Chapter 304

## History

**History** (歴史, *Rekishi*) is the 304th chapter of the *Golden Kamuy* manga.

## Synopsis

Upon the death of Lieutenant General Hanazawa, Tsurumi tells Ogata that everyone within the 7th Division will support him as their former commander's son and that though they may have lost a war hero, he is certain that Ogata will also become one. Ogata says that he is just a Superior Private who never went to the Army Academy and that it would be impossible for him to rise to become commander of the 7th Division. However, Tsurumi says that he will pull some strings in order to help Ogata enter the academy and that he will work as his advisor.

In the present day, on top of the train, Ogata tells Tsurumi that neither he nor Hijikata would have imagined the number of casualties that they suffered and that Tsurumi must've thought it would be a one-sided victory. Ogata declares that it is all over for Tsurumi and that even if he were to get his hands on the land deed, he would still have to take responsibility for the losses caused in the fight for the deed. Ogata states that the only option Tsurumi has is to just vanish from the spotlight and work in order to help him rise up the ranks. Tsurumi realizes that Ogata's goal was to attain the title of commander of the 7th Division.

Ogata has a flashback of his skirmish against Tsukishima who accuses him of being a pet of Central that will turn in Tsurumi's group to his master so that he can be rewarded by rising through the ranks. Tsukishima exclaims that Ogata wishes to surpass his father, who once led the 7th Division, and for that, he is willing to betray his own comrades. Tsurumi notes that Ogata kept getting in his way and constantly stirring up trouble while biding for the moment that Tsurumi would get backed into a corner. Ogata says that it is because whether it was Manchuria, Vladivostok, opium, Koito, Tsukishima, or Usami, Tsurumi was always focusing on other things and taking his eyes off what really mattered.

Ogata has another flashback of spending time with his mother before declaring that he will wipe out all of the rebellious elements and get his hands on the land deed. As a reward for his hard work, Okuda should have no problem getting him into the Army Academy as well as the Army War College. Ogata says that Tsurumi would have to fake his own death in the train accident that will happen soon and work from the shadows to lift him up to become commander of the 7th Division before musing over that he could become a Second Lieutenant.

Tsurumi states that even if Ogata became a puppet with an empty shell of authority, he would still be satisfied so long as he could sit in the same place that his father once sat at. Tsurumi goes on, that Ogata's true goal is to prove that "the commander of the 7th Division is something that even a fake could rise up to become". Tsurumi deduces that Ogata wanted to prove that his father and half-brother were not special or admirable people at all and what Ogata wanted to prove was that the title didn't have any value in the first place. Ogata begins to laugh before confirming Tsurumi's words and that he knew that Tsurumi would be able to understand everything.

Inside the third car, Ushiyama is able to hold his own against the soldiers before Tsukishima rams him in the back of his head with his rifle. However, Ushiyama quickly recovers, grabs Tsukishima's collar and throws him into the roof, letting Tsukishima and Ogata to get a glimpse of each other. In the 4th car, Koito leaps at Hijikata with a battle cry but Hijikata throws a knife at him, forcing him to cut it down so that Hijikata could attack him while he is distracted.

Koito manages to avoid Hijikata's strike with just a hand wound and says that since he lived in Hakodate, he was always hearing tales of the Shinsengumi from his father and about Hijikata, who died in the Battle of Hakodate. Koito states that it is a strange feeling to be crossing blades with Hijikata and that the train they are on now is heading to the Ippongi Checkpoint, where Hijikata supposedly died. Hijikata asks Koito with a solemn look on his face, if he is trying to set history back onto its proper course.

## Character Appearances

* Hyakunosuke Ogata
* Tokushirou Tsurumi
* Asirpa
* Tatsuma Ushiyama
* Saichi Sugimoto
* Toshizou Hijikata
* Otonoshin Koito
* Hajime Tsukishima
* Koujirou Hanazawa *(Mentioned)* *(Flashback)*
* Yuusaku Hanazawa *(Mentioned)* *(Flashback)*
* Tome Ogata *(Mentioned)* *(Flashback)*
* Tokishige Usami *(Mentioned)*
* Hidenobu Okuda *(Mentioned)*