Chapter 25

## Yuk

* Color
* Volume
* Magazine

**Yuk** (ユㇰ, *Yuku*) is the 25th chapter of the *Golden Kamuy* manga.

## Synopsis

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. Sugimoto and Asirpa take the pelt, some innards, the deer's head, and meat from the inner thighs, back (loin), and around the hips (tenderloin) and leave.

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.

## Character Appearances

* Asirpa
* Sugimoto Saichi
* Retar
* Tetsuzou Nihei
* Tanigaki Genjirou
* Ryu
* Shiraishi Yoshitake

## Trivia

* The goddess of the mountains is called Yamanokami, she is a special guardian of the Matagi.