Don't lay a finger on him.
Don't you dare lay a finger on our boss!
Sa—
Sarutobi!
I-It's a smokescreen!
Th-That's the Oniwaban!
Let's go!
Protect our boss, Zenzo!
Shogun Assassination Arc Part Four
And Then There Were Five
Watch the Shogun Assassination Arc in a bright room and at a safe distance from your TV!
Zenzo...
Keep your eyes forward and run!
If you wanna survive, keep your eyes forward and run!
Are you telling me that's my battle as shogun?
That even if I must use countless corpses of my friends as stepping stones,
I have to live on for the sake of our society and its people?
Why did I ever become shogun, then?
In my eyes, Zenzo
and you all are also precious subjects I'm meant to protect!
Sho-chan...
Shogun, that guy...
Your buddy ain't gonna die.
Because he's got my buddy with him.
And Shogun, you ain't gonna die here.
Because...
Because you've got us buddies with you.
Looks like I...
We failed to fulfill our duty.
The enemy was larger than we thought.
You idiot!
Who was it that told me not to act out of character?
Yeah, this is definitely out of character.
How did I end up with you taking care of me at the very end?
I can't walk anymore.
Go, Sarutobi.
A cat doesn't let others see its last breath.
What are you talking about?
Get up and run.
Run, damn it!
You've still got a duty to fulfill!
Where do you think you're going, leaving us behind,
Boss?
You... You all kept the shogun alive by putting your lives on the line.
You defended our village.
But you still haven't fulfilled the one duty you must fulfill.
You have to go back alive...
With the shogun,
and with us...
We're all going back to Edo together!
Forget being Oniwaban.
Forget being the shogun.
That is the duty we all have as friends.
Shinpa—
Yeah, these guys aren't gonna go down easily!
Sh-Shogun-sama!
Hey, you'd better be careful.
Apparently this village has some...
...scary traps to keep intruders at bay.
Kondo-san! Hijikata-san!
They're still alive?!
Gin-san! Kagura-chan!
Sheesh.
The loyal retainers join the fray at last, eh?
What a grand entrance you made, jumping out of a pitfall.
I wouldn't say that.
We thought we saw light through the cracks,
but it looks like it's still far away.
Now, what do we do about this?
There's only one thing we can do.
No matter who we're facing, it's kill or be killed.
That's all.
It does seem like we're the last retainers who can protect the shogun.
If this is a joke, it ain't funny.
Of all people, these are the last men standing?
I'd like a do-over, starting from the interview.
Right back at you.
Dying to protect the shogun would be one thing, but...
Dying with you guys is the last thing I want!
We're up against Yato.
If we put up an honest fight against a force like that,
we won't stand a chance.
How unusual of you to whine before the battle even begins.
Did you not hear me?
I said if it were an honest fight.
As if any one of us is that honest.
True that.
Fighting Yato with these numbers shows that
we're out of our minds.
Run for it!
Shogun-sama, hurry!
Get back up!
Hurry up and run!
Gori!
Toughness isn't exclusive to you guys, you know!
Get back up and run.
Hijikata-san!
Gin-san!
That's enough! Disperse!
Get back here, damn you!
After them!
Don't let any of them escape!
You mustn't chase them too far, Matako-san.
The Oniwaban's objective is to split our forces up.
Oniwaban
Iga
Seventh Division
Kiheitai
The Seventh Division is fighting the enemy's main force.
We should regroup with them and set up a pincer attack.
I had Bansai head over there already.
Let them do as they please.
Either way, Iga and the current government are done for.
T-Takasugi-san...
Let them at least go out in a blaze of glory.
Where are you going?
There's a guy I must end before putting an end to everything.
Even if we take the shogun's head and topple the government,
we won't be able to behead this world.
Unless we break that sword,
the world won't end.
Jeez.
What's the point of guarding the shogun if he has to guard us instead?
It should be clear to you now.
We won't survive unless we give it all we have, including what's in our underwear.
Fret not.
We shall protect one another's backs.
Is that not what "buddies" are?
Who the hell taught the shogun such crude slang?
Should we have taught him "friendicks" instead?
Oh, so you can say it like that, too?
Don't teach him any more nonsense!
Hey, now.
If he's acting like that, he might be another double.
Nah, it's the shogun.
There's no mistaking it.
He's our shogun.
Good grief.
This is the first planet that's ever given us such trouble in hand-to-hand combat.
Believe it or not,
we're a rare species that's in danger of extinction.
I wish you'd be gentler with us.
You're...
Long time no see, miss.
I had a lot of trouble after our little skirmish.
The commander raked me over the coals,
and told me not to hold back the next time I ran into you.
But now, just look how many of my brethren you've taken out.
Be it the commander's little sister,
be it the commander's prey,
I don't intend to let you guys leave here alive.
Screw you!
You're the ones trampling all over our country!
Really?
I thought it looked like it was rotting even before we set foot here.
Even if we didn't do anything, it would've crumbled all on its own.
And anyway, you samurai are the ones about to finish it off.
We're only here to repay that guy.
Where is he?
Where is that bastard, Takasugi?
Well, I can tell you he's not where you're about to go.
I've sent some along already to lead you there.
Ninjas and samurai...
Fall to ruin, along with this country.
She's not much of a guide, I'm afraid.
All she's capable of is...
Will you have some cocoa?
Or do you want some pitch-black tea?
Vice Commander!
Stand up, samurai.
Neither the ninjas nor this country are dead yet.
Momochi-san!
Run for it!
You're alive?
And that thing can be a shuriken, too?
I told you, the ninjas aren't dead yet.
After them!
Don't let them get away!
The ninjas they wiped out
were merely my puppets.
The vassals of Fujibayashi who died back then.
We have barely begun to unleash true ninja warfare.
I see.
So these are real ninja arts.
If you'd also blown away the bill for this brand new prosthetic arm,
I would've given you a round of applause.
But I'm back to being unable to clap.
What do all of you have against my left arm?!
Listen well.
Near the Marici statue on the cliff to the west
is a secret path only ninja villagers know.
You guys take the shogun and get out of Iga.
Momochi-san!
We'll hold them at bay here.
We must prevent them from sinking the country, even if Iga has to fall to do it.
Shogun-sama...
Please forgive my inability to serve you to the very end.
Momochi!
It'd be dicey with just the ninjas.
I thought this was supposed to be a joint operation between ninjas and samurai.
Then we'll be taking our share of the glory.
Kondo-san! Hijikata-san!
There you have it. Get going already.
You can handle the rest even without police security, right?
Wait up, you guys—
Odd Jobs!
Through one thing or another, we've known you guys for a long time now.
But we've never once gone to you with a job request.
I never thought this day would come.
But you're the only guys left to ask...
You're the only ones we can trust to do this.
You're the only ones who can.
This is the Shinsengumi's...
Our first and last request.
Odd Jobs,
take care of the shogun.
We accept.
Gin-san...
Don't look back.
Toshi...
Don't worry, I won't look back.
If I do...
They'll ask about payment!
Don't worry, we'll get paid no matter what.
Both by them and the shogun.
Once we all get back alive.
So for now,
don't look back.
Keep your eyes forward.
We may be looking in different directions,
but we all have the same home.
I see it!
Zenzo, it should be possible to escape the village from there.
You go ahead.
I promise I'll bring the shogun along.
Zenzo?
Hang in there, Zenzo!
Just a bit longer...
We're almost there!
I won't let anyone die anymore!
We're all going back alive.
We're almost there.
If we make it past here,
we can go back to those days
where all of us spent our time doing the stupidest things.
We can go back to those times, right, Gin-san?
No, you can't.
You're not going anywhere.
You no longer have a home
or a place to run to in this country.
So they really did have a secret path.
Good thing you made it in time, Kamui-dono.
I left pretty late because of Abuto.
But I got to see something amusing thanks to that.
On your planet, wouldn't you call this
"nothing's more dangerous than a cornered animal"?
Nah.
It's what we call "resistance is futile."
The trajectory was altered to miss her vitals.
Who was it?
Don't move!
If anyone moves a finger, I'll stick these in all of your butts.
Hemorrhoids are lifelong, you know.
You ought to take care of your ass.
Zenzo...
Stand up, Sarutobi!
We're going back alive.
You're the one who said that,
and yet you're trying to die before me?
Sorry... I...
Don't apologize.
I was the one who always ran off on my own,
and you scolded me each time.
So don't you dare go off before me.
I love my fuglies, Sarutobi,
but I've had enough of your fugly crying face.
I won't let you cry in front of me ever again!
Rather than a half-dead man skewering all of us,
it'd be much quicker for us to cut up two worn-out rags.
Didn't you hear me tell you not to move?!
I see, Shinsuke.
This certainly is futile resistance.
All that talk about sticking knives in our asses
was to prevent us from looking upwards.
And this rain of knives...
It's just a fake-out, too.
I'm sick of your petty tricks.
Oh, it's no fake-out.
I have the perfect ninja technique for your massive asses.
It's my trump card,
and I've already used it!
To Be Continued
Preview
You make your brother very happy.
In a fight, both parties are to blame,
my little samurai.
Gintoki, if I die...
Kagura!
Shinpachi!
Let's do this!
Shogun Assassination Arc Part Five
We are Odd Jobs!
Those Who Protect Against All Odds
It'll blow by. Just enjoy your merry Xmas, happy New Year and its food,
reading New Year's cards, getting one from someone you didn't send one to,
hurriedly writing one back, and all that, and we'll be back before you know it.
Well, then, we wish you a happy New Year!