No surprise that Botaro attacked Sugimoto given that the gang was after him. It was a very logical decision from Sugimoto to keep an open mind because it would be a bad idea to underestimate intelligent men like Tsurumi & Hijikata who are still going after the escaped convict skins, the next one being Ueji Keiji.
While that is going on, there is also the encounter with the Jack the Ripper copycat murdering prostitutes. In the most absurd Golden Kamuy fashion, there was a fap battle between him and Usami. Since there is mention that the copycat will stop murdering the prostitutes after the 5th one, it will press both sides to want to act fast. Everyone truly is coming to Sapporo.
The newly introduced characters Kikuta & Ariko are in quite the unique circumstance. Kikuta is clearly a spy, which makes sense as he never fit in as well as Tsurumi’s other men. While for Ariko he is under suspicon from both Tsurumi & Hijikata. Granted, it is due to Tsurumi that Hijikata has to play Ariko with caution. In all honesty, there is no reason why Ariko shouldn’t seek help from Kikuta at this point.
This episode finished up Volume 24 by adapting chapters 237-240. I’m very curious how they plan to adapt the next chapter because the Sapporo Arc into the final arc is a straight line to the ending of the manga.