Chapter 210

## Sweet Lies

**Sweet Lies** (甘い嘘, *Amai Uso*) is the 210th chapter of the *Golden Kamuy* manga.

## Synopsis

In Odomari, Tsukishima informs Koito that Tsurumi will be arriving in town the next day before noticing the glum look on Koito's face. Koito says that there is something he wishes to ask Tsukishima about, and Tsukishima gives him permission to speak his mind. He recounts what Ogata said to him in the hospital at Akou and notes that Ogata told him to ask Tsurumi about "Mantetsu" when he sees him again.

Koito says that "Mantetsu" refers to the South Manchurian Railway Company, which was involved in a plan to expand Japanese territory into Northeast Asia. He notes that there was one major opponent of the plan—Lieutenant General Koujirou Hanazawa, the former commander of the 7th Division. Koito reveals that Hanazawa was a close friend of his father, that his father told him about "Mantetsu" and that Hanazawa's death resulted in the Mantetsu plan moving forward.

Koito recalls Tsurumi's words upon returning from the Russo-Japanese War and suspects that he may have been involved in Hanazawa's death. He believes that Ogata initially supported Tsurumi's plan to overthrow the government due to being unhappy with how his father died, but upon finding out the truth, he decided to rebel against Tsurumi instead and leaked the information to him.

Tsukishima brushes Koito's theory off, saying that Ogata would be willing to say anything that would throw them into confusion, and questions why Koito is starting to believe Ogata after everything that has happened. Koito repeats Ogata's word and declares that Ogata must have been one of the masked culprits who kidnapped and held him prisoner in Hakodate.

Elsewhere in an inn, Asirpa says that even after all this time, she has never met Tsurumi and wonders what kind of man he is. She asks Sugimoto what he will do and if he will work with Tsurumi to gather the remaining tattooed skins, but Sugimoto just stays silent. Asirpa wonders what Tsurumi and his men will do with the gold, and Sugimoto says that there will be no one left to come after her. However, Asirpa says that what she meant was what will happen to the Ainu.

Tsukishima says that the masked men were Russians and that he saw the bodies, but Koito accuses him of being one of the kidnappers as well. With Koito visibly upset, Tsukishima attempts to calm him down, but Koito exclaims that he and Tsurumi managed to put him and his father in their debt because they wanted to make use of his father's Ominato Torpedo Division. Koito states that Ogata wanted for them to realize that they were pawns in Tsurumi's hands, just like Ogata and Hanazawa.

Tsukishima says that it is just a foolish delusion, and Koito decides to ask Tsurumi directly with his father present to get everything cleared up. Fed up, Tsukishima says that the Koito father and son were saved, confusing Koito. Tsukishima reveals that Ogata was the one who had killed Hanazawa and that he was also tricked by Tsurumi, recounting his time in Mukden. Despite this, Tsukishima says that it is fine with him and that his own life never had that much value in the first place.

Tsukishima goes over Tsurumi's grand plans, and Koito questions if it really was all, but Tsukishima says that Tsurumi is very skilled at saving people with "sweet lies", and so he does not know what Tsurumi's true goal is. Even so, Tsukishima says that there is nothing to complain about so long as they overthrow the government and advance into Manchuria with the men that follow Tsurumi being saved. Tsukishima believes that men like Tsurumi are able to accomplish incredible feats and that he wishes to see the Tsurumi theater from the best seats in the house to the end.

Tsukishima warns Koito to keep what he heard to himself, otherwise Tsurumi would have no issue erasing him as well and that Tsukishima will be the one who has to do the dirty job. Koito begins to sweat profusely and thinks about Tsukishima's words before professing his excitement for Tsurumi. Meanwhile, the 7th Division led by Tsurumi has finally arrived in the port of Odomari.

## Character Appearances

* Tokushirou Tsurumi
* Hajime Tsukishima
* Otonoshin Koito
* Hyakunosuke Ogata *(Flashback)*
* Koujirou Hanazawa *(Flashback)*
* Asirpa
* Saichi Sugimoto
* Usami
* Kikuta