With Shiraishi agreeing to a part of the gold, he now joins both Sugimoto and Asirpa. Though we see how Sugimoto was able to escape the 7th Division on his own. He was capable of making it look like he was dying by taking another man’s guts. Tsurumi almost caught on, but by then Sugimoto got away. Of course, returning to Asirpa and having to explain why he left without her. Asirpa already knows the danger and points out how Sugimoto got himself captured by the 7th Division. It is more so a question of Sugimoto underestimating Asirpa, which will be curious how the series continues with it.
Going back to Hijikata’s side of the story, we see him and Nagakura, who himself is Shinsengumi’s finest swordsman. Beyond how dangerous Hijikata is, he has ambitions beyond just finding the gold. He seeks the Republic of Ezo’s independence from Japan. Much like Tsurumi there are others with more ambitions for the gold beyond pure greed.
This episode continues the pacing that S1 has by adapting chapters 18-22. Overall, it is much of the same.