Episode 7

## Episode Chronology

**Flowers and Offerings** (花と贄, *Hana to Nie*) is the seventh episode of the Jigokuraku anime series.

## Synopsis

Gabimaru, Sagiri, Yuzuriha, and Senta are guided to the village by a mysterious girl named Mei and a tree lifeform named Hōko. They then learn from Hōko the existence of the Sennin and rulers of the island who call themselves Lord Tensen. Around the same time, Chōbei and Tōma are defeated by the overwhelming power of one of the Lord Tensen and are sentenced down a deep pit of bloomed humans.

## Plot

Aza Chōbei and Aza Tōma find themselves interrupting the coupling of two women. After the blonde-haired woman wonders as to how the two humans have made it this far on the island despite the Sōshin around the area, Chōbei stands on guard as he interprets this statement as them not being humans themselves. The pink-haired woman comments on them being cute and offers to have them join in on their previous activity, leading to the brothers feeling uneasy. After reprimanding her partner, the blonde-haired woman shifts into a man while becoming furious with Chōbei and Tōma for ruining the mood. The brothers then stand on guard as they sense tension from him.

After discovering the ruined village that the group comes to believe is the residential area of the Sennin, Gabimaru gives his input on how they should be more concern on whether the people on the island are either friend or foe. He then senses a little hooded person spying on them from behind a tree and chases after them after they were spotted. After catching up to them, Gabimaru pulls down their hood that reveals the spy to be a little girl, causing him to question if she is a human from the mainland or something else. The group then encounters a tree lifeform who tries protecting the girl from them. Gabimaru and Sagiri chase after the girl as she continues to flee, with the former wanting her to tell them more about the island and the latter needing to keep watch over her assigned convict. After being left to deal with the tree life form, Yuzuriha takes the opportunity to test out her ninjutsu on a monster but not before removing Senta of his glasses to keep her ability secret from him.

    Gabimaru catches up to the girl and grabs her hand, telling her that it was imperative that they speak, but is suddenly thrown aside by her, much to his wonder on how she could have done this given her small body. The girl then finally stops running after hearing Sagiri yelling out with reassurance that they do not plan on harming her and only want to ask her a few questions. However, tries defending herself from Sagiri by throwing a punch. Gabimaru comes in to block it but starts to bleed from the mouth after sensing something strange emitting from the punch that has him recalling Sagiri's fight with Rokurōta. Desperate, Gabimaru uses vines from the forest to restrain the girl and tells her to not make things difficult for him, which ends up causing the girl to cry from his frightening glare as a result. Gabimaru then turns to Sagiri asking what he should do and is told by the Asaemon to let her go.

After Sagiri helps the girl to settle down, the two are met by Yuzuriha who has finish bringing down the tree lifeform. The tree lifeform shocks the group after he starts to speak, asking that they return the girl over to him and that he will guide them to the village and tell them about the Elixir of Life. Yuzuriha believes that the best plan is to question the girl since the tree lifeform could be trying to trick them.

However, she becomes easily persuaded after the tree lifeform states there being a bath in the village that they could use. While being guided to the village, Gabimaru is asked by Sagiri if they trust the tree lifeform since they know nothing about him and answers that it did not matter as long as the person knows about the elixir. With this said, he also assures her that they will take him down if he tries tricks them. After arriving, the group takes note of the ruined, uninhabited village and learns from the tree lifeform that it existed for 1,000 years. Before Gabimaru gets a chance to ask the tree lifeform questions after the group arrives at his home, Yuzuriha demands taking a bath first before anything else.

As Yuzuriha takes delight in the bath, Gabimaru becomes annoyed with her voice as he stands outside and asks for Senta to handle her, only for the Asaemon to state that it was out of his hands. Gabimaru is then offered by Yuzuriha to join her in the bath and immediately rejects her. Sagiri joins Yuzuriha in the bath to watch over her after switching criminals with Senta but becomes too relaxed in the bath to do her duty, much to her displeasure. Sagiri is then given washcloths by the girl and thanks her as she walks out, which makes her think that she does not know how to speak. Gabimaru suggests to Senta to not eat or drink anything they give out until they have an idea of the people who brought them here but changes his mind after seeing him tempted.

With everyone gathered, the tree lifeform reveals that the true name of the Shinsenkyō island is Kotaku and that the Elixir of Life they seek is called Tan, which is located at the center of the island called Hōrai. Gabimaru then asks the tree lifeform if he has any proof that the elixir exists. The tree lifeform informs him that once he eventually encounters the ones known as Lord Tensen all his doubts will be set aside, as he explains that they are immortal beings who will present themselves to be an even bigger threat fighting off than the Sōshin. He also lets them know that his courteousness is his way of honoring their last requests before they meet their end by Lord Tensen since no human has managed to survive an encounter with them. Gabimaru, using Senta's sword, and Yuzuriha point their weapons at the tree lifeform after interpreting this as a hostile statement but is assured by him that he feels no such things towards them, nor feeling of affection, as he is simply stating the truth. He goes on to explain that Lord Tensen are the higher beings of the island who have control over the Sōshin and punish any trespassers by turning them into flowers, which the source of Tan. Though Yuzuriha believes this to be merely a legend, the tree life forms proves that the elixir exists by showing them his regeneration after snapping off his arm. Seeing this, Gabimaru attention shifts towards the girl as he wonders if she can also regenerate, only to be reprimanded by Sagiri and Yuzuriha for pointing his blade at her. The tree life form gives his warning that their fates are ultimately left to the gods of Shinsenkyō and that leaving the island will not be an easy task to accomplish.

At the same time of the tree life forms explanation, Chōbei and Tōma witness the blonde-haired Tensen regenerating the cut off half of his body that was done by Chōbei and are dropped done a pit of bloomed humans after being defeated by the Tensen.

Later, Gabimaru heads towards the bath to rinse off his wounds while continuing to be monitored by Sagiri, who he takes note of how lethargic she was from her bath despite her denial. In light of the information they gained from the tree life form named Hōko, Gabimaru and Sagiri start to doubt whether or not they should really take his word, especially with his explanation of Lord Tensen, who Senta connects, along with the terms Sōshin and Hōrai, to the religion of Taoism. While uncertain, Gabimaru believes that they can figure things out later and what matters is if they will prevent their group from acquire the Elixir of Life and would prefer not to waste any time.

Upon entering the bathhouse, Gabimaru and Sagiri find the little girl named Mei undressed, causing her cry after she is walked in on. Despite the situation, Gabimaru proceeds to undress, explaining that he is accustomed to bathing with others as the people of his village were required to share baths regardless of age or gender. Sagiri stands by Mei's side as Gabimaru changes and notices a scar on her body and the fact that her hair and skin are dirty despite the bathhouse having bath products. She then decides to repay her debt to the girl for giving them food and shelter by giving her a proper bath, along with Gabimaru since she thought that he needed time to relax his body. Using products she has on hand, Sagiri starts off by cleaning Mei's hair, which she appreciated by hugging her.

As he washes himself, Gabimaru thinks back to the time when his wife helped to bath him. Gabimaru is told by his wife to not get embarrassed when she washes him but clarifies that he doesn't like baths because it washes away his tension and battle instincts. His wife then dumps a bucket of water on his head after interpreting this as her robbing him of his luck in battle and advises him to rest his body when living out his life, believing it to be the real battle he has to face. After taking her words into account, Gabimaru is told to enter the water but objects since he doesn't like it, leading to his wife interpreting his reaction as being like a cat. After the bath, Gabimaru suggest to her to not hide her scar behind her bangs since he doesn't mind. Though she clarifies that it was simply how her was fashioned, she agrees to comply with his wish.

Recalling this memory, Gabimaru tells Mei not to be embarrassed about her scar. Though Sagiri tells him that it was not that simple for women, Gabimaru disagrees in that he knows a woman with a large scar who he sees as beautiful and that appearances don't matter, much to Sagiri's shock to hear him being respectful. Mei then comes up to grab Gabimaru with a look of appreciation and comfort. As they walk back to the house, Sagiri starts to see Gabimaru in a new light, thinking that he is not such a bad person and smiles believing that he is gradually beginning to change. On the other hand, Gabimaru becomes reminded of his prioritizes and that he cannot afford to waste any more time.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Ju Fa
* Tao Fa
* Aza Chōbei
* Aza Tōma
* Gabimaru
* Yamada Asaemon Sagiri
* Yuzuriha
* Yamada Asaemon Senta
* Mei
* Hōko
* Rokurōta (flashback)
* Yui (flashback)
* Iwagakure Chief (flashback)

## Powers and Techniques Used

**Mei:**

* Tao

**Ju Fa:**

* Tao