Chapter 266

## Pinky Finger Bones

**Pinky Finger Bones**, or **Finger Bones** (小指の骨, *Koyubi no hone*) is the 266th chapter of the *Golden Kamuy* manga.

## Synopsis

In the 30th year of Meiji (1897), Tsurumi and Tsukishima pays a visit to the Russian town of Vladivostok and Tsurumi asks Tsukishima if he knows the meaning of the town’s name. Tsukishima replies that it means “rules the east” and Tsurumi states that since it is the only port in the Russian east that doesn’t freeze, it will be a strategically vital point for Japan and conquering it would be a necessity in case war comes.

Just then, an elderly Russian man approaches them, asking if they are Japanese and if they knew a man named Hasegawa who had disappeared without a trace some six years prior. Tsukishima tries to take note of what the Russian man is telling him before noticing that Tsurumi had disappeared before finding him in front of a burned down building. Tsukishima spots the name of the studio, commenting it is the same name of the man whom the Russian elder had told him about and wonders if Tsurumi knew him.

Tsurumi denies it, saying that there are thousands of Japanese people living in Vladivostok’s Japanese district and that Hasegawa must’ve been some odd fellow who wanted to open shop away from the Japanese district. Tsukishima repeats Hasegawa’s name before recalling that Hasegawa was also the maiden name of Tsurumi’s mother and that he had found it out when he had went to pay respect to Tsurumi’s mother’s grave in Niigata. Tsurumi tells him he has quite an excellent memory and that Hasegawa is a fairly common family name in Niigata.

In the present time, Tsukishima thinks back on the Vladivostok trip and realizes that the Hasegawa he was told about was none other than Tsurumi. Tsurumi gives a history lesson to Sofia and Asirpa that about 50 years ago some extremist Ainu plotted to use their gold dust to secretly buy some warships, munitions, and the likes from a Russian captain in order to start a rebellion against the shogunate. However, before the deal could occur, the warship that carried the Russian captain and his men crashed and took everyone with it in the “Russian Warship Kalevala Incident”.

With no way to use their gold, the Ainu felt at a total loss about what to do next before Asirpa’s father, Wilk came to Hokkaido, which Tsurumi exclaims was the start of everything. Asirpa turns to Sofia, asking if the man who taught her and Wilk was really Tsurumi himself, but Sofia stays quiet, shaking and sweating as she remembers spending time with Fina and Olga. Sofia is surprised to see Tsurumi right in front of her and spots him rubbing his family’s finger bones in his hand.

Tsurumi tells her that he was the only person that the secret police were after and that if her wife had not picked up Wilk’s bounty poster, she would not have returned to the store. He goes on to say that even before the gunfight, if they had not chosen his photo studio, then his wife and daughter may not have been killed in Vladivostok. Tsukishima thinks back to the time when Tsurumi visited the grave of the dead soldiers and declared that their bones would rest on Japanese soil and becomes upset when he realized that Tsurumi was referring to his own family instead of their fallen comrades.

Tsurumi continues, asking what purpose his wife and daughter served in this world, about the letters Sofia received from Kiroranke, and just what the revolutionaries had done in exchange for his family’s sacrifice. Sofia breaks down, revealing that Kiroranke had told her that Wilk had changed because Asirpa was born. Outside of the church in their beer car, Sugimoto and Shiraishi says that they saw Koito go into the church and believes Asirpa should be inside as well. Shiraishi wonders if they should just bust in and save her, but Sugimoto suggests to have Hijikata’s Group come along since they would be at a disadvantage with only just one rifle and no clue of how many soldiers there are guarding the church.

Shiraishi is hesitant about what Tsurumi may do to Asirpa to get the solution to the tattoo code but Sugimoto reassures him that information obtained through torture may not be reliable and that knowing Tsurumi, he will take his time and back Asirpa into a corner. Shiraishi is still unconvinced, referring to Tsurumi’s unusual behavior back in Karafuto but quickly changes his mind when he sees Sugimoto’s seething face, realizing that he is holding himself back from just charging in. Sugimoto and Shiraishi then prepares to gather reinforcements but runs the beer car into a pole, sending the both of them flying out of the vehicle.

## Character Appearances

* Tokushirou Tsurumi
* Hajime Tsukishima
* Otonoshin Koito
* Sofia
* Asirpa
* Wilk *(Cameo)* *(Mentioned)*
* Kiroranke *(Cameo)* *(Mentioned)*
* Fina *(Flashback)* *(Mentioned)*
* Olga *(Flashback)* *(Mentioned)*
* Saichi Sugimoto
* Yoshitake Shiraishi
* Toshizou Hijikata *(Mentioned)*