Hey, you.
Takasugi, was it?
Don't get cocky just because you won.
In the time it took you to beat me once by sheer miracle,
how many times did I beat you?
If you truly wanna beat me...
If you wanna make up for all your losses,
come back tomorrow.
I'll be the one to win then, too, though.
Too bad, Gintoki.
The score is now 247-246.
I win.
Shogun Assassination Arc Part Six
Sworn Enemy
Watch the Shogun Assassination Arc in a bright room and at a safe distance from your TV!!
Now here's a pleasant sight.
There's a moron flying in the sky.
Yeah, it's a pleasant sight.
I can look down on a moron.
What are you going to do from now on?
There's nothing I can do.
I was told I'd be disowned if I ever set foot in that place again.
I see. So your father caught wind of that rumor, too.
There's a rumor saying that the Shoka Sonjuku school gathers local kids
and feeds them shady anti-bakufu and seditious propaganda.
You can each flaunt your own brand of bushido
and become your own samurai.
Sounds about right.
If all samurai were like the ones he talks about, this country would fall to ruin.
Perhaps.
But they were a pleasant bunch.
I always thought samurai were prisoners, shackled by all kinds of things.
But if it is possible,
I'd love to be a free-spirited samurai like that.
The rumors were right.
We were wondering why we hadn't seen you at the academy lately.
Who'd have thought you'd get attached to this shady temple school?
I guess you'll finally be expelled from the Military Arts Academy, Takasugi.
But too bad, this school might get shut down as soon as tonight.
I told my father about some of the nasty rumors about this place.
The officials will make their move soon.
That man will either be run out of here or arrested, if he's lucky.
Serves that random vagabond right for pretending to be a teacher.
This is what happens when you step out of line and insult us samurai.
Takasugi, you'll never be a samurai now.
Takasugi.
Should you be staying out this late?
You could actually get disowned this time.
No need to worry.
I'm going to get disowned tomorrow anyway.
And you, Katsura?
You could lose your scholarship if you're caught hanging around here this late.
You needn't worry.
I was getting sick of that worthless, spoiled education anyway.
I told them to run before nightfall.
Shoka Sonjuku
After all, debts ought to be repaid.
The prestigious Military Arts Academy's biggest prodigy and bad boy are teaming up.
We should be able to stall the officials.
Two students from a prestigious school? Don't make me laugh.
Don't you mean the den of evil that's training rebels to topple the government,
the Shoka Sonjuku school's three bad boys?
Why are you here?
I thought I told you to run.
That was for Shoyo.
Why would I have to run?
Besides, you guys learned how to play hooky and enjoy the nightlife.
You're part of our school already.
Of course I'd come to say goodbye.
But you've done enough.
I'll handle the rest, so get out of here.
Shoyo and I are nomads to begin with.
We can find a home anywhere.
But you guys are different.
If you get involved any further, you won't be able to go back.
Do you wanna be stripped of your samurai status?
If I had anywhere to go, I wouldn't be here in the first place.
I've been all alone since my grandma died.
More than anything,
I no longer have any ambitions I'd need some kind of status to fulfill.
Even if I had ambitions like that, I wouldn't want them just handed to me.
I'd find them with my own eyes...
...and grab them with my own hands.
That so?
I won't say anything more, then.
Hey, you kids over there.
What are you doing at this late hour?
I'm Sakata Gintoki, disciple of Yoshida Shoyo and student of Shoka Sonjuku.
Katsura Kotaro, likewise.
Takasugi Shinsuke, likewise.
En garde!
What's with these brats?
Don't draw them.
Keep your swords sheathed, all of you.
Please don't make me draw mine.
Yoshida Shoyo!
You bastard!
You can say what you want about me.
If you find me an eyesore, I'll gladly leave.
But...
If you point those blades at my students,
I won't hesitate to truly topple the government.
Shoyo...
Goodness.
I thought I'd sent all students home.
There were a few bad boys left here, huh?
But I'm sorry, Dojo Challenger.
There is no dojo or school left for you to challenge.
Don't worry.
My target isn't some dojo.
It's you, Shoyo-sensei.
And if you ask us,
so long as you're there, even a meadow or a farm can be our school.
Besides, neither your brand of bushido nor ours
is frail enough to be broken by something like this, right?
Gintoki.
You seem to have brought along a couple of students more impertinent than you.
I know, right?
Very well.
Let me get right to teaching you a roadside lesson, then.
You half-growns are a hundred years too early to be out playing at night.
Welcome to Shoka Sonjuku.
Sensei...
Have you come to punch me again?
Are you here to stop me from half-assing things?
He's gone.
Sensei is no longer in this world.
We're the only ones who can stop us now.
If we don't like something,
and we can't accept it,
we'll have to stop it with our own fists!
Takasugi...
How long will you keep using that crushed left eye of yours
to look at the back of your eyelid?
Open the one eye you've got left and take a good look.
The guy you've got to swing your fist at
is right here!
I can see that with my eyes closed!
Gintoki!
I, and this closed eye of mine,
still see the desires from back then,
along with the bonds,
the aspirations,
and...
the hatred.
I haven't forgotten any of it.
I've never once lost sight of it.
The guy I have to swing my fist at
is still burned into the back of my eyelid.
Now, stand up,
Gintoki.
Our sworn enemy is right here.
Don't avert your eyes.
Clench your fist.
Avenge Sensei.
We can't point a blade at ourselves.
But we've got someone far more intimate to cut and curse.
I have you,
and you have me!
How pitiful
for youngsters with hearts so concerned for their country to meet such a terrible fate.
Is this what you wanted to do,
Shoyo?
Your students died in vain, just as you taught them to.
You're trying to say you never taught them anything of the sort, huh?
Shall we put it to the test, then?
Will your students choose to die in vain with you,
or will they
choose to live on, even if they have to kill their teacher with their own hands?
It's the perfect execution for an educator like you, don't you think?
Pick whichever you like, your teacher or your friends.
Gintoki, I leave the rest to you.
Protect your friends... Protect everyone.
Gintoki, if I die...
Take care of Sensei.
This is a favor I can only ask of a fellow good-for-nothing.
Then I've got a favor to ask of a good-for-nothing, too.
Don't die.
Gintoki!
N-No, Gintoki!
Please!
Please stop!
N-No, Gintoki!
Please!
Thank you.
Gintoki!
Don't waste your lives after your teacher saved them.
Are you really going to send them back alive?
Did you take pity on that man, Oboro?
These men have lost everything they wanted to protect.
For samurai, that is no different from dying.
What's more, they destroyed it with their own hands, due to their own weakness.
They're not even worth killing.
They'll probably never hold a sword again.
The last thing I saw with my left eye
was your face.
If the enemy burned into this eye had been the bakufu,
everything would be so much easier.
Our sworn enemy is ourselves.
Even though we fought to save him,
we were so weak, we had to use his life as a stepping stone to survive...
And we made you bear that cross.
Every time I remember your face etched into this eye,
the scar throbs and bays for blood.
"Why won't you avenge Sensei?"
"You can put an end to everything by piercing that chest with a sword!"
And that's exactly right.
We weren't meant to survive.
Why did you come to save us?
Why didn't you abandon us and save Sensei?
I'm sure you could've done it.
You promised me back then.
And you must've wanted to save him more than anyone.
So why...
Why?
Why did you choose us, Gintoki?!
If you'd been in my shoes back then, you would've done the same.
That's why you point your sword at me.
That's why you slash not yourself, but your alter ego.
That's why you seek a revenge that'd hurt you far more than cutting yourself.
Well, too bad for you.
I...
I, your alter ego, won't go down.
Until you fall, and until you stop, I'll stand up as many times as it takes.
Takasugi, I don't recall ever choosing you.
It's just that while I knew well what you held dear,
I knew what he held dear all too well.
Even if I have to walk over my teacher's corpse,
and even if I have to walk over your corpse,
I'll protect the soul of his student, our friend, and Shoka Sonjuku's Takasugi Shinsuke!
I'm Sakata Gintoki, disciple of Yoshida Shoyo!
I'm amazed you can still say that now...
I see. I had no idea.
I haven't been expelled yet, have I?
I thought I told you
not to waste your lives after your teacher saved them.
The Yatagarasu's prophecies offer no second chances,
Shoyo's disciples.
To Be Continued
Shogun Assassination Arc Part Seven
The Crows Caw After The Battle Ends
A sudden assassin's blade takes out Takasugi.
Why is Oboro of the Tenshoin Naraku here?
The Shogun Assassination Arc reaches its endgame.
Things go awry on Kagura and Shinpachi's end, too!