Now with the situation with Tanigaki & Inkarmat resolved. It is remarkable to think how Tanigaki’s life changed being saved by Asirpa & Huci. He went from a man who lost everything and refused to return home. Going from a fake family to know a real family. On the flip side it is interesting how Hajime lacks in Tsurumi’s trust. It stems from the nine-year-old lie, but of course what else does he have to live for. Meanwhile, Koito fully trusts, or he wants to trust Tsurumi in that he would do good if it doesn’t get in the way of his goals. Well, time will tell whether Hajime or Koito is the correct one here.
In the most unexpected circumstances Sugimoto’s group meets Botaro the Pirate. Of course Sugimoto being on guard is expected and eventually, he gets in a brawl with Botaro. After all pirates loot things and Sugimoto is very protective of Asirpa. Then Botaro more than likely assumes they are after his skin is not aware of their stance on killing. Of course, they end up cooperating since their group is thinned. Still Botaro mentioning the skins are useless steal doesn’t feel certain and of course the other two groups are still making moves. It’s a weird partnership, but Botaro is reasonable.
Much like Tsurumi and Hijikata, Botaro has a clear reason for wanting the gold. He wants to be king. Though his story of smallpox is much Sugimoto because his family was isolated. Perhaps Botaro is a look at what if Sugimoto was after the gold for a greedier purpose. Still, it’s easy to see that Botaro is very clever because he really questions if Sugimoto has a dream. Outside of getting money for Umeko’s eye operation and helping Asirpa he doesn’t have anything in his mind. In fact, he can tell that he cares for Asirpa. Though it does become clear that Asirpa wants to lead the Ainu, so unlike Sugimoto she has a clear goal in mind. The concern is also Sofia.
Sapporo is a destination for our 3 groups. Tsurumi is hunting down a murder who is clearly inspired by Jack the Ripper. To add with Botaro, Keiji Ueji who is roaming around as kid kidnapper. Who is another one of the tattooed prisoners? Then for an interesting twist we get that Kikuta is a spy for the Central Government, which makes sense with his late appearance. Ariko teaming would him would be to his benefit since he is in a fucked situation between Tsurumi and Hijikata’s groups.