The battle continues as Tsurumi’s men march forward. The first death was Anji Toni, and he simply sacrificed himself to save Hijikata from Nikaidou. Well, in all honesty, it is a surprise that Anji lasted as long as he did. The best way for him to go out is to let Hijikata survive, even just for a breath longer. Of course Nikaidou lives to kill Sugimoto, but Sugimoto outmaneuvers him and reunites Nikaidou with his older brother.
Though the death that was the most interesting is Sofia’s. After Kiroranke’s death, it was confusing where she would go from there. Her desire to support Wilk’s dream after he killed Tsurumi’s wife and daughter and her blaming herself. Though as she fights to the death with her men, she classifies what a true revolutionary is. Of course there was benefit for her men down the road in supporting Wilk’s new dream. As Wilk mentions in the flashback, true revolutionaries move forward with love. More than likely she saw what Asirpa was doing and wanted to support it. I guess a reality is that what she can do for Eastern Russia is very limited. Got to credit Sofia; she died as a revolutionary.
Koito’s character is the one on Tsurumi’s side that is the most interesting. He has had his doubts about Tsurumi’s intentions for a while. No doubt his father’s death will hit him hard, but he mentions he and his father are prepared to accept the circumstance that comes from this fight. His mention of Tsurumi lying too much is true. Tsurumi knows how to motivate his men to stand under him. Even when that motivation is lies, like we know with Hajime. In fact, with Tanigaki coming to fulfill his promise to Huci. With Tsurumi shotting him down, how does Koito react? After all, he stopped Hajime from killing both Tanigaki & Inkarmat. In fact, when Nagakura says that Koito is green, it is precisely what Ogata mentioned back in Karafuto. Of course experience is what you get in battle, but for Koito he needs to understand who Tsurumi truly is.
It is interesting how this went from being a battle for the gold to now being a battle for the deed. After all, the deed is key to the Ainu. Of course, for Tsurumi he needs to have it all. That shows he truly would never care for the Ainu if Asirpa cooperated with him. Which is where he differs from Hijikata. It is interesting to see Hijikata’s conversation with Wilk in Abashiri Prison. It is clear that Wilk has a great judgment of character. Hijikata is right in that when he fights solely for himself, he will give up more easily than one who is fighting for a cause.
As Hijikata mentions, that is Bushido. This is one of the core themes of this manga, as everyone in this series has a cause they are fighting for. For both Tsurumi & Hijikata they are fighting for the future of Japan. Though their main difference is how they view the Ainu. Tsurumi could think less of them, but it is clear that Hijikata knows they play an important role in Japan’s future. The Japanese and Ainu each have their strengths. Of course, for both Wilk and now Asirpa their cause is for the future of the Ainu. Now this leaves Sugimoto. This journey for him is finding his cause. At first it was to get gold for Umeko’s eye operation. Though now he aims to help Asirpa and her cause. Now, for Sugimoto his cause is to help Asirpa because that’s how he has always been. Honestly, Umeko would probably be happy knowing that. The funny part is that Sugimoto calls himself a troublemaker, and Ogata is much the same. The big difference is Ogata fights for himself. As Sugimoto and Hijikata fight in sync, Hijikata says what Sugimoto fights for is Bushido.
It was bad enough that the group ended up on a train filled with Tsurumi’s men. Ogata is creating even more madness by getting rid of the drivers. A train with no stops is going to give a quite dramatic ending to this.