He's here!
When we return to Hokkaido, ask to see Huci from Otaru.
Lieutenant Tsurumi is stubborn, but he should allow it.
It's going be okay, Asirpa.
Once we get the girl, where shall we put her?
At the site of Tsukisappu's 25th Infantry Regiment,
there's a warehouse that hasn't been used since before the war.
Even the regimental commander doesn't know there's a basement.
Even if it takes us a few years to find the gold,
we can keep Asirpa hidden in there.
Karafuto Advance Unit, excellent work.
I knew that you were capable men.
So this little lady is Asirpa, then?
EPISODE 43 - ESCAPE FROM KARAFUTO
I see.
Right! Get Asirpa to the destroyer!
Tomorrow morning, Sugimoto and Shiraishi will board the ferry
and stand by at Wakkanai.
-What? -Wait. Why aren't we going together?
There is a limit to how many crew members can board the ship.
But if they stay in Wakkanai, we're not going to join them again?
Where am I being taken?
You'll find out later.
Are you going to separate us and lock me up somewhere?
We're just taking you somewhere safe for your own protection.
You can see Sugimoto whenever you want.
My father only told Toshizou Hijikata of my existence.
He involved me in the search for the gold
to make sure that it was used for the Ainu.
I want to hear it loud and clear:
Do the Ainu exist in your vision for the future?
Why, of course.
I have my eyes set on a happy future for all.
All our intentions and actions will lead us to such a future.
Your help would mean a lot to us, Asirpa.
Yeah, right.
If it's not going to be used for the Ainu, I won't help you.
The gold originally belonged to the Ainu!
Originally, those were war funds used to kill Japanese people.
The few who collected gold dust for that purpose are all dead.
It doesn't mean that all Ainu have a wish to fight.
How the gold is used is for the living Ainu to decide!
You will follow in his footsteps.
What? What's with the sweet lies?
Your eyes…
are exactly like your father's.
Sugimoto,
what I decide to do is up to me.
Hey!
Asirpa! What are you doing?
Poisoned arrows!
One touch, and it's instant death!
Dodge them!
Anyone hit?
They're getting away!
Those arrowheads didn't have any poison on them, right?
It knew you were gonna run for it straightaway.
Return to our chitatap lifestyle in our kotan,
or go to war to protect the Ainu.
There is more than one choice.
If we're going to be partners, then no more, "Don't do that."
I want to hear something positive, like, "Let's do it together!"
Okay, then! Let's find the gold by ourselves!
Sugimoto, in there!
What? Am I dead?
The two of you search that way.
Don't forget to check inside the buildings.
We can get through here.
Did you have a plan before you started legging it?
I have one.
The ferry?
Yeah, the one that was broken down leaves port today.
I bet they're going to try and get on that boat!
We can get to the street through here.
Ah, here you are.
Over there.
Hurry! They're coming this way!
They're over here!
Run!
Stop there!
You won't escape.
Sugimoto!
Don't shoot! You'll hit Asirpa!
Sugimoto! Get up!
Don't move.
You knew this would happen if you chose to run.
What are you doing? Don't get any closer!
Get away from him!
I am Sugimoto the Immortal!
Second Lieutenant Koito, let me take a look.
After them, Sergeant Tsukishima! They're getting away!
Don't pull it out.
Go ahead, Tsukishima.
I'll be fine.
I always warn you not to let your emotions take over and rush in like that.
And even though you listened carefully yesterday…
Can't you even pretend to be worried about him?
You can do it, Sugimoto.
The boat is just a little farther.
Let's go.
Zukin-chan.
Shiraishi!
Asirpa-chan.
Just as I thought!
Get on!
Hey, wait!
You can't come too, Tanigaki!
Lieutenant Tsurumi has Inkarmat, right?
Lieutenant Tsurumi and his men must be keeping watch on the village!
You can't go back!
Tell Huci I had a dream about meeting her again!
It might bring her some relief to hear it!
I promise I'll be back again! Please tell her!
Take care, Genjirou Tanigaki.
Private First Class Tanigaki.
Why are you plodding along like that?
Weren't you with Yoshitake Shiraishi? Where did he go?
I saw him escaping with Asirpa to the town.
Then why didn't you chase them?
Get moving! On your way, Tanigaki!
-I'm a Matagi. -What?
I'm Tanigaki the Matagi.
They said the boat is about to depart.
Sugimoto.
I'm fine.
A wound like this won't drain my soul.
It's not time for that yet.
What is it, Zukin-chan?
Crap! One of them is coming this way!
Hey, that ship over there!
Don't leave yet! Wait!
Bang. Get him!
You can hit him at this range, right?
The legs! Aim for the legs!
Did you get his leg?
Nice one.
We did it! We escaped Karafuto!
We got away!
Of all the times and places to make a run for it,
she just had to pick somewhere like that, didn't she?
If we're going to find the gold by ourselves,
then we're the ones who can decide how to use it.
Asirpa is searching for a path to protect the Ainu,
but only on that allows her to stand by her own beliefs.
That's what I've decided to believe in.
That's all well and good,
but how are we going to find the gold by ourselves?
No! They're chasing us!
Prepare the signal lamp!
"Stop the engines immediately."
That's what they're signaling, Captain.
Strange. What do they want?
Please don't stop the ship.
They're only trying to get hold of this girl.
They've no intention of sinking the ship.
Is that blood you're covered in? I can see this is no trivial matter.
It'd be better if you don't ask me why, Captain.
Okay!
In the first place, I'm not taking orders
from those who dare to approach my ship
and threaten to fire on us with civilians on board.
Full speed ahead!
Even so, their ship is far quicker than ours.
They'll catch us in no time!
That's it!
Can't we cut through the ice to the other side?
That would buy us time!
What? This ship is no icebreaker!
If we plow into that drift ice, we'll sink!
Forget that, just steer the boat toward the drift ice!
Trust me!
Captain! The ferry is changing course!
It seems they're escaping to the east!
Block their way!
They blew open a rift in the ice!
Yes! Exactly as I thought!
I knew if we tried to escape, they'd fire right in front of our noses!
Typical Sugimoto.
When it comes to threats, there's nothing you don't know.
Let's escape before the rift closes! Quick! Go!
Ferry speed increased!
There's drift ice ahead!
How did they get through to the other side?
Did our earlier gunfire open up an escape route?
It's only a matter of time until they catch us.
Right. Come on, Shiraishi!
What is it?
Grab some white cloth!
What are we doing? Raising a white flag?
The ferry has stopped.
It's started to move.
It's turning around and coming this way!
Show yourself, Saichi Sugimoto!
They just got off the ship!
Got off the ship?
Search the ship!
Are you hiding them?
And why would I do that?
They just got off when we stopped over there!
Like I said, they ran away! Over the drift ice!
I can't see them.
If they're on foot, there's no way they'd disappear so fast.
I'll go down onto the ice and chase after them.
No.
One of them was able to shoot someone
from a ferry docked 200 meters away.
You'll be a perfect target out in the open on the ice.
All land troops to transfer to the ferry and head to Wakkanai.
Head south from Wakkanai
and search the villages on the Okhotsk coast.
Yes, sir.
What a shame. I wanted to have a nice, long conversation with her.
We've done it. They're not chasing us.
We've outrun them for now.
We were two hours from reaching Wakkanai on the ferry.
We should be able to reach it by foot somehow.
Lieutenant Tsurumi and his crew must be ahead of us.
We need to take a long detour to outsmart them.
Sounds rough.
Shouldn't we threaten to kill Asirpa's relatives?
Usami,
if you're gonna threaten someone, you gotta do it before they run away.
Geez. Obviously, I know that.
What if we place an obituary for her grandma in the newspaper?
Killing an old lady just to make an example isn't really my style.
We don't actually have to kill her. Just put out a fake obituary.
It'll get our intentions across to her.
If the girl is still hesitant and not determined in her resolve,
a threat might just push her in the right direction.
We didn't have a choice.
If we had handed over the gold, it wouldn't have been used for the Ainu,
even though the Ainu gathered the gold dust for themselves.
Right, Sugimoto?
I expect so.
Actually, last night,
Shiraishi managed to eavesdrop on Sergeant Tsukishima's conversation.
I didn't really understand everything they were saying,
but Lieutenant Tsurumi wants to use the Ainu gold
to overthrow the government and advance forward into Manchuria.
It seems that Hokkaido is just the beginning of his vision.
As for that lot, Ainu independence is the last thing on their minds.
There were many Ainu in the 7th Division.
They'd say they fought on the same side against Russia as Japanese people.
If I'm honest, when Asirpa dodged being handed over to those men,
I thought, "Serves you right."
After all, what was the point of Kiroranke's death?
Why did Kiroranke nispa go to war?
Was it to protect his family in Japan from Russia?
Kiro-chan only told me that story once.
With Wilk gone,
he became confused and uncertain about independence for the Far East.
He said, "At least now I can keep fighting against the Russian Empire
using my own methods.
I will kill as many Russians as I can."
Using death and war to resolve things
is very quick and simple.
But the path Asirpa wants to take
is an infinitely more difficult one.
Asirpa,
what did you say to Kiroranke back then?
Perhaps you figured out a way to unravel the code?
Yes.
What? Really?
Then, what was it?
It was…
Wait. You keep it to yourself, Asirpa.
Tell me when the right time comes.
Yes.
It's not time just yet.
Sugimoto is far too kind.
If I tell him how to solve the code, he'll probably leave me behind
and go hunt down the gold by himself.
Until his soul leaves his body, he'll keep fighting and hurting alone.
He'll stay by my side as long as I don't reveal how to solve the code.
I'm the only one who can protect this man from gunfire.
I will become his strongest shield.
And when the time comes--
yes, when there is good reason--
I will be ready to plunge into hell with Saichi Sugimoto.
What is it?
Over there.
Who stripped off his uniform?
Well, see, there was a man…
Where was the ferry docked?
Way over there.
That takes a lot of skill…
Why are you taking his clothes?
He won't be using them anymore, will he?
And this gun…
must want to keep shooting people until the day it breaks.
His clothes, shoes and bags…
Did the meko oyasi eat everything?
Hey, everyone, we made it back to Hokkaido!
FIRST LIEUTENANT TOKUSHIROU TSURUMI
SERGEANT HAJIME TSUKISHIMA
SECOND LIEUTENANT OTONOSHIN KOITO
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS KOUHEI AND YOUHEI NIKAIDOU
SUPERIOR PRIVATE TOKISHIGE USAMI
SECOND LIEUTENANT YUUSAKU HANAZAWA
IMPERIAL JAPANESE ARMY FIRST CLASS RIKIMATSU ARIKO - IPOPTE
WARRANT OFFICER 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
TOSHIZOU HIJIKATA
SUPERIOR PRIVATE HYAKUNOSUKE OGATA
SOFIA GOLDEN HAND
HEITA MATSUDA
JACK THE RIPPER KEIJI UEJI
WAICHIROU SEKIYA
BOUTAROU THE PIRATE
WILK
VASILY PAVLICHENKO
CIKAPASI - ENONOKA - RYU
YOSHITAKE SHIRAISHI
INKARMAT
GENJIROU TANIGAKI
ASIRPA
SAICHI SUGIMOTO
HOKKAIDO KONJIN INQUIRER
SEVERAL DAYS LATER
How pitiful.
I'm glad you're alive.
I was injured at Karafuto during the Russo-Japanese War.
Until recently, I was completely bedridden.
I want to return to Hokkaido, where my elderly parents are waiting,
but I don't have money for the boat journey.
I know it is a poor substitute,
but here is some dried cod.
Please go ahead.
Next episode: Brown Bear Man.