Saichi Sugimoto/Story

Overview
**Story**
Gallery

## Background

Sugimoto was born in Kanagawa prefecture. He grew up in a village with his family and was close friends with Toraji and Umeko. Sometime during their youth, Umeko and Sugimoto fell in love, and Sugimoto planned to spend his life with Ume.

However, it was not meant to be: in 1899 his family contracted tuberculosis and succumbed to the illness shortly. Afterwards Sugimoto burnt his house down and left the village, fearing he might be sick too. The next two years he travelled to different places across Japan but tried to stick to towns that didn't have many people around. He returned to his village on the day of Umeko's marriage to Toraji. That night Toraji confronted Sugimoto and accused him of wanting to steal Umeko from him. Sugimoto denied that and said that he was planning to travel to Tokyo now.

In 1901, Sugimoto travelled to Tokyo where he met Mokutarou Kikuta. He agreed to help Kikuta and posed as Yuusaku Hanazawa for marriage interviews with Kaeko Kaneko. During that time, he spoke to Yuusaku in person about his desire to become a flag bearer and questioned if that was truly what he had wanted. Sugimoto also met Tokushirou Tsurumi, Hyakunosuke Ogata, Tokishige Usami, and Hajime Tsukishima, although it doesn't seem that he remembered the names or faces of the men he encountered. After Tsurumi threatened Kaeko's life, Sugimoto confronted him and his subordinates but was stopped by Kikuta. Eventually, his true identity was exposed, but Kaeko was still enamored with him and wanted him as her husband. Feeling like their class difference was too powerful, Sugimoto refused her and instead decided to join the army.

In 1903, Sugimoto joined the 1st Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, where he was a member of the White Sash Brigade, that went on at least one night assault. He was one of the few survivors of the platoon and was resting at Port Arthur when Genjirou Tanigaki approached him. Sugimoto asked Tanigaki for some food, and noticed his Akita dialect, which tipped Tanigaki off to the whereabouts of Kenkichi Aoyama.
Later, he along with his division, the 7th, the 9th, and the 11th division staged an assault on 203 Hill. During the battle, a Russian grenade was thrown at the Japanese force, but he was able to pick it up and throw it back to the other side where it exploded in a trench, killing several Russian soldiers.

When Toraji was dying from his wounds after saving Sugimoto from an explosion, Sugimoto carried his body to a sledge near Mukden so that his wounds could be treated. However, when the 7th Division arrived with a couple of wounded soldiers that needed medical attention, Sugimoto took Toraji's body off of the sledge, telling them that they could use it and that Toraji had told him to "give priority to the ones that can be saved", covering his eyes and cradling his body.

After the war, Sugimoto was going to retire and likely be awarded The Order of the Golden Kite, but he got in a fight with an officer and almost beat him to death, which led to him being discharged.

## Plot

### Introduction Arc

In the year Meiji 37 (1904), at 203 Hill, the Japanese army is engaging in combat against the Russian forces. Sugimoto and his platoon are preparing to charge against the enemy troops. In the midst of the rush, many soldiers are killed, and Sugimoto is shot in the neck. However, he doesn’t let that stop him and continues charging, fighting courageously against several of the Russian soldiers and killing them brutally.

Years later, at a river somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Hokkaido, Sugimoto is seen during peaceful times, prospecting for gold. He is approcahed by Takechiyo Gotou who asks him how his luck is. Sugimoto replies that he has had none and is frustrated since he needs the money. Gotou inquiries Sugimoto about his time during the Russo-Japanese War and his reputation of “Sugimoto the Immortal”. Sugimoto confirms that the stories that are passed around are true and he just doesn't seem to die. The drunken man wonders why Sugimoto has to pan for gold instead of being rewarded for his service. Sugimoto explains that if it wasn't for an officer he nearly killed for pissing him off, he would have an Order of the Golden Kite and would be enjoying a "cozy retirement" now.

Gotou enjoys Sugimoto's story and offers to share one of his own tales. In the olden days, there was a lot of gold in the rivers of Hokkaido. At that time, a group of Ainu was secretly gathering gold to fight back against the Japanese: the group gathered a lot of gold, which amounted to 20 kan (75 kg), but it all was stolen by one man who killed them all. The man hid the gold somewhere in Hokkaido, but then was caught by the police, sentenced to death, and sent to live the rest of his days in Abashiri Prison. The man was trying to communicate the location of the hidden gold to his friends from the outside so he tattooed a coded location into the bodies of several prisoners; the tattoos only had meaning when they were combined together. During a transfer to another facility, the prisoners managed to kill the guards and escaped into the woods.

Sugimoto decides to take a break from gold panning and sits by the fire, where he gets lost in thoughts. He reminisces about the time during the war, when he and his best friend Toraji were sitting in a trench, talking about the future. Toraji invites Sugimoto to come to Hokkaido with him to look for gold since he needs money for his wife Umeko, whose eyesight is getting worse every day. He says that his American friend told him that America has the best eye doctors in the world. Toraji shows Sugimoto a paper with calculations he made, with the boat fare roughly being 200 yen, which would also double if he accompanies his wife. Suddenly, Toraji starts crying and asks Sugimoto to take care of Umeko. Sugimoto looks at Toraji and sees the dismembered body of his friend. As Toraji sinks into a pool of blood and dead bodies, he tells Sugimoto he can't go back to Japan. Sugimoto reaches out to Toraji, tearfully asking him to not go.

Sugimoto wakes up from the nightmare only to see Gotou pointing his own gun at him. Sugimoto grabs the rifle and asks Gotou if he wants to find out if he is really immortal. He then hits Gotou with a rock and gets his gun back. Gotou flees, and Sugimoto decides to chase after him, thinking his story might be true. In the forest, Sugimoto finds Gotou dead, buried in the snow. After looking at his body, Sugimoto realizes that Gotou was eaten by a brown bear. Upon examining the body closer, Sugimoto notices the tattoos on the man's torso and realizes that he is one of the prisoners from the story. Sugimoto tries to move Gotou's body; however, he gets attacked by a mother bear who charges at him to protect her cub. Just then a poisoned arrow pierces the bear through its chest, and Sugimoto turns around and sees Asirpa, armed with a bow.

When the bear is dead, Asirpa asks Sugimoto about Gotou's dead body, and Sugimoto explains that the sow killed him. Asirpa thinks it's strange that a bear that came out of hibernation would eat a human. She cuts the bear open and examines its stomach, discovering that it's empty. They conclude that another bear killed the man. Asirpa tells Sugimoto to give up on Gotou's body because the bear will come back for its prey. Sugimoto refuses to leave the corpse behind, and Asirpa tells him to prepare for the fight. She looks Sugimoto in the eyes and says a harsh phrase, "The weak get eaten".

Sugimoto retells Asirpa the story of the Ainu gold he heard from Gotou. Asirpa says that she believes him, as her father was one of the Ainu that were killed that night. She then tasks Sugimoto with gathering firewood so they can have enough light to see in the dark. When Sugimoto moves the corpse closer to the fire, Asirpa realizes that the man had no intention of sharing the gold, as the tattoo is wrapped around the chest and arms of the prisoner and it means that they had to be killed and skinned to get the full map. Asirpa tells Sugimoto that when a brown bear kills a human, it is cursed to never be able to eat anything else and, as a result, it no longer fears humans and becomes more violent and dangerous. Such an animal becomes known as a *wen kamuy* (evil god). Sugimoto thinks that it is because the bear must’ve figured out how weak humans really are.

Sugimoto and Asirpa start gathering *sitat*, bark from white birch trees. As Sugimoto comments on how much time they have left before sunrise, the brown bear walks to the campfire and the Gotou's corpse. The bear roars and tosses the firewood Sugimoto was carrying with its paw. Shocked, Sugimoto screams and attempts to punch the bear, which has no effect at all. Asirpa tells him to get beneath the bear and grab onto its belly as she pulls out an arrow to shoot at it. Hearing Sugimoto struggle, Asirpa thinks the bear probably got him. However, Sugimoto yells and asks her to not shoot. Asirpa warns Sugimoto that she will take the risky shot, but, as her arrow reaches the bear, Sugimoto pulls out his army knife and stabs the bear. This causes the bear to flinch and to turn another way, causing the arrow to deflect off the bear's skull.

The bear charges at her, knocking her aside and making Sugimoto fall off it too. Suddenly, a white wolf jumps out and attacks the bear. Asirpa reaches out her hand and calls the wolf by its name, Retar. She then instructs Sugimoto to aim for the bear’s heart, which is right under its armpit. Sugimoto takes aim and shoots the bear. The bear then stands up on its hind legs and readies to attack Sugimoto. On the ground, Sugimoto points his bayonet against the bear and, as the beast falls down on him, the bayonet pierces its heart and kills it. Asirpa walks closer to the bear and asks if *sisam* is still alive. Asirpa is impressed by Sugimoto’s bravery and knowledge of Ainu ways of hunting, but he says he only did it on instinct and had no previous knowledge of such methods. Sugimoto asks her to help him get up, and Asirpa holds out her hand to him. As Asirpa helps Sugimoto, they introduce themselves to each other. Sugimoto looks around, searching for the white dog he saw earlier. Asirpa corrects him, saying Retar is actually a wolf. She points at a hill, where Retar is seen howling on the moon.

Once they set another fire, Asirpa tells Sugimoto about how five years ago, her father and six other Ainu men were killed while moving the gold to another hiding place. Their corpses were hacked to pieces and wild animals found them and scattered the remains. However, Asirpa and her village didn't know the murderer had been caught and thrown into Abashiri Prison; they didn't know about the tattooed prisoners either. Sugimoto suggests that he and Asirpa should team up and find the gold, but Asirpa is skeptical about how they’re going to do that.

Asirpa finishes cutting up the bear and hands Sugimoto its gall bladder. Sugimoto asks why won't she take a half of the bear's meat, and Asirpa explains that the Ainu don't eat bears that ate humans, since a bear that does evil things and becomes an evil god is sent to a hell called *teine pokna mosir*. Sugimoto thinks to himself they will be rolling out a red carpet for him in hell for killing so many people. Sugimoto explains that the gold is probably still not found and her father’s killer must be still alive in prison. He then takes out his bayonet and skins Gotou's torso. Sugimoto asks Asirpa if she helped him because she realized she can find the gold and have her revenge for her father's death. He promises he’ll be the one doing all the dirty work while she provides her knowledge to him. Sugimoto believes that, despite their different goals, if they work together, they can be an unstoppable force.

On another day, Sugimoto and Asirpa walk in the forest while preparing traps. They talk about the possible places where the Abashiri Convicts might be. Sugimoto suggests they look for the prisoners in Otaru, the closest town to them. In Otaru, Sugimoto goes to a public bathhouse. He asks a regular there if he has seen anyone with strange tattoos attend the bathhouse lately, but the man denies it. When Sugimoto comes out from the water, the man, clearly surprised, asks him if he is a soldier. As the man observes Sugimoto's body, which is covered in numerous deep scars, he thanks him for his service. Later, Sugimoto sees a brothel owner bothering Asirpa. Sugimoto distracts the man and then puts him in a chokehold while Asirpa shows him the drawing with the tattoo design. The man reveals that someone came before asking the same thing. Sugimoto grins and says that someone had the same idea as them.

Sugimoto and Asirpa continue to ask around town until they decide to call it a day. Upon returning to the woods, they get followed by a Kanjirou Kasahara who plans to kill them. When Kasahara passes by the makeshift bridge, he gets into one of Asirpa's traps. When he comes to his senses, Kasahara finds himself tied up and sees Sugimoto sitting on a log nearby with his revolver in hand. Sugimoto asks him where the other prisoners are, but the he denies knowing their whereabouts. Sugimoto continues to interrogate Kasahara and then draws his revolver at him while looking unfazed, promising Kasahara that he won't feel anything while being skinned since he will be dead by then. Asirpa shows up and, upon hearing Sugimoto threaten Kasahara, gets upset with Sugimoto. She reminds him of their deal and that he promised not to kill anyone or else she won't help him. Sugimoto puts the gun away, saying that he he was only bluffing in order to get the prisoner to talk.

Sometime later, Sugimoto and Asirpa fix the prisoner's arms using a branch and some ropes so that Asirpa can sketch the convict's tattoo. Sugimoto compliments Asirpa on her drawing while Asirpa is impressed with how useful pencils are for drawing. Before Asirpa and Sugimoto can interrogate the prisoner further, he is shot by Hyakunosuke Ogata.

Quickly calculating where the shot came from, Sugimoto pulls Asirpa down for safety. The two create a smokescreen and manage to lure Ogata in a trap and take his gun away. Sugimoto lunges at Ogata with his rifle, but he manages to duck and then tackles Sugimoto. They continue to fight, and Sugimoto notes that he was going to spare the sniper's life, but now he sees that that he should not underestimate his enemy. He aims his rifle at Ogata and warns him he will shoot if he moves. Ogata shows the bolt of Sugimoto's rifle in his hand, and Sugimoto realizes that his rifle has been rendered useless. When Ogata takes his cloak off, Sugimoto confirms that the man before him is indeed a soldier from the strongest unit in the Army, the Hokkaido 7th Division.

Ogata asks Sugimoto what unit he is from, and Sugimoto states that he is from the 1st Division but now is discharged. Thinking they might have saw each other at 203 Hill, Ogata offers Sugimoto to give up on the corpse, lamenting it would be a shame to survive the war and then throw your life away over money. Sugimoto stands tall and announces that he is not in it for money; instead, he is doing it for the woman he loves.

Ogata immediately attacks Sugimoto with a bayonet, but Sugimoto grabs him and throws him on the ground, twisting his right arm behind his back and breaking it. Sugimoto takes his knife and attempts to murder Ogata, but he is stopped by Asirpa calling out to him. Ogata recognizes Sugimoto as the legendary Sugimoto the Immortal and manages to distract and run away. Before Ogata could run any further, he gets struck with the butt of the rifle which Sugimoto throws at him. He loses his senses and falls down from the cliff into the cold river, breaking his jaw during the fall. Once Ogata is out of their sight, Asirpa asks Sugimoto about his nickname. Sugimoto explains his worldview, saying that during the war he learned the trick to staying alive: you don't let anybody kill you. He claims that he doesn't enjoy killing but will not hesitate to kill whoever he needs to if his life is on the line.

Later, as the two walk through the woods, Asirpa tells Sugimoto about hunting huts nearby and that they should change where they sleep each night in order to not get caught. Sugimoto is impressed by her knowledge and wonders who taught her so much. Asirpa explains that since she didn't have any brothers her father took her hunting in the woods with him and taught her everything. When they reach a temporary hut called *kuca*, Asirpa suggests they make a meal out of the squirrels she caught with her snares. As she skins them, she explains that she is going to cook *citatap*, an Ainu dish where one uses a knife to make minced meat. Asirpa says that Sugimoto can eat the brain since it's a tasty treat. Sugimoto is taken aback by that suggestion, which offends Asirpa who assumes Sugimoto has a problem with Ainu cuisine. Not wanting to disrespect Asirpa and her culture, Sugimoto begrudgingly eats the raw squirrel brain. Next, Asirpa demonstrates how to mince the squirrel meat to make *citatap* and explains the meaning behind the name of the dish: ci (we), tata (mince), p (it). Then, she asks Sugimoto to mince it too and say citatap while doing it. When the meat is minced, Asirpa says that normally citatap is eaten raw, but for special *sisam* Sugimoto she will make it into a *ohaw* (soup) and add some dried *pukusakina* (soft windflower).

Once *ohaw* is ready, Asirpa and Sugimoto proceed to eating it. Sugimoto says it's delicious, while Asirpa exclaims, *"Hinna, hinna!"* Sugimoto asks her what that phrase means, and she explains that it's an Ainu expression for showing your appreciation for food. Sugimoto smiles and repeats *"hinna, hinna"* after Asirpa.

### Escape King Arc

As Asirpa shows Sugimoto hare tracks, she teaches him how to catch animals by using traps. However, instead of an hare they manage to catch another Abashiri convict. Once they have tied up the convict to the tree, Asirpa starts copying his tattoo on paper while Sugimoto tries to interrogate him. The prisoner keeps silent, and Sugimoto sarcastically wonders if the trap crashed his windpipe. The prisoner attempts to taunt Asirpa by calling her Sugimoto's pet dog, which infuriates Sugimoto and makes him squeeze the convict's face and threaten to break his jaw. Asirpa stops Sugimoto and tells him that she is used to hearing such things so she isn't bothered. Sugimoto lets go off the prisoner but thinks to himself that one doesn't have to get used to being berated. As he thinks that, Sugimoto remembers his past.

Back in his village, Sugimoto is seen looking out of the door of his house. Accompanied by her mother, a young woman named Umeko is watching him from the distance. Her mother tells her to stay away from that house and to give up on Saichi. Later, some kids run past the Sugimoto house while pitching their noses and holding their breath, saying three members of that family have died of consumption. At night, when Sugimoto watches his house burn down, Umeko runs to him, relieved that he is not hurt. She asks him who set the house on fire, and Sugimoto replies that he did. He explains to Ume that he received a message of his father's death so now there's nobody left to call that place home. He then announces that he is leaving the village. When Sugimoto tells Umeko that she should listen to her parents and marry Toraji, Umeko cries and begs him to take her with him. But Sugimoto tells her to stay away from him, as he might be already sick himself. With tears in his eyes, Sugimoto tells Umeko that he doesn't want to kill her. Sugimoto leaves the village, promising himself he will come back in two years if he doesn't show any symptoms. But when he comes back, he sees Umeko being married off.

In the present, Asirpa alerts Sugimoto that she's found a hare. She explains to Sugimoto how to capture the hare and instructs him with throwing a stick over the hare's head, to which Sugimoto protests that he will feel bad for scaring a hare like that. While the two are busy catching the hare, the prisoner manages to break out of his bonds. He is revealed to be Yoshitake Shiraishi, the legendary Escape King and genius at breaking out of any confinement. Shiraishi spits out a razor blade wrapped in waterproof oil paper and tied up to his tooth with a horsehair, then uses his amazing agility to cut the ropes and set himself free. Asirpa manages to catch the hare but she sees the prisoner escape and warns Sugimoto, who immediately chases after him. Asirpa tells Sugimoto to not follow the escapee too far, as the weather is getting worse.

Sugimoto pursues Shiraishi to a cliff, which Shiraishi tries to climb down. Sugimoto draws his gun, saying he will shoot Shiraishi unless he goes back, but Shiraishi tells him to just shoot, since getting shot or later makes no difference for him. The two men are interrupted by a loud sound, which Sugimoto assumes is gunfire. However, it's *nipus hum*, "the sound of trees splitting", a phenomena where a sudden drop in temperature causes the sap in the trees to freeze and the trunk to split open. The sound of the wave of cold produces an avalanche, and Sugimoto and Shiraishi try to escape it. However, the snow under their feet starts breaking, and the two fall down into the cold river.

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. 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. 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.

Some time later, Asirpa and Sugimoto catch a hare in the forest. Asirpa explains that hares are called *isepo* in Ainu, which means "small creatures that cry 'iii'". She suggests they make *citatap* out of the hare meat and tells Sugimoto an Ainu legend of how hares got their black tips on their ears. Long ago, the deer once had legs like the hare has now. However, the deer was tricked into trading his legs with those of the hare's; when the deer realized he was deceived, he threw a burning brand at the hare, hitting its ears. Sugimoto notes how the hare would be perfectly camouflaged were it not for its black tips, and now it doesn't matter how fast it can run as one can spot it easily in the snow. Sugimoto concludes that the moral of the story is,

Asirpa offers Sugimoto a hare's eyeball, saying the man who catches the rabbit gets to eat the eyes. Sugimoto reluctantly eats the eyeball, much to Asirpa's entertainment. Asirpa cooks *citatap* and adds Ezo matsutake and oshiroi shimeji mushrooms, as well as *pukusa* (Alpine leeks) for the flavor. Sugimoto greatly enjoys the meal but he wants to add miso to enhance the flavor. When he takes out his tin with miso, Asirpa screams in disgust, assuming it's not food but actually *osoma*, or poop. Sugimoto offers her to try miso, but Asirpa refuses, believing Sugimoto is trying to feed her poop.

Next day, Asirpa and Sugimoto are walking through the forest; Asirpa explains how to find a brown bear's den. She points at an uprooted tree and says there's a cave hollowed out beneath the roots of the fallen tree. Asirpa asks Sugimoto to take a look at the tree and check for the signs of a bear living there such as icicles at the mouth of the cave and an odd, earthly smell inside. However, he should be careful, as the bear is not hibernating but just drowsy and can charge out if woken up. Sugimoto walks to a cave and examines it, noticing icicles and kuma bamboo grass laid on the floor. He asks Asirpa if they should catch the bear and how should they do it. Asirpa explains that they need to use stakes to fence up the entrance; once the bear comes to investigate it, one shoots a poisoned arrow through the stakes. She then reveals that her father was so brave that he would crawl inside the bear's den with a poison arrow in hand and kill the bear by himself. Asirpa claims there's an Ainu saying that goes: a brown bear will never kill a human that enters its den. Sugimoto is not interested in hunting more bears so he suggests they should get going.

As Asirpa and Sugimoto walk through the woods, Asirpa notices something flashing in the distance from the place where they stayed last night. Sugimoto realizes it's binoculars; he grabs Asirpa and starts running. A 7th Division soldier, who is watching the two through binoculars, reports to others that he has found Ogata's attackers. The soldiers then chase after Sugimoto and Asirpa using skis. Upon realizing they cannot outrun their pursuers, Sugimoto offers Asirpa to split up. He hands her the tattooed skins and tells her to not fight back and simply give the skins to the soldiers if she is found, as he believes they won't harm her. Sugimoto says that all that matters for Asirpa is that the gold is found; who gets to do it is irrelevant, so she should do as Sugimoto asks her. Asirpa looks concerned and warns Sugimoto against fighting the 7th Division soldiers because they will kill him. Sugimoto turns to her and says that he is immortal.

The four soldiers find the tracks. Genjirou Tanigaki points at Asirpa's footprints and notes that it's where Sugimoto and her split up. Tamai orders Tanigaki to follow Asirpa while he and the other two pursue Sugimoto. Sugimoto is followed by the soldiers, and Noma draws his rifle at him and tells him to stop and throw down his weapons. Sugimoto stops and puts his hands up and says he was thinking they wanted to arrest him for poaching. He adds that the Ainu girl was his guide. Tamai and Okada assume they got the wrong idea about Sugimoto and ask if he's seen anyone suspicious around. However, Noma recognizes Sugimoto from seeing him at the field hospital in Port Arthur. He calls him Sugimoto the Immortal from the 1st Division, and the soldiers realize that the "Immortal" clue that Ogata gave them was about Sugimoto. The soldiers aim their weapons at unarmed Sugimoto, who is standing right in front of an uprooted tree which in fact a bear's den; a pair of shining eyes is seen inside the den.

As Sugimoto stands with his hands up, cornered by the 7th Division soldiers, he has to make a tough decision. After repeatedly telling Sugimoto to get down, the soldiers decide to shoot out Sugimoto's knees. Before they can do that, Sugimoto jumps into the bear's den behind him, screaming that he is immortal. The soldiers ask Tamai if they should smoke out Sugimoto, but he replies that there's no need and they should just start shooting. Noma wonders if they might kill Sugimoto while shooting, which won't let them interrogate him about what happened to Ogata. However, Tamai says that he can hardly believe that Sugimoto is worthy of being called "immortal" or said to "fight like a devil"; he suggests they put the legend to the test and see if Sugimoto dies that easily. The soldiers are then brutally slaughtered by the bear; however, the bear is killed too.

When everyone is dead, Sugimoto comes out of the den, holding a bear cub that was in the burrow with him. He thinks of Asirpa's words and says the she was right about a brown bear never killing a human that enters its den. Sugimoto wonders if Asirpa managed to throw off her pursuer. He looks at the bear cub and tells him that he can't leave him here so he will take him with him. However, Sugimoto warns the bear that Asirpa might turn him into *citatap*. Sugimoto returns to Asirpa, who he sees playing with Retar. Alerted by Sugimoto's voice, Retar flees, and Sugimoto wonders if the wolf took down Tanigaki, who is lying unconscious. He asks Asirpa if the soldier is alive, and Asirpa chooses to lie and tell Sugimoto that Tanigaki is dead, thinking that a tough guy like him would survive here even with a broken leg.

Asirpa notices the bear cub Sugimoto hid in his coat earlier and asks him about it, much to Sugimoto's surprise. He tries to hide the cub, however, Asirpa doesn't buy it and wonders what Sugimoto was going to do with the cub. Panicking, Sugimoto claims he is going to become the cub's mother and promises to take good care of him. Asirpa doubts that Sugimoto even knows what bear cubs eat, and Sugimoto gives up, handing Asirpa the cub. He says Asirpa will have to eat the baby bear alone because he can't stand the thought of eating the cub. Asirpa is confused by Sugimoto's assumption and reveals that the Ainu don't eat bear cubs; instead, there's a tradition to raise a bear cub they find during a hunt. Asirpa announces that they're going to her village, or *kotan*.

When Asirpa and Sugimoto enter the *kotan*, they're greeted by children who are all excited to see Asirpa back. Sugimoto notes that no one seems to be afraid of him, and Asirpa replies that the Ainu are very curious and enjoy new things. She invites Sugimoto to their house, *cise*, and introduces him to her grandmother, who she calls Huci. Sugimoto promises Huci he will be leaving soon and explains that he only came to leave the bear cub and is not going to impose on her for long. Asirpa says that her grandmother doesn't understand *sisam* language but she wants Sugimoto to have a meal and spend the night in the *kotan*.

Inside the *cise*, Sugimoto worries that his presence might cause problems. Huci says that Sugimoto is the first guest Asirpa ever brought here and they'd like to extend their hospitality. Asirpa tells Sugimoto that her late grandfather, *ekasi*, was the most important person in the village, so nobody would ever say anything against Huci. She shows Sugimoto Huci's mouth tattoo, saying the more important the man, the larger the tattoo his wife can get. Asirpa notes that everyone in the village is interested in Sugimoto, and Sugimoto notices the villagers looking at him through the window with curiosity. He smiles and laughs nervously.

While staying at Asirpa's kotan, Sugimoto asks her about her family. Asirpa says she is living in her *cise* with her grandmother while her aunt and uncle live in another house. Asirpa reveals that her *ekasi* (grandfather) fell sick and died six years ago and her mother died of illness soon after giving birth to her. Speaking in Ainu, Huci tells Sugimoto that Asirpa spends all of her time in the mountains and can't do a woman's work; a woman that cannot sew or knit is unable to find an Ainu husband. She says that Asirpa refuses to get tattooed despite being nearly of age, and Asirpa argues that a lot of girl refuse to get tattooed — Huci is just old-fashioned. Asirpa's grandmother asks Sugimoto to take Asirpa as his wife, as she can't depart this world in peace until she knows her granddaughter is safe. Sugimoto asks Asirpa to translate what Huci just said, but Asirpa, visibly ablush, tells Sugimoto that Huci said that people shouldn't eat poop. Sugimoto smiles and once again claims that it's not poop, it's miso.

A small Ainu girl points at Sugimoto and says *sinna kisar*. Asirpa explains that the girl noticed how strange Sugimoto's ears are compared to the Ainu. Sugimoto asks the girl's name, and she introduces herself as Osoma. Sugimoto thinks she is messing with him, but Asirpa tells him it's not a joke: the Ainu have a custom of giving babies disgusting names to protect them from evil spirits of illness. Once children turn six years old, they get a real name based on their personalities and what they've done in life. Sugimoto wonders what Asirpa's name was, and she says it was *Ekasiotonpuy*, meaning "grandfather's butthole".

When Huci feeds the bear cub, Sugimoto asks what she is feeding him. Asirpa replies that it's a mixture of meat and broth. She muses that the cub will grow up to be as huge as his mother in just three years. Sugimoto asks if Asirpa doesn't like bear cubs, pointing out that she hasn't even touched the baby bear. Asirpa says it's not that she doesn't like them. However, she thinks Sugimoto should stop petting the cub or he will get too attached to him. Sugimoto looks confused by what Asirpa said and asks if they will return the bear into the wild once he gets bigger. Asirpa reveals that they will perform a ceremony and send the bear off to the Land of the Gods. She tells Sugimoto of a bear cub she doted upon as a child. Asirpa was so attached to him, she tried to sneak the cub out and return him to the mountains right before the ceremony; the adults were furious with her, and Asirpa was so sad she didn't participate in the ceremony. She explains to Sugimoto that for the Ainu it's not an act of killing, but of "sending back". The Ainu believe that all useful things around them, things with power beyond their control, are *kamuy*, or Gods. The bear, *kimun kamuy*, is especially important among the animal *kamuy*: for one or two years the Ainu raise the bear cub in a cage, *heperset*, and when the time comes, the whole village turns out and sends the cub off with a great celebration in a ceremony called *Iomante*.

Hearing Asirpa's story, Sugimoto wonders if Asirpa really believes it, noting that if she did believe it, sending the bear off wouldn't be that sad for her back then. Asirpa explains that within every belief lies a useful lesson to help people survive: for example, raising the bear cub instead of killing it means they will have more fur and meat in the future. Asirpa claims that her people lived their lives following those lessons, so she believes they're correct. Still, it doesn't mean that there's no sadness in saying goodbye, and that's why she prefers to keep her distance. Sugimoto smiles and says that Asirpa seems different from other Ainu. Asirpa tells Sugimoto that her father gave her the name Asirpa, which means "new year" but can also mean "future".

Next day, Asirpa and Sugimoto come to a stream to catch fish. Asirpa shows Sugimoto an Ainu trap for catching river fish, *raomap*. The trap that was set up yesterday managed to catch a lot of sculpins, and Asirpa is planning to gut the fish. She asks Sugimoto for help, but he realizes that he forgot his bayonet in Asirpa's houses and rushes to get it. On his way to Asirpa's house, Sugimoto is suddenly stopped by an Ainu man. The Ainu man saves Sugimoto from triggering *amappo*, an arrow trap with aconite root poison. The Ainu man introduces himself as Makanakkuru, Asirpa's uncle and the father of Osoma. Makanakkuru tells Sugimoto that he's been worried about Asirpa since she's been going to the mountains on her own after her father's death, but now he can rest easier knowing a strong guy like Sugimoto accompanies his niece. Sugimoto corrects Makanakkuru, claiming it's Asirpa who is saving him most of the times. Makanakkuru says that Asirpa is a smart girl and Sugimoto must be a good man if she likes him. Makanakkuru reminisces of the story of the Ainu from their *kotan* gathering gold to fight off the *sisam*; the gold ended up being stolen and Asirpa's father was killed along with his comrades. Makanakkuru shares his belief that the gold was processed by some sort of evil spirit — it was cursed.

Back in Asirpa's house, Sugimoto and Asirpa give Huci the fish they caught in the trap. Sugimoto notices Huci doing some kind of gesture and asks Asirpa about it. Asirpa explains that Huci was making an offering to her guardian spirit: when you receive something you're supposed to share some of it with your guardian spirit. Asirpa tells Sugimoto that Huci can see *turenpe* and that his guardian spirit is very powerful. Sugimoto touches his nape and remarks that maybe it's his guardian spirit that makes him immortal. However, he wonders why Asirpa never made any offerings to her *turenpe* during their travels, and she replies that in this village only old folks do that. Huci and Asirpa prepare *kinaohaw*, a broth made from roasted sculpins and vegetables like daikon, carrot, potato, spinach, and kombu. Sugimoto makes an offering to his guardian spirit and tastes the broth, praising the flavor. Still, he thinks the broth would be made even better with miso. Asirpa snaps at Sugimoto, telling him to not take out his poop in her house, but Sugimoto manages to offer Huci some miso before Asirpa can do anything. Asirpa grabs a punishment rod, *sutu*, and menacingly approaches Sugimoto with it while Huci watches them with a smile.

On another day, Sugimoto and Asirpa catch an otter, and Asirpa tells Sugimoto about how to make a dish out of it. Asirpa tells Sugimoto that in Ainu the river otter, *esaman*, is considered to be an incredibly forgetful *kamuy*. When the soup is ready, Sugimoto tastes it and finds it delicious. Asirpa says there's a more delicious part and gives Sugimoto a boiled river otter head. Sugimoto awkwardly tries to eat it. In the *kotan*, kids ask Asirpa to play with them. They give her a *kisarri* ("long-eared monster"), a toy for scaring children which you use while standing outside the window and making scary noises. Asirpa offers Sugimoto to give it a try, but his attempt to scare the children falls flat. Asirpa takes the matters in her hands and shows everyone how it's done, terrifying the children. Sugimoto tries again, but fails and kids leave him. Later, Asirpa joins other children at a game of *Uko Karip Ciwe*, a ring catch game, and Sugimoto watches her with a smile.

At night, when Asirpa and Osoma are fast asleep, Sugimoto is sitting together with Huci and Makanakkuru. They hear a wolf's howl, and Sugimoto says that he's seen a large white wolf protect Asirpa twice; he wonders why would an animal behave like that. Makanakkuru explains that it must be Retar's howl they're hearing now. He reveals that Asirpa and her father saved Retar from a brown bear when he was just a pup. Makanakkuru notes that Asirpa and Retar were inseparable, and after Asirpa's father's death, she would go up to the mountains with Retar a lot. As Makanakkuru picks up sleeping Osoma in his arms, he tells Sugimoto that Asirpa rarely smiled since that day, but now with him at her side Asirpa seems much happier. When Makanakkuru leaves, Huci tells Sugimoto something important about Asirpa, but since she is speaking in Ainu, Sugimoto is not really able to understand her. Still, he says that he knows that Huci loves Asirpa very much, just like everyone else in this village. When Huci falls asleep, Sugimoto is still sitting by the fire, deep in thoughts. He thinks of Asirpa but then remembers how the two of them were chased by the 7th Division. Realizing his presence is dangerous for Asirpa, Sugimoto leaves the *kotan* without saying goodbye.

Sugimoto is walking down the street in Otaru when he sees a prostitute riding a man-powered sleigh. Sugimoto thinks it's Umeko and is overcome with memories of returning to his village after the war to bring Toraji's bones back to his family. In the memory, he sees Umeko talking to her son, who is showing her different flowers. Umeko says her eyesight is bad but her nose makes up for it. Sugimoto walks up to Umeko's mother and gives her the finger bones that belonged to Toraji. Umeko asks who is it, and her son replies that it's a soldier. Umeko's mother recognizes Sugimoto, and Umeko walks up to him, asking if it's really him. She says that she can't see anything but a blur but upon walking closer to Sugimoto she senses something that makes her recoil. Hearing that Umeko doesn't recognize him, Sugimoto is stunned. He wonders what he smelt like to Umeko that she reacted in such a way. Sugimoto concludes that the Saichi Umeko knew is probably long gone and even with her eyesight healed, Umeko might not recognize him again.

In the present, Sugimoto tries to stop the woman in the sleigh but upon coming closer he realizes that he confused her with Umeko. After apologizing to the woman, Sugimoto approaches a brothel owner he and Asirpa met some days ago. He asks if anything strange has been going on recently, and the man tells Sugimoto that a customer in another brothel hurt one of the prostitutes. The man requests Sugimoto to find that customer and deal with him, but Sugimoto is confused, saying there's nothing strange about that. The man reveals that the customer who hurt the prostitute had strange tattoos on his body. Sugimoto goes to a brothel which disguises itself as a soba restaurant. Before he meets with the hurt woman to ask her about the tattooed prisoner, Sugimoto is offered a bowl of soba. After having a good meal, Sugimoto comments on how tasty it was. His lunch is interrupted by two 7th Division soldiers who came to the restaurant to catch him. Sugimoto immediately attacks the soldiers, lunging at them and knocking off their feet. Outside the restaurant, he is attacked by another man, but Sugimoto quickly throws his attacker on the ground and tramples him. Sugimoto is then surrounded by more armed soldiers and is outnumbered. The two soldiers (who appear to be twins) who first found him in the restaurant order him to get on his knees so they can shoot him. One of the twins whacks Sugimoto on the back of his knees with the butt of the rifle, making him fall on the ground. The soldier hits Sugimoto repeatedly with a rifle, but the other twin tells him to step back so he can kill him.

First Lieutenant Tsurumi appears and fires his gun in the air, demanding his soldiers stop attacking Sugimoto as he doesn't want him dead yet. Tsurumi smiles at Sugimoto and says that it's him who decides when Sugimoto will die.

Sugimoto is restrained and taken to the 7th Division barracks for interrogation. He tells Tsurumi that he is working for a man whose favorite proustite got hurt, so he is looking for some guy with a tattoo to pay him back for what he did. However, Tsurumi doesn't seem to believe Sugimoto's words; instead, he asks him if he likes sweets and offers Sugimoto a dango skewer. While Sugimoto eats a dango, Tsurumi mentions how they found one of his men washed up on the riverbank, barely clinging to life. When the man came to his senses, he wrote a single word with his finger: "immortal". Hearing this, Sugimoto attempts to leave, and Tsurumi accuses him of attacking Superior Private Ogata. The twins order Sugimoto to sit down, but Sugimoto mocks them, asking if he can mark one of them to tell apart, which angers the brothers. Sugimoto sits down and tries to explain himself, claiming they got the wrong guy and his name isn't even Sugimoto. Tsurumi says that he's seen Sugimoto the Immortal once, back in Port Arthur. He watched him cut his way across the battlefield "as though he was possessed by the devil himself", a sight so fascinating Tsurumi couldn't tear his eyes away. The First Lieutenant tells Sugimoto that he recognized him when he saw him fight in front on the soba restaurant, but Sugimoto denies being at Port Arthur. Tsurumi asserts that Ogata must have fought Sugimoto because he was in possession of tattooed skins and was looking for the hidden gold; that also explains why Sugimoto tried to run away from the 7th Division. Sugimoto keeps denying knowing anything about the tattoos or the gold and asks if Tsurumi is all right in the head. Tsurumi laughs and replies that a shell blew away a small part of his brain. The twins let out a small laugh too, and Sugimoto joins them, thinking it was a joke. Suddenly, Tsurumi stabs Sugimoto with the dango skewer, piercing it through his cheeks and mouth. Sugimoto remains silent, and Tsurumi compliments him on his toughness, saying he knew he really is Sugimoto the Immortal. Tsurumi warns Sugimoto that there's a way for him to destroy his "life's candle".

Tsurumi offers Sugimoto to join his unit. He reveals that he's lost a lot of good men in the war and is short on soldiers as he has less than a hundred men scattered all over Hokkaido. Sugimoto argues that less than a hundred is still a big number of people to share the gold with, but Tsurumi explains that the gold will be used for military expenditures. He reveals that he is planning on buying weapons from Americans, take over the 7th Division, then commander the ports that ship vital resources from Hokkaido to the rest of Japan, and finally take over Hokkaido altogether. Tsurumi claims that the soldiers who were heroes on the battlefield returned home to the life of a vagrant; they've lost more than they've gained for service. Tsurumi once again asks Sugimoto to join forces with him, saying a courageous soldier like him is exactly who he wants in his army. Sugimoto takes out the skewer that Tsurumi stabbed him with and rejects the Lieutenant's offer.

Some time later, severely beaten up Sugimoto is sitting bound to a chair in the 7th Division home base. He wonders if he should have pretended to cooperate with the 7th Division but realizes that Tsurumi would see through him. He thinks of the tattooed skins that he hid with the equipment that he looted off the soldiers killed by the bear. Sugimoto concludes that everything's turned bad because he tried to do it all by himself. The twins that attacked Sugimoto earlier enter the room and ask if he's still alive. Kouhei remarks they might have got the wrong guy since Sugimoto got caught so easily. Youhei looks at Sugimoto's face and says that despite taking a real beating, Sugimoto's face is already healing. He remembers the rumors of Sugimoto the Immortal recovering overnight from injuries the doctors thought were fatal. Youhei wonders if cutting out Sugimoto's guts would result in it just being all healed by tomorrow. Kouhei advises his brother against it, saying that if they kill him they won't be able to find out where he hid the skins. Youhei takes out his bayonet and suggests they cut off Sugimoto's fingers one by one until he reveals the skins' location. Sugimoto whispers something, and Youhei gets closer to him to hear what he says. Sugimoto promises that he'll give him a mark so he can tell the twins apart and headbutts Youhei, knocking his front tooth out and making him fall onto Kouhei. Sugimoto takes a deep breath and lunges himself into the twins, breaking the chair and taking Kouhei into a chokehold with his legs. As Youhei stabs him in the chest, Sugimoto continues to fight, once again declaring himself Sugimoto the Immortal.

The fight between Sugimoto and the Nikaidou twins is stopped by the soldiers who heard the ruckus. Lt. Tsurumi orders to keep the twins away from Sugimoto, and the soldiers tie up Sugimoto while commenting on how he was able to fight even with his hands and feet restrained. Sugimoto is lying in his cell when he is spooked by Shiraishi who he assumes is a monster. Shiraishi reminds him that he is the Escape King and explains that he came to rescue Sugimoto for an Ainu girl who threatened to shoot him with a poison arrow if he didn't help. When Shiraishi tries to undo Sugimoto's handcuffs, someone approaches the door to Sugimoto's cell. It turns out to be the Nikaidou twins who came to take their revenge. Youhei tells his brother to wait outside and make sure nobody comes in while he kills Sugimoto and later makes it look like Sugimoto was attempting to escape. Kouhei advises his brother to not use the gun and instead use his bayonet. When Kouhei leaves with Youhei's gun and shuts the door, Youhei finds his bayonet missing. He turns around and sees Sugimoto charging at him while holding a knife. Some moments later, Tsurumi arrives at the scene and witnesses the aftermath of the fight: Youhei is dead and Sugimoto is heavily injured, with his intestines sticking out of his gut. Tsurumi remarks that the candle of Sugimoto's life is truly on the verge of being blown out. Sugimoto asks Tsurumi to save him, promising to give up on the skins, much to Tsurumi's delight.

Tsurumi orders to prepare a sledge for Sugimoto and transport him to the bets hospital in Otaru. He tells Sugimoto that they will make every effort to save him so he should respond in kind and tell them where the tattooed skins are. Tsurumi whispers to one of his soldiers that he will follow the sledge with Sugimoto later on horse. When Sugimoto is left alone on the sledge with the soldiers, he gets up and pushes down the soldiers that were transporting him. Soon he gets followed by Tsurumi, who has discovered that Sugimoto took Youhei's intestines and tricked them into believing he was wounded. The First Lieutenant grabs his gun, but his horse is struck by Asirpa's poisoned arrow and falls to the ground. Tsurumi falls but quickly gets on his feet and chases Sugimoto on foot. He aims at Sugimoto but at the last moment chooses to let Sugimoto go.

Sugimoto stops his sledge when he notices Asirpa and Retar. Sugimoto expresses remorse over his actions, and Asirpa seemingly leaps for a hug only to whack Sugimoto with a *sutu* instead. After getting away from the 7th Division, Asirpa, Sugimoto, and Shiraishi have to decide what to do with the horse. Sugimoto wants to keep it, but Shiraishi disagrees, claiming the horse will stand out and that disposing of it will be the best option. Asirpa says that she wants to give Retar a reward for helping them, so Shiraishi concludes its decided and shoots the horse while Sugimoto watches it with sadness in his eyes. After killing the horse, Shiraishi proposes they make sakura nabe, a dish made of horse meat. Shiraishi leaves to a nearby farm to get some eggs, and Asirpa and Sugimoto stay alone.

Sugimoto says that skinning the horse will be difficult, but Asirpa replies that they won't skin it and brings up a story of a fur thief who stole furs from a hunter and later was identified in the town and arrested. Asirpa looks at Sugimoto's face and tells him to get some rest since he's taken quite a beating. Sugimoto's face darkens and he tells Asirpa that this kind of thing is expected when you're chasing after a criminal's gold and they could be captured, tortured, and even killed. Sugimoto says he doesn't know how he would face Huci and other people in the village if anything happened to Asirpa. Asirpa accuses Sugimoto of considering her a burden and, before he can protest, throws a slab of meat at his face, saying a compress of raw horse meat can help reduce swelling and bleeding. As Asirpa is continuing to cut the meat, she states that she's already lost her father in the most horrible way and is prepared for the worst. Asirpa explains that she decided working together would help both of them get what they wanted and that she made that choice thinking it's the right one. However, Sugimoto treated her like a child and refused to trust her as his partner and then got himself captured.

Shiraishi returns with a lot of food that he received from farmers, which he believes is attributed to the army uniform he is wearing. The group goes to one of the hunting huts and get to cooking. However, the atmosphere is tense, and Shiraishi notices it, saying they should eat some tasty food and make up. When the nabe is ready, Shiraishi and Sugimoto proceed to eating it. Before Asirpa takes a bite, she hears Shiraishi say that there's miso in the nabe. She looks disgusted and asks Sugimoto if there's really *osoma* in the food. Sugimoto confesses that miso is an integral part of sakura nabe. Shiraishi is confused by Asirpa's reaction, and Sugimoto explains that Asirpa thinks that miso is poop; Shiraishi laughs it off as cultural differences between the Japanese and the Ainu. Sugimoto apologizes and promises he will make the nabe again without miso. However, Asirpa forces herself to eat the nabe and actually finds the *osoma* delicious.

Some other day, Asirpa asks Sugimoto where's the Excrement King, and Sugimoto replies that Shiraishi went to town to gather intel. Asirpa then tells Sugimoto to help her retrieve the icicle from a tree branch. She explains that when maple trees' branches crack, the sap drips out and freezes into icicles. Sugimoto eats an icicle and notices how sweet it is. Asirpa points at an Ezo deer's tracks she sees in the snow, and Sugimoto suggests they go after the deer. He asks how the deer meat tastes, and Asirpa replies that its brain is tasty with salt.

### Legendary Hunter Arc

Asirpa and Sugimoto continue through the snowy forest, searching for deer. Asirpa tells Sugimoto to hurry, but Sugimoto is exhausted because his feet keep getting stuck in the thick layers of snow. Asirpa suggests they take a short break and chew *hupca* (needles of a Sakhalin fir) for energy boost. Sugimoto finds *hupca* quite bitter, and Asirpa makes fun of him for being a *sisam* with delicate test buds. After trying to chew *hupca*, Sugimoto is thirsty. He asks Asirpa for some water, but the girl drinks all the remaining water they have, refusing to give Sugimoto any. Sugimoto considers eating snow, but Asirpa stops him, warning that he will get cold. Instead, she suggests they cut the Hardy kiwi vines to drink its sap. Asirpa crafts a makeshift pair of snowshoes from the vines for Sugimoto, so they can continue travelling the forest in comfort.

Asirpa notices traces left by the deer and takes out her *sutu* then rubs it against the tree bark, making a sound so the deer would come back to investigate. She explains that deer are an essential part of the Ainu way of life and that they're used for many things, like making shoes or crafting arrow footings, *makanit*. Asirpa retells Sugimoto an old Ainu legend that she learned from Huci. In the old days, there were more deer than there are now. So many, that people went hunting after they put their pot on the fire to start cooking. Unlike the *kimun kamuy* (bear) or *horkew kamuy* (wolf), the Ainu do not call deer *kamuy*. Instead, they're called *yuk*, which means "prey". The Ainu believe that the god who rules over the deer spread *yuk* all over the land so that humans would have something to eat. But one winter, the snow was so deep that the deer couldn't dig deep enough to reach the grass. A great number of deer died, which in its turn caused the wolves that hunted them to follow the same fate. Asirpa thinks that people didn't have proper respect for the deer that the gods sent to them, so the gods refused to send any more.

As Asirpa finishes her tale, a deer appears nearby. Sugimoto tries to slowly load his gun. However, the sound alerts the deer and it runs away. Sugimoto attempts to shoot it but misses, grazing it instead. Asirpa and Sugimoto follow the deer's tracks, and Asirpa finds drops of the animal's blood on the bamboo grass. Sugimoto is worried about his missing shot. Asirpa sees tracks that belong to a dog and two men. Upon examining the tracks, she realizes that one of those man must be Genjirou Tanigaki.

Asirpa and Sugimoto continue to chase the deer. Sugimoto says they must hurry, and Asirpa worries that if the deer keeps running, the stress will make its meat taste worse. Asirpa and Sugimoto plan to ambush the animal, which is hiding in a Sakhalin fir down the slope. Asirpa promptly slides down by using a hiking stick, which alarms the deer. Sugimoto runs after the buck, but falls down and loses the prey. Asirpa suggests they make a quick temporary shelter out of a stunted Sakhalin fir. Inside their makeshift tent, Asirpa and Sugimoto start a fire, but it's still cold. Asirpa tells Sugimoto to take his coat off and turn his back to the fire so his body could absorb the heat. She explains that in Ainu they call it *setur sesekka*, warming one's back. Sugimoto looks upset, and Asirpa assumes he is worried about the flavor of the deer's meat. However, Sugimoto is anxious about completely other thing... That night, Sugimoto sees a nightmare where he is suddenly back at war, with flying bullets, flesh, and blood all around him. As badly injured Sugimoto keeps running, he tells himself that he refuses to lay down and die; he will survive, no matter what. In the morning, Asirpa and Sugimoto continue their search for the deer. Asirpa finds traces of the deer's presence: the place where it slept and its droppings.

Asirpa shows Sugimoto more deer droppings; she says it's still warm and puts it in Sugimoto's hand, warning him that he can't eat this kind of *osoma*. Sugimoto throws away the droppings, yelling that there is no kind of *osoma* anyone can eat. They notice more tracks, and Asirpa concludes that the deer must be getting tired. She points at the tree nearby and tells Sugimoto that the deer must be hiding in there. She explains her strategy to Sugimoto, and Sugimoto mentally prepares to shoot the deer, promising himself he will take the animal down in one shot, ending its suffering. When Asirpa lures the deer out of its hiding, Sugimoto draws his gun at it. But as he sees the deer running at him, Sugimoto hesitates, seeing his own frenzied self in the face of the deer. The deer hits Sugimoto's rifle with its horns, causing it to go off, and escapes. However, it gets caught by Retar who pins it down to the ground. Asirpa and Sugimoto walk up to the struggling deer. Asirpa asks Sugimoto why didn't he shoot even though he said he would finish it off. Anxious, Sugimoto attempts to explain why he hesitated. Seeing the deer fight for its life despite the blood that was pouring from its wound getting frozen, Sugimoto couldn't move a muscle as he realizes that the deer is *him*.

Asirpa stabs the deer in the neck, killing it swiftly. She calls Sugimoto out, saying that if he isn't ready to see it through to the end, he shouldn't fire his gun in the first place. She then cuts the deer's stomach open and asks Sugimoto to put his hands inside of its body. Sugimoto does as Asirpa said and comments that his numb hands are getting warmer from the heat of the body. Asirpa tells Sugimoto that the deer warmed him in its death, the warmth reaching him and giving him life. Hearing her words, Sugimoto is reassured.

Asirpa and Sugimoto continue to cut the deer up. Asirpa offers Sugimoto to try some raw liver but, after concluding it's too bitter because of the stress the deer sustained, she gives it to Retar. After eating the liver, Retar sniffs something in the air and starts acting strange. He pushes Asirpa to go faster, clearly agitated by someone's presence. In fact, Retar detected the powerful scent of death that was coming from Tanigaki and Nihei and realized something unpleasant was approaching. Asirpa explains that wolves are very cautious animals and normally, Retar would have been gone by now but he is staying to tell them to hurry up. Asirpa thinks to herself that it must be the soldier from the other day and that he must be still following them. She suggests Sugimoto they take as much as they can carry and head back.

After moving to a safe distance, Asirpa and Sugimoto watch Nihei and Tanigaki who came to the spot with deer's carcass. Sugimoto wonders if the two might be hunters. Later, they return to one of their hunting huts but find it occupied. Sugimoto draws his gun but turns out it was just Shiraishi who came back from town. He presents them a bottle of sake, and the trio proceed to cook the deer meat. Asirpa feeds Shiraishi some brain while Sugimoto eats raw lungs. She then announces they're going to make *citatap* from deer's windpipe, *sewri*. Shiraishi starts chopping the windpipe but seems disappointed as he wanted to eat some actual meat. Asirpa, who's already drunk some sake, yells at Shiraishi for not saying *citatap* out loud. She calls Shiraishi and Sugimoto pathetic little city boys for not being able to enjoy raw meat and agrees to cook loin meat, even roasting it using salt. The trio enjoys their meal and drinks, getting progressively more drunk. When Sugimoto says he is already full and can't finish his food, Asirpa gets mad and slaps Shiraishi, then passionately delivers a speech on honoring one's prey and remembering it after death. Sugimoto feels touched by those words and asks if Asirpa would remember him if he dies.

Asirpa starts crying and begs Sugimoto to not die. Sugimoto says he is immortal, and Shiraishi feeds Asirpa another spoon of *citatap* to comfort her. Asirpa shouts that *citatap* is wonderful and jumps, breaking through the roof of their hunting hut. Meanwhile, Shiraishi tells Sugimoto that he's managed to get some info about a tattooed convict, Tetsuzou Nihei. Sugimoto asks Shiraishi about Nihei, and Shiraishi describes him as an older man with graying hair, carrying a Type 18 single shot rifle, and accompanied by a brown Ainu hunting dog. Sugimoto realizes that this matches the appearance of the man he and Asirpa saw earlier. Shiraishi then reveals that the fur trader in town told him that Nihei asked about the money he'd get for the pelt of a white wolf. Asirpa is shocked to hear it: Tanigaki was hunting for Retar and not her. Asirpa, Sugimoto, and Shiraishi set out to find Nihei and Tanigaki to protect Retar.

Asirpa, Sugimoto, and Shiraishi notice the smoke rising in the distance. Asirpa says it's rising from the place where they killed the deer yesterday. Sugimoto and Shiraishi spot Nihei, but Shiraishi can't confirm his identity unless he sees his face. Sugimoto tells Asirpa to stay put and use her bow as a back-up while he and Shiraishi get closer to Nihei. After Asirpa alerts Retar and saves him from Nihei, Sugimoto ambushes the hunter. He aims his gun at Nihei, telling the hunter to toss his gun to him. Nihei smirks and says that now he sees why the wolf wouldn't show himself, noting that Sugimoto's urge to kill is practically gushing out of him. Sugimoto asks Shiraishi to confirm Nihei's identity, which makes Nihei realize that the two men came after his tattoo. Sugimoto once again asks Nihei to drop his weapon but Nihei is ready to fight. Before Sugimoto can fire his gun, he is attacked by Ryu. As Sugimoto fends off Ryu's attack with the barrel of the gun, Nihei swings a cleaver at him. Sugimoto takes out his bayonet and slices over Nihei's left hand, cutting off four of his fingers. Sugimoto stabs Nihei in the arm but Nihei hits his head with the rifle, drawing blood. Smiling, Nihei asks if Sugimoto is ready to end up as animal shit.

Nihei and Sugimoto continue their fight. Sugimoto shouts at Shiraishi to get his gun but Shiraishi is stopped by Nihei's dog Ryu. While Nihei and Sugimoto face off each other in a deadly match, Shiraishi attempts to wrestle Ryu to retrieve the gun. Once armed, Shiraishi draws the gun at Nihei and warns the hunter. Tanigaki takes Asirpa hostage and orders Shiraishi and Sugimoto to drop their weapons. Furious with Tanigaki using Asirpa as a human shield, Sugimoto loses control and charges at Tanigaki with his bayonet and throws the blade at the man, stabbing him through the palm of his hand and his cheek. Nihei tackles Sugimoto and holds him in a chokehold on the ground. Shiraishi calls out to Tanigaki, saying he should be ashamed of using an innocent child as a hostage. Tanigaki shouts that he doesn't care whether Asirpa gets hurt in the process, and Sugimoto gives in, telling Shiraishi to drop the gun. Sugimoto then asks Nihei to take Asirpa away so she wouldn't see them being killed.

Nihei agrees and asks Tanigaki to get him some ropes to tie Sugimoto and Shiraishi up. Sugimoto and Shiraishi exchange looks, silently coming up with an escape plan. Nihei proceeds to bandage his injured hand while Tanigaki takes Asirpa away, much to her protest. Distracted by a sudden memory of his daughter, Nihei doesn't notice that Shiraishi and Sugimoto managed to flee. Nihei alerts Tanigaki of the two men escaping.

Sugimoto and Shiraishi find Asirpa and see Retar and another wolf near deadly injured Nihei. Lastly, Tanigaki joins the others to say his goodbye to Nihei. Asirpa insists they take Tanigaki and Ryu with them to the Ainu village. Shiraishi, who's been carrying Tanigaki on the stretcher, takes a break and says he is going to rest until Sugimoto catches up. Nearby, Sugimoto is seen retrieving Nihei's tattooed skin and marching on.

### Immortal Beast Arc

After the ordeal with the bears and the yakuza, Sugimoto smiles as Kiroranke proclaims that Asirpa's great-aunt would be happy to see her daughter's clothing again. When Dun gives Asirpa one of his bows and asks why they are taking Wakayama's tattoo, Sugimoto tells him that it is safer that he does not know the nature of the tattoo and that getting involved is a good way to get himself killed. Dun then takes out a book, which to Shiraishi's horror is made from a humans face, and explains its origin. He mentions that the thief who took the book had seen a skin with a very unusual tattoo. Outside the house, Sugimoto is looking back on all the tattoos that they have, and wonders if Tsurumi has already found more skins. He then decides to makes Yubari their next destination.

### Edogai Arc

Sugimoto's group drops by Huci's sister's kotan to stay the night and in preparation for dinner, he and Asirpa go out into the forest to harvest some plants. While they are grabbing some alpine leek, butterbur leaves and butterbur shoots, Asirpa tells him about the effects each plant has as well as how the Ainu people prepare for the summer and winter seasons. Upon returning to the kotan, they see Kiroranke and Shiraishi also coming back with some Masu salmon.

That night, they sit around a boiling pot of Icaniw ohaw and enjoy the meal together. After Asirpa falls asleep, Sugimoto asks if Kiroranke is concerned about his wife, to which he tells him that he believes she will be fine. Shiraishi wonders what the stuff on his face is, and Sugimoto says that it is medicine that Asirpa gave him to help his scars heal, but he does not mind if he has them. When Kiroranke says that Asirpa might like how his face looked before, Shiraishi questions if Sugimoto has "someone special" back home. Immediately, Umeko comes to his mind and he remains silent, which Shiraishi notes but Kiroranke tells him to lay off him. The next morning, the party says their farewell to Huci's sister and sets off for their next destination.

The group manages to reach the town of Yubari, where Asirpa tries to sell the bear's gall bladder to a buyer. When the buyer tries to swindle her, Sugimoto and Kiroranke approach him menacingly and intimidate him. Shiraishi tries to keep things peaceful, but Sugimoto just keeps hitting him and continues to threaten the buyer. Afterwards, they head to a nearby river and have fun splashing around, and also capturing some lamprey to eat. When Asirpa catches a brook lamprey with her foot, Sugimoto attempts to catch one too, but instead grabs Shiraishi's toe, which causes him to fall over and have a lamprey attached to his head. With that, they huddle around a campfire and enjoy their meal of unaju made with lamprey.

Later on, Sugimoto is scouting around Yubari with Shiraishi when they spot Sergeant Tsukishima and decides to tail him to the Edogai store. Upon arriving, they see Tsukishima run out but decide to investigate the store. As Sugimoto looks around and warns Shiraishi to be careful, the latter approaches him saying that there might've been a trap and that they should chase after the soldier. The two of them look around town in order to find Tsukishima and upon seeing him rolling away in a mine cart, Sugimoto proclaims that they should find another cart to ride in.

Sugimoto and Shiraishi continue their pursuit of Tsukishima and Edogai, with the former shooting at them. The two carts ride into the Yubari mines as Sugimoto and Tsukishima trade gunfire. Eventually, Sugimoto's cart was able to catch up to the other cart and they attempt to board it but Tsukishima activates a switch which causes their cart to go down a separate track. However they are thrown from their cart when a nearby explosive detonates. They attempt to flee the mines but are caught in a windblast which causes another larger explosion. Sugimoto is able to retain his consciousness and tries to carry Shiraishi, who had fallen unconscious to safety. Despite Sugimoto's bravado, he is affected by the gas in the mines and he collapses to the ground.

He continues to make his way through the mine until he finds a boarded up exit and attempts to break it with his rifle. He was able to make a small opening and took Shiraishi's head to it so that he can receive some fresh air, saying that they'd be in trouble if he died. Just then, Ushiyama came barging in through the wall and carried the both of them outside. After drinking some fresh water, he asks Ushiyama why he is here. Ushiyama replies that he came to Yubari with another person who had gotten split up and that he was looking for him when he spotted Sugimoto and Shiraishi riding in a mine cart. The person in question approached them, saying that they have no choice but to bring them along. Upon seeing Ogata, Sugimoto expressed surprised that he is with Ushiyam now.

### Con Artists Arc

Ogata takes them back to the Edogai store where he revealed the bodies of the men who had been skinned to make fake tattoos, much to Sugimoto's shock. Ogata confirms that the taxidermist who had made them died and that Tsukishima may still be alive, which means that the fake skins might be in circulation now. They are then approached by Hijikata, carrying a cat and a tattooed skin saying that they must find a way to discern whether or not the skin is real.

Sugimoto says that he feels like he's seen Hijikata somewhere before and asks if they've met, to which Shiraishi vehemently denies and introduces the Shinsengumi Vice-Commander to everyone. He then asks Kiroranke if Hijikata is the man that came to his village, and he confirms it. Sugimoto asks Hijikata if Noppera-Bou trusted him and came to him with a plan to arm the Ainu people and start a war of independence before wondering if Noppera-Bou really is an Ainu. As Sugimoto continues questioning Hijikata, Asirpa is about to say something which causes Hijikata to threaten Sugimoto's group to join up or fight. Upon this, Sugimoto reaches for his sword but they are interrupted by Shinpachi Nagakura who implores them to sell the skins and lead quiet lives at home. Sugimoto thinks about Umeko and says that they needed to meet Noppera-Bou to confirm something.

The tense mood is broken by Asirpa's growling stomach and Ienaga comes in suggesting to eat. Later, the two groups sit at a table over some nanko nabe and Sugimoto remarks that it's amazing that a group of people like them were able to team up before making a jab at Ogata. Ienaga says that she might know someone who may be able to help them and speaks about a counterfeit artist named Chouan Kumagishi. Some time later, Sugimoto heads out with Asirpa and Ushiyama to find Tsukishima's body, but are unable to locate it.

They return to the store to find that it has been set on fire, and Ushiyama breaks the bars off the window, saving Ienaga in the process and alliowng Sugimoto to head inside and assist Ogata and Hijikata. Once Ogata had given them enough time, the three of them exits the store and agrees to split up into two groups and meet again at Kabato Prison in Tsukigata. When Hijikata says that Noppera-Bou might answer their questions since Asirpa is his daughter, Sugimoto that he does not care what other people does with the money so long as he gets his share and that he wishes to watch over Asirpa until she can find the truth about her father. Back in the town of Yubari, Sugimoto makes his preparations to head straight to Tsukigata along with Asirpa, Ushiyama, and Ogata.

They take an off route path into a forest to avoid being spotted by anyone who can alert the 7th Division to their position. Asirpa calls out to Sugimoto to spot some woodcocks and he asks if they taste good, to which she says their brains do. They set up some traps but the next day, they were only able to catch two which Sugimoto says that it might not be enough to feed everyone. When Ogata comes up and drops 3 birds that he had shot down, Sugimoto says he must've gotten worked up over Asirpa's word, but is instantly shut down when Asirpa says that he is jealous of Ogata's aim. They take out the brains and as Asirpa begs Ushiyama to eat them, Sugimoto just eats it without any hesitance but is surprised when Ogata declines it. Afterwards, they eat the ohaw and Sugimoto finds himself moved by an Ainu religious love poem that Asirpa tells them.

They spent at least one night sleeping in the forest. Sugimoto asks Asirpa if they've met Hijikata before but sees that she's fast asleep already. He is startled by some movements in the bush but sees that it was just Ogata. The next day, the group wakes up and continues on their journey, coming across an Ainu kotan. Sugimoto jokingly asks Asirpa if she has any relatives here but she says she has none and that it is her first time coming here. They are greeted by an Ainu man, whose Japanese Sugimoto notes as being good. The Ainu man tells them that he worked for some Japanese people, helping them pan for gold and unloading and carrying their cargo. Ushiyama then points out a cage behind them, and Sugimoto turns around to see that the bear is too big to fit in the cage.

Sugimoto asks the man about the bear cage, and he says the bear grew up too fast and that they will move it. He then introduces himself as Ekurok and says that his "father" Retanno Ekasi is the leader and that they should ask him for permission to stay. Upon arriving at Retanno Ekasi's house, Sugimoto tells Ushiyama and Ogata about several Ainu customs that they have to follow to show good manners. They are led inside by an Ainu man and are greeted by the elder who begins to gesture. However, they are interrupted by Asirpa which catches everyone by surprise.

Ekurok asks about her and Sugimoto says that she is their guide to visit and stay at Ainu villages. When Ekurok begins to introduce his family, they are once again interrupted by Asirpa who says she has to go to the bathroom. Sugimoto apologizes for her behavior and wonders what's gotten into her but Ekurok says he is not bothered by it and sends his brother to guide her. After Ekurok's Brother has left, Ogata asks them about what Asirpa says, but the two men just remained silent with a grim look on their faces.

When Ogata became suspicious about their hosts, Sugimoto argued with him, showing off Ekurok's large earlobes as evidence of him being Ainu. They are interrupted by an Ainu woman who yells something at them before being carried away. When Monoa repeats what the woman had said, and fed up with Ogata's skepticism, Sugimoto takes out a kisarri that he found and had both Ushiyama and Retanno Ekasi perform with it. Upon seeing Retanno Ekasi's demonstration, Ogata takes the kisarri and hits Retanno Ekasi's pinky toe, causing him to scream in Japanese. Despite this, Sugimoto still continues to defend them until Ekurok's Brother returned. When Sugimoto asked about Asirpa, he was able to see through his lies, and hit him with the kisarri and asked where he took her. Upon finally realizing the true nature of these men, Sugimoto lets out an angry roar.

Sugimoto asks where Ekurok's Brother took Asirpa but he threatens to have her killed if he does not drop his weapon. In response, Sugimoto shoves the kisarri into his mouth and twists it around, breaking his neck and killing him in the process. Ogata hands him his rifle and after loading it, Sugimoto heads out where he is confronted by two convicts. He easily dispatches the both of them and continues on his search for Asirpa. As he moves around the village, he comes into contact with several more convicts, but easily defeats them all. When he finally finds Asirpa, Kumagishi pokes his head out from a house which causes Sugimoto to aim his rifle at him. Before he could shoot, Asirpa reveals that the man is Kumagishi and he asks why he is here. Just then, an arrow flies past Sugimoto and hits Kumagishi who groans in pain.

As Kumagishi falls to his knees, Sugimoto shoots the convict that had shot Kumagishi, killing him. Sugimoto takes a look at his arrowhead and noticed that it has poison on it. Asirpa says that there is nothing they can do since the poison is now in Kumagishi's stomach. Kumagishi attempts to tell them clues on how to find evidences in counterfeit pieces with his dying breath as he passes away. Sugimoto and Asirpa steps outside and Sugimoto places his hand on Asirpa's shoulder, asking if she is not hurt and if they did anything horrible to her.

Sugimoto's Group and the Ainu women begins burying all the dead convicts and as they covered Kumagishi's body, Sugimoto exclaimed that he cannot believe that Kumagishi was pretending to be an Ainu and that Hijikata's Group must've realized that Kumagishi isn't in Kabato and that they would never dream they were burying him. Once they had finished burying the bodies, the Ainu women and children invites Sugimoto's Group to eat their harvest of turep and they help them prepare the food. Once the food is ready, Sugimoto's Group eats their reward and finds it to be delicious.

Once they had finished eating and enjoyed themselves, they surrounded Kiyohiro Suzukawa and deliberated on what they should do with him. Ogata thinks he'll just be a pain and wants to have him killed and skinned but Suzukawa pleads for his life saying that he has information on the other Abashiri convicts. When Ogata says that he might be lying, Sugimoto reassures that if he lies to them, he'll pull his tongue out. He then decides to take Suzukawa with them as they are in a hurry and will talk with Hijikata about what to do with him. He and Suzukawa carries Ushiyama away when he wants to stay in the kotan to help repopulate the village and the group says their farewells to the Ainu women.

When they finally reach Tsukigata, Ogata says that Suzukawa is a letdown and that he seems like too much of a small fry to be locked up in Abashiri. Suzukawa retorts that he is a con artist who uses his head over brute force to get what he wants but Sugimoto finds it hard to believe that he could fool anyone with his appearance. He is immediately shut down when Suzukawa says that he easily and completely fell for his Ainu village chief act. Upon meeting up with Nagakura, Sugimoto is startled by how much Nagakura and Suzukawa resemble each other. Nagakura tells them he has two pieces of bad news, that Kumagishi is dead and they are surprised that he already knew, and that Shiraishi has been captured by the 7th Division.

Once Hijikata and Kiroranke returned from their mission and informed the rest of them that they had failed to rescue Shiraishi, everyone thought about what to do before deciding to leave Shiraishi to his fate since they already had a copy of his tattoo. However, Sugimoto refuses and says that he wants to save Shiraishi and pulls over Suzukawa, saying that they could use his skills as a con artist.

### Journey to Karafuto Arc

In the middle of his rampage, Sugimoto hears a gunshot which was caused by Cikapasi and Enonoka rescuing the latter's dog. As the Ainu kids head back to regroup with the others, Sugimoto runs into them but Cikapasi notices something is wrong with him and tells Enonoka to keep going as Sugimoto begins to chase after them. A wolverine runs towards them and causes Cikapasi to fall off the skis, but Sugimoto manages to stop the wild animal and tries to fight with it. However, the wolverine is killed by Tanigaki and Cikapasi and Sugimoto then turns his sight towards Gansoku who approaches him saying that he has some unfinished business to settle with him.

As Sugimoto fights with Gansoku, Gansoku says that there is so much anger in his fists but it is not directed towards him and asks him just why he is angry. Sugimoto, thinking about Toraji, Umeko, and Asirpa, begins to cry and says just how useless he is. Just then, Tanigaki, Tsukishima, and Koito steps in to stop the fight, but the ice is unable to withstand their combined weight and breaks, plunging them all into the freezing water. The frigid temperature finally brings Sugimoto back to his senses as he climbs out and heads into the nearby banya to warm up his body.

In the banya, Koito asks him what his brilliant plan was but Sugimoto states that he cannot remember. He then turns towards Gansoku and says that he does not want to kill him but regardless someone will still be after him. Sugimoto suggests that they make a copy of his tattoo and once they find the gold, Gansoku's life will no longer be in danger. Gansoku admits to his idea and tells Sugimoto that he had heard Asirpa's name before since she was with Shiraishi, a man whom he recognized as another tattooed convict. Sugimoto begins to ask about Asirpa and if she said anything, and Gansoku stated that the young Ainu girl had spoken about him. Gansoku relayed that Asirpa believes that Sugimoto is still alive, which brought a smile to Sugimoto's face.

### Youichirou the Manslayer Arc

Gansoku decides to take Sugimoto and Tsukishima's advice to leave Karafuto and said his farewells to the soldiers as they watch him walk away. When Koito asks if it really is alright to let the tattooed convict go without consulting Tsurumi, Tsukishima says that Tsurumi has left all the decision making to him. He then turns to Sugimoto and says that that included what to do with him, and that if Sugimoto were to lose control again and go past the point of no return, he will kill him.

### Karafuto Circus Arc

Sugimoto's group arrives in a Karafuto Ainu village located to the east of Toyohara and Odomari and Sugimoto says that they should stay in the village for the day despite Koito's complaints about continuing further to Toyohara to stay at a wonderful inn. They eventually reach Toyohara where Sugimoto's bag is taken by a young boy, so Sugimoto, Tsukishima, and Koito chases after the thief. Tsukishima asks Sugimoto if Gansoku's tattoo is in his bag to which he confirmed it before Tsukishima decides to split up so as to catch the thief between them. However, Sugimoto is unable to keep up as the boy scales to the roofs with the nimble Koito just behind him. Sugimoto regroups with Tsukishima when they hear a couple of gunfires shot by Koito who had found the thief.

The boy and his master bows to the soldiers in apology but Sugimoto says that it is alright and that they aren't going to make a big deal out of the incident. The master continues to apologize, saying that the boy would just cause more trouble before taking out his sword, which he cuts the boy with. In response, Sugimoto punches the master but they quickly find out that it was just fake blood as part of a magic trick. The master, introducing himself as Yamada and the boy as Choukichi, reveals that they are part of the Yamada Circus Troupe and are performers. This gives Sugimoto an idea to join their act so as to send the message to Asirpa that he is alive, by having the whole town of Toyohara talk about his show.

However, Yamada refuses Sugimoto's suggestion since it would mean revealing how their tricks are done to an outsider. In response Sugimoto says he will turn Choukichi over to the police but Yamada is unswayed by Sugimoto's threat. Sugimoto then swears that he has no intention of becoming a performer and to take his secret with him to the grave. Yamada finally relents after Choukichi's recommendation and Sugimoto's Group are taken into their tent to watch them perform some of their acts.

Sugimoto's Group are then given a chance to try out the performances themselves but other than Koito, all of them perform poorly at every tricks and Sugimoto is relegated to doing the *harakiri* show. When he sees Koito is getting all the praises, Sugimoto tells him to tone down his act since he needs to be the one to get his name out but Koito thinks he is just being jealous, causing him to get yelled at by Sugimoto.

Sugimoto and Cikapasi watches as Yamada shows them how the *harakiri* act is done and Sugimoto is given an opportunity to practice it but his exaggerating and bad acting causes Yamada to become concerned. He then notices that Koito has been doing well at his own act and Sugimoto argues with him but is shut down by Koito's words. Sugimoto turns back to Yamada and suggests a roller skating performance but is instantly declined due to sounding too silly. At Yamada's behest, Sugimoto continues to practice the *harakiri* act until the day of the troupe's showtime.

As the Karafuto show goes underway, Sugimoto expresses jealousy at Koito's success and popularity with the crowd. When Koito sees a photograph of Tsurumi and chases after it, thus interfering with the other ongoing acts before majestically catching it, Sugimoto is flabbergasted that the crowd is amused by the error. Later on, Sugimoto prepares to perform the *harakiri* act, unaware that Koito has switched the fake sword with a real one.

As Sugimoto prepares to cut himself, he constantly stalls until Enonoka tells him to hurry up. Upon cutting himself, he finds that the pain and blood is real and looking around, sees Koito and Tsukishima with the fake blade. He then realizes that the sword in his hand is real but decides to continue on with the performance for the sake of the show. Sugimoto prepares to slice his stomach but just then, a couple of Russian men comes onto the stage and points a gun at him. Sugimoto is quick to react and cuts down the Russian and throws the sword at the other man. The whole crowd is enthralled by this event, believing that it was all part of the show. Yamada then has the whole troupe head out for the final bow so that they can recover the bodies.

Sugimoto's Group interrogates a lone Russian man whom Tsukishima had knocked out and finds that they were hired by the Russian government and sent to kill Yamada. Yamada reveals that he used to be a spy for the Imperial Army and that he had been gathering intelligence about Russia since before the war began. Fumie comes in, insulting Yamada by calling him a third rate spy and assassinates the Russian, saying that they will bury the Russians beneath the tent and leave the next morning.

The next day, Tsukishima is able to obtain a newspaper piece about their performances and when Sugimoto sees a typo about him, he throws a tantrum over it. Tsukishima reveals their purpose to Yamada and upon hearing the word "partisan", tells them about a town up north which Alexandrovskaya Prison stood with members of a partisan group being held there. Sugimoto's Group believes that is where Kiroranke will eventually head to and Sugimoto also believes that Asirpa has already found out that he is still alive.

### Border Crossing Arc

Sugimoto's group uses Enonoka's dogs sleds to travel north towards the national border but they are hit by a heavy snowstorm, limiting their view. When Ryu begins to move out of the line, Sugimoto yells at him to get back in formation. Tanigaki wonders if there is a reason why Ryu did that but Sugimoto says that he is just a hunting dog that isn't used to pulling sleds. They soon realize that they had been separated from the others when they hear a gunshot in the distance and Sugimoto asks where it came from, with Cikapasi pointing in the general direction. Tanigaki fires off a gunshot as well but Sugimoto says that they need to find shelter first so that they can get out of the wind. However, they quickly discern that they are in dire situation as Sugimoto says that they will die if they don't do something.

Sugimoto and Tanigaki attempts to dig a hole in the ground, but finds that it has been frozen solid. Tanigaki says that they will have to endure the blizzard with what they have and that they should break up the dog sled, which they used to make a small makeshift shelter as well as some wood for fire. Once Tanigaki was able to get one started, he immediately covers it up, much to Sugimoto's confusion. Tanigaki tells him that a buried fire can burn slowly, which can keep them warm for a long time. However, Tanigaki says that it won't be enough and gets the sled dogs to huddle around them.

Tanigaki gives Sugimoto and Cikapasi some of his kane mochi, saying that whether you eat or not can make a huge difference in regulating body temperature during a snowstorm. Sugimoto notes that it tastes familiar, but Tanigaki laughs at him, saying that it is his own secret recipe which he adjusted. They hear a gunshot in the distance but Tanigaki explained that a raging blizzard can distort their sense of direction, so there is no guarantee of heading in the actual direction that the sound came from.

As they waited in the blizzard, Sugimoto begins to close his eyes but Tanigaki yells at him not to fall asleep as he will die. Sugimoto then has a flashback about Toraji and fighting against the Russians until a bright light shines upon him. He opened his eyes to see a light in the distance and wonders if it is the moon. But Tanigaki says that since they snuck into Abashiri exactly two months ago, it shouldn't be that large. They then notice the light flickering and realizes that it is not the moon but the light from a lighthouse.

With the light ftom the lighthouse, Sugimoto, Tanigaki, and Cikapasi makes their way to a home owned by an elderly Russian couple who allows them to use the space above the *pechka* to warm themselves up. Tsukishima tells them that they are lucky to be alive as the lighthouse had not been in use since the Russo-Japanese War and if the couple had not been there, they would have frozen to death.

Once they had recovered from the cold, Sugimoto and Tanigaki helps Enonoka's grandfather make another sled to replace the one they had used for firewood. Tanigaki notes Ryu's behavior during the snowstorm and Sugimoto pets Ryu, apologizing to the dog for doubting him. When Koito gets a hammer frozen to his hand, Tsukishima says that it is due to the cold temperature and calls for someone to urinate on the hammer so he can get it off, which Sugimoto volunteers to do so as he chases Koito outside.

Sometime later, Sugimoto's group enjoys a homemade meal by the Russian couple and when Tsukishima says that the couple are happy to have a lively table since it has been only the two of them, Sugimoto asks if they don't have any other family members and Koito points to a picture of a woman, asking if she is their daughter. The Russian couple tells them that their daughter had been taken by some Russian army deserters and that they had been waiting for her to return. Sugimoto says that the lighthouse had been here due to what happened to their daughter and that it ended up saving their lives and then asks if he could borrow a picture of their daughter.

When they had finished eating, Sugimoto's group prepares to leave and the Russian lady asks Sugimoto to find their daughter. Sugimoto tells Tsukishima that they will be asking around about the daughter at the places that they stop at and that he knows while their original goal is their top priority, he wishes to repay the Russian couple. He then turns back to the Russian lady and tells her that he put a photo of Asirpa in the frame and asks them to pass a message that she is alive to her if she ever stops by the lighthouse. As they finally depart the lighthouse, the Russian couple are confused to find an unusual photo of Sugimoto in the frame.

Sugimoto's group comes to a Karafuto Ainu village in the Niitoi region where Sugimoto asks some of the local children if they had seen Asirpa or the Russian couple's daughter, Svetlana. Later, as they were resting in a hut, Sugimoto hears Cikapasi and Enonoka talking about a *meko oyasi* which Tsukishima was able to figure out to be a lynx based off of Enonoka's description. Koito wonders if they are talking about Ogata and if they had caught up to Asirpa's group.

When Sugimoto wonders about the relationship between Ogata and the lynx, Tsukishima tells him that it is a slang term for "geisha" and that it is a pathetic joke passed around their division, to which Sugimoto agrees with. Koito tells Sugimoto about Ogata's personality and that he hates him, saying that a lynx can also refer to a fraud or deceiving people. Sugimoto listens solemnly as Koito says that if he sees a thieving cat, then he should shoot to kill it.

### Pet Monster Arc

Sugimoto takes out the copy of Gansoku's tattoo and stares at it, thinking back to when he and Asirpa obtained their first tattooed skin and teaching her how to read the Japanese letters. Tsukishima asks him if he realized something and Koito says that Sugimoto wouldn't be able to solve the tattoo's code since he is an idiot, to which Sugimoto fires back saying that he did realize something but won't tell them what it is. They hear a loud commotion from outside and Sugimoto's Group checks to see an escaped killer has taken Enonoka captive.

Enraged, Sugimoto charges at the killer and attempts to counter the killer's attack but is struck in the neck by his knife. However, Cikapasi had put his makiri pouch on the knife, which had saved Sugimoto's throat from being slit as he grabbed the killer's head and kneed him in the face. He pulls Enonoka away, calling her "Asirpa" and takes out his own knife to execute the killer but is stopped by a couple of Ainu men.

The Ainu apologizes to Sugimoto's Group for the trouble, as they had accidentally let the killer flee from them and Sugimoto says that if they had not stopped him, he could've killed the killer since the Ainu does not have the death penalty. The Ainu reveals that they have their own ways of dealing with criminals, by stabbing needles into their eyes and burying them alive in a bottomless casket. As Koito and Tsukishima talks about the Ainu's view on murder, Sugimoto stares off into the distance.

### Akou Prison Break Arc

Sugimoto's Group makes their way to an Orok settlement where they receive some clues about Asirpa, causing Sugimoto to be relieved. When Koito runs off to chase a little reindeer, Sugimoto suggests that they should put a reindeer collar on him, much to Koito's displeasure and Tsukishima's curiosity. Inside the tent, Sugimoto says that Akou Prison isn't far now and that Asirpa must be close so they should hurry. Cikapasi and Enonoka notices some carved statues in the tent and Sugimoto's Group wonders what kind of animal it is, with Sugimoto thinking it is a dog. Afterwards, Sugimoto's Group sets out for Akou Prison. As they got closer to the prison, they hear a loud explosion and sees smoke flowing in the distance. Using his binoculars, Tsukishima tells everyone that the smoke is coming from Akou Prison.

Upon arriving at Akou Prison, they find that they are too late as Asirpa's Group has already left, however Tsukishima says that they must be close. Sugimoto then has Ryu sniff out Asirpa's scent from her makiri knife and tells Koito, who is skeptical about Asirpa's Group's escape route, that he believes in the dog now. Suddenly, Cikapasi and Enonoka screams and the adults turns around to see an Amur tiger emerging from the hole in the prison's wall. Tanigaki and Tsukishima both shoots at the tiger, being able to scare it away.

Sugimoto's Group attempts to look for Asirpa's Group but their sleds are unable to maneuver across the drift ice as it has become too rough and uneven and Tanigaki warns that the weather might get worse, saying that it would be too dangerous to go after Asirpa's Group. However, Sugimoto is adamant that Asirpa is close and cuts Ryu's leash to go look for her. Sometime later, Sugimoto finds Shiraishi about to fall into the freezing water when his ice platform collapses and manages to save him, grabbing his hand as he greets Shiraishi. Shiraishi jumps onto Sugimoto with tears and snot coming out from his face as he exclaims Sugimoto really is immortal.

Sugimoto shakes Shiraishi, asking where Asirpa is and Shiraishi reassures him that Asirpa is with him and that she is just up ahead. Sugimoto smiles, in relief to hear that Asirpa is nearby but immediately sours up when he hears that Kiroranke and Ogata are also on the drift ice. Shiraishi tells him that it was Ogata who told him and Asirpa that Sugimoto had died but Sugimoto reveals that it was Ogata who had shot both him and Asirpa's father and that he and Kiroranke were accomplices. Sugimoto declares that they will get Asirpa back as he, Shiraishi, and Ryu looks for her. They hear a loud explosion off in the distance and Sugimoto wonders what the sound was but Shiraishi ignores it, saying that he has to pee.

As they run around the drift ice, Sugimoto says that they should hurry since the heavy snow and wind would be able to give them a cover to get closer to Asirpa's Group. Suddenly, the ice below him begins to break, and Shiraishi jumps into Sugimoto, warning him about the drift ice movement. They then find that the ice platform that they are on is drifting away and Sugimoto tells Shiraishi to strip and jump into the water to push the ice, but Shiraishi refuses, telling Sugimoto to do it himself. Sugimoto decides to uses the *hoparata* technique that he learned from Asirpa, which causes them to move backwards back onto the mainland, as Sugimoto exclaims that Asirpa's teachings had saved them. Some time later, Sugimoto manages to find Ogata pointing his rifle at Asirpa, and gets visibly furious.

Sugimoto roars at Ogata but his scream startles Asirpa who had her bow pointed at Ogata and releases the bowstring holding the poisoned arrow in its notch. The arrow hits Ogata in his right eye and as he falls to the ground, Sugimoto runs towards him, grabbing his head and taking out a pocket knife with which he uses to carve out Ogata's eye. Sugimoto then sucks the poison out from Ogata's eyesocket, telling him that he will not die like this and that Asirpa won't become a killer. As he wraps Ogata's head with a piece of cloth, he tells Ogata that his death will have nothing to do with the young Ainu girl.

Sugimoto notices the ice below them breaking and he calls out to Asirpa, snapping her from the shock of having severely wounded Ogata, telling her to take his hand as he reaches out to her. Asirpa jumps towards Sugimoto, saying his name and the two of them embraces each other as Asirpa states that she knew he was alive all along and Sugimoto reminds her of his title. Sugimoto says that she seems to be doing well and wonders if she got a little heavier before asking if she can stand since they need to get moving. Asirpa says that she cannot move away and Sugimoto thinks she is still being emotional, reminding her that they have to go after Kiroranke. Asirpa reveals that her eyelid is frozen to his jacket's metal button and Sugimoto tells Asirpa not to move or else she might rip her eyelid off. He then calls out to Shiraishi to come and urinate on the both of them, shocking Asirpa. Sugimoto asks if he can do it and Shiraishi reveals that his bladder is full and begins to urinate on them, managing to free Asirpa from Sugimoto's button. Asirpa tells Shiraishi that it is enough with a disgusted look on her face and Shiraishi turns to Sugimoto, asking if he is crying but Sugimoto denies it, saying that the fluid on his face is just his urine.

### Return to Karafuto Arc

Sugimoto carries an unconscious Ogata on his back as he, Asirpa, and Shiraishi manages to find Kiroranke who had been defeated by Koito, Tanigaki, and Tsukishima. He remains silent as Asirpa spends some final time with Kiroranke, thanking him for getting her memories to return before Kiroranke passes away from his wounds. Sugimoto and the others stays quiet as Shiraishi buries Kiroranke and when Asirpa says that she wanted to hear directly from Kiroranke's mouth why her father had to die, Tanigaki tells her what Inkarmat had said, that Kiroranke told her that Wilk had changed and betrayed his comrades. However, Sugimoto says that right before Wilk was shot and killed, he confessed that he was not the one who killed the Ainu. As Asirpa wonders where Sofia is, Sugimoto takes his binoculars out and sees Svetlana, identifying her as the daughter of the lighthouse couple. Asirpa sees another person in the distance and both she and Sugimoto ignores Koito's demands, running off to find the person.

Upon getting closer, they hear some violent sounds and Sugimoto thinks it is a fight. They peer around the block of ice and sees Gansoku fending off a couple of Akou prisoners, upon which they immediately turned around, pretending to not see anything. However, Gansoku follows them back and helps carry Tsukishima, who is suffering from a neck injury. When Asirpa continues to look around for Sofia, Sugimoto asks if they should come back and look for her after dropping the injured off at Akou. However, Asirpa says that she knows that they will meet Sofia again. Sugimoto then returns her makiri knife to her and they prepare to go back to Hokkaido.

Sugimoto's Group stops by a Nivkh settlement near Akou so that they can rest from their battle against Kiroranke. In a *to ryv*, a Nivkh winter home, the soldiers discusses Ogata's motives in working together with Kiroranke. Tanigaki says that he cannot imagine that Ogata was sympathetic to the cause of independence for ethnic minority and Koito suggests that he was simply doing it to get his hands on the Ainu gold. Sugimoto says that he hopes that that is the case so that he can kill Ogata without hesitation.

Some time later, Gansoku and Svetlana says their farewells to Sugimoto's Group as they cross over the continent and Sugimoto tells Asirpa that she should let Huci know that she is doing well. However, Asirpa says that Tsurumi might not let her return to the *kotan* and Sugimoto thinks so as well, but since all Tsurumi needs is the key to the tattoo code, that would make him a better choice than Hijikata. Asirpa is confused by his statement and asks him if her father had told him anything else. Sugimoto thinks about Wilk's purpose for Asirpa and lies to her, saying that he did not.

Asirpa says that if she finds the gold, she may be able to find out why her father died and asks Sugimoto if he will continue to cooperate with Tsurumi. Sugimoto begrudgingly says that he will since Tsurumi has taken all of their tattooed skins and that he is the closest one to finding the gold, which is still his main goal. Asirpa notes that this means they are walking the same path again and the two of them renew their partnership contract as Sugimoto swears to free Asirpa from the fight over the gold.

Afterwards, Sugimoto's Group listens to Enonoka tell a Nivkh legend about "the river of monsters" and Sugimoto asks if it will be a scary story, which Enonoka nods in confirmation. Enonoka then began to tell of a man who put charcoal on his buttocks in order to scare away a monster that had been approaching him. Once she had finished and Shiraishi left to relieve himself, Sugimoto wonders why such a weird story had been passed down but believes that there must be a lesson to learn from it, which he asks Asirpa about. Asirpa responds that the lesson is that "those who do bad things are afraid of being seen". She asks Sugimoto to show her his butt and he complies as she spreads markings on his butt so that they can surprise Shiraishi. Sugimoto then points his butt at the exit of the *to ryv* only to find that Shiraishi had the same idea to scare them as well.

Sugimoto sees some Nivkh women working on something and asks Asirpa what they are doing. Asirpa reveals that they are tanning fish skins to be used for making boots and clothes. Hearing this, Sugimoto sheepishly puts on a fish skin hat, which Asirpa says looks good on him. Later, she tells him that the Nivkh has a traditional dish also made from fish skin called *mos*, which Sugimoto's Group eats together. As Sugimoto eats it, he claims that it tastes really good and it is just like kanten.

Sugimoto sees another Nivkh woman working on something else and Enonoka tells him that it is medicine for wounds made from plants. However, they find that the medicine won't be able to save Ogata's life and so Sugimoto declares that they must bring a doctor to help him. When Koito tries to object that they shouldn't be putting their lives at risk over Ogata, Sugimoto counters that Tsukishima also needs a doctor to look at him. He suggests that they dress up like Nivkh, so that they won't be found out as the Russians cannot tell the difference between the Japanese and the Nivkh.

Sugimoto, Enonoka, her grandfather, and a Nivkh man visits a Russian hospital but finds that they are full already. When Sugimoto attempts to bribe the doctor with money, the doctor recognizes Sugimoto's words, revealing that he took part in the Russo-Japanese War. With his cover blown, Sugimoto takes his rifle out, saying that it makes things more simpler. Back at the Nivkh settlement, the doctor takes a look at Tsukishima while having a conversation with him. As he examines Ogata, he suggests that they bring him back to his hospital to be in a better environment.

Koito refuses, telling him to do the operation at their current location but Sugimoto agrees to the change of place, saying that he has a lot of things he wants to ask Ogata as he is not going to let him die just yet. Tsukishima tells Sugimoto and Koito that the doctor has threatened to report them to the Russian army, and so all of their efforts to save Ogata would go to waste. Some time later, Sugimoto's Group prepares to head out for the hospital with Ogata strapped down onto the sled. Koito wonders if Sugimoto is naive enough to think that if they save Ogata, he will have a change of heart and tell the truth, but Sugimoto says that Ogata is not the one he wishes to save.

At the hospital, Sugimoto's Group waits patiently outside while the doctor and his nurse operates on Ogata. Shortly afterwards, the doctor steps out to inform them that even though he did all he could, Ogata is getting weaker by the moment and that he will die soon. Upon seeing Asirpa looking forlorn, Sugimoto decides to head into the hospital to ask if there is any other way to save Ogata. As he steps into Ogata's room, he finds Ogata gone with the window open and the doctor bleeding on the floor. He runs out of the hospital screaming that Ogata has escaped and orders everyone to find Ogata while keeping Asirpa close by his side.

As Sugimoto and Asirpa searches for Ogata, Asirpa hears the sound of a horse running and spots Ogata making his escape, informing Sugimoto about it. When Sugimoto prepares his rifle, Asirpa wonders if he is going to shoot Ogata but he reassures her that will only aim for the horse. However, Sugimoto misses hitting the horse or Ogata and as Ogata flees laughing, Sugimoto hopes that Ogata will be able to make a full recovery and come back to him so that he can finally kill Ogata.

### Return to Hokkaido Arc

Sugimoto's Group heads south towards the national border and stops by a Karafuto Ainu village to rest. They are given some of "grandma's chewed dango", which Sugimoto nervously eats. They find it to be delicious to eat, but Sugimoto and Shiraishi becomes drunk as a result and Sugimoto begins to cry that he lost his miso case. When Shiraishi asks for more dango to be poured into his mouth, Sugimoto complies, spitting it directly into his mouth, causing Tanigaki to label them as being awful.

Once Sugimoto and Shiraishi had recovered, Sugimoto's Group enters the town of Shizuka in order to shop for some necessities. Sugimoto momentarily leaves the group in order to restock his supply of miso, saying that Asirpa will be happy that they have some more miso to eat. Just then, Sugimoto hears the sound of several gunshots being fired and begins to run around the town, screaming that he will split the head of the shooter and shove his miso in there.

Thanks to Tsukishima grabbing the attention of the sniper, Sugimoto is able to safely find the location of the sniper and enters the building to confront him, believing him to be Ogata. He prepares his rifle as well as a mirror in order to trick the sniper and quickly opens the *shōji* door. The sniper falls for Sugimoto's trap as Sugimoto jumps into the room with his bayonet ready. When the sniper pulls out his revolver to shoot once more, Sugimoto throws his miso case into the sniper's face, stunning him.

Sugimoto knocks the gun out of the sniper's hand and stabs at him, realizing that his foe is not Ogata. The sniper manages to block Sugimoto's attack with the miso case and attempts to flee in order to create some distance between them. However, Sugimoto is able to catch up with the sniper and grabs him through a *shōji* door. Sugimoto then promptly throws the sniper down to the floor and prepares to finish the sniper with his knife. Before he could do so, Sugimoto notices a hand drawn picture of Ogata in the sniper's coat, asking if he had made it.

Sugimoto sees more pictures of Ogata and wonders if he had sent the sniper to attack him and his group. The sniper is confused by Sugimoto's claim before taking out a picture of himself and Ogata to show that he is also enemies with Ogata. Sugimoto realizes the sniper is also looking for Ogata and the sniper points to pictures of Asirpa and Shiraishi to indicate that he had seen the both of them with Ogata. However, Sugimoto takes their pictures away to show that they are not and slams Ogata's picture, which the sniper copies, much to Sugimoto's satisfication.

Sugimoto tries to tell Vasily how Ogata had betrayed him by drawing a picture of him getting shot in the head but Vasily mistakes his drawing for a spider. Sugimoto continues to explain what happened to Ogata and what Asirpa did to Ogata. He goes on to say that Asirpa has helped to cleanse him and made him feel like he has been saved. Afterwards, the rest of Sugimoto's Group comes in and sees Sugimoto and the sniper being friendly with each other on the floor. Sugimoto's Group finds out that the sniper Vasily was a Russian soldier after Kiroranke who has now set his eyes on Ogata.

They bring Vasily out to meet Shiraishi who is not happy about being shot in the leg and begins to yell at Vasily. When Vasily takes his mask off to reveal his injury, shocking Shiraishi, Sugimoto explains that Vasily is unable to speak properly because of his injury. Afterwards, Sugimoto's Group hops on the dog sleds and makes their way back to the lighthouse. On the way, they notice that Vasily is following them and Shiraishi wonders if he thinks they are lying about Kiroranke's death. However, Asirpa says that Vasily no longer cares about Kiroranke as his wnated posters of Kiroranke were torn up to be used as drawing paper.

Shiraishi wonders if Vasily thinks he will be able to meet Ogata again if he stays with them and Sugimoto believes that Vasily will not stop until either he or Ogata are dead. Asirpa asks if Ogata will come back to them and Sugimoto says that so long as she is the key to solving the code to the gold, there is a chance that he will come back. However, Asirpa notes that Ogata had tried to kill him and wonders if he truly wants the gold. Sugimoto thinks for a moment before saying that Ogata might just be stirring things up for the fun of it.

Upon returning to the lighthouse and giving Svetlana's letter to her parents, Sugimoto and Asirpa begins to talk about Sofia at the top of the lighthouse. Sugimoto says that the only person who knows the truth behind everything is Sofia and that he would love to go to the mainland to search for her. However, he notes that Tsukishima and Tanigaki's mission on their trip has been fulfilled. Asirpa states that Kiroranke and Sofia's plan was to gather allies on the mainland and then cross over to Japan and that Sofia is not the kind of person who would go to the mainland just to run away.

Sugimoto's Group decides to stay in Toyohara until Tsurumi arrives in Karafuto so Sugimoto and Asirpa goes out hunting. They come across some wolverine tracks and Sugimoto tries to warn Asirpa about how dangerous the animal are but Asirpa ignores his warning, suggesting that they hunt some wolverine for their brains. Asirpa then prepares an Ainu ritual, with Sugimoto commenting that despite being a new Ainu woman, Asirpa makes sure to perform her rituals. Asirpa states that going into the mountains means that they will be facing all kinds of danger and that doing the rituals could help them to become more focused. She laments that now that they have matches, they only use their tools when they go out to hunt and wonders how they would be able to leave them behind for the future.

They are then approached by two men who asks Asirpa to perform her ritual again. When Sugimoto questions them on their identities, one of the men states that they are recording moving pictures. Before they could explain what moving pictures are, they are suddenly attacked by a wolverine, much to Sugimoto and Asirpa's surprise. However, Sugimoto and Asirpa manages to kill the wolverine and its pack, taking their brains out to eat. Sugimoto turns to the men, asking them what they were filming and they reveal that some Karafuto Ainu men had allowed them to film them but they got separated along the way. Asirpa asks if it is different from taking pictures and they explain that their device is a cinematograph which they have been using to record a lot about the Ainu culture.

## References

1. ↑ Character profiles from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 242
3. ↑ Q&A section from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 275
5. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 35
6. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 278
7. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 1
8. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 2
9. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 3
10. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 4
11. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 5
12. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 6
13. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 7
14. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 8
15. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 9
16. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 10
17. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 11
18. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 12
19. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 13
20. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 14
21. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 15
22. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 16
23. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 17
24. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 18
25. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 19
26. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 20
27. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 21
28. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 22
29. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 23
30. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 24
31. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 25
32. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 26
33. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 27
34. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 28
35. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 29