Chapter 7

## The Escape King

* Color
* Volume

**The Escape King** (脱獄王, *Datsugoku-ō*) is the 7th chapter of the *Golden Kamuy* manga.

## Synopsis

Sugimoto and Shiraishi fall into the icy water, and both of them start panicking, fearing of dying of hypothermia. As they get out of water, Sugimoto tells Shiraishi to go gather *sitat*, but Shiraishi doesn't understand him. Sugimoto tries to light up the matches he has on him, but it doesn't work. Dazed from freezing, Shiraishi attempts to rub wood together to start a fire, but to no avail. As the men are fighting for their lives, Asirpa waits for Sugimoto to return to the hut, thinking of how much she wants to eat the hare they caught.

It dawns on Sugimoto that he can use a rifle and its bullets to start a fire. Unfortunately, his rifle is out of reach, and the ammo pouch has no bullets inside. Sugimoto stubbornly refuses to give up and declares himself Sugimoto the Immortal once more before entering the water again. Shiraishi is confused, but Sugimoto tells him to search for cartridges with him unless he wants to die.

Hearing it, Shiraishi offers Sugimoto a deal: he will help him if he lets him go. Sugimoto yells that it's not the time to make a deal as they might die if they don't start the fire soon. Shiraishi counters him, claiming he will die no matter what and he'd rather see Sugimoto freeze to death first. Sugimoto continues to frantically search for the bullets but tells Shiraishi that if he really wanted he would have killed him and skinned him earlier; they only wanted to hold him captive until they find the gold. Shiraishi asks Sugimoto one more time if he is taking the deal, and Sugimoto finally agrees.

Shiraishi spits out a cartridge that he has had on him but only remembered about some moments ago. The two put the cartridge in a split log with birch tree shavings and Sugimoto hits it with a bayonet and a rock. As they see that they've managed to make a fire, overjoyed Sugimoto and Shiraishi put their arms around each other.

Later, while their clothes is drying, Shiraishi tells Sugimoto what he knows about Abashiri Convicts. He reveals that there are a total of 24 prisoners, although it is unknown how many are still alive. Shiraishi claims to not know anything about Noppera-bou's friends, saying only their leader who took charge of escape does. Sugimoto asks who was that man, and Shiraishi responds that they thought he was just an old quiet man, a political prisoner. However, it was merely a façade: during the prisoners' escape, their leader pulled a sword away from one soldier and killed three of them in the blink of an eye. The man was a soldier on the losing side of the Battle of Hakodate 30 years ago, a samurai who fought for shogunate. Shiraishi says that it might be a rumor, but the prisoner is actually the merciless Vice-Commander of Shinsengumi Hijikata Toshizou, who was thought to be dead.

Before Shiraishi leaves, he shares another thing with Sugimoto: Noppera-bou told all convicts to head to Otaru. Sugimoto threatens Shiraishi that he next time he meets him he will take his tattoo. He then warns him to forget about the gold and adds that there are more people who are after it, like the 7th Division who are seasoned war veterans. Shiraishi looks back at Sugimoto and tells him that whatever the situation, he will always escape since he is the Escape King.

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. In Tsurumi's room, a fleshed and tanned tattooed human skin can be observed on the wall, signaling that the 7th Division has started their gold hunt as well.

## Character Appearances

* Saichi Sugimoto
* Yoshitake Shiraishi
* Asirpa
* Noppera-Bou *(Mentioned)*
* Toshizou Hijikata *(Debut)* *(Flashback)*
* Gotou *(Flashback)*
* Tokushirou Tsurumi *(Debut)*
* Hyakunosuke Ogata *(Mentioned)*
* Tattooed Prisoner *(Cameo)*

## Volume Changes

* In the magazine version, Tsurumi's appearance used to be different: his headplate was of more angular shape, his eyes were light instead of dark, and his facial hair was trimmed shorter.

## Trivia

* The Battle of Hakodate is one of the last battles of the Boshin War that was fought from May 4, 1869 to June 27, 1869 between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the remaining Shogunate rebels, who had fled to Hokkaido and set up their own government known as the Ezo Republic. The defeat of Shogunate marked the end of the Boshing War.
* In the VIZ Media translation, the soldier that notifies Tsurumi of Ogata regaining consciousness calls him *Obata*, which is a typo or mistranslation.