Father, I finally did it. I pulled off the Soul Cleansing technique.
The one who will join me in carving a path to a new era with that sword
will be you,
18th.
Human or Demon?
Sakata Gintoki-san.
The Reaper's Request: Please watch this program in a bright room and at a safe distance from your TV.
Or should I call you the White Yaksha instead?
Just like the serial killer's other victims,
Sakata Gintoki
you, too, were supposed to lose your head ten years ago...
A criminal my father let escape.
Your life was saved by the former Yaemon, my father.
Doesn't that mean
you have a great responsibility to carry out?
My father paid for the sin of saving criminals with his life.
And to shroud the truth of his death in darkness,
Asaemon willfully became a traitor and a fugitive.
Since the Ikeda family saved your life,
surely you'd be justified to use it for the Ikeda family's sake?
Please,
keep Asaemon safe.
Special Police Shinsengumi
What? They caught the serial killer before us?
Yeah. Looks like the Ikeda family got the jump on us.
Maybe they want to eliminate the one who brought shame to their family themselves.
To hell with that.
Executioners don't have that kind of authority.
Tell them to hand over the murderer immediately.
It's too late.
The murderer's already been reduced to a mere head.
Wh-What?
It was decided that she wouldn't be handed over to us,
but to the Mimawarigumi.
After a fair trial,
she was sentenced to death the same day,
and the execution has already been carried out by Ikeda Yaemon.
Th-That's absurd!
There's no way they'd hand down a sentence that quickly...
Notice of Execution Mimawarigumi Executioner: Ikeda Yaemon Criminal: Ikeda Asaemon
We even have confirmation from the coroner
that it was indeed the head
of the serial killer, Ikeda Asaemon.
Uh, I apologize if I'm mistaken,
but I'm still alive, aren't I?
Just your imagination.
You're a corpse, so just keep your eyes and mouth shut.
But there's a corpse with his eyes wide open right in front of me.
Who's got a corpse's eyes?
Then I still haven't managed to die?
You're dead on paper.
That's the bakufu executioners for you.
Looks like you're in cahoots with a bunch of people,
including the Mimawarigumi and the coroners.
Once you're classified as a corpse, that's that,
because the corpses of those executed
become the property of the bakufu executioner, the Royal Swordskeeper.
I hear you guys even provide bodies for lords to test their swords on.
So you were told to let me escape by hiding me among those corpses?
Sheesh.
First you ask me to finish you off, and now I'm supposed to protect you.
Your family's requests are all over the place.
Does he mean to say that a Reaper
who can't even have her own head,
let alone those of sinners, can still serve a purpose?
My sword can no longer cut anything,
for I've lost my humanity.
"When people sin and degenerate into demons,
the only beings capable of turning them human again at the end
are neither demons that take human heads
nor Reapers that take their souls,
but humans who sever their sins to save their souls."
That right?
H-How do you know about that?
I heard it from a certain executioner in the past.
I'm too scared to ask,
but I wonder what kind of crime Gin-san committed.
Well, given his history, he could be tried for treason at any time...
He's a walking obscenity.
It was probably just public indecency or something.
Thanks to that, we're being forced to help a family that dabbles in serial killing.
What a pain.
It's clear that they contacted us with
the intent of using us, knowing full well who Gin-san really was.
In which case, even if we manage to help Asaemon-san escape,
after that, we'll be...
Either way, there's no turning back.
Whether it's the criminal accomplice schtick or a Tasty Stick,
once you've had a taste, you'd better swallow it whole or it'll make a mess.
We're in huge trouble now, thanks to that moron!
Seriously. Nobody will ever take me as a bride now.
How about I take you, then?
I've even got a home prepared
where you'll get three meals a day, and you can lead a simple yet quiet life.
It's also got bars, though.
This is the police.
Stop the ship.
We're gonna take a good look around inside.
"No matter how many criminals you behead,
you must never lose the humanity needed to save people."
That was what the former bakufu executioner,
Ikeda Yaemon, taught me.
The Soul Cleansing technique we use for executions
is a reflection of that mentality.
We keep the head from falling to the ground and getting dirty
by taking only their life
and giving their soul a respectful send-off.
Ever since I got adopted by my master,
the teachings essential for a bakufu executioner were driven into my head,
and many criminals were punished with my sword.
But on that day,
when I had to kill him,
I suddenly didn't understand anymore.
Not what "sin" is,
nor what it means to judge people.
Because, in my eyes,
that criminal was the law itself.
I couldn't kill him unless I forgot everything and turned into a demon.
He meant the world to me,
and yet I couldn't even give him death as a human.
I wasn't trying to take my own life
to help the family or anything.
It was because I knew I was a demon that had to be punished.
Please tell me.
Was my master really
a criminal whose sins were so grave that he had to be punished by death?
Was my father really a demon?
If you consider the law to be right,
then he was without doubt a demon.
He let a guy like me back into society, after all.
However,
humans tend to have
rules of their own that they must uphold over man-made laws.
Those rules, your father never broke.
That executioner's conviction
to respect all people as fellow humans,
he never lost.
I don't know if that's good or evil,
demonic or humane.
There's no way to tell.
He was simply a good man.
A clumsy moron, much like you.
What do you think you're doing?
It's well within the authority of
the Royal Swordskeeper to transport the corpses of criminals!
If it truly were a corpse, sure.
Check it out, Sogo.
P-Please wait!
What gives you the right to do this?
Don't play dumb with me.
We know that the serial killings were carried out under orders from the Ikeda family.
Move! Give me some room here!
We know you're hiding the killer. Hurry up and hand them over.
What are you talking about?
There are only corpses here, as you can see.
Quit making baseless accusations!
You move!
S-Stop! I'm gonna fart!
Don't think you can get away with this, you damn fuzz!
Something came out!
Oh, dear. Looks like there's a rat in here.
Huh? Now it's popping out from here.
Sure is one lively rat.
I know, right?
Hey!
No matter how you look at it, that's not a rat!
Sogo, here.
Check out this barrel!
Why don't you help out for once?
But I just told you to examine this one!
Don't tell me you're afraid a ghost might show up.
Are you stupid?
Of course not.
I'm just sick of looking at corpses!
Outta my way!
I'll curse your family for seven generations, damn you!
Hijikata-san, there's a corpse in there too, you know.
No, this is the entrance to the Mayonnaise Line...
Pull yourself together.
We need to find the murderer before she's handed over to them.
"Them"?
Enough of your little act.
We know the whole story already.
We looked into the backgrounds of the serial killer and the victims.
Their identities were well-hidden,
but they all either were, or were related to, rebels—
people who were to be purged after the end of the Joi War.
They were all involved in the Battle of Anekohara,
where they inflicted a crushing defeat
on the man known as a great general, Lord Hitotsubashi Narifuyu.
Hitotsubashi may be influential enough to take over the bakufu cabinet now,
but that battle led to him spending a long time on the political sidelines.
After the war,
the rebels who participated in the fighting,
and in most cases, their entire clans as well, were met with the purge.
However,
one man couldn't bear the sight of even women and children being mercilessly killed,
and tried to save them.
It was the bakufu executioner, the former Ikeda Yaemon.
And now he's been killed,
and everyone he saved is dying one after another.
What do you think that means?
Long story short,
Boss,
you guys, along with the former Yaemon, have been sold out
to gain favor with Hitotsubashi Nobunobu, the one rumored to be the next shogun...
by that Reaper.
We've been sold out to the Hitotsubashi?
What's that supposed to mean?
Basically,
the people who'd drawn the Hitotsubashi's ire in the past,
who were supposed to be purged, along with their families,
were secretly allowed to escape by the former Yaemon.
Ten years later, however,
Yaemon himself was killed by the Ikeda family,
and the people he'd saved were wiped out by the serial killer...
No, by Ikeda family members.
That's who all the corpses being carried on this ship are.
In order to gain favor with the Hitotsubashi faction,
Yaemon gave you guys up as an offering.
N-No way!
That has to be a lie!
That's rich, coming from someone who acted as Yaemon's hound,
executed the previous head, and even became a serial killer.
Asaemon's no serial killer!
The only criminal here is Gin-chan!
No! You don't have to tell them that, Kagura-chan!
Come to your senses already.
You weren't transporting anything. You were being transported.
Gin-chan was the one trafficking the weird powder!
I never did anything of the sort!
The kind you deal in the dark.
Want me to deal with you in the dark?!
But listen up, Hitotsubashi-san.
We can't hand this murderer over to you.
Unfortunately, we're not very good at sucking up,
so if you refuse to keep your nose out of this case,
we'll have to book Lord Hitotsubashi,
candidate for next shogun or not.
Fine.
We've filed all the necessary paperwork for the cargo on this ship.
You have no right to book us for anything!
We've been told that all this ship has is corpses for Nobunobu-sama
to use to test the sword he was presented.
Reaper, cut them down.
If you side with us,
the Ikeda family's position in the next bakufu cabinet will be secure.
You can even sweep this entire matter under the rug.
Isn't that why you went so far as to kill the man who raised you?
Asaemon...
You did well to endure that.
Raise your head.
You've fulfilled your duty.
Be it our father, or our master,
it is our job to punish all sinners equally.
You protected the Ikeda family's honor, and our father's name,
with your sword.
Yaemon-sama...
Just what...
Just what did I protect with my sword?
Did I...
Did I
kill him for this?
What are you doing? Kill them already.
Show us the Reaper's sword skills that have taken thousands of criminal's heads.
What reason is there to hesitate?
Your sword was sullied the moment you took your father's head—
Were you the one just running his filthy mouth?
What part of her sword is sullied?
Where do you see a Reaper?
Open your eyes wide and take a good look.
Y-You bastard!
If it's a Reaper you want,
there's one right here, you stinkin' pigs.
What the—
What's going on?!
Sorry to say it,
but a real Reaper wouldn't take your head in one swing.
A dirty piece of wood is all you louts deserve.
Don't think you're gonna die a painless death.
You bastards! You'll pay for this—
Good grief.
Are you planning on letting neither us nor them
have her
or your head?
I only have a head on my shoulders right now
thanks to a certain moronic executioner.
So if anyone's gonna have my head,
I'd rather it be
another moronic executioner like him.
Kill them!
Take them out!
Asaemon!
Your sword isn't sullied in the least!
It wasn't you who killed your father,
but Yaemon and me!
And yet you still refuse to draw your sword?
Even when faced with sins that must be severed,
are you still gonna point that blade at yourself?!
Instead of wasting your sword on crap like that,
use it as a crutch to move forward,
even if your belly's been pierced and your guts are spilling out!
I don't care if you take Yaemon's head or mine!
Use that sword to take out the enemies standing in your way!
Aren't those the executioner's teachings you must truly uphold?!
The only beings capable of turning people human again
are neither demons that take human heads
nor Reapers that take their souls,
but humans who sever their sins
to save their souls.
Did you really think I'd cut you?
You're such a fool.
Did you really just use your own head as bait to spur me into action?
I don't know what kind of villainous crimes you committed,
but I'm starting to see why he saved you.
And that he did nothing wrong.
Gin-chan!
Asaemon-san!
Step aside.
Where's Yaemon?
It's a shame, Asaemon.
I never thought you'd make the same mistake as him.
Didn't we vow to protect the Ikeda family together, from the light and the shadows?
You've really become a traitor now, huh?
You're the traitor here,
bakufu executioner, Ikeda Yaemon.
I won't let you sully that name any further!
Are you going to walk down the same path as the former head?
Are you going to abandon your duty to save criminals' lives?
Our duties,
and the laws we must uphold,
exist to preserve the humanity of people.
And he upheld those laws by saving innocent lives.
He was a splendid executioner!
We're the ones who should be punished
for murdering him under the pretense of protecting our family.
Yaemon...
You will die with me here.
You're prepared to die in order to kill me, is it?
You think that if you stake your life on one swing,
your sword will reach the 18th Ikeda Yaemon's head?
You're willing to go so far
to protect the worthless things he left behind?
Yaemon!
Too slow.
My sword has long reached
your head.
Asaemon-san!
Asaemon's Dignity
The only beings capable of turning people human again
Yaemon's Pride
What must be upheld...
are humans who sever their sins to save their souls.
Preview
Farewell, Reaper
Next Episode: "Farewell, Reaper."
Next Episode the Reaper Arc reaches its conclusion.
The showdown between light and shadow
spurs Gintoki into action.
The past comes to light,
and then...