# 18 - Man of the Soil
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GXJHM3GP8/blue-miburo)
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
**[00:00] Hound**
I'm known as the Hound,
and I hunt the beasts called samurai.
**[00:05] Hound**
Now, draw your weapons!
**[00:07] Nagakura**
Would you take the head of
Nagakura Shinpachi and leave it at that?
**[00:13] Harada**
You've got rotten luck, old man.
**[00:15] Hound**
You cocky brat!
**[00:18] Harada**
I'm not a softy like Shinpachi.
**[00:21] Harada**
I don't care what your deal is.
**[00:23] Harada**
When it comes to killing, I won't hold back.
**[00:27] Harada**
Just kidding.
**[00:29] Harada**
I'm not bad with a sword,
but this comes so much more natural.
**[00:34] Harada**
We're outcasts, but the Miburo
make us feel like we belong.
**[00:39] Harada**
You should've come to us instead, old man.
**[00:56] Fiend**
I knew you were showing your age.
**[01:03] Fiend**
Useless trash.
**[01:09] Harada**
Hang in there, old-timer!
**[01:11] Hound**
Damn you, Fiend.
**[01:19] Nagakura**
Sanosuke, stand aside!
***SIGN*** Blue Miburo
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**[02:57] Nio**
I see it!
**[02:58] Nio**
That house with the gate!
**[03:01] Kondo**
Good.
**[03:02] Sakura**
The gate's open.
**[03:04] Taro**
Y-You want me to run
all the way to Kurotani, right?
**[03:08] Nio**
Yup. Ask Aizu for reinforcements.
**[03:11] Taro**
As if they'll believe anything I say.
**[03:15] Nio**
Please, Taro-kun. It's all up to you.
**[03:17] Taro**
Shut up!
**[03:19] Taro**
To hell with it! I'll do what I can!
**[03:26] Nio**
*Nagi-san, please be safe.*
***SIGN*** m 0 0 l 100 0 100 100 0 100
***SIGN*** Kojin Bridge
**[03:52] Todo**
I hit them all with the back of my blade.
**[03:55] Okita**
Nice work.
**[03:56] Okita**
Then allow me to handle their boss.
**[04:02] Okita**
Wait.
**[04:05] Okita**
That's odd.
**[04:07] Okita**
There are eight ringleaders
and seven bridges.
**[04:09] Okita**
One of them *has* to be here.
***SIGN*** m 0 0 l 100 0 100 100 0 100
***SIGN*** Kojin Bridge
**[04:11] Todo**
Don't look at me.
Maybe he went someplace else?
**[04:15] Okita**
What?
***SIGN*** m 0 0 l 100 0 100 100 0 100
***SIGN*** Nijo Bridge
**[04:23] Harada**
Are you okay, old man?
**[04:27] Harada**
Hey, old man!
**[04:28] Nagakura**
Sanosuke.
**[04:32] Nagakura**
I told you to stand aside.
**[04:40] Fiend**
Huh?
**[04:44] Fiend**
A short sword?
**[04:46] Fiend**
* No, that's ridiculous.*
* I should've been well out of reach.*
**[04:51] Fiend**
* Even if it were a long sword,*
* I should've be out of range.*
**[04:54] Nagakura**
Ah, this won't do.
**[04:58] Nagakura**
You face Nagakura Shinpachi
of the Mibu Roshigumi.
**[05:05] Fiend**
Huh.
**[05:07] Fiend**
Do you think we're fighting
a duel or something?
**[05:21] Fiend**
*He's fast.*
**[05:22] Fiend**
*And he hits hard.*
**[05:26] Fiend**
*Not good.*
**[05:29] Fiend**
*I need to keep him at a distance.*
**[05:32] Nagakura**
* I had no doubts about living*
* as a samurai. As a warrior.*
**[05:38] Nagakura**
* Born to Nagakura Kanji,*
* who served Matsumae Domain in Edo,*
**[05:44] Nagakura**
*I grew up in Edo without a care in the world.*
**[05:47] (Flashback) Woman A**
Why, if it isn't young Lord Nagakura.
**[05:50] (Flashback) Woman B**
What a handsome face he has.
**[05:54] (Flashback) Townsmen**
You can count on him
to cut a dashing figure.
**[05:56] (Flashback) Townsmen**
He's always earnest and polite, I hear.
**[05:59] (Flashback) Townsmen**
A model samurai.
**[06:01] Nagakura**
* I wasn't a terribly diligent student,*
* except when it came to swordsmanship.*
**[06:07] Nagakura**
* I became a master of the*
* Shindo Munen School by the age of 18.*
**[06:13] Nagakura**
* Then I went from one dojo to another,*
* seeking strength and nothing more.*
**[06:20] Nagakura**
* Up until I met Kondo at the Shieikan*
* and my life took a detour.*
**[06:28] Nagakura**
*You could say I was a classic swordsman.*
**[06:32] Nagakura**
*Free of doubt or hesitation, I simply...*
**[06:38] Nagakura**
*kept walking the path of the sword.*
**[06:50] Nagakura**
Utterly underhanded.
**[06:53] Fiend**
Underhanded? I don't follow.
**[06:57] Nagakura**
What need did you have to kill the old man?
**[07:00] Nagakura**
Much less to stab him from behind
and without warning.
**[07:05] Fiend**
He's weak, so he'll die. The strong survive.
**[07:09] Fiend**
That's samurai logic.
**[07:13] Nagakura**
I see.
**[07:14] Nagakura**
In that case, you'll die here.
That's as it should be.
**[07:19] Hound**
No!
**[07:22] Harada**
Old man! You still with us?
**[07:24] Hound**
H-His technique is—
**[07:26] Harada**
Hey! Don't force yourself to talk!
**[07:28] Hound**
His technique is an iai strike
like a fiend's scythe.
**[07:34] Hound**
Don't give him the room to use it.
**[07:42] Fiend**
It's time you died.
**[07:45] Harada**
Shinpachi!
**[07:48] Harada**
I got this sword off
one of the grunts! Use it!
**[08:09] Hound**
A sword reflects its wielder's true nature.
**[08:14] Hound**
Carefree.
**[08:17] Hound**
And supple.
**[08:21] Hound**
Serene and free like a bird in flight.
**[08:27] Hound**
Almost like a...
**[08:39] Harada**
A flying swallow.
**[08:50] Fiend**
I see. What a shame.
**[08:54] Fiend**
You win.
**[09:02] Hound**
I never knew there were
such samurai. Such warriors.
**[09:15] Harada**
The old man's dead.
**[09:23] Harada**
He said you were one hell of a samurai.
**[09:29] Nagakura**
Let's give him a funeral later, Sanosuke.
***SIGN*** m 0 0 l 100 0 100 100 0 100
***SIGN*** Shijo Bridge
**[09:40] Agitator**
Welcome. This is the bridge of fate.
**[09:44] Hijikata**
Excuse me?
**[09:47] Hijikata**
The bridge of fate?
**[09:48] Agitator**
Yes. The bridge that will decide your fate.
**[09:52] Agitator**
Will you join me? Or will you
end your lives in obscurity?
**[09:57] Hijikata**
Don't waste your breath.
**[10:00] Agitator**
Go.
**[10:01] Member D**
Huh?
**[10:02] Agitator**
Go get him.
**[10:15] Member D**
H-How's he so strong?
**[10:26] Noguchi**
*Hijikata Toshizo.*
**[10:28] Noguchi**
* I never noticed because*
* I'm always with Serizawa-sensei.*
**[10:34] Hijikata**
Out of my way, small fry.
**[10:36] Hijikata**
Never touch a sword again.
**[10:39] Noguchi**
*H-He's good. And ruthless.*
**[10:47] Agitator**
Magnificent.
**[10:50] Agitator**
But a sword's not a hatchet.
You shouldn't swing it so wildly.
**[10:54] Hijikata**
Huh?
**[10:56] Agitator**
You'll chip or bend the blade
and ruin it in no time.
**[11:02] Agitator**
Recognize this? It's a Kanenaga.
**[11:05] Agitator**
The shine, the brightness, the deep hamon...
You can't help but admire it.
**[11:11] Agitator**
It's a masterpiece,
forged late in the Kamakura period.
**[11:15] Agitator**
What's your sword?
**[11:17] Agitator**
It looks unremarkable,
but what is it called?
**[11:23] Hijikata**
A woman no one's heard of made it.
**[11:26] Hijikata**
As for a name...
**[11:28] Hijikata**
I guess I'll call it "No-Name."
**[11:34] Agitator**
Let's change the subject.
**[11:36] Agitator**
Would you tell me about your connections?
**[11:38] Hijikata**
My what?
**[11:40] Agitator**
Who you know.
**[11:42] Agitator**
How many notables you have ties to.
**[11:45] Agitator**
Connections are the
true measure of a man's worth.
**[11:49] Agitator**
You must know of Dairaku Gentaro.
**[11:52] Agitator**
I've drunk with him.
You might call us sworn brothers.
**[11:58] Hijikata**
Never heard of him.
**[12:00] Agitator**
Never heard of him?! You've *never* heard
of Dairaku Gentaro of Choshu?!
**[12:05] Agitator**
He's a great patriot. A man of renown.
**[12:08] Agitator**
He ushered in this age of assassination
in the name of divine punishment.
**[12:13] Hijikata**
News to me. Who is he?
**[12:16] Agitator**
Well, these things do happen.
**[12:19] Agitator**
Let's try a different connection.
**[12:21] Agitator**
Speaking of Choshu, does the name
Katsura Kogoro ring any bells?
**[12:26] Noguchi**
Katsura?
**[12:27] Agitator**
I've debated with him.
**[12:30] Agitator**
Or take Kusaka-dono.
**[12:32] Agitator**
I've shared a bath with him.
**[12:35] Agitator**
In Tosa, I passed *the*
Takechi Zuizan on the street.
**[12:40] Agitator**
I've even seen the great Saigo of Satsuma.
**[12:47] Hijikata**
Never heard of them!
**[12:49] Agitator**
What?!
**[12:50] Agitator**
Wh-What ignorance.
**[12:52] Noguchi**
E-Everyone knows Katsura Kogoro,
even at the Renpeikan dojo in Edo.
**[12:56] Hijikata**
I don't, and I don't care to.
**[13:01] Hijikata**
It itches.
**[13:03] Hijikata**
This thing itches like hell.
**[13:06] Hijikata**
The longer you talk, the itchier it gets.
**[13:12] Hijikata**
I've had enough. Now die.
**[13:17] Agitator**
Don't you care about
making your mark on history?
**[13:19] Agitator**
I can't fathom that attitude.
**[13:22] Hijikata**
Shut up already.
**[13:24] Agitator**
If our uprising succeeds—
no, if it even makes a stir,
**[13:29] Agitator**
the Risshidan's fame will skyrocket.
**[13:32] Agitator**
And it won't end there. Once lit,
the anti-shogunate flames will refuse to die.
**[13:37] Agitator**
I'll incite Tosa, Satsuma, and Choshu
and change the course of history.
**[13:43] Agitator**
Yes, me! The man called—
**[13:47] Hijikata**
Oh, excuse me.
**[13:49] Hijikata**
I got sick of your bullshit.
**[13:54] (Flashback) Samurai A**
What's this? Don't you even have a name?
**[14:01] Hijikata**
You're all talk. Now, die.
**[14:12] Hijikata**
That'll cost you.
**[14:14] Agitator**
You thought I was all talk?
**[14:17] Agitator**
It takes substance to gather a following.
**[14:20] Agitator**
Shindo Munen-ryu, Hokushin Itto-ryu,
Kyoshin Meichi-ryu...
**[14:26] Agitator**
I've studied almost every school
you've ever heard of.
**[14:31] Noguchi**
*O-Oh, no. This guy's good.*
**[14:34] Hijikata**
So why? If you're so capable,
why obsess over reputation?
**[14:40] Hijikata**
What drives you?
**[14:43] Agitator**
Nothing. Nothing at all.
**[14:46] Agitator**
Only shallow men like you assume
every action has a motive.
**[14:52] Hijikata**
Is that so?
**[14:54] Agitator**
A word of warning.
**[14:56] Agitator**
The way you stand and where you look
make your strikes too obvious,
**[15:01] Agitator**
even if they do stray a little to the right.
**[15:08] Hijikata**
When was it? There were
these rare swallowtail butterflies.
**[15:13] Hijikata**
I'd cross a hill or two chasing them,
and my sister always let me have them.
**[15:19] Hijikata**
I picked up a weird nickname from that.
**[15:27] Hijikata**
"Demon Feet."
**[15:29] Noguchi**
*He's fast!*
**[15:30] Hijikata**
If you think dojos are all there
is to sword fighting, think again.
**[15:38] Noguchi**
Got him!
**[15:41] Agitator**
That won't work on me.
**[15:43] Noguchi**
Huh?
**[15:47] Noguchi**
Ch-Chain mail?!
**[16:00] (Flashback) Hijikata**
Damn it!
**[16:01] (Flashback) Kondo**
Toshi, your swordsmanship
is too predictable.
**[16:07] (Flashback) Hijikata**
Oh, I give up!
**[16:12] (Flashback) Hijikata**
I've got no talent. I can tell
that much by watching you guys.
**[16:17] Hijikata**
*I can't change that easily.*
**[16:21] Hijikata**
* Going back to peddling medicine*
* and scrapping every now and then*
**[16:25] Hijikata**
*will be the best thing for me.*
**[16:28] (Flashback) Kondo**
You have it wrong, Toshi.
**[16:30] (Flashback) Kondo**
Grip it more like this.
**[16:33] (Flashback) Kondo**
Cup it gently in your hands.
**[16:35] (Flashback) Okita**
You sulk over everything.
**[16:37] (Flashback) Okita**
You think it'll get you more attention.
**[16:40] (Flashback) Hijikata**
Hey! Shut your trap, Soji!
**[16:43] (Flashback) Kondo**
That's the spirit I want to see.
**[16:45] (Flashback) Hijikata**
Shut up.
**[16:46] (Flashback) Hijikata**
You win.
**[16:48] (Flashback) Hijikata**
But gimme something to go on.
What do I have to do to get stronger?
**[16:52] (Flashback) Okita**
Always looking for help. You think
people will tell you just because you ask.
**[16:59] (Flashback) Kondo**
Toshi, you're already strong.
**[17:02] (Flashback) Kondo**
You've never lost a
man-to-man fight, have you?
**[17:04] (Flashback) Hijikata**
Well, no.
**[17:07] (Flashback) Kondo**
You're not here to inherit
the Tennen Rishin School.
**[17:10] (Flashback) Kondo**
Just study it as one more way to fight.
**[17:14] (Flashback) Kondo**
You do things your own way.
What's wrong with the Hijikata School?
**[17:20] (Flashback) Okita**
So a no-name school then.
**[17:24] Noguchi**
This looks bad, Hijikata-san!
**[17:26] Noguchi**
We need to fall back and regroup before—
**[17:29] Agitator**
It's too late for that. Sleep in obscurity.
**[17:35] Agitator**
I told you, that won't work on me.
**[17:39] (Flashback) Kondo**
Toshi, your first stroke
is especially easy to read.
**[17:45] (Flashback) Kondo**
You're practically asking
your opponent to counter it.
**[17:48] Agitator**
I told you, I can read you like a book.
**[17:52] (Flashback) Hijikata**
So what should I do about it?
**[17:54] (Flashback) Kondo**
Oh, that's simple.
**[17:56] (Flashback) Kondo**
Strike again before they do.
**[18:00] Agitator**
What?
**[18:02] (Flashback) Hijikata**
And after that?
**[18:03] (Flashback) Kondo**
A third blow, then a fourth.
**[18:12] (Flashback) Kondo**
Just keep battering them.
**[18:14] (Flashback) Kondo**
That's how a wild fellow
like you ought to fight.
**[18:17] (Flashback) Kondo**
That's your Hijikata School.
**[18:26] Noguchi**
What the...
**[18:28] Agitator**
Have you no plan? All you do is flail!
**[18:32] Hijikata**
*Kondo-san...*
**[18:36] (Flashback) Kondo**
Was that a kick just now?
How'd you manage that?
**[18:39] Hijikata**
* Bottomless greed, dedication, and humility.*
* In the old days, he'd have been a daimyo.*
**[18:46] Hijikata**
*Even now, he might go down in history.*
**[18:52] (Flashback) Okita**
What a sorry sight.
**[18:54] (Flashback) Okita**
Did you get beat again?
**[18:56] Hijikata**
*Soji just blossomed one day out of the blue.*
**[19:01] Hijikata**
*Hell, he's a prodigy.*
**[19:02] (Flashback) Okita**
By the way, I came up
with a new move. Wanna see?
**[19:07] Hijikata**
* He might found his own school,*
* or maybe start something even bigger.*
**[19:14] Hijikata**
*I don't let on, but I can't wait to see.*
**[19:17] Hijikata**
*So what about me?*
**[19:21] Noguchi**
*What ferocity.*
**[19:24] Agitator**
*How long is he going to keep this up?*
**[19:30] Hijikata**
* It's light, fits my hand,*
* and can take a beating.*
**[19:35] Hijikata**
*Chip it? Bend it?*
**[19:38] Hijikata**
*Who cares?*
**[19:41] Hijikata**
*Sakura...*
**[19:44] Hijikata**
*You're a damn genius.*
**[19:56] Hijikata**
I don't know why, but I'm surrounded
by folks who make my jaw drop.
**[20:01] Agitator**
W-Wait! Let's talk! Yes, talk!
**[20:05] Agitator**
First, tell me your name and...
**[20:07] Hijikata**
*All of you can go down in history.*
**[20:10] Hijikata**
*Not me.*
**[20:13] Hijikata**
*I'm a man of the soil.*
**[20:16] Hijikata**
*I'm happy being a grain of wheat,*
**[20:20] Hijikata**
* helping someone else grow*
* on the land. In this dirt.*
**[20:28] Agitator**
My name is...
**[20:30] Agitator**
My name is...
**[20:35] Agitator**
Bide...
**[20:44] Agitator**
Bidebu... zaburo...
**[20:48] Hijikata**
A name?
**[20:50] Hijikata**
What's that worth?
**[20:53] Hijikata**
As for me, I threw my lot in
with the guys who saved me.
**[20:59] Hijikata**
Forget anyone else. That's all I need.
**[21:03] Agitator**
Unbelievable.
**[21:09] Noguchi**
I got chills.
**[21:10] Hijikata**
Huh?
**[21:12] Noguchi**
I want to be like you.
**[21:14] Hijikata**
Noguchi! What're you crying for?
**[21:16] Noguchi**
Hijikata Toshizo!
**[21:19] Hijikata**
Keep it down.
**[21:21] Hijikata**
Now, hurry it up.
We've got more to send packing.
***SIGN*** m 0 0 l 100 0 100 100 0 100
***SIGN*** Matsubara Bridge
**[21:36] Hajime**
That wasn't even a warm-up.
**[21:42] Ayame**
So it's you.
***SIGN*** Man
of
***SIGN*** the
Soil
***SIGN*** Next time
**[23:21] Hajime**
This is Saito Hajime.
**[23:23] Hajime**
So I'm fighting that Ayame guy, huh?
**[23:27] Hajime**
Something about him gives me the creeps,
but I must keep the city safe, no matter what.
**[23:33] Hajime**
No, that's not right.
**[23:36] Hajime**
I don't want to let anyone beat me.
**[23:39] Hajime**
I just want to keep getting stronger.
**[23:42] Hajime**
I promised I would.
**[23:45] Hajime**
Next time: "Successor."
***SIGN*** Successor
**[23:47] Hajime**
Don't you dare miss it.