As the group teams up with Kiroranke, they now plan to break Asirpa’s father out of Abashiri prison. Though on the way they will make their way to Asahikawa, where the headquarters of the 7th Division is located. No surprise that Tsurumi has his checks in that location, so going to them about Tsurumi won’t do much.
Sapporo is the next stop, in which the gang now runs into both Ienaga & Ushiyama. Ienaga is one of the prison convicts & is also a doctor. Though the fact that he ate the parts that he desired is quite creepy indeed. A matchup of Sugimoto & Ushiyama was a close brawl with no winner. Granted, with Shiraishi burning the place down, Ushiyama was able to save Ienaga. Though Ushiyama left a message for Shiraishi from Hijikata and that was, Don’t think you can deceive me. It makes sense he would keep tabs on Shiraishi. At some point Shiraishi’s cover will be blown, and it will be curious what he chooses to do. Interestingly enough, Ienaga provides information about one of the prison convicts that is in Hidaka.
Though interesting enough, the story then switches the focus to Hijikata’s side, who is in Barato. One would expect that there will be a skin or prison convict. Though the town situation is quite complex.
- Originally there was one gambling hall in town. It was run by Hidro who was the father.
- He passed the business to his son, but his right-hand man, Umakichi, was upset and started his own.
- The police & their chief are in support in Umakichi.
- The family has a tattoo skin, which is quite profitable, which is what they are fighting over.
- Leverage is the mistress of the father, but he holds the baby of his son since the father is infertile. Though the son isn’t even the father’s kid, which Umakichi might have known.
What is really impressive is how Hijikata manages the situation and can secure the tattoo skin. Since Ogata is on Umakichi’s side, they have to bait Ogata with Nagakura and maneuver the situation to put his side in a position to take Ogata out. At this point the series is doing an impressive job at showcasing Hijikata’s faction very well. Although Ogata was able to deduce that the mom put out a fake skin and went to retrieve it. With Ogata it is interesting because even though he worked under Tsurumi, it was clear there were other motivations, as his father was head of the 7th Division, who killed himself after the war. Though the real question is, what is his real motivation?