"I am a samurai!" "Will you come with me?" "You remember this?" "Put it on once again for me." "I can't." "I gave myself to the honorable emperor" "No!" "You're my wife!" "No matter what you say, I'm takin' you home with me!" "If you're here, then the village must be safe and sound, right?" "Everything has been put back together." "Their mental state..." "will be coming along shortly." "Katsushiro was rash." "I chose the wrong master." "Being able to understand each other, and to share with each other, are both as short-lived as a bubble on the water." "Obscured by the sands of time, unable to hold on," "I gave up, until I saw you again, asking" ""How much pain have you been carrying, all alone?" "And how much loneliness is hidden behind your eyes when you smile?"" "Embrace this miracle of an encounter now," "By gazing upon each other, we can become stronger." "And if this isn't what you call love, then what is it you call love now?" "At this pace, we should be able to leave before noon." "What?" "Are you here to help?" "Don't bother." "You merchants have never lifted anything heavier than an abacus, right?" "Are you seriously planning to battle the capital?" "Of course." "You are the ones who cut the bandits down." "You do have a chance of winning." "But you must not underestimate Ukyo." "My, we appreciate the advice." "Your words sting me." "Kanbe-dono, you're still going to trust this one, aren't you?" "Can't you?" "Hey, not again." "You sure are being a pain, Hei-noji." "If Kanbe-dono trusts him, then so will I." "Even if he is a merchant from the capital." "I can't blame you for not trusting me, after I sent the samurai hunters after you." "I swear to you, I am neither a friend nor foe to them." "I was fortunate enough to have my life spared, and I would like to live a long and happy life." "Oh, Kyuzo!" "I wonder if you would consider working for me?" "Heihachi..." "Can I have a moment?" "Okay." "How long do you intend to go on like that, Rikichi-san?" "Mikumari-sama, I told Sanae that it didn't bother me none, but I'll never be a man of understanding'." "Please don't try to force it." "You have to give it some time." "Rikichi-san, I've talked it over with her, and if you like," "I can let your wife stay here for a while." "I've gotten the other girls to come work for me here." "It's all the same to me to add one or two more." "I just dunno..." "The emperor's the one who kidnapped her." "How can she say she's in love with him?" "Could life in the capital've been that good?" "I'm sure she must've had all kinds of delicious things to eat, and nice things to wear." "That's why she don't wanna go home to the village, to a life of sweat and toil!" "Rikichi!" "It may have been one of the venerable reproductions, but she was still carrying a child." "Maybe she found something she wanted to protect, and she couldn't help that." "It must be like this:" "The emperor treating her kindly was no more than a means to manipulate Sanae, and trick her out of realizing that she was a prisoner." "That's pretty crafty." "The emperor and Ukyo are completely alike." "I don't know what to do no more!" "Get hold of yourself, Rikichi-san!" "Mizuki-san!" "If Rikichi-san can't help Sanae-san, then who else can?" "!" "Sanae-san's heart is still being held captive in the capital!" "Sure, there were lots of things that we ate there that we couldn't get back in the village, and every day, we wore nice clothes, and every day, there wasn't any dirt, or dust, or sweat, and so on, but even so," "look at my hand!" "In the past, these hands were more sinewy, and rugged." "These were hands that produced rice, and vegetables." "But once I got to the capital, they became all pale like they are." "They made my nails and lips red, and told me to smile pretty." "Regardless of how pretty they made me, all they did was turn me into a farm." "Even if I am a farmer girl, can you think of anything as cruel as that?" "Farm?" "That's what we were, weren't we?" "!" "They were planting the emperor's venerable reproductions inside us." "We were just like farms!" "Can you understand how miserable that was for us, Rikichi-san?" "I intend to ask Kanbe-sama to do something for me, Rikichi-san, the way you folks did." "I want you to smash the capital!" "And not just so that we can get even with them." "I want you to avenge my ma and pa, who were killed by the capital, as well as the grief suffered by the people in villages all over." "I had never cut anyone down before I met up with you, Kanbe-dono." "However, I have killed others." "By betraying them, right?" "You have extraordinarily keen insight." "So the reason you are stern with others is because you cannot forgive your own past?" "Yes." "I was weak." "The information that I leaked caused the death of my whole platoon." "It's a fool's tale." "All I've been able to think about my whole life since then is how I can make it up to those who I killed." "Perhaps the reason I was interested in Kanna Village was so that I could make amends." "In that case, see the task through to the end, together with me." "If cutting men down can make me a decent man, then I'll kill as many as it takes." "That's reassuring." "Kanbe-dono, I was put off by the way you can go on trusting others." "At first, I was surprised at how you were able to forgive that traitor, but now, I have great respect for how big you acted." "If only I had been able to meet a man like you sooner..." "Don't give me too much credit." "Everyone is here." "Kanbe-sama!" "Rikichi-san wants to..." "Samurai-sama," "I have somethin' to ask of you." "Please... please bring down the capital!" "I was ready to do so, even if you hadn't asked me." "Yeah!" "Leave it to us!" "They are headed to Kanna Village." "That bastard Ukyo!" "If he used to be a farmer, then I'll have to pound him right back into one!" "Yeah!" "Hold up!" "What for, Masa-noji?" "I made this from scratch." "You should be able to use it with any arrow around." "Take it with you." "Thanks." "Let me sharpen your sword again sometime." "I'll be waiting for you." "Let's go." "Very well." "Come back soon." "I've finally come back to you, and now you're sending me off again rather easily, huh?" "Well after all, you didn't bring me any presents, did you?" "Oh, aren't you two the passionate ones?" "!" "Hoot hoot!" "Good luck, my girl." "Well, take care, you two." "You too, Mizuki-san." "Look after Sanae-san for us." "Sure." "Come visit us once in a while." "Let's go home to Kanna Village." "See you later, everyone!" "Farewell!" "Farewell!" "There they go." "I hope Sanae-san will be all right." "She'll be fine." "She has everyone else along, after all." "Now then, Merchant-san..." "My bathtub boiler man just barely quit, and all..." "I don't take my baths until after supper." "Don't be a fool." "I'm asking you to get some hot water going." "And how does one get hot water going?" "I'm done for, Tanomo." "I can't go any farther." "What are you talking about?" "!" "The capital is just ahead!" "Take heart!" "Look!" "It's the capital!" "He's injured!" "Serves him right, too." "Tessai, hurry and get him some attention." "Call the court physician" "Honorable Emperor!" "I'm the one talking here." "There's something I'd like you to hear." "We need to get you treated first!" "Tell him, Tanomo." "But...!" "I don't know what this is about, but fine, tell me." "I am most grateful." "We were attacked by ronin and peasants, and ended up like this." "However, the ronin said that they had been given orders by the honorable emperor to defend the villages!" "Honorable Emperor, you ordered us to head to the villages." "Nevertheless, this is the shape we ended up in." "Were those lowlifes lying to us?" "Or did the honorable emperor actually give them that order?" "I would like you to clarify this." "Which one do you think it is?" "Please answer me!" "At this very moment, our comrades could be out being tortured by those lowlifes!" "That's fine with me." "Honorable Emperor!" "What did you say?" "I gave orders to you, the peasants, and the ronin." "Nobody is telling you any lies." "But why...?" "For what is to come." "What do you mean, what is to come?" "I mean for the sake of the world that I now control." "By killing you bandits off, the peasants and the ronin that were beaten in the wars are pledging their allegiance to me." "For a warrior, dying for one's lord is a matter of honor, isn't it?" "You've gone too far!" "Whoa, that was amazing!" "So that's the capital's main cannon, huh?" "I may have presumed too much." "It's okay, it's okay!" "That was quick thinking." "Honorable Emperor, there is a possibility that this could happen again." "What shall we do?" "Those samurai are tough customers." "Why not turn them into true machines?" "True machines, huh?" "If we have the court physician remove their souls, we can have them turned into literal mechanical samurai." "That sounds good." "Do it." "As you wish." "You there!" "You there, sir!" ""Life for sale"" "Gorobe-dono..." "Young one, you are melancholy." "Melancholy..." "What do you want?" "You must be joking." "Let me ask you a question." "Where are you going?" "I'll go wherever there is a battle." "You'll be beaten by the bandits, as you are now." "I won't..." "I won't be beaten!" "To battle!" "Speaking of things that never change, these guys are still hanging here, same as always." "This is where my sister is?" "Mm-hmm." "Stop here." "All right." "Sister?" "Sister!" "Mizuki?" "Mizuki!" "Sister!" "Is it really you, Mizuki?" "The samurai-sama saved me!" "Kanbe-sama!" "I really am grateful." "Not at all." "I was the one who was saved." "Good for you, Mizuki-san." "Sanae-san, Rikichi-san, I'm sure things will go well for you, too." "Samurai-sama, I'm staying here with my sister, so I will say my goodbyes." "Is that right?" "Take good care of your keepsake." "Samurai-san, you take care, too, Shimada Kanbe." "It's all thanks to Kanbe-dono, huh?" "He's the leader when it comes to losing battles." "I just don't understand how the world works." "Even so, he has the smell of the battlefield about him." "And what is that?" "A dreadful smell." "Huh?" "Why could Kirara-san be turning red?" "It's nothing..." "Why'd you do that?" "!" "You startled us, you know!" "Ah!" "We forgot!" "What, Komachi?" "Nunky, we left the Shikimori's clothes back in the capital!" "I'm so sorry!" "We just received a report from our scout in Kogakyo." "Fine, talk to me." "They have lost sight of Shimada Kanbe's party." "Where?" "A limestone cave." "The Shikimori village." "So they fled there after all, huh?" "And what about my father?" "He's a houseboy at an inn." "A houseboy?" "!" "My father?" "!" "That's great!" "How delightful!" "That's the best lesson that someone who has rested on their laurels instead of advancing their own station can have." "Never mind about my father anymore." "I think I'll leave him alone." "So, what about Shimada Kanbe?" "Good question..." "Honorable Emperor, you must not forget that we have an arrangement with the Shikimori." "I know." "Honorable Emperor, we are arriving at Ushioda Village." "Find the samurai." "We can't be too careful about them." "I'm sorry!" "I really am sorry!" "If you want, I wouldn't mind if you slug me until you're satisfied!" "We really have done an inexcusable thing." "I apologize, too." "Gentlemen, please assuage your anger and let's be peaceful about this, okay?" "Please forgive these people." "It's thanks to them that we were able to be reunited like this." "Take it easy, we never said we would not forgive you." "Then, you do forgive us?" "Let's say that you will owe us, until you have achieved the destruction of the capital." "Owe you?" "Yes." "You may prepare for your battle here." "Doesn't this go against your arrangement?" "Hey, this is a prime opportunity for us to be freed from the capital." "We cannot let it pass." "Wow!" "What a haul!" "What a haul!" "These Shikimori are swell guys, huh?" "They've given us all these presents!" "Wow, I'm even higher than your shoulder, Kiku-noji!" "Oh, really?" "This is even higher!" "Who are these Shikimori, anyhow?" "They're samurai." "People who abandoned their swords, rather than become bandits, huh?" "Ah, that explains it." "No wonder they have so many of these things." "They're more amiable than you'd expect." "Not all that different from those quick-witted merchants." "Do not let the samurai into the village again." "If they come back, turn them over to us." "Gather everyone in the village." "Not just the men, either." "The women, the children, everyone." "We are now going to give you your instructions for receiving the capital." "Who's that?" "These footsteps sound like a peddler's rapidturtle, don't they?" "Katsushiro-sama!" "Katsushiro-sama!" "You guys stand back." "Young one, we met once in Kogakyo." "What are you doing here?" "Back then, you were so useless, you were knocked out with one blow." "Are you going to cut me down?" "I'm the one asking the questions!" "Don't you smart off to me, boy." "We are under special orders from the honorable emperor." "You might say that my words are the honorable emperor's words." "What is your business in this village?" "Those armored troops were trying to set a fire!" "They must have been acting on their own." "Don't screw around with me!" "What did you come to this village to do?" "We're going... to destroy... the village..." "What?" "We're going to burn the village..." "The bright red flames... will be a welcoming fire for the young lord..." "They're everywhere..." "armored troops... here to burn the village..." "I'll cut you down!" "The old man merely gazed off into the distance from the hideaway in which he lived." "The baby cries, seeking only for the warmth of his mother." "We are born paying the price for someone's punishment, for someone's sins, but there is no such thing as a future without salvation, and the present slips quietly into the past." "We string together nothing but hollow ideas, and tell nothing but hollow lies." "And as the rain falls down upon us, something appears and then fades away." "Okara-chan, another war is going to begin." "We're going to attack the capital!" "I was so surprised!" "They said that Ukyo used to be a farmer!" "Unlike Nunky, he took over the world, so I guess you could say he's amazing, but he's still a lying crook." "But everyone thinks that Ukyo is a good person." "As he makes everyone think that and rest easy, he secretly does bad things when no one is looking." "They say that's the way that merchants fight." "I'm scared by that for some reason." "Sanae-chan's heart is still in some faraway place, but Mizuki-chan, who looked after Sanae-chan in the capital, was able to meet her sister in the Shikimori's village." "That's great!" "Uncle was able to keep his promise to Honoka-san!" "Okara-chan, is the village doing all right?" "I'll be coming back to the village with everyone." "Bye now!"