."

Someplace in the forest, Tanigaki and Nihei come to the river. Nihei inquires Tanigaki about Matagi hunting rituals, and Tanigaki explains that the Matagi believe that the guardian of the mountains is a goddess. To not make the goddess jealous, hunters wash away the scents of other women before going to the mountains. As Nihei starts undressing, he speaks of how uncanny the wolf's sense of smell is, and that they need to take every possible precaution. Stripped to his waist, Nihei reveals his tattooed back. Tanigaki recognizes the tattoo on Nihei's body and realizes that he is one of the tattooed convicts. Furious with Nihei only laughing it off, Tanigaki draws his gun and accuses Nihei of murdering soldiers during his escape from the Abashiri Prison. Nihei shrugs it off, claiming that he only killed fools who were blinded by their own greed; he notes that he feels more guilty killing animals than those guys. Nihei stands tall and asks Tanigaki if he is going to shoot him and skin him. He continues to question Tanigaki's identity, wondering if it's Tanigaki the Matagi or Tanigaki the soldier standing in front of him.

Asirpa realizes that she has heard Nihei's name before. She recalls how there used to be horrible men who would go around murdering hunters and stealing their prey. Once when Asirpa and her father were hunting, they became the target of those men. Asirpa's father marked the bear's fur with a symbol and later recognized it when a man brought the same pelt to the fur trader. The man was arrested, but there still were three of his accomplices who were looking for hunters to rob in the forest. However, they picked the wrong man to target...

While Nihei continues to bathe himself in the water, he tells Tanigaki of his encounter with those three men. Nihei was butchering a bear in the woods when a bullet ricocheted off the ground at his feet, followed by a gunshot in the distance. Nihei realized he was being targeted and shouted at the bandits, threatening the men.

The bandits didn't take Nihei's warning seriously and shot at him, the bullet passing through Nihei's hair. Nihei considered that shot "the opening of hunting season" and over the next three days hunted the bandits one by one, clubbing each to death. However, the last bandit got caught by the police. While the policemen tried to stop him, Nihei proceeded to snapping the bandit's neck. The murder of the bandit resulted in Nihei being sent to the Abashiri Prison. Nihei explains that he wants to die in the wilderness, so he escaped the prison. He dreams of his fallen body being consumed by wild animals and becoming one with nature. Nihei asks Tanigaki if he understands him.

Sugimoto asks Shiraishi about Nihei, and Shiraishi describes him as an older man with graying hair, carrying a Type 18 single shot rifle, and accompanied by a brown Ainu hunting dog. Sugimoto realizes that this matches the appearance of the man he and Asirpa saw earlier. Shiraishi then reveals that the fur trader in town told him that Nihei asked about the money he'd get for the pelt of a white wolf. Asirpa is shocked to hear it: Tanigaki was hunting for Retar and not her.

Tanigaki and Nihei are spending the night waiting for Retar to return to the deer's carcass. However, in the morning the find the carcass covered with wolf feces. Nihei concludes that the wolf must have done it when they were away washing themselves. Tanigaki says that he heard of a special kind of wolf behavior, where they track a strange human and observe them from afar; it's called "being watched by a wolf". He tells Nihei the white wolf must have watched them from the moment they showed. Excited about the hunt, Nihei proclaims that his boner is raging out of control.

Asirpa, Sugimoto, and Shiraishi set out to find Nihei and Tanigaki to protect Retar.

### The Ezo Wolf

While Nihei examines the deer carcass, Tanigaki muses over the wolf's intelligence. Nihei notes that they will have to start from scratch and kill another deer; however, they need to eat some food first. As Nihei roasts the meat over the fire, he reveals that his sense of smell is much sharper than of the average human. He recalls the time when he took his baby daughter to the veranda and noticed a giant hornet land on her face. At that instant Nihei sensed the change in his body odor and that it reflected his emotional state. He tells Tanigaki that their blood-thirsty intent must give off quite a strong smell and perhaps that wolf sensed it.

Tanigaki then explains a Matagi saying, "Sink into the bark". When a hunter is waiting in ambush for his prey, he should become one with the trees. Hearing that, Nihei takes note. Tanigaki asks how's Nihei's daughter doing, and Nihei answers that he hasn't seen his wife or his 15 children in a long time, adding that "women sure a scary bunch".

Nihei asks Tanigaki to tell him what he knows of the wolf tracking behavior. Tanigaki says his father would tell him that one way to escape a wolf who is tracking you is to drop something on the ground, as wolves are naturally curious animals and will stop to investigate. Tanigaki comments that the wolf is probably observing them at this moment. Nihei burns the feces wolf left to aggravate the wolf and focus his attention on the two of them. At another part of the forest, Asirpa, Sugimoto, and Shiraishi notice the smoke rising in the distance. Asirpa says it's rising from the place where they killed the deer yesterday.

Nihei, Tanigaki, and Ryu prepare to ambush the wolf and set a trap for him by leaving a mess kit to grab the wolf's attention. Nihei takes a position up on the hill, waiting for Retar to appear. The hunter tries to quell his urge to kill and become one with the trees in order no stay hidden. Meanwhile, Sugimoto and Shiraishi spot Nihei, but Shiraishi can't confirm his identity unless he sees his face. Sugimoto tells Asirpa to stay put and use her bow as a back-up while he and Shiraishi get closer to Nihei.

Asirpa notices that Nihei is aiming at something and realizes he set a trap for Retar. Suddenly, she notices the wolf hiding behind a tree. Asirpa internally begs Retar to stay away, while Nihei, who has also noticed Retar, grows more excited and impatient. Retar emerges from his hiding spot but, before Nihei manages to pull the trigger, Asirpa shoots an arrow in the mess kit, alerting the wolf. Nihei takes a shot and the bullet grazes Retar's fur, scaring him away. Sugimoto aims his gun at Nihei, telling the hunter to toss his gun to him. Nihei smirks and says that now he sees why the wolf wouldn't show himself, noting that Sugimoto's urge to kill is practically gushing out of him. Sugimoto asks Shiraishi to confirm Nihei's identity, which makes Nihei realize that the two men came after his tattoo. Sugimoto once again asks Nihei to drop his weapon but Nihei is ready to fight. Before Sugimoto can fire his gun, he is attacked by Ryu. As Sugimoto fends off Ryu's attack with the barrel of the gun, Nihei swings a cleaver at him. Sugimoto takes out his bayonet and slices over Nihei's left hand, cutting off four of his fingers. Sugimoto stabs Nihei in the arm but Nihei hits his head with the rifle, drawing blood. Smiling, Nihei asks if Sugimoto is ready to end up as animal shit.

Nihei and Sugimoto continue their fight. Sugimoto shouts at Shiraishi to get his gun but Shiraishi is stopped by Nihei's dog Ryu. While Nihei and Sugimoto face off each other in a deadly match, Shiraishi attempts to wrestle Ryu to retrieve the gun. Once armed, Shiraishi draws the gun at Nihei and warns the hunter. Tanigaki takes Asirpa hostage and orders Shiraishi and Sugimoto to drop their weapons. Furious with Tanigaki using Asirpa as a human shield, Sugimoto loses control and charges at Tanigaki with his bayonet and throws the blade at the man, stabbing him through the palm of his hand and his cheek. Nihei tackles Sugimoto and holds him in a chokehold on the ground. Shiraishi calls out to Tanigaki, saying he should be ashamed of using an innocent child as a hostage. Tanigaki doesn't budge and claims that the last time he saw Asirpa she was carrying a tattooed skin so they shouldn't pretend she has nothing to do with the situation.

Asirpa tries to reason with Tanigaki, telling him that her life isn't worth much to Shiraishi and he will start shooting. She says there's no need for them to shed blood and it's better to calm down and stop fighting. Nihei warns Tanigaki not to trust Asirpa, reminding him that women are frightening creatures. Tanigaki shouts that he doesn't care whether Asirpa gets hurt in the process, and Sugimoto gives in, telling Shiraishi to drop the gun. Sugimoto then asks Nihei to take Asirpa away so she wouldn't see them being killed.

Nihei agrees and asks Tanigaki to get him some ropes to tie Sugimoto and Shiraishi up. Sugimoto and Shiraishi exchange looks, silently coming up with an escape plan. Nihei proceeds to bandage his injured hand while Tanigaki takes Asirpa away, much to her protest. Distracted by a sudden memory of his daughter, Nihei doesn't notice that Shiraishi and Sugimoto managed to flee. Nihei alerts Tanigaki of the two men escaping. Tanigaki pulls Asirpa's bandana over her mouth to silence her and takes her to the river. Exhausted and not thinking straight, Tanigaki walks into an Ainu deer trap, *amappo*. Before Asirpa manages to warn him, Tanigaki is struck with a poisoned arrow in his leg. Asirpa commands him to untie her and tells him that since Ainu poisons have no antidote, the only way to save Tanigaki is to carve away the flesh around the wound. Tanigaki agrees to it, and Asirpa dives the blade into Tanigaki's thigh.

Nihei finds Asirpa tending to Tanigaki and realizes that he walked into the deer trap. Asirpa explains that she cut away all the flesh around the wound but since the poison was mixed by someone else she doesn't know if Tanigaki will survive; at any rate, he won't be able to move anytime soon. Asirpa suggests they stop their fight as they didn't come to kill Nihei in the first place. Nihei disregards Asirpa's words and promises Tanigaki to kill the white wolf and bring it back to him. Asirpa is taken aback by Nihei's tenacity. Nihei grabs Asirpa and runs away with her, hoping to get the wolf to come out of the hiding. As Sugimoto and Shiraishi look for Asirpa and Nihei, Retar is seen running someplace else.

Asirpa tells Nihei to put her down. She pleads with Nihei, saying that Retar is the last of his kind. She asks if Nihei is going to wipe out the proud *Horkew Kamuy* just for some coins. Nihei claims the wolves are already wiped out and he doesn't care about the money — he just wants to be the last hunter to see a Hokkaido wolf.

Nihei brings Asirpa to an open spot. Asirpa tries to put up a fight but Nihei ties her to a tree branch, telling her to not bother trying to kill herself by biting off her tongue. Asirpa cuts him off, saying that she isn't going to kill herself and all that matters to her is that Retar doesn't become a *wen kamuy*. Nihei recognizes the term, reciting that "that's when an animal kills a human and becomes an evil god". However, Nihei says there's nothing to worry about: human life isn't worth that much. He tells Asirpa that their fight with Retar is a fight to the death between two beasts, and Nihei plans to survive. He promises to end it in one shot so Retar won't suffer. Retar appears and charges towards Nihei. Nihei aims his gun and fires a few shots but Retar manages to dodge every one of them. Nihei is amazed and thinks that Retar might understand how a gun works. Retar jumps at Nihei and bites into his left arm. Nihei puts the barrel of his gun to Retar's head and announces his victory.

Suddenly, another wolf jumps at Nihei from the back and bites into his neck. Ryu rushes to Nihei's defense, barking loudly at the wolves and shielding Nihei from them. The wolf joins Retar, and Nihei realizes that they're a heat pack. Even while gravely injured, Nihei remarks how Retar's mate didn't respect the rules of a battle between men, attesting how terrifying women are. Still, Nihei is satisfied in his dying moments.

Sugimoto and Shiraishi arrive at the scene and free Asirpa. Asirpa hears howling and sees four wolf cubs. Asirpa is deeply touched by seeing Retar's family. She is reminded of the night when Retar left and realizes that this is the reason of his departure. Lastly, Tanigaki joins the others. He sits down with now deceased Nihei and reads the Matagi chant to him to guide Nihei in the afterlife. Asirpa insists they take Tanigaki and Ryu with them to the Ainu village. Shiraishi, who's been carrying Tanigaki on the stretcher, takes a break and says he is going to rest until Sugimoto catches up. Nearby, Sugimoto is seen retrieving Nihei's tattooed skin and marching on.

## Story Impact

* After his injury, Genjirou Tanigaki joins forces with the famous hunter known as the "Legendary Bear-Killer" Tetsuzou Nihei and his dog Ryu to hunt the last Ezo wolf, Retar.
* Nihei helps Tanigaki become return to his old Matagi self
* Nihei while bathing is revealed to be an Abashiri convict, the fourth to be introduced.
* After capturing Asirpa, Tanigaki triggers a poison arrow trap and is shot, he frees Asirpa so she can save his life and is unable to continue the hunt.
* While Nihei is attempting to shoot Retar he is attacked by Retar's mate, revealing that Retar is not the final Ezo Wolf.
* Accepting his fate, Nihei dies due to his injuries from the attack, and his tattoo is skinned by Sugimoto.
* Retar parts ways with Asirpa so he can continue raising his pups.

## Characters Introduced

### Supporting Characters

* Tetsuzou Nihei
* Ryu

## Chapters

* 022. **Legendary Bear-Killer** (伝説の熊撃ち, *Densetsu no kumauchi*)
* 023. **Hunter's Spirit** (猟師の魂, *Ryōshi no tamashī*)
* 024. **What Lives On** (生き抜いた価値, *Ikinuita kachi*)
* 025. **Yuk** (ユク, *Yuku*)
* 026. **The Law of the Mountain** (山の掟, *Yama no okite*)
* 027. **The Scent of Death** (殺しの匂い, *Koroshi no nioi*)
* 028. **Complication** (錯綜, *Sakusō*)
* 029. **The Old Man and the Mountain** (老人と山, *Rōjin to yama*)

## Episodes

* 06. **Hunter's Soul** (猟師の魂, *Ryōshi no tamashī*)
* 07. **Complication** (錯綜, *Sakusō*)