JIGOKUDANI ("HELL VALLEY") NOBORIBETSU CITY
OTARU - NOBORIBETSU ASAHIKAWA - ABASHIRI
Noboribetsu was known as the largest hot spring region at the time.
The springs of this region were known for their healing properties.
After the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War,
this region was designated a recuperative facility for 7th division.
FAMOUS NOBORIBETSU HOT SPRING "THE WATERFALL BATH"
-This hits the spot. -They're switching!
Private First Class Nikaidou and Superior Private Usami.
Did you arrive today?
Sergeant Major Kikuta, sir.
How is your injury?
I see, Lieutenant Tsurumi sent you here to check my condition.
He must really be hoping to rely on me when I can rejoin the fray.
By the way, have you heard Private Ariko's peculiar story?
What's that?
Last night, while hiking up to a spring in the mountains, he saw a strange man.
He ran off into the snowy darkness, with no lantern, wearing wooden sandals.
Isn't that bizarre?
My balls are gonna switch places!
EPISODE 39 - THE SMELL OF SULFUR
A man who wears wooden sandals in the snow-covered mountains at night?
There are such things as snow sandals, though.
Perhaps his eyes had adjusted to the dark by the time he ran off.
Nothing about it sounds that peculiar.
Can't you see that I'm busy?
You can ask Ariko yourself.
Right, Private Ariko?
I'm certain I heard sandals clanking,
but the tracks in the snow weren't sandal tracks.
The tracks were from straw-woven boots.
What do you find so suspicious?
There were other details, Ariko.
I also couldn't help but notice his clothes.
His garment had the strangest pattern.
Like what?
I couldn't see it that well.
I don't know how to describe it.
You all have been here goofing off ever since the war ended.
It's made you stupid.
Don't be so rude, Nikaidou.
Anyhow, Private Ariko, why did you go so deep in the mountains?
There's a secret spring only the Ainu know about.
-Are you Ainu? -I am.
Perhaps this man you saw is also Ainu.
The strange garment you speak of sounds like an Ainu pattern.
I'd recognize an Ainu garment.
For some reason, I can't stop thinking about his story.
Am I being paranoid?
Any thoughts, Anma?
An unusual Ainu-patterned garment?
Sorry, but no. If I see anything like it, I'll let you know.
If you could!
What? Unbelievable! How?
I'm begging you, Nikaidou.
Just tell me.
What do the Abashiri convicts' tattoos look like?
I've never seen one.
Let's go grab a bite to eat.
Ariko, did anyone else see this suspicious man?
Go ask the the people in your village.
Roger.
We're lagging behind Usami and his men.
They think they're better than us.
It'd be nice to have something of value to offer
when we rejoin Lieutenant Tsurumi.
Are you going back to Abashiri with Private Ariko?
No, Lieutenant Tsurumi will be leaving Abashiri soon.
We'll rendezvous along the way.
Wonder what he plans on doing with the fortune-teller and cannibal geezer.
Do you think he'll bring them along?
That's none of our concern.
Hey, can you stop being so rough?
Massage me gently.
You've been hurting me this whole time.
You're the worst masseur.
Oh, I'm terribly sorry.
The two that came here recently, they're from Lieutenant Tsurumi's corps.
They're an invaluable source of information.
We must eliminate Ariko and Kikuta
before they catch on to our true purpose here.
We should lie in wait until the next new moon.
The moon lights up the night more than usual in the winter.
We have no time to waste.
If we can't stay here anymore,
we'll no longer be able to relay intel about the 7th to Hijikata Toshizou.
Toni, Ariko spotted you in the mountains.
This is your fault.
The hot springs in the depths of the mountains of Noboribetsu
are today called Karurusu Hot Springs.
The Ainu in the region called this spring Penke-yu.
I wonder if the man in sandals will show up tonight as well.
Have you seen a man wearing a garment with strange patterns near Penke-yu?
He appears after sundown.
The clank of sandals.
The pattern wasn't on a garment.
Those were his tattoos.
He must be the man Ariko saw.
Although he has a lit lantern.
You there! Take off your robe slowly and show me your skin.
Can he see me?
I lit the lantern so nobody's eyes would adjust to the darkness!
Tsk, we've got company.
I can see every single one of you.
There's a theory that says that pirates wore eye patches
to allow their eyes to adjust to the darkness below decks.
Sergeant Major Kikuta had worn
an eye patch on his left eye in anticipation of nighttime combat.
His eyes were completely adjusted to the dark!
Retreat, dumbasses! You've been spotted!
Damn, this is why I wanted to wait until the new moon!
This is a problem.
Go, go! Down to the valley!
You're going nowhere.
I can't see a thing.
I'm sick of the smell of sulfur.
Once we get our share of the treasure, let's move to the beach.
Caught him!
He's dead!
That came from the direction of Jigokudani.
You've done it now. How dare you mess with my precious collection.
During the Russo-Japanese War, Sergeant Major Kikuta
was obsessed with stealing guns from the Russian soldiers he killed.
He especially coveted the Nagant M1895,
so much so that he ordered his men to search any bodies for it.
Please don't shoot.
It's me.
His allies are closing in!
We're screwed!
He ran towards higher ground.
Sergeant Major Kikuta.
Is that you, Ariko?
What I saw that night were tattoos.
We'll chase them. Follow me.
By the way, Usami, your timing couldn't have been more perfect.
You and Nikaidou were staking out by the Ainu springs, weren't you.
You two pieced it together when you heard Ariko's story.
You were trying to outsmart us.
We've been caught.
Why did the tattooed prisoners risk themselves
by infiltrating the 7th's hot spring base?
Wait, I know this guy.
He's the masseur.
His tracks lead into this cave.
It's an old tunnel. I went in here when I was a child.
Any other way out?
There are a couple if they haven't caved in.
They must be deeper inside.
Do not light matches.
That'll make us easy targets.
I can't see a thing.
What's this? Something is protruding from the ground.
One careless move, and they'll know exactly where we are.
Icicles which form on the ground when water drips from the ceiling
down to the ground are known as ice stalagmites.
This is a rare phenomenon, even in the harsh Hokkaido winter.
Shoe's on the other foot, now.
So this prisoner has an acute sense of hearing.
He takes his aim using the crunching sound of the icicles.
I didn't even notice these icicles when I was a kid.
With some rolled-up birch bark,
I'd be able to track him while evading his shots.
But lighting a huge light here just makes me a perfect target.
Bastard!
He's advancing quickly, but I hear no cracking ice.
How is he able to move in this darkness without shattering the icicles?
Even in the volcanic gas of Jigokudani, they could still fight.
A torch?
If it isn't the masseur.
So you really couldn't see.
He knows now. I'm screwed again!
The masseur.
Our foe can accurately tell his surroundings through sounds.
There must be come sort of a trick using the sound of that sandal,
but, whatever.
He got out.
Sergeant Major Kikuta!
I got shot in the leg!
Please don't leave me behind!
It's dark in here!
What a pain in the ass.
I can take care of him by myself.
I have an idea.
Hunting is best done alone and quietly.
All right. Just don't lose him.
I need to reload.
Will Ariko be all right by himself?
Shut up. Like you're one to talk.
Ariko was one of the rescue crew from the Hakkoda Mountain mission, you know.
The Hakkoda Mountains incident.
Two years before the Russo-Japanese war,
the fifth infantry regiment stationed in Aomori
was sent on a march in the snow as part of winter training.
199 soldiers died.
One of the strangest disasters in history.
So he's one of the Ainu specifically recruited from Hokkaido for that mission?
The Ainu search party walked through the frigid river of ice
and swiftly over deep snow banks as if it were flat ground.
They retrieved the bodies one by one.
Even the local skeptics were left speechless.
Besides that, Noboribetsu is like his backyard.
No one can outrun Rikimatsu Ariko in these mountains.
That snapping of a branch sounded a little too intentional.
Where is this sound coming from?
I get it now.
He led me here on purpose.
He knew exactly where this is likely to occur.
I've lost.
FOUR DAYS LATER
Where's Sergeant Major Kikuta?
He went to the mountains to look for him again.
But he's been gone for four whole days.
Private Ariko has got to be dead.
Did you wire Lieutenant Tsurumi?
I did. Lieutenant Tsurumi will come to Noboribetsu.
Ariko is dead, my leg is injured,
and we let that prisoner escape.
We're gonna get chewed out again!
Ipopte.
Hey, Ariko.
You could've let us know you were okay. We were worried sick.
I've been anticipating your arrival.
KO - BOU - RO - SATO KA - KO - YATSU
Why did you skin him?
Explain yourself, Ariko.
While inspecting the tattoos on the corpse,
I realized that they ended abruptly along his midsagittal line.
Midsagittal line?
The prisoners' tattoos are meant to be skinned
in the same manner as a hunted animal.
I understand.
I found him deep in the mountains.
Carrying a corpse down a mountain is quite cumbersome,
so I skinned him where I found him.
I was also afraid that Private Usami would try to take credit.
I decided to hide in the village until you came looking for me.
And his gun?
I thought you'd ask and searched for it, but it got buried in the avalanche.
The only trophies are his skin and this.
Excellent, Ariko.
All thanks to your impeccable judgment.
We couldn't have fetched a better gift for Lieutenant Tsurumi.
Now, we can make up for lost time.
What're you making, granny?
If you're cooking up snacks to go with the drinks, I'd love one.
Rice soaked in water? What're you gonna do with that?
It's unknown whether this is a traditional Karafuto Ainu dish or not.
However, there are witness accounts of "grandma's pre-chewed dumplings."
Her grandchildren just said,
"Whatever it was, it was very delicious."
It reminds me of kiritanpo in Akita,
where they take leftover rice, mash it, and cook it.
Hey granny, I want more of your dumplings!
Pirka, pirka.
Granny, can you make more? Please?
Pirka, pirka.
Grandma, I can't wait another minute!
Give it to me straight!
You guys are disgusting.
-Tsukishima. -Yes?
What does "barchonok" mean in Russian?
Barchonok?
It's a word used to mock little boys from rich families.
In other words,
"silver spoon."
Where'd you hear that term?
FIRST LIEUTENANT TOKUSHIROU TSURUMI
SERGEANT HAJIME TSUKISHIMA
SECOND LIEUTENANT OTONOSHIN KOITO
PRIVATES FIRST CLASS KOUHEI AND YOUHEI NIKAIDOU
SUPERIOR PRIVATE TOKISHIGE USAMI
SECOND LIEUTENANT YUUSAKU HANAZAWA
IMPERIAL JAPANESE ARMY FIRST CLASS
RIKIMATSU ARIKO - IPOPTE
SERGEANT MAJOR MOKUTAROU KIKUTA
TOSHIZOU HIJIKATA MERCILESS VICE-COMMANDER
TATSUUMA USHIYAMA USHIYAMA THE UNDEFEATED
SHINPACHI NAGAKURA
DR. KANO IENAGA
TOSHIYUKI KADOKURA
KIRAWUS
TAKUBOKU ISHIKAWA
KANTAROU OKUYAMA
ANJI TONI - THE BLIND GUNMAN
SUPERIOR PRIVATE HYAKUNOSUKE OGATA
SOFIA GOLDEN HAND
HEITA MATSUDA
KEIJI UEJI
WAICHIROU SEKIYA
BOUTAROU THE PIRATE
WILK
VASILY PAVLICHENKO
CIKAPASI - ENONOKA - RYU
YOSHITAKE SHIRAISHI
INKARMAT
GENJIROU TANIGAKI
ASIRPA
SAICHI SUGIMOTO
HOKKAIDO KONJIN NEWS
Next Episode: Silver Spoon.