Hiten Mitsurugi style...
Ryu Shou Sen!
I'm not exactly sure what's going on...
But it's become a rather big deal...
This doesn't feel like something we can mess around with.
Then, don't sneak around...
...and just watch openly.
However, don't stray from my side.
Miss Misao...
That attack...
Ryu Shou Sen, was it?
You pounded Senkaku's jaw with the dull edge...
But it originally was an attack that used the blade to slice upwards, right?
Yeah...
I heard reports that my predecessor became a wanderer who doesn't kill...
But, I didn't want to believe it until I saw it with my own eyes...
To think that you can defeat me like that...
Maybe in a hundred years...
I don't want a boring fight...
I'll wait for you in Kyoto, so become a manslayer again, and come see me.
You going to put your tail between your legs and run?
Sojiro, play with them for me.
It's okay, then?
I can use your sword, Mr. Shishio?
Yeah...
As thanks for showing me Ryu Shou Sen, show him your Tenken...
Then, I won't hesitate to...
Mr. Himura...
If you don't defeat me, you won't be able to leave this room...
First, you will have to fight me.
This man...
He's different from any other opponent I've faced before...
I can't read his thoughts at all...
Hey, Himura!
Why are you looking so confused?
If you don't hurry up, that guy in the bandages will run away!
Mr. Himura does want to get rid of him quickly...
...but it's not that easy.
Normally in battle...
...only a second-rate swordsman would display his feelings of hate or violence.
Top-notch swordsmen, such as Saito or Okita of the Shinsengumi...
...never show their hatred or fighting spirit, keeping it buried inside...
...so opponents can't predict their actions.
But this man, Sojiro...
I can't sense a trace of hatred or fighting spirit from him, inside or out.
He only has a slight giddiness, as if he had hold of a toy.
Yet, he's a swordsman skilled enough to assassinate Lord Okubo by himself...
How?
Hey!
You don't have time to just stand there confused all day!
Hey, Himura!
Why are you faltering like that?
W- What was that?
It's no use...
Even if you project your swordsman's spirit towards him, it does no good.
I've been doing it for a while now...
Swordsman's spirit?
An offensive form of aura that swordsmen have...
Although we wanted to attack Shishio...
...we couldn't figure out how this one would react.
That was why neither the Battousai or I could attack Shishio...
But now, I fully understand...
This guy not only lacks a swordsman's spirit...
...but doesn't have any hatred or a desire to fight in the first place.
Lord Shishio.
What is this Tenken you mentioned?
That's his nickname.
It means that he has a sword talent given to him by the heavens.
But if you're going to say that, shouldn't the Battousai be called the same?
I guess.
But in Sojiro's case...
Thanks to a troubled family, he lacks all of the basic emotions but sanguine.
Because he has no joy, he has no fighting spirit.
And since he has no anger, he doesn't have hatred.
The best swordsmen act after reading their opponent's offensive aura...
But, that doesn't work against Sojiro...
For example...
...Saito had been trying to find an opportunity to attack me all that time...
He couldn't figure what Sojiro would do, who was at his side, so he missed...
...his chance...
And this effects the Battousai's Hiten Mitsurugi style even more...
...as it is a style that depends on reading the opponent's psyche...
I'm sorry, but if you don't hurry, I won't be able to catch up to Mr. Shishio...
Himura!
I assumed that would be it.
If you can't see through your opponent...
...it's best is to get an advantage by using your fastest attack.
What does that mean?
In other words, because he doesn't know...
...how his opponent will act, the Battousai must make the first move...
I see...
Battoujitsu, is it?
Then I guess I will too...
The score will be settled by their sword-drawing techniques...
And the blade speed...
...is equal.
But...
Because he lacks sorrow, Sojiro feels nothing about killing men...
While the Battousai decided that he would never kill with his sword again...
Even if they both have the Tenken...
...there will be an obvious difference in their attack execution...
Unless he throws out his wish not to kill, Battousai will never...
...beat Sojiro!
I guess this is it...
Well...
Both of you are unable to fight, so it's a draw.
Oh...
All right, that's our Himura!
Wow...
This is amazing.
When it's this bad, repairing it is impossible...
Oh well.
It was Mr. Shishio's anyway.
You're right, this match doesn't have a winner or a loser.
I'll excuse myself for today now...
...but I hope you'll fight me again.
And have a new sword ready by the time I see you again.
Himura...
Your reverse-blade sword...
Snapped...
And we let Shishio escape, too...
Hey!
It's not like you have any right to say that!
Well, I can have another sword made, and we can chase Shishio again...
For now, we got Shishio's entourage out of this village.
That alone is good enough, that it is.
Yeah!
He's still breathing!
He's not dead!
This guy, who killed my parents, as well as my dear older brother...
...is still alive!
Die, Senkaku!
Wait, the score's settled...
Let go of me!
Don't just kill him for your own sake.
There are plenty of things I want to hear from him right now.
I'm seeking revenge against him!
Don't stop me!
Moron.
Killing for revenge has been forbidden by law since the 6th year of Meiji.
Don't give me more work than I already have.
Even if you don't kill him now, it won't matter...
...he will end up facing execution, with the bonus of a torturous interrogation.
It's a much more painful way to go than getting a coup de grace...
Demon!
Shut up!
None of that matters to me!
Eiji...
I understand how you feel, but it's better to leave the rest to the police.
Who cares about the police!
Like you would know how I feel!
You don't know how my family felt when they were killed!
Eiji...
If I...
...I don't seek revenge with my own hands...
...my dead family won't be able to rest in peace!
Let go of me!
I'm doing it for my brother!
Eiji!
Was this sword...
Was your brother's sword soaked in blood?
You should not stain this sword with blood.
You shouldn't stain this sword, that ended up protecting you...
Your brother doesn't wish for this.
What the dead wish for is not revenge...
...but for the happiness of those who are still alive, that they do.
Nobody will be happy if you stain these little hands of yours.
Time will pass, these little hands will grow, and you will become an adult...
When that happens...
Don't be a man who uses power to keep others down, like Shishio's group does.
And don't be a man who is scared of violence, cowers...
...and does nothing, like the villagers...
Be like your elder brother, who believed in you until the very, very end...
...and become happy, that you should.
Big Brother...
Don't worry, Eiji...
It's all right...
I won't let them lay one finger on you!
You can't run...
And both of you brothers will die!
I'll leave it to you guys, get rid of the half-dead guy and the brat.
Eiji, I'm sorry...
It looks like I won't be able to protect you anymore...
Just you...
Even if you're alone, I want...
...you to survive...
Big Brother...
I guess this is an ending for now...
An ending...
...is it?
I'm sorry, Mr. Shishio...
For making such a mess of the sword I borrowed...
Oh, but it's not my fault.
If you're going to be mad, be mad at Mr. Himura.
To break the Nagasone Kotetsu this badly with a reverse-blade sword...
I underestimated him a bit...
Kotetsu?
You're good with your arms, but not with your head!
Kotetsu is a great sword, one of the thirty one Oowazamono swords...
...and it's so rare that any well-known swordsmen would love to have one.
Sojiro, can I ask you a favor?
Anything other than paying for the sword...
Get all of the Juppongatana together in Kyoto as soon as possible.
The Juppongatana, your special attack squad?
I want to drag Battousai the Manslayer from the recesses...
...of Kenshin Himura's mind.
Now, Shingetsu village will be back to normal, that it will...
Yeah!
We're saved!
Something good came from waiting it out!
They're cheering so irresponsibly...
There's something strange about this...
What comes next is the real challenge.
This let each of them see the ugliness in the hearts of their neighbors.
Relationships between them will be rough for a while...
What are you laughing about?
There's something strange about his personality as well...
Even a village like this is my home...
I'll just pray that it recovers.
Well...
I guess I'll be going back now.
Yeah, but what will you do with Eiji?
Neither you nor I can take him along.
I think I'll have him stay at Tokio's for a while...
...and I'll show him how to behave once he settles down.
Tokio?
My wife...
W- W-W-W-Wife?
You are married, that you are?
Yes.
Don't worry, Tokio is a fine woman.
She will take proper care of Eiji.
Yeah, of course she must be...
If she can handle being his wife...
To fulfill that role, the woman must be like the Buddha, that she must.
Don't worry about this end.
You hurry on to Kyoto...
And hurry up and become a manslayer again.
You understand after that battle, right?
As a wanderer, you are no match for Shishio, and his henchmen as well...
It's perfect timing that the reverse-blade sword snapped.
It's high time that you prepared yourself for the worst.
I'm looking forward...
...to seeing your former self.
Eiji!
You have to grow up to be a great guy!
Yeah, I promise!
I'll be a man just like my brother!
Take care!
Himura...
W- Well, I'm not really sure about all of this...
But they ran away, and so we won.
And you can ignore what that Saito guy said, because he didn't do anything.
Life has its ups and downs...
You take one step back, then two steps forward.
Like me...
If something bad happens, just forget about it.
Be energetic, yeah, energy is the best thing.
You have to act energetic and let yourself loose!
Let yourself go!
You're silent and handsome when you have your eyes focused like this...
But you look scary and hard to approach.
That's no fun!
I do prefer the Himura that slacks around and says "oro" much better.
Yeah, I like that side better!
I don't care if you didn't particularly like me, Miss Misao, that I do not.
Oh, I see, just as I thought...
Wait.
Hey, that was really rude!
Here I am, all worried about you, Himura!
What's with that attitude?
That pisses me off!
We've lost much time, that we have...
Let's hurry.
Shishio's group won't be attacking us until we reach Kyoto now.
So, we'll take the Tokaido trail...
He...
...brushed me aside!
Damn you!
Kecho Kick!
That's your punishment for messing around with a maiden's heart!
Feel just how strong my anger is!
Well now, calm down...
Whether or not I really have to become a manslayer again...
The answer is definitely in Kyoto.