E23 - The Wolf's Fangs
Source: Crunchyroll
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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] ---
KAMIYA KASSHIN
SCHOOL OF KENDO
[00:03] ---
An errand?
[00:05] ---
Kenshin did?
[00:06] ---
Yeah. He said he might be back late.
[00:08] ---
I see.
[00:10] ---
But that's rather strange.
[00:13] ---
There aren't many places besides us
that Kenshin runs errands for.
[00:18] ---
- I know! It's a woman!
- Huh?
[00:20] ---
It's been almost three months
since he arrived,
[00:22] ---
so there's gotta be one or two—
[00:24] ---
Ouch!
[00:25] ---
Why do you always come up
with such twisted ideas?
[00:28] ---
No need to punch me!
[00:30] ---
Excuse me.
[00:33] ---
I heard that in this dojo,
[00:34] ---
one Himura Battosai could be found.
[00:38] ---
Oh, my name is Fujita, and I have
been newly assigned to this town.
[00:43] ---
I had heard about Mr. Himura
from the police chief.
[00:48] ---
Oh, I see.
You're one of the chief's men.
[00:52] ---
Unfortunately, Kenshin has stepped out.
[00:55] ---
Do you need something?
[00:56] ---
Well, about that...
[00:58] ---
there has been some unconfirmed intel
shared with the police
[01:02] ---
that there are people
targeting Mr. Himura.
[01:05] ---
I am terribly sorry,
but would you mind if I waited for him?
[01:09] ---
Oh, okay.
[01:10] ---
He might be coming back home
really late, but if that's fine...
[01:14] ---
Yes.
[01:16] ---
Kenshin...
[02:53] ---
EPISODE 23: THE WOLF'S FANGS
[02:57] ---
There are people targeting Ken-san?
[03:00] ---
Right!
[03:01] ---
I'm sure they're the ones
that got Sanosuke, too!
[03:03] ---
He's not dead. Not yet.
[03:06] ---
But if that really was true,
we're facing an indiscriminate group.
[03:12] ---
We should be really careful ourselves
from now on as well.
[03:16] ---
Yeah, but Kenshin,
the man in question, has stepped out.
[03:22] ---
No need to worry about Ken-san,
even if he's alone.
[03:25] ---
In any case, we shouldn't
randomly step out looking for him.
[03:29] ---
The swordsman officer that
the police chief sent is at the dojo,
[03:33] ---
so it's safer inside than outside.
[03:35] ---
You're right.
[03:41] ---
Wow.
[03:43] ---
I thought all the police swords
were sabers,
[03:47] ---
but some use Japanese katanas, huh?
[03:49] ---
As sabers are brittle and unreliable,
I was given special permission.
[03:55] ---
In the end,
Japanese katanas can't be beat as swords.
[04:03] ---
He finally croaked.
[04:04] ---
Six times?
[04:06] ---
He lasted pretty long.
[04:09] ---
It's a bit early for your grave,
but let me tell you.
[04:13] ---
I'm just like Saito and Jine.
[04:15] ---
We're all assassins hired by politicians.
[04:19] ---
I actually don't know the reason
why they want you dead.
[04:23] ---
It's likely some VIP that found out
about you from the Kurogasa case,
[04:28] ---
and feared his evil deeds
back during the Bakumatsu Era would leak
[04:31] ---
and requested the assassination.
[04:34] ---
I see.
[04:36] ---
Hajime Saito is an assassin,
just like Jine Udo.
[04:42] ---
I had heard Saito was one of those
who wielded his sword the most
[04:46] ---
when it came to the assassinations for
disciplining members of the Shinsengumi.
[04:52] ---
So I see.
[04:53] ---
This guy... he defended all six attacks.
[04:57] ---
So he is still doing such foolish things
in this day and age.
[05:02] ---
If so, I'll slam it into him
as many times as it takes to kill him!
[05:09] ---
Wha?! Crap, both my arms—
[05:22] ---
Kenshin!
[05:23] ---
Miss Kaoru.
[05:24] ---
Oh, you're hurt!
[05:27] ---
It really was true that you were targeted.
[05:30] ---
Miss Kaoru, where did you hear that?
[05:33] ---
The police. The police chief
sent one of his men over to let us know.
[05:39] ---
This is Mr. Goro Fujita,
assistant inspector
[05:41] ---
and swordsman for the Metropolitan Police.
[05:46] ---
From the looks of it...
[05:48] ---
looks like you had quite a bit of trouble
against someone like Akamatsu.
[05:53] ---
It seems you have gotten
considerably weaker.
[05:58] ---
The last time we fought was
on the battlefield at Toba-Fushimi.
[06:04] ---
So roughly the first time in a decade.
[06:06] ---
First time in a decade?
[06:08] ---
I see.
[06:09] ---
So you changed your name to Goro Fujita.
[06:13] ---
Captain of the Third Unit
of the Shinsengumi...
[06:16] ---
Hajime Saito.
[06:19] ---
Shinsengumi? That means...
[06:22] ---
This guy was the one after Kenshin.
[06:26] ---
A decade...
[06:27] ---
Just two syllables
when you put it into words...
[06:30] ---
but when you live it,
it was quite a long time.
[06:34] ---
Yeah. It seems it was long enough
for a man to rot away.
[06:40] ---
You used to have
this elusive shrewdness about you,
[06:45] ---
but when it came to battle,
you challenged someone fair and square.
[06:51] ---
Injuring your enemy's friend
to cause uneasiness...
[06:54] ---
sending in an underdog, and using
that time to try to hold people hostage,
[06:58] ---
you never dabbled
in underhanded tactics like this.
[07:01] ---
Your current self
is no longer the Hajime Saito
[07:04] ---
that I acknowledged as a samurai,
that you aren't.
[07:17] ---
Damn you, what's so funny?
[07:20] ---
Of course it's funny, boy.
[07:22] ---
How can I not laugh about this?
[07:25] ---
I had thought that his blade
had gone rusty.
[07:27] ---
But I didn't think his brain
would be this rusty as well!
[07:29] ---
Wha—
[07:31] ---
Akamatsu was an underdog?
[07:33] ---
Don't be stupid.
[07:34] ---
Such a nobody
doesn't even rate as an underdog.
[07:38] ---
The strength of Hitokiri Battosai
is best understood
[07:42] ---
by us Shinsengumi,
who fought him the most.
[07:46] ---
However, your current self had a hard time
dealing with someone at Akamatsu's level.
[07:51] ---
The "rurouni who refuses to kill"
has clearly made you weak.
[07:57] ---
Kenshin...
[07:59] ---
Is weak?
[08:01] ---
Saito, I don't care what you think.
[08:05] ---
But I'm fine as long as I have
the strength as a rurouni
[08:09] ---
to protect those that catch my eye.
[08:13] ---
I no longer need the strength
[08:15] ---
as a hitokiri that kills people,
that I don't.
[08:20] ---
Kenshin.
[08:23] ---
Strength as a rurouni, you say?
[08:25] ---
In that case, you even fail as a rurouni.
[08:34] ---
While you fell into my trap and
were struggling against Akamatsu...
[08:39] ---
I was here the whole time.
[08:42] ---
In other words, I could have killed them
whenever I felt like it.
[08:49] ---
This isn't the only time
I'm talking about.
[08:52] ---
Your so-called
"people that catch your eye"
[08:55] ---
have been captured by your enemy.
[08:58] ---
On top of that, you let a fool
like Raijuta afflict a lifelong wound.
[09:08] ---
The police supposedly weren't involved
in the case with Raijuta.
[09:12] ---
Can it be that this man has been
after Kenshin for a long time?
[09:17] ---
Halfhearted strength
is as good as nothing.
[09:20] ---
A hypocrite that is all talk and no action
is simply revolting.
[09:25] ---
Shut up!
[09:26] ---
But not one person died in the end,
because Kenshin was here!
[09:30] ---
But there's no guarantee
that things will keep going this well.
[09:37] ---
Kenshin.
[09:39] ---
I sent Akamatsu over, thinking Battosai
would be able to realize that on his own.
[09:45] ---
But just like you said, a decade
was long enough for a man to rot away.
[09:52] ---
A rurouni who refuses to kill?
[09:54] ---
You're drowning
in your own complacent pseudo-justice.
[09:57] ---
How can Hitokiri Battosai protect people
without slaying other people?
[10:03] ---
Have you forgotten?
[10:05] ---
"Evil... immediate... slaughter".
[10:08] ---
Evil must be slain immediately.
[10:10] ---
For the Shinsengumi and the hitokiri...
[10:13] ---
it was the one true justice
that we shared together.
[10:19] ---
I cannot bear
seeing your current self any longer.
[10:25] ---
Saito...
[10:26] ---
no matter what you say...
[10:29] ---
I have no intention of killing other men
anymore, that I don't.
[10:35] ---
So be it.
[10:41] ---
Bring it.
[10:43] ---
I will oppose everything about you.
[10:50] ---
RUROUNI KENSHIN
[10:58] ---
What's wrong?
[11:00] ---
Are you just going to stand there
[11:02] ---
and let that girl and boy over there
be hit with Gatotsu, too?
[11:14] ---
Miss Kaoru.
[11:20] ---
It will be all right, that it will.
[11:21] ---
But...
[11:23] ---
In any case, he is after my life.
[11:26] ---
I cannot avoid fighting him, that I can't.
[11:28] ---
But, for some reason...
[11:35] ---
It feels like you just...
[11:38] ---
you just will disappear
after this, Kenshin.
[11:46] ---
Bring it.
[11:48] ---
Weren't you the one challenging me?
[11:52] ---
I get it.
[11:53] ---
You're right.
[11:58] ---
Here goes!
[12:02] ---
Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Ryuutsuisen!
[12:04] ---
He's not weak at all!
Kenshin really is the strongest!
[12:08] ---
You think you dodged it
like that, Battosai?
[12:10] ---
An anti-air Gatotsu!
[12:13] ---
Kenshin!
[12:16] ---
You twisted your waist
to avoid being skewered,
[12:19] ---
but you didn't think it through!
[12:25] ---
Even if the piercing attack misses,
[12:26] ---
you can immediately transition
to a sweeping attack.
[12:29] ---
The deputy head of the Shinsengumi,
[12:32] ---
the tactical genius Toshizo Hijikata,
created Hirazuki.
[12:36] ---
It has no blind spots.
[12:38] ---
All the more true
when it comes to my Gatotsu.
[12:43] ---
In actual duels to the death,
[12:45] ---
it is extremely rare
to come across the same enemy twice.
[12:50] ---
Therefore, if you have an attack
that will definitely kill the opponent,
[12:54] ---
all other small tricks become pointless.
[12:57] ---
Thoroughly brushing up
on one's best attack
[13:01] ---
to elevate it into
an absolute sure-kill attack...
[13:04] ---
the true strength of the Shinsengumi
was not in group tactics,
[13:09] ---
but actually was in this aspect.
[13:15] ---
The katana...
[13:16] ---
Destruction of weaponry!
[13:17] ---
Such a useless struggle!
[13:23] ---
Though nameless, my beloved blade
warded me against countless dangers
[13:28] ---
from the Bakumatsu Era until now.
[13:31] ---
That and my attack aren't things
your current self can break through.
[13:35] ---
Kenshin!
[13:36] ---
Kensh—
[13:42] ---
Step aside, girl.
[13:46] ---
You're in the way.
[13:54] ---
Here goes.
[13:55] ---
Kenshin.
[14:00] ---
The reaction to the second attack
went after my blade.
[14:03] ---
Such a thing wouldn't be possible
[14:05] ---
if he wasn't faster
than back in the first attack.
[14:07] ---
This is despite suffering
quite a wound in his chest.
[14:12] ---
In the short while
since he settled down here...
[14:15] ---
he has fought multiple enemies.
[14:17] ---
And each time,
he has put a victory under his belt
[14:21] ---
by waking up the power
of his Hitokiri days.
[14:24] ---
Just as I had thought.
[14:27] ---
Each time he wields his sword,
[14:29] ---
he is surely returning to
Hitokiri Battosai unbeknownst to him.
[14:37] ---
He has gotten even faster.
[14:39] ---
Wha—
[14:40] ---
He disappeared!
[14:41] ---
Below!
[14:47] ---
What was that just now?
[14:49] ---
That movement was far beyond
what I had expected.
[14:55] ---
His breathing is too heavy.
[14:57] ---
Is he putting out more power
than he's imagining...
[15:00] ---
and his body isn't keeping up with him?
[15:12] ---
- It can't be.
- It can't be.
[15:14] ---
Because he is fighting me...
[15:16] ---
his feelings from a decade ago
are showing up more prominently...
[15:20] ---
and he has instantaneously returned
to being Battosai.
[15:24] ---
Or did he just simply snap?
[15:31] ---
To verify...
[15:36] ---
This is the only way.
[15:39] ---
A genuine Gatotsu.
[15:41] ---
No holding back.
[15:43] ---
Wha—
[15:44] ---
You were holding back on us
the whole time?
[15:54] ---
So fast!
[15:55] ---
But he totally forgot about the second
sweeping attack based on how he dodged!
[15:59] ---
So he simply snapped after all.
[16:11] ---
So amazing.
[16:12] ---
As he dodged, he landed an attack
with full centrifugal force into his back.
[16:16] ---
No matter how amazing Gatotsu may be
[16:19] ---
if you show it to me
four times in such a short time...
[16:22] ---
even an idiot
can think of a way or two to counter it.
[16:28] ---
Stand up, Saito.
[16:30] ---
If this is how the first battle
in a decade ends,
[16:33] ---
it's quite unsatisfying, isn't it?
[16:40] ---
All right.
[16:41] ---
I changed my mind.
[16:44] ---
I will kill you now.
[16:46] ---
Stop dreaming.
[16:48] ---
"I will kill you now" is my line.
[16:57] ---
Kaoru?
[17:00] ---
It's the same.
[17:02] ---
It's just like that feeling
I had with Jine.
[17:05] ---
If I don't do anything,
Kenshin will no longer be here!
[17:10] ---
Stop him. Someone...
[17:16] ---
Someone, please stop those two!
[17:26] ---
I will send your head flying
in the next attack.
[17:29] ---
Amazing.
[17:31] ---
Today's Kenshin
is even sharper than usual.
[17:34] ---
You're wrong! That's not Kenshin!
[17:36] ---
That's Hitokiri Battosai!
[17:38] ---
Huh?
[17:39] ---
I have to stop the two of them!
Or else Hitokiri Battosai will—
[17:43] ---
We can't stop them, missie.
[17:47] ---
Sanosuke!
[17:48] ---
Those two aren't fighting
in Meiji Era Tokyo right now.
[17:52] ---
They're in Bakumatsu Era Kyoto.
[17:55] ---
The only one that can stop this battle
[17:57] ---
is someone that lived through
the upheaval of the Bakumatsu Era...
[18:00] ---
And by that, I mean the few
that had a taste of the turbulent Kyoto.
[18:05] ---
No matter how much we call for them,
our voices won't reach them anymore.
[18:14] ---
Kawaji.
[18:16] ---
How long has it been since Saito
entered this place called Kamiya Dojo?
[18:22] ---
Approximately four and a half hours.
[18:25] ---
I see.
[18:27] ---
We may be arriving there too late.
[18:30] ---
Please rush the carriage over.
[18:32] ---
Yes, sir.
[18:37] ---
As always, men of the Shinsengumi
don't know when to pull back.
[18:42] ---
First rule of the Shinsengumi,
[18:44] ---
"Never turn your back
on the samurai code!"
[18:47] ---
Fleeing before the enemy
is a betrayal of the samurai code!
[18:50] ---
You choose pride as a Shinsengumi
over your own life.
[18:55] ---
That is fine in its own right.
[18:58] ---
Bare hands?
[18:59] ---
He will create a gap to attack
by striking with his sword.
[19:02] ---
It's all over!
[19:04] ---
Wha—
[19:06] ---
A belt?
[19:07] ---
When did he...
[19:09] ---
This one's mine!
[19:12] ---
- Ken-san!
- Crap!
[19:14] ---
This is...
[19:15] ---
the end!
[19:17] ---
He's gonna suffocate him!
[19:19] ---
It's nothing that simple.
[19:21] ---
That's trying to snap
the bones in his neck!
[19:27] ---
It's futile! Stop the useless struggles!
[19:47] ---
This is...
[19:48] ---
how they fought in the Bakumatsu Era.
[19:51] ---
Neither have any strength left in them.
[19:53] ---
The next blow will be the last.
[19:56] ---
Life or death?
Or will they both go down?
[20:01] ---
Kenshin.
[20:05] ---
How about...
[20:07] ---
we end it soon?
[20:09] ---
Right.
[20:11] ---
Kaoru!
[20:13] ---
Kenshin!
[20:14] ---
Ken—
[20:19] ---
No!
[20:24] ---
Stop it!
[20:26] ---
Come to your senses, Saito!
[20:28] ---
Your mission was to adjudicate
the abilities of Battosai!
[20:34] ---
We're having a good time right now.
[20:36] ---
I won't allow anyone
to stand in the way, not even you.
[20:40] ---
I am fully aware of how much pride
you have as one of the Shinsengumi.
[20:47] ---
However...
[20:48] ---
I don't want either you or Himura
[20:50] ---
to lose your life in vain
in a place like this.
[20:55] ---
I see.
[20:56] ---
So the mastermind
behind Hajime Saito was you.
[21:00] ---
Former Revolutionary warrior
from Satsuma...
[21:03] ---
and Home Minister
of the Meiji government...
[21:05] ---
Toshimichi Okubo.
[22:45] ---
NEXT EPISODE
MEIJI 11, MAY 14TH
[22:45] ---
Next episode, "Meiji 11, May 14th."
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