Chapter 78

## Yubari Coal Mine

* Color
* Volume

**Yubari Coal Mine** (夕張炭鉱, *Yūbari tankō*) is the 78th chapter of the *Golden Kamuy* manga.

## Plot

As Tsukishima merrily sings a song while heading to a bathhouse in Yubari, some of the local children points out that the smoke from the smokestack has been split in two, which indicates that someone will die in the mines. Meanwhile, Tsukishima realizes that he has forgotten his wallet and heads back to the Edogai taxidermy store to grab it. Sugimoto and Shiraishi sees him walking around and Sugimoto asks Shiraishi if he has seen him before, to which Shiraishi is vague about. Sugimoto suggests that they should tail him, saying that they have no time to tell Asirpa and Kiroranke, who are asking around for information, since they will lose him.

Back in his store, Edogai is grabbing the tattoos to flee with, when a cat suddenly drops a dead mouse at his feet. Outside, Ogata notes that Tsukishima always takes long baths, which should give him enough time to interrogate Edogai. He barges into the store, finds Maeyama's body, and disarms the rifles before moving on to locate Edogai. Outside again, an elderly man stops Tsukishima to tell him that a white bear had been running around, but Tsukishima just takes it in jest.

Inside the store, Ogata enters the room with the puppets and finds some materials on the floor. Upon seeing it, he realizes just what is going on and notices that the little bear next to the big bear had gone missing, which means that Edogai disguised himself as the little bear to slip away. Just then, Tsukishima armed with his bayonet lunges at him, managing to get the holster on Ogata's gun stuck and kicks him back into the room while grabbing Ogata's gun to shoot at him.

Tsukishima decries Ogata for killing Maeyama, who was his comrade that fought together with him. The two then exchange a heated argument, with Tsukishima saying that Ogata wants to turn in First Lieutenant Tsurumi's platoon in order to rise through the ranks, so that he can surpass his father, the former leader of the 7th Division, even if it means betraying his own comrades. Ogata just mocks him saying that Tsurumi merely had a way with words to get young men to follow him and fires back at Tsukishima. Tsukishima calls out for Edogai but then realizes that the bear that the old man had warned him about was actually Edogai in costume running away. He then flees the store, thinking it would be better for him to find Edogai and make a retreat instead of wasting ammo in a gunfight with Ogata.

Ogata peers out from his hiding spot and notes that Tsukishima had left the building but then Sugimoto and Shiraishi approaches the store, with the latter questioning if they are going to chase after Tsukishima. Shiraishi spots Maeyama's body as well as the puppets at the table, but is stopped by Ogata who tells him to be quiet. As Sugimoto warns Shiraishi to be careful, Shiraishi alerts him of Tsurumi's plan and that they should chase after Tsukishima.

As Edogai is running around Yubari, Tsukishima, Sugimoto, Shiraishi, and Ogata are looking for him, asking around town if they have seen him. In a coal-sorting building, Ogata is the first one to find Edogai and says that his luck ran out the moment he met Tsurumi. Just then, Tsukishima comes rolling in a mine cart and grabs Edogai to flee. Sugimoto and Shiraishi sees them in the mine cart and begins to chase after them in another mine cart.

## Character Appearances

* Hyakunosuke Ogata
* Yasaku Edogai
* Tsukishima
* Saichi Sugimoto
* Yoshitake Shiraishi
* Maeyama