Chapter 282

## Moment

* Volume
* Magazine

**Moment** (一刻, *Ikkoku*) is the 282nd chapter of the *Golden Kamuy* manga.

## Synopsis

As Shiraishi gloats about Tsurumi taking several days to solve the tattooed code, three 7th Division soldiers walk up behind them, alerting everyone of their presence. Toni tells the others to duck as he opens fire on the soldiers, killing one and wounding another as the third manages to hide behind a stone wall. While the soldier attempts to fight back, Sugimoto runs up the stone wall and jumps down on him, ramming his bayonet into the soldier's head and killing him. The wounded soldier prepares to shoot Sugimoto but is shot and decapitated by Hijikata.

Hijikata asks Toni if he can hear any more soldiers approaching but Toni denies it. Sugimoto looks through the first dead soldier's uniform and finds a telegram from Tsurumi that had been sent from Sapporo one hour prior, informing the soldiers to "come to Fort Goryokaku with all possible speed". Shiraishi begins to panic that the 7th Division has already deciphered the code, and Sugimoto says that he has heard that Tsurumi had his men scattered all over Hokkaido, searching for convicts, and so the soldiers they have just killed must have been lying low in Hakodate.

Asirpa asks how long they have until Tsurumi arrives at Fort Goryokaku, and Nagakura says that at most it would take him over a day to arrive, whether by train or horse. However, Sugimoto says that Tsurumi could force one of the steam locomotives at Sapporo to move out immediately and arrive within half a day. Shiraishi continues to freak out over the little time they have and begins to dig but Asirpa tells him he is not even looking in the right place. Hijikata states that there are several buildings from before the Battle of Hakodate that are still standing and points to one of them, believing that the Ainu men may have hid the gold under the floors of a building and that they should prioritize those buildings.

Sugimoto understands Hijikata's reasoning but thinks that it would have been quicker for the Ainu men to have tossed the gold into the moat instead, and Ushiyama agrees, saying that it would save them the trouble of digging as well as the fact that gold does not corrode in water. When Toni points out that the Ainu could have just hidden the gold in a well, Shiraishi takes his clothes off and dives into a nearby well only to be disappointed that there is nothing inside. Sugimoto asks for the whereabouts of Kadokura, Kirawus, and Kantarou since they would need to split up to find the gold, and Nagakura reveals that they got left behind at the station to go look for horse-drawn carts.

Asirpa brings up the issue of the distance between Mount Hakodate and Fort Goryokaku, leading Toni to asking how much gold a horse-drawn carriage could carry to have Nagakura respond with 13 bags of gold. Shiraishi states that there are 1,300 bags of gold, and Ushiyama says that it is possible if Kadokura and the others could find 90 horse-drawn carts. Shiraishi turns to Hijikata, asking if he has a plan, and Ushiyama begins to strangle him for thinking they could get all of the gold out in just half a day and that not even Wilk could have imagined that two separate groups would figure out the code at the same time.

Sugimoto and Hijikata's Group come to an impasse that they are out of options and so would have to stand and fight. Sugimoto asks Hijikata if he has already taken steps to prepare for battle, which Hijikata confirms and says that he has Kantarou waiting for Sofia and the Russian revolutionaries on the afternoon steam locomotive. Hijikata states that the revolutionaries are hardened veterans with countless battles against the Russian army and would prove to be useful in a fight against the 7th Division and as such, they will not be throwing themselves into reckless battle. Hijikata also reveals another huge advantage for their side, that since it is his second time fighting at Fort Goryokaku, he is an expert on how to do battle at the fort.

## Character Appearances

* Asirpa
* Saichi Sugimoto
* Yoshitake Shiraishi
* Tatsuma Ushiyama
* Anji Toni
* Toshizou Hijikata
* Shinpachi Nagakura
* Tokushirou Tsurumi *(Mentioned)*
* Kirawus *(Mentioned)*
* Toshiyuki Kadokura *(Mentioned)*
* Kantarou Okuyama *(Mentioned)*
* Sofia Golden Hand *(Cameo)*