Y-You're...
Why are you here?
I'm going to save this country.
But for that, Kondo,
I need your help.
And to get out of this predicament,
you need my,
Kotaro the Runaway's, help.
You...
Kondo, I shall get you out of here.
So save this country with me.
Farewell Shinsengumi Arc Part Three
Lost and Found
Katsura?
Yes.
Watch the Farewell Shinsengumi Arc in a bright room and at a safe distance from your TV!!
The ringleader of the Joi Rebels,
who boasts nicknames such as "The Rampaging Youth" and "Kotaro the Runaway."
I've long wanted to see what kind of man he was,
but his end was disappointingly abrupt.
He wasn't after Lord Nobunobu's life?
Are you saying
that he was there to save that man?
Either way,
we reeled in an unexpectedly big fish with cheap bait.
Although I was targeting a different one,
playing along with the rowdy shogun who wanted to show off his newfound power
proved worthwhile.
Fortunately, he seems to have lost his memories of the incident,
and doesn't remember that we let Sakata-san escape.
Let's have the old guard take the fall for all of it.
Matsudaira Katakuriko, Kondo Isao,
and now Katsura Kotaro.
We can take the heads of the men who starred in the previous era in one fell swoop.
It's the perfect way to ring in the new era, don't you think?
And what exactly are we going to do in this "new era"?
With no allies or enemies,
are we just going to sit on our backsides like you are now,
perched atop this derelict nation?
Is that it?
It's actually a pretty comfortable seat, you know.
Would you like to try sitting in the command chair yourself?
I'd rather grovel in the dirt than sit there.
Sheesh.
What a hasty girl.
I haven't forgotten.
Both you and I were born in the dirt.
And that is where we'll eventually end up.
What's this?
Once I give the signal, take that pill.
It'll let you die without having to wait for your execution three days from now.
That said, it'll only be a suspended animation of sorts.
If we can fool the guards...
The gorilla's dead!
Then even if the doors to Hell don't open,
we can at least force these prison cage doors open.
W-Wait!
What are you playing at?
Are you saying that you, a Joi Rebel,
got yourself arrested so you could break the Shinsengumi Chief,
your archenemy, out of prison?!
Relax.
To me, a prison is no different from the neighborhood diner.
It's simply a place to enjoy free food.
Uh, diners aren't free!
Have you been eating and running?!
So all I'm doing is
returning the gorilla I found eating at the diner to its cage at the zoo.
In the end, the gorilla's back in a cage?!
I don't know what you're planning,
but I can't let things escalate.
It'll cause trouble for Toshi and the rest outside.
No need to worry about that, either.
By now, your men must have joined up with Elizabeth to plot our rescue.
Were you even listening to me?!
What do you mean, "joined up"?
Don't tell me you got them involved, as well?
If they do that, they'll all lose their heads!
Even if they succeed, who's going to protect Edo in the future?!
As things are now, you can't protect anything.
Not even the woman you fell for.
Did something happen to Otae-san?!
Odd Jobs Gin-chan
Snack Otose
Odd Jobs Gin-chan
I'm sorry.
First the Shinsengumi, now Odd Jobs...
If only I hadn't done something so stupid...
I'm so sorry, guys!
It's not your fault, boss lady.
Yeah. If you want to blame someone...
...blame us police, who couldn't do anything.
Hijikata-san.
We can't do anything.
Kondo-san staked his life to leave us this.
Special Police Shinsengumi
But if things stay the same,
if we remain cops,
we won't be able to protect Kondo-san, Edo, or anything else.
Special Police Shinsengumi
Then are you gonna throw away that ID
and join hands with Joi Rebels to fight the nation?
Is that their plan?
They said they'd team up with anyone if it meant they could save the gorilla.
But...
I can't move.
Article 4 of the Shinsengumi Code:
"When the Chief is away, the Vice Chief will have full control of the squad."
"The troops are to follow his orders."
I won't move a finger until that bastard gives an order.
We've come this far together.
Whether we go to save Kondo-san, or abandon him,
I'm going with that bastard.
Act now, and there'll be no going back.
But if you stay as lapdogs of this country,
you won't be able to protect anyone from this country.
If you all die upholding rotten laws,
you can't save your comrades, your loved ones, or this country.
If there is something you want to protect,
then break out of that crooked cage.
If there is something you can't protect,
then break free of those rusted shackles tying you down.
Have you all continued to hold your swords all this while
because of some fragile law that changes with the times?
Nay!
Special Police Shinsengumi
I believe it's the ironclad rules that you swore unto your souls:
the Shinsengumi Code!
Forget something?
Yeah.
But if I take it back, that'll be the end.
If I open these doors,
I'll never be able to come back here again.
Same as me.
A long time ago, I went through something similar.
There were two things I wanted to protect.
I didn't wanna lose either one.
But I ended up in a situation where if I didn't throw one away, I'd lose both.
Which did you choose?
I tried to protect both.
But it was the same as throwing them both away.
I still dream about it,
and wonder if there was a better way to go about it.
But there's no need for you to hesitate, is there?
It's still not too late.
You can still protect both.
You can...
You all can.
You forgot something, Vice Chief.
Change into that and give us our orders already.
Should go without saying.
Whoever scribbled on my uniform, kill yourself!
Die
Looks like you're prepared.
Prepared for what?
To cross swords with you guys?
Did you really think the Shinsengumi and Joi Rebels could join hands?
Neither side can forget all the hatred that's built up over the years.
So long as you are Joi Rebels
and we are Shinsengumi,
we're fated to clash.
Which means this joint operation
will be our final battle.
There's no going back for either of us.
There's no need to forget our hatred or who we are.
You guys just swing your swords as Joi Rebels.
We'll swing our swords as Shinsengumi to the very end.
And in this "new era" to come,
if we as nobodies happen to run into other moronic nobodies,
then instead of crossing swords,
let's share a drink or two...
Along with our generals!
Yeah!
They'll die...
If they do something like that, they'll all die.
Both my men and yours will die in vain!
All for someone like me...
Nobody's going to die.
For I know all too well how tough the Shinsengumi are.
And you should know all too well how tenacious Joi Rebels are.
If the Shinsengumi and Joi Rebels join hands,
then we have nothing to fear, be it the country or anything else.
And while we may stand on opposite sides, Kondo,
surely we share the same desire to fight for our country.
Good grief.
There was a guy who said something similar before...
To you, Katsura.
What's the world coming to?
I mean, the nation's shogun and the nation's most wanted, spouting the same nonsense?
Who's the crazy one here?
Pops!
That crazy man and I shared a promise...
Katsura.
The next time we meet,
one of us will be dead, but...
...the one still alive will create the brand new world.
No objections here.
Damn, both were crazy.
Hurry up and pass me that pill too, Katsura.
P-Pops?!
Now that we're up against an entire nation,
there's no point in squabbling over who is on whose side.
If someone can help me smoke another cigarette,
then I don't care if they're Enma or Buddha.
They're my ally.
Like lord, like retainer, I see.
Very well.
Then let us go together,
as that man's former enemy and former retainers,
to the place he dreamed of...
To a new dawn for this country!
Katsura!
What the hell is he doing?!
He randomly showed up to save us and randomly went into suspended animation!
Hey, what are we going to do?
We haven't heard a thing about the prison break plan yet.
Wake him up at once!
How the hell am I supposed to wake up a guy in suspended animation?!
Wake up, Zura!
I'm not Zura. I'm Katsura.
Hey, forget suspended. Isn't he actually dead?
He even left behind something that looks like a dying message!
You dumbass!
Half-assed measures like that aren't gonna wake up a guy in suspended animation!
Bring him back to life like you want to kill him!
What's the point of killing him for real?!
How's that? Surely he's awake now.
The rock I dug out of the flooring in preparation for the escape sure came in handy.
It didn't! His hands will never move again!
Damn, it's the guards!
What now, Pops?!
Now that it's come to this, we have no choice but to play dead, too.
Gorilla
Whether you run into a bear in a forest or a gorilla in a cage,
you handle it the same way.
First I've heard of that! And I'm the gorilla!
There's no way we can trick the guards like that!
Hey, Pops!
I'm not Gorilla. I'm Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla.
Lose the bloodlust, Mukuro.
We may have parted ways before, but we both serve the heavens now.
I have no intention of ever serving those jerks again.
But what about your master?
His exemplary work in getting rid of possible obstacles to the new government
has made the Tendoshu extremely happy.
Only Matsudaira and Kondo remain, huh?
He must be planning to use their heads as bait to reel in other rebels,
but there seems to be some rather big fish among them.
If you let those guys get the jump on you,
they could rip off your arm along with the bait.
You'd best keep the Yatagarasu's teachings in mind.
The crows that bring death
have already flown off by the time their feathers hit the ground.
He's no ordinary guard!
And while we may stand on opposite sides, Kondo,
surely we share the same desire to fight for our country.
Kondo!
Now you and I have both died once.
Will we be reincarnated as allies or enemies?
Don't ask me.
It seems this is no time for a leisurely escape.
That Yatagarasu tattoo...
They're hit men from Tenshouin Naraku, the assassination syndicate.
Naraku? Why would they?
They even killed the other guards.
Perhaps there is someone who cannot wait for our execution,
or maybe someone who anticipated our next moves.
Either way, there's no time left to hesitate, Kondo.
Wh-What is this?
What's the meaning of this? What the hell happened?!
The inmates suddenly broke out of their cells and attacked us.
I-It's a jailbreak!
The inmates are on the run!
We have casualties, too!
They need treatment, on the double!
They were planning on killing us anyway.
That means Toshi and the rest are in danger, too!
Katsura! How can we get outta here?
Looks like not even the guards expected Naraku to interfere.
If we take advantage of this chaos, we might just make it...
Getting out of these walls will be a piece of cake
with me, Kotaro the Runaway, by your side.
But beyond that lies an obstacle we cannot overcome without outside help.
What obstacle?
Oh, so you were brought here without knowing what kind of place this is?
Unfortunately, escaping this prison doesn't guarantee freedom for us.
Because this place
is a massive prison that goes by the name of Kokujo Island.
Preview
The friends of a hard-boiled man
will all be hard-boiled.
Looks like we made it in time for the party!
Farewell Shinsengumi Arc Part Four
Wait, where's Matsudaira?
Uh, that's Pops!
Prison Break
Hijikata and gang set out
to rescue Kondo.
Who lies waiting
in their path?