Hyakunosuke Ogata/Story

Overview
**Story**
Gallery

## Background

Ogata was born in Tokyo area, then raised in Ibaraki prefecture. He is the son of Lieutenant General Koujirou Hanazawa and his mistress. His father was the former leader of the 7th Division who committed seppuku after the Russo-Japanese War. Ogata boasts a skilled military lineage, including his grandfather, who also served in the army.

Ogata joins the 7th Division where he meets his younger half-brother 2nd Lietunenant Yuusaku Hanazawa who is glad to see him, however Ogata constantly avoids his brother. One day, Ogata invites Hanazawa to a brothel under the guise of brotherly bonding but Hanazawa declined to sleep with the women in order to uphold his morals.

Once Hanazawa had left, Ogata is visited by 1st Lieutenant Tsurumi and they speak about Hanazawa's personality. Tsurumi says that due to Hanazawa's strong sense of justice, he will be difficult to control and notes that he came from a noble bloodline. However, Ogata says that there is no such thing as a "noble" bloodline, calling it a lie.

In Meiji 35 (1902), Ogata, Tsukishima, and Kikuta were among the Imperial Japanese Army soldiers dispatched to Fort Goryokaku in Hakodate to assist with the Koito kidnapping case. As the three soldiers removed the bodies of the dead Russian kidnappers, they stared sombrely at Tsurumi joking around with Heiji Koito and his 16 years old son Otonoshin Koito. Some time later at the 7th Division headquarters in Asahikawa, as Ogata heads up a flight of stairs, he passes by Koito and his father walking down and the two has a hostile exchange of look at each other.

In the Battle of Port Arthur, Ogata snipes the Russian soldiers from afar as his brother Hanazawa courageously led the Japanese army against the enemies. Ogata is approached by Tsurumi who voices his concern about Hanazawa's popularity among the other soldiers, and Ogata agrees not to kill his half-brother.

One night, Ogata led Hanazawa to a Russian prisoner of war and questioned if he had killed any Russian soldier since they arrived in Port Arthur. Ogata saw his reply as an excuse not to get his hands dirty and demanded that Hanazawa kill the Russian, handing him a blade to use. However, Hanazawa refuses, saying that their father had told him not to kill anybody as the flag bearer.

Hanazawa then goes on to say that the act of killing other people fills everyone with guilt. Ogata is perplexed by his statement, saying that no one actually feels like that and that they only act as if they do, while being the same as him, who feels no remorse. Ogata is suddenly hugged by Hanazawa who says that it isn't right for there to be people who don't feel guilt over killing other human being. Despite this, Ogata is not happy with Hanazawa's reply and during another battle, Ogata shoots and kill Hanazawa as he continue to lead the Japanese army.

Ogata took part in the Siege of Port Arthur where he fought in the Battle of 203 Hill along with his division and the other divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army. When Genjirou Tanigaki was able to retrieve Kenkichi Aoyama's body and tried to speak to him, Ogata told him that there is nothing he can do for Aoyama as it looked like his eardrums have burst. Afterwards, the Japanese army were able to take 203 Hill with Tsurumi claiming victory.

In Meiji 38 (1905), Ogata also fought in the Battle of Mukden and witnessed Tsukishima attacking their superior, 2nd Lieutenant Tsurumi for having lied to him. Tsurumi then told the 7th Division soldiers who had gathered due to the commotion to leave both him and Tsukishima alone to talk.

During a blizzard storm, the 7th Division took shelter in a wooden building as Ogata, along with Tamai and Noma were resting in a room with a stove.

## Plot

### Introduction Arc

When Sugimoto and Asirpa interrogate Kanjirou Kasahara, Ogata shoots the prisoner in the head and kills him. Ogata follows Asirpa and Sugimoto, however, he gets his gun ensnared in a trap which removes it from his hands, taking him by surprise. Sugimoto lunges at Ogata and the two engage in a fight, in which Ogata manages to disarm Sugimoto by removing the bolt of Sugimoto's rifle. When Ogata takes his cloak off, Sugimoto confirms that the man before him is indeed a soldier from the strongest unit in the Army, the Hokkaido 7th Division.

Ogata asks Sugimoto what unit he is from, and upon hearing the answer says they probably saw each other at 203 Hill. He then offers Sugimoto to give up on the corpse of the Takechiyo Gotou, lamenting it would be a shame to survive the war and then throw your life away over money. He implies that Sugimoto doesn't realize how high the stakes are in the game they're playing. When Sugimoto refuses to stand down, Ogata attacks him, but is quickly overpowered and has his arm right arm broken. Sugimoto takes his knife and attempts to murder Ogata, but he is stopped by Asirpa calling out to him. Ogata recognizes Sugimoto as the legendary Sugimoto the Immortal and manages to distract him by stabbing him in the eyes. Ogata flees, concluding he won't be able to take Sugimoto the Immortal down in his current condition. Before he could run any further, he gets struck with the butt of the rifle which Sugimoto throws at him. Ogata loses his senses and falls down from the cliff into the cold river, breaking his jaw during the fall.

Later, Ogata is rescued by his fellow soldiers and Lt. Tsurumi. They report he was found on the riverbank at dusk and that his condition was so severe that any later he would have succumbed to hypothermia. The soldiers wonder what Superior Private Ogata was doing out in the woods all alone and decide to wait for him to regain his consciousness so they can interrogate him.

### Escape King Arc

In Otaru, a soldier from the 7th Division reports to the First Lieutenant Tokushirou Tsurumi that Ogata Hyakunosuke has awakened; Tsurumi exclaims that he wants to pay a visit to Ogata.

Some time later, Genjirou Tanigaki, Naoaki Noma, Houzou Tamai, and Fumio Okada are seen near the hut that Asirpa and Sugimoto used. They deduce that the hut was used recently and notice prints from a man's boots and a child's deerskin shoes. Tamai r doubts that a hunter and his child would attack and defeat a capable man like Superior Private Ogata. It's revealed that Ogata managed to regain consciousness for a short time; however, he wasn't able to say anything since his jaw was broken. Instead, he wrote a single word with his finger — "Immortal". Noma wonders if Ogata was trying to brag about being immortal, but Tamai doesn't believe it, thinking he wouldn't use all of his remaining strength just to brag or joke.

### Edogai Arc

After formally allying himself with Hijikata's group, the group as a whole are next seen resting at a cabin. Ogata begins to mock Hijikata and his ambitions before talking about Noppera-Bou when Hijikata doesn't say anything. He talks about how Noppera-Bou killed seven Ainu men, and their customs about treating the dead as he questions his motives. He listens to Hijikata saying that Noppera-Bou might be a partisan from the far east of Russia and about how there are political and economical movements in that area. Ogata then speculates that Noppera-Bou wanted to use the Ainu gold to fight for independence, but failed to export it, which led to the situation that his party is currently in.

Ogata later travels to Yubari with Ushiyama, but got split up from him. Though he is able to locate the Edogai workshop. He manages to kill Maeyama by sniping him through a window, which catches Yasaku Edogai's attention. As he prepares to head in, he notes that Sergeant Tsukishima often takes long baths which should give him plenty of time to find the taxidermist. In the store, he finds some materials on the ground and realizes what they are for, before noticing that one of the stuffed animals had gone missing, which means Edogai had escaped. He is suddenly confronted by Tsukishima and the two have a gunfight before Tsukishima leaves to find Edogai. As he is about to leave himself, Sugimoto and Shiraishi comes into the store, but he is able to silence the latter to lead Sugimoto away, so that he can find Edogai. He is able to locate the taxidermist preparing to shoot him, but Tsukishima comes rolling in a mine cart and grabs Edogai to flee, much to Ogata's surprise.

Ogata hops into a mine cart and stays behind so as to let Tsukishima and Sugimoto destroy each other, which would make it easier for him to grab the skins. In the middle of his fight with Sugimoto, Tsukishima triggers a switch that causes Sugimoto to go down a different path. Afterwards, Ogata shoots at the switch to put him on the same path as Edogai and continues to chase after them. As he runs by a couple of miners, he hears them screaming that they had just lit a dynamite and attempts to stop his cart by pushing his rifle onto the ground to avoid the blast. He gets out of his cart and tries to push it to continue the chase, but then he smells something in the air, to which the miners proclaim that it is a gas outburst, which can make the dynamites more powerful. Ogata is caught in the explosion and attempts to get to safety, but is caught by a windblast which would cause another explosion. Despite his injuries, Ogata continues to crawl to escape the mines before it is closed down. As he makes his way out of the mines, he spots Edogai's body trapped under a pile of logs and rocks but is shouted at by a miner who tells him he is going the wrong way. He is able to leave the mine and get some fresh air whereupon he spots Ushiyama with Sugimoto's group. He offers to take them along to explain the situation and took them to the Edogai store. There he revealed the bodies that were skinned in order to make the fake tattooed skins much to everyone's shock. He confirms that Edogai has died and that if Tsukishima is still alive, that they'll have to make the assumptions that there are at least six fake skins in circulations.

### Con Artists Arc

Ogata asks Ushiyama if he had called Hijikata, and not a moment sooner, Hijikata himself comes into the room. He is carrying a cat as well as a tattooed skin in the other hand, and says that they have to find a way to discern whether the skin is real or not.

When Hijikata comes into the room, Ogata just stands silently as Sugimoto and Hijikata have a solemn conversation. When they get to the topic of Noppera-Bou, Asirpa is about to refer to him as her father when Hijikata cuts her off and threatens Sugimoto to either join forces with him or fight to the death. Despite this, Ogata was able to hear Asirpa and came to the realization that she might be Noppera-Bou's daughter. Nagakura enters the room as well and suggests that Sugimoto's group sell them the skin and go home to quiet lives, to which Sugimoto refuses, saying that they had to meet Noppera-Bou. Asirpa's stomach's constant grumbling breaks the mood and Ienaga suggests that they eat and continue the conversation over dinner.

At the table, Sugimoto comments that Ogata betrayed Tsurumi and that he might betray them as well. Ogata just remarks that he is not the type to hold grudges and that his words hurt him. When Hijikata expresses concerns over how to distinguish the fake skins from the real ones, Ienaga says that she might know someone who could help them, a counterfeit artist named Chouan Kumagishi. Later on, as some of the people head out to find Tsukishima's body, Ogata stays in the store with Hijikata to find clues. Suddenly, a Molotov cocktail is thrown in through the window, setting the store on fire. He tells Ienaga not to leave the store as she'll just be shot and killed, and while preparing his rifle, states that he saw multiple military soldiers outside.

As the 7th Division surrounds the store, Ogata heads to the second floor and began shooting at them from a window there. He is able to drive them towards the walls of the store where Hijikata was able to attack from inside, forcing them out back into Ogata's sight. However, a soldier from a distance away shoots at him, making him retreat momentarily, thus giving the soldiers enough time to rush into the store. One of the soldiers come up and enters the room but Ogata is able to surprise and stab him. It does not faze him, and he is able to knock Ogata down and starts beating him. He is saved by Sugimoto who had knocked the soldier out and he asks if he wants him to thank him as he spits out blood. Ogata returns to the windows and shoots at the 7th Division again, giving him, Sugimoto, and Hijikata enough time to flee the store. Back in the town, Hijikata tells him and Ushiyama to go with Sugimoto and Asirpa to Tsukigata as he and Ienaga joins up with Nagakura and Shiraishi.

They take an off route path through a forest in order to avoid being spotted by anyone who could alert the 7th Division of their position. When Asirpa spots some woodcocks and says that they would be delicious to eat, Ogata prepares to shoot them down but is stopped by her. The next day, he sets out in the early morning and is able to shoot three birds. When Ushiyama praises his skills, he puffs his nose in delight but his mood is brought down when Sugimoto says he must've felt annoyed by Asirpa's word that he couldn't do it. Asirpa cooks up some woodcock brains much to Ushiyama's reluctance and Sugimoto just accepting it, but he declines to eat them. They make some citatap, however Ogata doesn't listen to Asirpa's words which only led to more annoyance for him. He silently eats the ohaw as Asirpa tells them about an Ainu religious love poem.

They spent at least one night sleeping in the forest and Ogata went out to do something but came back by the time Ushiyama and Asirpa fell asleep, startling Sugimoto in the process. The next day, they continued making their way through the forest when they came across an Ainu kotan where they decide to rest at. Upon entering the kotan, they are greeted by an Ainu man who can speak Japanese well. Ushiyama points out a cage behind them, and Sugimoto sees that the bear is too big to fit in the cage. The man introduces himself as Ekurok and says that his "father" Retanno Ekasi is the leader of their village and that they should ask him for permission to stay.

Upon arriving at his house, Sugimoto warns Ogata to be on his best behavior. Another Ainu man came out and immediately went back inside, which Ushiyama noted. Sugimoto tells them that they must clean the house and they wait outside for some time and Ogata chases a butterfly in the meantime. The man comes back out and leads them inside, holding hands. As Retanno Ekasi is greeting them, Asirpa interrupts him which caught everyone by surprise. When Ekurok begins to introduce the rest of his family, they are interrupted by Asirpa again who has to use the bathroom. Once Asirpa and Ekurok's Brother left the house, Ogata asks them what Asirpa's word meant, but the two Ainu men just remained silent with a grim look on their faces as he asks if they do not know.

Even despite Ekurok's explanation and Sugimoto scolding him, Ogata continues to be wary of their hosts. They begin to argue about whether they were Ainu or not, and Sugimoto points out Ekurok's large earlobes which Ogata notes as nothing special. They are interrupted by a woman who comes to the window and yells something before being carried away by another man. At this, Ogata says that there is something strange going on. Fed up with Ogata's skepticism, Sugimoto pulls out a kisarri and have both Ushiyama and Retanno Ekasi perform with it. Upon seeing the latter with it, Ogata takes the kisarri and his Retanno Ekasi's pinky toe causing him to yell in Japanese. Despite that, Sugimoto still continues to defend them and argues with Ogata. Ogata then sees that Ekurok's Brother has returned and Sugimoto asks where Asirpa is. When Ekurok attempts to lie to them, Sugimoto sees through it and hits Ekurok's Brother with the kisarri, causing him to fall over. Upon seeing the tattoos on his legs, Ogata and the others finally realize the true nature of these men as Sugimoto lets out a menacing roar.

As Sugimoto kills Ekurok's Brother with the kisarri, Ekurok dives for his rifle but Ogata shoots him and mocks him, asking how they beg for their lives in Ainu. He then throws Sugimoto his rifle, telling him to never take his eyes off his weapon. When Sugimoto heads out to find Asirpa, he is being pursued by a convict which Ogata shoots in the head, saying that he didn't save Sugimoto because he liked him either. Unbeknownst to him, Retanno Ekasi slips out quietly behind him.

Once the fighting has ceased, Ogata steps outside to marvel in Sugimoto's handiwork when Asirpa comes out to say that Kumagishi had died. When she sees the dead convicts lying on the ground, Ogata says that it was mostly the doing of Sugimoto and notes that he is one dangerous person.

Sugimoto's Group helps the Ainu women bury the dead convicts and the Ainu women expresses their thanks to them by offering them food made with the year's harvest of turep. While they were preparing the food, Ogata points out to Monoa that the pestle she is using is the same one she used to bash the convict's head. Once the food is ready, everyone gathers and enjoys eating it together. After they had finished, they surrounded Kiyohiro Suzukawa and ponder on what to do with him. Ogata says he'll just be a pain and want to have him killed and skinned but Sugimoto decides to take him with them since they were in a hurry. They then say their farewells to the Ainu women as they leave the kotan.

They make their way back to Tsukigata and Ogata says that Suzukawa is a real letdown and that he'd be too much of a small fry to be locked up in Abashiri. However, Suzukawa retorts saying that he is a con artist who uses his head instead of brute force to get what he wants. They meet up with Nagakura who tells them that Kumagishi is dead and the group is surprised that he already knew. Nagakura also tells them that Shiraishi has been captured by the 7th Division.

Once Hijikata and Kiroranke returned from their mission and informed the rest of them that they had failed to rescue Shiraishi, everyone thought about what to do, with Ushiyama telling Ogata to check out Asahikawa since he belonged to the 7th Division. However, Ogata reminds him that the 7th Division has considered him a deserter. After some more thinking, they decide to leave Shiraishi to his fate since they already have a copy of his tattoo. However, Sugimoto refuses and says that he wants to save Shiraishi and pulls over Suzukawa, saying that they could use his skills as a con artist.

### Journey to Karafuto Arc

Somewhere off a coast in Karafuto, Kiroranke's group came upon some sea lions which they decided to hunt. Ogata manages to shoot one in the head but is surprised when it survived and tried to swim away. However Asirpa was able to kill it and gave some of its meat to Ogata, which he had difficulty chewing. Ogata then expresses concern that even though he shot the sea lion in the head, he wasn't able to kill it. Asirpa tells him that sea lions have thick skulls so shooting them in the head won't be as effective before sloppily eating the meat.

After finishing their hunt, Kiroranke's group is approached by a Karafuto Ainu man who offers to buy their sea lion skin as well as give them information where they can sell their meats and innards. They then come to a fox breeding facility where they are greeted by the owner as Ogata looks around the farm. Once Kiroranke had finished speaking with Asirpa, Ogata quietly speaks to him, saying that Asirpa's father Wilk, had left a key that only Asirpa knew and that since she is with them, they have the advantage over the other parties. Ogata tries to push Kiroranke to get the key from Asirpa, but he says that they should wait for Asirpa to reveal the key to them in due time.

### Karafuto Circus Arc

Kiroranke's group goes to hunt some musk deers and Ogata is able to shoot and kill one. When Kiroranke carves the musk deer and takes out its musk gland, Ogata attempts to smell it only to be apalled by the odour with his mouth hanging open. Afterwards, he silently stood by as Kiroranke and Asirpa talks about her father and took on a darker look as Asirpa says that thanks to the musk deer she was able to see a part of her father that she never knew and that she regained a memory of her and her father that she had forgotten.

As they travelled through Karafuto, Ogata noticed Asirpa getting excited over a freshly laid mound of feces since she thinks a large prey must be nearby. However, Shiraishi revealed that it belongs to him as he had just relieved himself earlier.

### Border Crossing Arc

Asirpa's group hires a couple of Karafuto Ainu men to take them to Shisuka (modern day Poronaysk) via dog sleds and then heads through a nearby forest where they come across a casket, which Kiroranke explains belonged to the Orok people. Just then, Ogata sees an animal and shoots at it, alarming everyone and causing Asirpa to ask him what he shot. Ogata says he he shot an Ezo deer but Kiroranke says that there aren't any in Karafuto.

They see that it is not an Ezo deer but a reindeer with a collar on it, meaning that it had belonged to someone. They also see and hear an Orok man nearby calling for his reindeer, and the group teases Ogata about killing his reindeer. The Orok man asks them to give him one of their own reindeers but upon seeing that they don't have any, asks them to join him on a reindeer hunt, which Ogata and Shiraishi are not happy about. When Kiroranke tells Asirpa about her father, Ogata asks Asirpa if she wants to come with him, and she accepts.

Ogata and Kiroranke scouts out the reindeers and Ogata notes that the reindeer's behaviour as a group are just like people's. As they prepare for the reindeer hunt, one of the domesticated reindeers turns around and bites Shiraishi in the head, causing him to get upset and says that they should've ran away instead of apologizing for Ogata's mistake. However, Kiroranke states that in order to move on from Shisuka, they'd have no choice but to make contact with the Oroks.

As they are about to begin the hunt, Ogata tells everyone to stay out of his way as he kills the entire herd all by himself, stopping just once to switch guns with the Orok man when his own rifle had ran out of ammo. Once he had finished, Ogata compliments the Orok man's choice of rifle while the others are impressed by his skills. Asirpa tells everyone to hurry up and skin the reindeers as they will have to make several trips to carry all the meat back.

At the Orok's village, Asirpa's group eats the reindeer meat and brains as well as food prepared by the Orok women. They then listened to Kiroranke's plan to enter Russia by hiding among the Oroks as they have tacit permission to cross the borders. Sometime later, they attempt to carry out the plan but unbeknownst to them, due to a leak by Tsurumi, the Russians are already aware of them and kills one of the Orok men.

Ogata tells Asirpa to get down and notes that the Russian had gone after the Orok man who still had his rifle, and that the temporary trade of guns may have saved his life. He was also able to discern that the shot had come from quite a distance away and that they are dealing with an experienced sniper on Russian lands. When the Russians attempts to shoot the Orok man who tries to save his father but is stopped at the last moment by Kiroranke, Ogata is able to locate their position in the woods some distance away. Shiraishi is perplexed at what is going on and wonders if they are bandits but Ogata says that their attackers must be Russian border guards who are acting violently for some reason and tells Shiraishi to grab his Type-38 rifle but Shiraishi refuses to do it.

Kiroranke tells Shiraishi to have the sled moving so that they can get to the nearby woods, but the reindeers are shot and killed. Ogata again voices his concerns about the Russians acting violently towards them and Kiroranke suddenly gets up to bring the elder Orok man with them, which surprises everyone, including the Russians. Ogata manages to take this opportunity to shoot the Russian spotter which gives Asirpa's group a chance to escape into the woods. Within the forest, they find that the elder Orok man had survived the shot due to his large hat and Kiroranke says it was thanks to the gods but Ogata says it was thanks to him. He goes on to say that everything that happens has a reason behind them, including why they were attacked by the Russians. As Kiroranke remains silent, Ogata prepares to confront the Russians for answers and says that the war with Russia isn't quite over yet.

Ogata splits up with Asirpa's Group in order to engage the Russian sniper, Vasily. As he hid waiting for an opportunity, he speaks to himself on the traits of a sniper and that his Russian counterpart would not show himself so easily. When a couple of the Russian guards activates Kiroranke's moloccou trap, killing one of them and injuring the other, Ogata comments that Vasily wouldn't run out to save his comrade, even if it meant listening to him moaning in agony all night long. Unbeknownst to him, Vasily is able to find his location as Ogata kept fixated on his own sight.

However, it is revealed that Ogata had laid an elaborate trap by leaving footprints, which he had barely erased, that led up to an Orok casket in a tree and pretended to be a decoy for Vasily to fall for. As Ogata lay in wait for Vasily to make his move, he put snow in his mouth so that the steam from his mouth would not give his position away. Eventually, Vasily fell for his scheme and fired several rounds into the casket. Ogata then turned around and shoots Vasily in the cheek.

Ogata returns to the rest of his group where they find that he is suffering from a high fever due to putting too much snow in his mouth. He is about to say that the fever is nothing to worry about when he sees the ghost of his dead brother Hanazawa standing before him. On the way to an Orok settlement, Hanazawa's ghost asks him if he is feeling cold. Upon arriving at the settlement, Asirpa helps Ogata into the tent and nurtures him as Ogata has flashbacks about his brother and Tsurumi. Once his fever had subsided, Ogata opens his eyes and sees Asirpa who notices that he had woken up.

Ogata sits silently with a fur pelt around him as an Orok man divines the future for Asirpa's group and tells them that somebody is coming from behind them. Meanwhile, Kiroranke explains to them the significance of each cracks and what it would mean for them. Some time later, when Ogata had fully recovered from his fever, Asirpa's group prepare to leave the Orok settlement with a reindeer that the Oroks gave to them to give to their relatives in the north. Kiroranke apologizes to the Oroks for the Russian ordeal and turns to Shiraishi saying that they should part ways here and Ogata comments that both Hijikata and Tsurumi already have copies of his tattoo and that there is no reason for them to stop him from leaving. Ogata, Asirpa, and Kiroranke departs the Orok settlement but they are rejoined by Shiraishi who claims that he also wants to have some fun with blonde Russian girls.

### Akou Prison Break Arc

As they continued on their journey, Asirpa finds some tracks belonging to a lynx and Kiroranke tells her stories about her father and their former leader, Sofia Golden Hand. While Kiroranke, Asirpa, and Shiraishi talked, Ogata spots a lynx nearby, staring at it for a moment before taking out his rifle. However, he is interrupted by Asirpa who asks him to go to Akou together. Ogata looks back and sees that the lynx is gone before putting his rifle away and following the others.

Asirpa's Group decides to hunt belugas together with some of the Nivkh People and Ogata manages to shoot and kill one, which earned him praises from Asirpa. They then carve up the dead beluga for some whale soup that they ate together along with some of Sugimoto's miso. When Asirpa laments that they have ran out of the miso, Ogata begins to say "hinna" which surprises the young girl. Afterwards, they all listen to Kiroranke's story about Sofia and how he plans to break her out of Akou Prison.

They head to a Nivkh village where they discuss how to carry out their plan as Ogata silently listens to everyone else speak. When Asirpa wonders if having Russian revolutionaries on their side would be good for the Ainu people, Ogata gives her a quick glance as Kiroranke confirms that they would be. Kiroranke then begins to tell Asirpa's Group about how he, Wilk, and Sofia first met a Japanese man named Kouichi Hasegawa living in Russia and how the three of them learned to speak Japanese from Hasegawa. Kiroranke reveals that Hasegawa was actually a spy for the Japanese army and as he finishes up the story, says that they never saw Hasegawa again and that Sofia continued to blame herself for the death of Hasegawa's daughter.

As Kiroranke takes Asirpa's Group to an area with drift ice, he begins to explain about the serf system in Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the reason why he and Wilk joined Sofia's cause. Afterwards, he starts to talk about their plan to break Sofia out and cross over the drift ice to the continent where they will meet up with some of Sofia's allies.

Asirpa's Group goes hunting for some seals with Asirpa managing to kill one by impaling it with a *klaa* harpoon and Ogata and Shiraishi helps Asirpa pull the seal from the water. Asirpa sees a reindeer nearby and wonders if it came from across the sea, and Ogata says that it may have been chased by something. They then prepare to carry out their plan by drilling holes in the walls of Akou Prison and obtaining the explosives from the abandoned lighthouse as Kiroranke wants for Asirpa to meet Sofia. Once daybreak arrived, Asirpa's Group attempts to execute the plan but only Kiroranke's explosives worked as Ogata and Asirpa rushes to Kiroranke saying that theirs had not gone off.

Ogata notices that not a single prisoner had come out of Kiroranke's hole, saying that it is strange and wonders if something happened. Asirpa's Group then decides to make another hole in the wall, which proved to be even more successful as Sofia and her men were able to escape. When Kiroranke compliments Sofia on her appearance after many years, both Ogata and Shiraishi are alarmed by his taste. However, upon seeing Kiroranke, Sofia immediately slaps him, upset about what he did to Wilk, which confuses Asirpa and Shiraishi as Ogata just stares at Asirpa.

Asirpa's Group stands still, stunned, after Sofia slaps Kiroranke before Sofia turns around to leave. Afterwards, they cross the drift ice together as Shiraishi comments on their plan working perfectly, since their disguise helps them to blend in with the Nivkh fishermen who had come out to hunt. Asirpa asks about her father and Kiroranke translates for Sofia who recounts her time with Wilk. As Sofia tells her story, Ogata hears a gunshot in the distance, recognizing it and expresses disbelief about it.

Kiroranke points everyone's attention to a group of wolves that had come nearby and Ogata shows concern, asking if they will come towards them but Kiroranke says that they will be fine while wondering if they were the ones that chased the reindeer they saw earlier. Upon seeing the wolves, Sofia says that Wilk has always loved wolves and begins to talk more about Wilk's background. Asirpa then has a sudden realization about something and lets out an audible gasp, which Ogata hears.

As Ogata stood over Asirpa, with tears in her eyes, Kiroranke asks him if something is wrong but Ogata says it is nothing and that they should hurry as the weather looks like it will get windy soon. Due to the drift ice breaking apart, Asirpa's Group is separated from Shiraishi who goes to look for a way to regroup with them. Asirpa's Group takes shelter behind a large wall of ice and Ogata and Asirpa heads out to look for some driftwood to burn. When Asirpa spots some driftwood nearby, Ogata confronts her, asking if she had remembered something very important earlier.

Ogata crouches down, asking Asirpa if she will tell him the key to solving the coded tattoos, reasoning that he simply wishes to be awarded a fair amount of the reward for having risked his life during their travels. He tells Asirpa that he does not need all the money, otherwise he will never have a peaceful life but if Asirpa tells him the code, then she could be free from the fight for the gold and to go back to her *kotan* to be with her grandmother. Ogata says that she can leave the problems of the Ainu to Kiroranke and Sofia so as to not shoulder a heavy burden but Asirpa questions Ogata's decision to talk to her away from Kiroranke. Just then, they hear a gunshot, which Ogata identifies as being the same one he heard earlier and takes out his binoculars. He is surprised to see that Sugimoto is on the drift ice as well and prepares to fight him.

Asirpa asks Ogata if there are people coming after them but he silenty scours the distance looking for Sugimoto, musing that he cannot see anything with all the snow and ice. They hear Sofia calling for Asirpa and she says that they should return to where the others are but Ogata says that back when Wilk and Sugimoto were shot in Abashiri Prison, Kiroranke had made a signal to somewhere before grabbing Asirpa's arm. As they cross the drift ice, Asirpa questions Ogata on what he said earlier and Ogata says that Kiroranke had waited until she confirmed that Noppera-Bou was her father before having a sniper shoot him. Ogata believes that Kiroranke and Wilk had a falling out over how they would use the gold.

Asirpa is stunned that Ogata had not told her about what happened between her father and Kiroranke before and Ogata states that she had just remembered the key to solving the code and that he thought it was necessary to work with Kiroranke for the time being so long as he gets the gold. However, he says that working with Kiroranke has become too dangerous and that he might have all of them killed once he gets the code. Ogata turns to Asirpa, asking her to tell him what she remembered but she just stays quiet. He looks around for Sugimoto, noting that he must get Asirpa to tell him the code before Sugimoto catches up with them.

Seeing that Asirpa continues to remain silent, Ogata lies and says that he is just doing what Sugimoto asked of him, which catches her attention. Ogata reveals that when he checked on Sugimoto's and Wilk's bodies, he found that Sugimoto was still conscious and that he had begged Ogata to help his best friend's widow. Asirpa gets angry, saying that he never told her about it and that he had previously told her that Sugimoto was already dead when he went to look. Ogata ignores her outburst and asks if she wanted to hear more. He says that though he never became friends with Sugimoto, he had saved his life during their travels and wishes to honour Sugimoto's last request.

Asirpa asks if he knew the name of Sugimoto's best friend's wife and Ogata claims that her name is "Tome", saying that they should be able to find her if they ask the army where Sugimoto was raised. Asirpa asks a couple more questions about Sugimoto's final moments, including if he had any last dishes he wanted to eat. Ogata's lie is seen through when he says that Sugimoto wanted to eat anglerfish nabe and Asirpa pulls back, saying that Sugimoto's favourite food was actually dried persimmons. She manages to break from Ogata's grasps and falls over and when Ogata attempts to calm her down, she grabs her bow and arrow, aiming them at Ogata, telling him to stay away from her and that she cannot trust a single word he says.

Ogata finally admits to having lied to her all along and as Asirpa kept her aim fixated on him, Ogata says that there was something that had been bothering him for quite some time. He states that when they had first met, she stopped Sugimoto from killing him due to her vow not to kill anyone in order to remain a "pure" person. Ogata finds it odd that her father had not taught her to kill people and wonders if the icon of the Ainu has to remain "pure" just like the flagbearer of the Imperial Army. He goads Asirpa to kill him, telling her that it was he who had killed her father. Ogata's provocations fails as Asirpa refuses to kill him and he points his rifle at her, saying that it is simply not right that people like her exists. However, unbeknownst to him, Sugimoto approaches the both of them with a furious look on his face.

Sugimoto roars at Ogata and his scream startles Asirpa, causing her to let go off of her bowstring and releasing the arrow in the notch. The arrow hits Ogata in his right eye, horrifying Asirpa and as Ogata collapses to the ground, he smirks at her. Ogata falls unconscious but Sugimoto grabs his head and takes out a knife, with which he uses to carve out Ogata's eye that had been infected with the poison. Sugimoto then sucks out the poison from Ogata's eyesocket and tells Ogata that he will not die like this so as to not make Asirpa a killer. He takes out a piece of cloth, tears it and wraps it around Ogata's head to prevent any further bleeding, all while saying that his death will have nothing to do with Asirpa.

Ogata's unconscious body is carried by Sugimoto as he, Asirpa, and Shiraishi meet up with the other soldiers and Kiroranke in his final moments. When Asirpa runs off to find a person off in the distance, Sugimoto chases after her, dropping Ogata's body. Later, Sugimoto returns and picks up his body as the group as a whole prepare to set off for Hokkaido.

### Return to Karafuto Arc

Sugimoto's Group stops by a Nivkh settlement near Akou where Ogata is given a bed to recover in while the other soldiers discusses his motives. The Nivkh people attempt to heal Ogata's wounds using medicine made from plants, however they find that it won't be enough to save his life. Sugimoto then declares that they must bring a doctor in order to save Ogata's life. When Koito objects to helping Ogata, Sugimoto says that Tsukishima also needs some medical help. They are able to find a Russian doctor who examines both Ogata and Tsukishima. When the doctor takes a look at Ogata, he notes that Ogata's wounds are so severe that he needs to be brought back to his hospital so that he can receive surgery in a more hygienic environment. Despite Koito's objections, Sugimoto agrees to the change of location and Ogata is strapped onto a dog sled to be transported to the hospital.

At the hospital, Ogata receives an operation from the doctor and nurse there but he soon regains consciousness, attacking the doctor and taking the nurse hostage. Ogata also opens up the window and hides behind the door, managing to fool Sugimoto into thinking that Ogata has escaped. However, Koito who has come inside the room to check on the doctor notices Ogata hiding. Koito is about to shoot Ogata, but stops as he is surprised to hear Ogata speaking Russian as he tells the doctor to knock Koito down or else he will stab the nurse. The doctor does as he demands and Ogata takes Koito's gun, pointing it at him and calling him a pampered little rich boy as Koito can only glare menancingly back at him.

He hears Shiraishi and Tanigaki's voice coming from outside of the window nearby so Ogata and decides against shooting Koito to not alert them, He kicks Koito in the face and motions for the Russian doctor and nurse to stay quiet while he makes his getaway. As he is fleeing on a horse, Asirpa spots him and informs Sugimoto who promptly shoots at him. Ogata lifts his arms and laughs at Sugimoto as if to mock his poor aim as he makes a successful escape.

## References

1. ↑ Character profiles from the Golden Kamuy fanbook