Episode 20

## Blue Eyes

**Blue Eyes** (青い眼, *Aoi Mei*) is the twentieth episode of the *Golden Kamuy* anime series.

## Synopsis

Sugimoto's Group is attacked by a huge horde of locusts which causes them to split. While Saichi Sugimoto, Yoshitake Shiraishi, Genjirou Tanigaki, and Hyakunosuke Ogata find shelter in a police lodge, Asirpa and Inkarmat flee to the water, where they talk about Asirpa's father's fate.

## Plot

Still in Kushiro, Sugimoto's Group is now at the seaside. As Asirpa helps fishermen cut the sunfish that floated to the surface, Sugimoto and Shiraishi talk about food. Inkarmat is sitting with Tanigaki by the shore and sews on a button on his shirt. Tanigaki thanks her for all she has done for him, but Inkarmat just says that she feels safer travelling with a man. She turns to him and, with a blush on her face, tells him that he can be very kind when it counts. The two are approached by an elder Ainu man who asks them in Ainu if they're married and whether they want some sea otter meat. Tanigaki agrees, and the man tells them to eat the meat only when they're alone. Inkarmat is flustered and doesn't answer when Tanigaki asks her about what the old man just told them. She says she will get some beach rose fruit and leaves.

The next moment, a big black cloud appears in the sky. Sugimoto flicks a bug off his kimono which causes Shiraishi to question his "immortality". Ogata sees the black cloud, which turns out to be a swarm of locusts that attacks the group. Tanigaki, who is also caught in the locusts cloud, leads the group to the police lodge for shelter. Sugimoto wonders if Asirpa is going to be alright since she isn't in the lodge with them. Outside, Inkarmat is running away from locusts but she is saved by Asirpa who is waiting for her in the boat. Away from danger, Inkarmat thanks Asirpa for her help, but Asirpa merely states that she wanted to speak with the woman alone. She asks Inkarmat to tell her everything she knows about her father Wilk.

Back in the lodge, the group decides to cook the otter meat. Shiraishi remarks on its peculiar smell and wonders if they can actually eat it. Sugimoto rubs his eyes and thinks to himself that something weird is happening: Shiraishi just looked sexy. Tanigaki asks if Sugimoto is okay, but then the button on his shirt bursts off again, revealing his plump chest. Shiraishi notices it and thinks of how hot Tanigaki is. Ogata groans and says he is feeling dizzy, so Tanigaki and Sugimoto catch him in their arms and put him on the floor while Shiraishi tells them to take off his clothes. Suddenly, somebody opens the door and enters the lodge — it turns out to be Kiroranke, who was trying to escape the locusts. He walks in the room with his shirt off as the other four men watch him with their faces flushed.

On the boat, Inkarmat tells Asirpa that she knew her father well and that she met him when she was Asirpa's age. Asirpa asks her if she hates him, but Inkarmat denies it, reassuring Asirpa that she has always been on Wilk's side, and Asirpa's side, too. However, Asirpa doesn't believe her. She accuses Inkarmat of lying to Huci and using Tanigaki to follow her. Inkarmat says she didn't lie and that Asirpa should go back to Otaru. Asirpa states she doesn't believe in fortune-telling and that she will find out the truth herself. Inkarmat tells her that Noppera-Bou in Abashiri Prison isn't Wilk, and that Wilk isn't the type of person who could kill the Ainu and steal their gold. She then reminisces of how she first met him when he just came to Hokkaido; he spoke with Karafuto Ainu accent and had blue eyes, just like Asirpa's. Wilk told her that he was born to a Polish father and a Karafuto Ainu mother. Ever since he was young, Wilk had worked with other minorities of the Far East to obtain liberation from Czar's oppressive regime. After fighting and being wounded, Wilk fled and came to Otaru. Inkarmat, who was already travelling as a fortune-teller, met him there and joined him. She spent every day with him, teaching him about the Hokkaido Ainu culture. Soon, Wilk recovered from his wounds and came to love the Hokkaido Ainu.

Asirpa says she doesn't believe that Noppera-Bou is her father either. However, Wilk never mentioned Inkarmat and always said it was Asirpa's mother who taught him everything about the Hokkaido Ainu. Asirpa declares that she doesn't believe anything Inkarmat says but then notices that Inkarmat is crying. Through tears, Inkarmat comments that she was just a child to Wilk and he must have forgotten about her. Asirpa asks Inkarmat where is Wilk if he is not Noppera-Bou, to which Inkarmat replies that Wilk was murdered by Kiroranke.

In the lodge, Kiroranke explains how he found Sugimoto's group: he was separated from Hijikata's Group in Asahikawa, guessed they would go down the mountains to Tokachi, then came here after hearing from an Ainu *kotan*. Influenced by the otter meat, Kiroranke then comments on how much hotter Sugimoto has got since they last met. Sugimoto blushes and pulls his cap over his eyes, telling Kiroranke to stop it. Shiraishi, Tanigaki, and Kiroranke think to themselves that Sugimoto is being very cute. Shiraishi compliments Kiroranke, saying he looks like he has been working out too. Kiroranke flexes his biceps and asks Tanigaki his opinion. Tanigaki breathes heavily, struggling with the "strange feeling" he can't control. Shiraishi bites his lips as he is confronted with his strong feelings while Ogata is silently lying on the floor. Finally, Sugimoto announces that he can't take it anymore. He gets out of his clothes and offers to sumo wrestle. The men wrestle until they're all exhausted and fall on the ground, panting.

When the locusts are already gone, Sugimoto, Shiraishi, Kiroranke, and Ogata leave the lodge and agree to never speak of what happened. Tanigaki, who is still in the lodge, is approached by Inkarmat. She climbs on top of him and explains that the otter meat is a powerful aphrodisiac. Inkarmat undresses and tells Tanigaki he can blame the otter meat for her behaviour, then kisses him. As she does that, Tanigaki covers the Murata rifle with his shirt.

At the seaside, Asirpa is on her own, thinking of what Inkarmat told her earlier about Kiroranke and the danger that waits ahead. Asirpa refuses to believe that Kiroranke could have killed her father, but Inkarmat claimed to have proof. Tanigaki and Inkarmat walk up to Asirpa at the beach and are soon joined by Sugimoto and the others. Inkarmat is shocked to see Kiroranke among them. Kiroranke greets Asirpa, but Asirpa asks him head on if he killed her father. The atmosphere becomes strained, and Kiroranke wonders where this question came from. Inkarmat claims she has proof and pulls out a betting ticket with Kiroranke's fingerprints on it from her clothes. She explains that while they were in Naganuma she took fingerprints from men and had them matched. Kiroranke's fingerprints matched with those found at the site of the Ainu murder. Kiroranke objects that he can't be the killer and that that it wouldn't make sense for Noppera-Bou to be in Abashiri Prison if that was true. Ogata then draws his rifle and points it at Inkarmat, accusing her of working with Tokushirou Tsurumi. Tanigaki shields Inkarmat from Ogata, telling him to cut it out. Ogata asks Tanigaki if Inkarmat seduced him to her side then reveals it was Lt. Tsurumi who recovered the items from the murder scene, so he is the only person who has access to the fingerprints. Tanigaki looks back at Inkarmat, and she tells him she was only using Tsurumi. Kiroranke makes Ogata lower his rifle and questions if Inkarmat can really believe Tsurumi's information since Tsurumi must be interested in them fighting each other. Kiroranke claims that, even though he understands that Asirpa doesn't want to believe that Noppera-Bou is her father, there is not anyone else who can come up with a tattooed code plan like Wilk did. Ogata notes that Shiraishi is the only person who has met Noppera-Bou while in Abashiri Prison. Sugimoto asks Shiraishi if the prisoner's eyes are really blue, but Shiraishi says he always tried to avoid looking at his face. He remarks that all Noppera-Bou did was silently tattoo the convicts while the actual escape plan came from prisoners like Toshizou Hijikata. Sugimoto wonders if Hijikata could have set this all up.

The next day, Tanigaki and Inkarmat have a conversation at the shore. Tanigaki says he doesn't know what Inkarmat wants. Inkarmat answers that as an Ainu woman she wants to protect the gold. Tanigaki asks if Wilk felt the same, which Inkarmat confirms. She claims that was the reason he was murdered by Kiroranke, a fellow guerilla. Tanigaki shares his doubts about the fingerprints, claiming Tsurumi could have falsified it. Inkarmat states she can't prove Tanigaki wrong, but if she is going to die, it's going to be Kiroranke who kills her. Tanigaki asks Inkarmat if she slept with him to protect herself from Kiroranke. Inkarmat denies it and says it was just sea otter, much to Tanigaki's disappointment. In Otaru, Hajime Tsukishima reports to Tsurumi about the telegram that Tanigaki sent to Huci. Lt. Tsurumi decides it's time for them to head to Abashiri now.

Kiroranke explains to Inkarmat that his sons are Hokkaido Ainu and that the gold exists for the Ainu of this land, so his goals are the same as hers. Still, everyone is suspicious of each other and the tension is in the air. Sugimoto tells them their goal hasn't changed and they still need to get to Abashiri Prison to meet Noppera-Bou. He also says that if either Kiroranke or Inkarmat end up dead on their journey he will simply kill the other afterwards, but then laughs it off while the rest of the group stands in silence.

A new guard in Abashiri Prison is taking a look at Noppera-Bou in his cell. The guard is then called by the Head Jailer Kadokura. The Jailer asks if the guard is curious about the prisoner, which he confirms. Head Jailer warns him to stay away from Noppera-Bou. At night, the new guard walks out the prison and meets with the 7th Division soldiers. He hands them a prison plan and explains when Noppera-Bou is transferred to new cells. The Head Jailer, who has been following the new guard, overhears their conversation and sighs.

The next day, Kadokura takes the new guard to the prison pig farm and tasks him with carrying some boxes out of the building. The Head Jailer tells him to leave his katana so he won't trip on it. While the new guard asks where are the crates, Kadokura thinks of the conversation he had with Warden Shirosuke Inudou in which he told him about the guard working for the 7th Division. Inudou ordered him to "take care" of the spy and use the prisoners for it. As Kadokura leaves, the new guard sees the prisoners waiting for him with hammers in their hands. The guard calls for Kadokura, but the Head Jailer waits outside silently. When one of the prisoners attacks the new guard, he quickly overpowers him and takes the hammer away, beating his attackers into a pulp. Seeing how strong and scary the 7th Division spy is, Kadokura chooses to run away instead of picking a fight he can't win. He visits Inudou and reports that the spy is taken care of and fed to the pigs. After receiving a thorough report, Inudou asks Kadokura if he's been serving in Abashiri for 7 years now. He proceeds to tell him he has always thought of him as of a lazy, spineless, and worthless person, but now his opinion adjusted just a little. Meanwhile, the 7th Division spy leaves the Abashiri Prison, lamenting the research he still had to do. He notes that he underestimated Kadokura, but then remembers of something more important: First Lieutenant Tsurumi is going to scold him.

Somewhere at night, a traveler and his guide hear clicking sounds. Their lantern is then destroyed by a gun shot, and they're ambushed by a bandit who demands they leave their horse and money.

## Adapted Chapters

* Chapter 115
* Chapter 116
* Chapter 117
* Chapter 118

## Character Appearances

* Asirpa
* Saichi Sugimoto
* Yoshitake Shiraishi
* Hyakunosuke Ogata
* Genjirou Tanigaki
* Inkarmat
* Cikapasi
* Ryu
* Tetsuzou Nihei *(Cameo)*
* Huci *(Mentioned)*
* Wilk *(Mentioned)* *(Flashback)*
* Kiroranke
* Alexander II *(Mentioned)*
* Asirpa's Mother *(Mentioned)*
* Toshizou Hijikata *(Cameo)* *(Mentioned)*
* Tokushirou Tsurumi
* Hajime Tsukishima
* Abashiri Prison Guard *(Debut)*
* Toshiyuki Kadokura *(Debut)*
* Shirosuke Inudou
* Bandit *(Cameo)*