As we had Sugimoto & Henmi side by side and Sugimoto not knowing who he was, we also have Tsurumi and the 7th division entering the fray as well. Sugimoto was able to defeat Henmi thanks to Asirpa before he would be caught off guard. Though the appearance of a RepuKamuy made for something very interesting. Though it is left to wonder why a God of the Sea would attack Henmi. Still, it made matters worse. Still, Tsurumi noticed that Sugimoto is working with Ainu.
Back at the Ainu camp, we learn that there are traitors within the 7th division. We see Ogata & Nikaidou are some of those traitors and came to visit Tanigaki. It is clear as day that Tanigaki is a man of character, and he would protect the Ainu as well as he could, and of course Ogata & Nikaidou would not want Tanigaki to report them to Tsurumi. Still, Tanigaki really showed why he is a hunter as he was able to lure the brown bear to take on Nikaidou, leaving Ogata to him, who didn’t know he was armed. Really showing how crafty Tanigaki is.
Though it shouldn’t be unexpected that Tsurumi wouldn’t be following those two. And even if the one following was killed, he was in a great position. It is unclear if Tanigaki is being tracked, but man, Tsurumi knows how to use the tools to his advantage. Of course fear won’t work on Nikaidou, and he doesn’t care about the gold. But killing Sugimoto is the edge that Tsurumi will give him to motivate.
Before Sugimoto and his crew take off, Hijikata goes to talk to him, and only Shiraishi is aware of it. Things like asking what Asirpa’s Japanese name is are curious. It makes sense the Ainu would know that, but why is he asking? It makes the 2nd group that is closely watching what Sugimoto’s group is doing.
We also are introduced to Kiroranke, who is an old friend of Asirpa’s father. Also, interestingly, he used to work for the 7th Division, as it was mentioned before some Ainu served them. Though given that it was not under Tsurumi there shouldn’t be cause for concern. Though Hijikata also went up to Kiroranke and asked for the name Asuko Kochobe. Which is Asirpa’s Japanese name. That stirs that pot because that implies that Hijikata knew Asirpa’s parents.
Though the biggest shock is that Noppera-Bo, the one who took the gold from the Ainu, is Asirpa’s father. Which comes as a shock. On one hand he entrusted that to her, so it is difficult to make sense of it. We also have Hijikata mentioning that Noppera-Bo is not a Japanese Ainu, so it makes sense for him to want to steal the gold. Of course Asirpa wants answers and wants to break her father out of prison. Very curious how they go about that now.