Kotaro. Are you okay?
Can you drink some water?
- Miss Futaba? - Yes?
Am I going to die?
Don't worry.
My mother is praying to the gods.
One, two, three, four.
Futaba?
What's the matter?
Mother.
Will cholera really ever end?
Father is already gone,
and the people in town keep dying.
And yet, we're still praying to the gods.
Futaba.
Everything that happens in this world is arranged by the gods.
That is why all we can do is pray.
As long as we keep praying,
the gods will protect us from any war or plague.
Let us have faith.
Shall we prepare dinner?
Okay.
Mother?
Mother!
What's wrong, Kokushu?
It's not you I want!
Let's go!
Over here!
Go, Futaba! Go!
Go!
Draw your sword.
You're done babysitting, right?
Oh, come on.
Are you bullshitting me?
Have you turned into a gutless bastard, Kokushu the Manslayer?
How have you been living since then?
Those government bastards are selfish.
They told us to fight and kill.
But when they no longer need us, they tell us to abandon our swords.
That's why I'm grateful to the one who came up with this game.
I can go back to the way I was back then.
We shouldn't hesitate to do so.
Come on.
Draw your sword!
Much better.
There's Kokushu the Manslayer.
What's wrong, Kokushu?
That's better.
What the hell are you doing?
Shujiro!
We're not done yet!
Sir Saga, what happened to you?
Come, get inside.
Please rest.
Thank you for helping us.
Not at all. Let me know whatever you need.
What you have done for me is much more than I could ever repay.
That was a long time ago.
Well, then. I'll excuse myself.
Still sharp.
You saved me back there.
Thank you.
Thank you for saving me as well.
I'll take you as far as the Tokaido Road in the morning.
You take your wooden tag off and run.
It's against the rules.
Your life is more important than rules.
I won't stop.
Don't you get it?
A child cannot survive.
But I can't afford to run away.
If I run, there are lives I cannot save.
Cholera?
Who's there?
Calm down. I have no intention of fighting you.
Why are you here?
Why don't we talk face-to-face?
I'll enter with my hands up, so don't start slashing at me, okay?
Did you miss me?
What do you want?
Put your sword down first, will you?
If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't come through the front.
Come on. You too, miss.
You're so stubborn, Kokushu the Manslayer.
How do you know that name?
Never mind how I know.
What's more important is why I came here, isn't it?
You see, I'm here with an incredibly good deal for you today.
What is it?
I want you to form an alliance with me.
An alliance?
What's your intention?
Don't you think this "Kodoku" game seems rather suspicious?
What do they gain by making skilled fighters kill each other?
Why do they make us travel to Tokyo?
Do they really intend to reward someone with 100,000 yen?
Who is behind it all?
I'm sure you are curious too.
The other participants said that the government officials
might be using it as a way to seize the swords.
If that was all, they could have killed us at the temple.
They wouldn't need to bother with all this.
That's true.
I heard that the survivors of the old shogunate forces
are gathering skilled warriors for revenge.
There's also a rumor that foreigners
are trying to incite a civil war to crush Japan.
But none of these rumors have been verified.
We don't know what the organizer is scheming.
Or what they'll be launching at us going forward.
What we do know
is that whoever's pulling the strings has serious power.
That's why joining forces
would enable us to gather more information.
If we can find out who they are,
we'll get closer to the 100,000 yen.
So? Feel a little more like listening now?
Will this mess be taken care of? I hope there's no problem.
It'll be back to normal by morning. No one will notice anything.
And? How many are there remaining?
One hundred and twenty-eight participants have passed through the gate.
That's more than I had estimated.
True to form, the samurai are stubborn to the last breath.
Still, the stench of blood is overwhelming, don't you think?
The organizer will join you all later.
Until then, please relax and enjoy the estate at your leisure.
After leaving Tenryuji Temple,
we pass through Seki in Ise Province, Chiryu, Hamamatsu, Shimada,
Hakone, and Shinagawa.
I calculated the number of wooden tags needed to pass
against the number of participants.
There are 292 participants.
And the number of tags required
to pass the final checkpoint, Shinagawa, is 30.
Which means?
It's possible for more than one person to reach Tokyo.
That's right.
A maximum of nine people can reach Tokyo.
The 100,000 yen may be divided among those nine people,
or perhaps they will be ordered to do something more.
We don't know the organizer's goal.
That being said, if nine people can make it to the end,
there's no issue with the three of us teaming up and heading for Tokyo.
So? Not a bad idea, is it?
Why us?
You are different from the other participants.
Besides, as long as this little miss is with you,
you won't betray me, will you?
You mean that if I betray you, you intend to kill her?
That's correct.
She's a hostage, so to speak.
Although, a time may come when you'll have to kill this little miss.
Well, take your time.
There's an inn called Uzuya in Yokkaichi.
If you're willing to form an alliance, come to that inn on the third evening.
Oh.
One piece of advice.
It's not that you cannot kill. You simply choose not to.
A manslayer is a manslayer for life.
You are still a killer, Kokushu Saga.
I'll see you again.
Wait.
Tell me one thing.
Why did you join Kodoku?
Well, I wonder.
Maybe I just wanted to see it for myself.
The end of the samurai.
I'll be expecting good news.
Get some rest.
Mother. Have some water.
Futaba...
I'm sorry.
I'll take care of everything.
Please.
Please. I only need a little.
Please save the children.
No one in this town has any money left.
No one's gonna believe this stuff, right?
No chance.
What's this? You want money?
Yes.
Take it.
I can't deal with this crap.
HOKOKU NEWSPAPER PARTICIPANTS WANTED
You! Begging is prohibited.
Hey!
Miss Futaba.
I feel sick.
It'll be okay.
The gods are protecting you.
Keep fighting.
Kotaro?
Kotaro!
A ritual dance?
Yes.
What were you praying for?
For everyone to fulfill their lives
and ascend happily to heaven.
My mother taught me.
She took care of children who had lost their parents.
But now,
she is bedridden with cholera.
The villagers left behind
are also suffering from cholera and poverty.
Shujiro.
I need money.
But I'm weak.
I cannot stay alive by myself.
So I'm begging you.
Will you please take me with you?
I'll do whatever it takes.
Even if later it means...
you have no choice but to kill me.
I want to do everything I can until the very end.
Please, I beg of you.
I also have family I want to save.
We will survive this, Futaba.
Yes.
I appreciate your help.
Here. Take these with you.
That sword of yours carved a way into a new era.
Thanks to you, townsfolk like us have been able to live in peace.
I can't thank you enough for that.
But the times have changed.
Please.
Thank you for everything.
I wish you both luck with your swords.
HOME MINISTRY, TOKYO
Enter.
Sorry for keeping you waiting.
Kawaji. Take a seat.
Home Minister. What is this matter of concern?
Here.
HOKOKU NEWSPAPER PARTICIPANTS WANTED
We seized this in Tokyo recently.
I'm aware of this.
I was going to investigate it a little more before reporting it to you.
One hundred thousand yen is an enormous sum of money.
Yes.
Last night, we confirmed
many shizoku wielding weapons had assembled at Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto.
We're still unable to get in touch with Jinbe Ando, who infiltrated the event.
Are the shizoku scheming a rebellion?
We don't know their goal yet.
However, the shizoku, doomed remnants of the samurai,
have started something in Kyoto.
Behind them is someone with enough financial power
to distribute a fake newspaper throughout the country.
Those are the facts.
We don't know what may happen
if funds gather under the shizoku dissatisfied with the new government.
We must launch an investigation immediately.
Maejima, the shizoku are like tigers without fangs now.
- We need not be afraid-- - We must not underestimate them.
Just how much damage do you think we suffered in the civil war last year?
Our nation has just been reborn.
Should there be another civil war now,
it will diminish our nation's strength,
and we will be swallowed by the West.
Kawaji.
Contact the Police Bureau to investigate.
Find out who is behind this and what their purpose is.
- I want every detail. - Yes, sir.
Didn't you hear me?
I asked if you saw a samurai with a little brat passing this way.
Useless.
Please, have mercy. I beg you!
Have mercy.
Brute!
Don't attack non-participants.
Who the hell are you?
Ukyo Kikuomi.
Yeah?
So you're the famous Guardian God of the Court Nobles.
Hurry and leave now.
I've heard rumors about you.
What a pitiful creature.
Serving your master so well only to get ditched so easily.
That means you and I are the same.
Silence.
Don't count me among the vile breed you belong to.
Let's play.
Enough of your squirming about, you twitchy bastard.
What's wrong? Is that all you can do?
Are we done here?
I don't have the time to fight someone like you.
Mr. Ukyo! You cannot see Lord Kazanin!
Mr. Ukyo!
Lord Kazanin.
What do you mean by abandoning the Kikuomi family?
I'm eating.
We, the Kikuomi family,
have risked our lives many times to save you court nobles.
This is how you repay us?
The samurai who have been stripped of their swords have no use now.
The government took away your property too, didn't they?
If you bow your head, I might consider hiring you as my servant.
You insolent bastard.
Don't move!
Put your hands down!
Hurry up and take him away!
Don't touch me!
I'll leave on my own.
He should know his place.
My Lord, we cannot go on any longer.
We have sold off everything we can.
All we have left... is this.
We've been deprived of our purpose to live.
Now our country asks us to sell our pride as well?
We have endured long enough.
In order to protect our honor,
we have no choice but to commit seppuku.
I understand well...
what you have in your hearts.
The Kikuomi family...
shall be restored by my hand at any cost.
My Lord.
You survived too.
I have a favor to ask.
Don't come any closer.
What?
No, wait! We don't want to fight anymore!
We're going to abandon Kodoku!
We just want you to join us!
What are you saying?
We were tricked into this. Weren't we?
Yeah! That's right! We've been tricked!
Some of the participants are as strong as monsters.
All the wooden tags we grabbed were taken away!
The 100,000 yen is all a lie!
So, please. Join us.
I'm begging you.
Please, join us.
You can't drop out once you've joined the game.
You'll be killed if you break the rules.
No.
Even for them,
it would be impossible to attack so many of us.
Wouldn't it?
Why do we all have to kill each other?
Just for this?
All I wanted was some money.
I only wanted to feed my children enough food!
Don't do it. Stop.
They're watching us.
I want to go home.
Don't. Don't take it off.
Don't do it. Don't do it! Stop!
It's over.
Are we done here?
Don't take it off.
- Home... I want to go home. - Don't.
Wait. Don't take it off! Wait!
Don't!
107
It's okay.
It's safe. Come on, take yours off too!
Wait. Wait!
- If you... - Stop. Wait!
Take yours off too--
Why?
It's so cruel.
"Anyone who takes off their own wooden tag will be punished accordingly."
Is it clear to you now?
To hell with you.
What makes you think you're superior?
You think you can do anything to the samurai
because we are useless now?
What's wrong with you?
Mr. Sakura, sir.
What should we do?
Report to the organizer.
Understood.
Kokushu the Manslayer has awakened.
This...
is who I used to be.
What?
All I knew was how to kill people.
That wasn't enough.
Not enough at all.
There you go.
117 REMAINING
Subtitle translation by: Daisy Savage