Original subtitles

I'm known as the Hound, and I hunt the beasts called samurai.

Now, draw your weapons!

Would you take the head of Nagakura Shinpachi and leave it at that?

You've got rotten luck, old man.

You cocky brat!

I'm not a softy like Shinpachi.

I don't care what your deal is.

When it comes to killing, I won't hold back.

Just kidding.

I'm not bad with a sword, but this comes so much more natural.

We're outcasts, but the Miburo make us feel like we belong.

You should've come to us instead, old man.

I knew you were showing your age.

Useless trash.

Hang in there, old-timer!

Damn you, Fiend.

Sanosuke, stand aside!

Blue Miburo

I see it!

That house with the gate!

Good.

The gate's open.

Y-You want me to run all the way to Kurotani, right?

Yup. Ask Aizu for reinforcements.

As if they'll believe anything I say.

Please, Taro-kun. It's all up to you.

Shut up!

To hell with it! I'll do what I can!

Nagi-san, please be safe.

Kojin Bridge

I hit them all with the back of my blade.

Nice work.

Then allow me to handle their boss.

Wait.

That's odd.

There are eight ringleaders and seven bridges.

One of them has to be here.

Kojin Bridge

Don't look at me. Maybe he went someplace else?

What?

Nijo Bridge

Are you okay, old man?

Hey, old man!

Sanosuke.

I told you to stand aside.

Huh?

A short sword?

No, that's ridiculous. I should've been well out of reach.

Even if it were a long sword, I should've be out of range.

Ah, this won't do.

You face Nagakura Shinpachi of the Mibu Roshigumi.

Huh.

Do you think we're fighting a duel or something?

He's fast.

And he hits hard.

Not good.

I need to keep him at a distance.

I had no doubts about living as a samurai. As a warrior.

Born to Nagakura Kanji, who served Matsumae Domain in Edo,

I grew up in Edo without a care in the world.

Why, if it isn't young Lord Nagakura.

What a handsome face he has.

You can count on him to cut a dashing figure.

He's always earnest and polite, I hear.

A model samurai.

I wasn't a terribly diligent student, except when it came to swordsmanship.

I became a master of the Shindo Munen School by the age of 18.

Then I went from one dojo to another, seeking strength and nothing more.

Up until I met Kondo at the Shieikan and my life took a detour.

You could say I was a classic swordsman.

Free of doubt or hesitation, I simply...

kept walking the path of the sword.

Utterly underhanded.

Underhanded? I don't follow.

What need did you have to kill the old man?

Much less to stab him from behind and without warning.

He's weak, so he'll die. The strong survive.

That's samurai logic.

I see.

In that case, you'll die here. That's as it should be.

No!

Old man! You still with us?

H-His technique is—

Hey! Don't force yourself to talk!

His technique is an iai strike like a fiend's scythe.

Don't give him the room to use it.

It's time you died.

Shinpachi!

I got this sword off one of the grunts! Use it!

A sword reflects its wielder's true nature.

Carefree.

And supple.

Serene and free like a bird in flight.

Almost like a...

A flying swallow.

I see. What a shame.

You win.

I never knew there were such samurai. Such warriors.

The old man's dead.

He said you were one hell of a samurai.

Let's give him a funeral later, Sanosuke.

Shijo Bridge

Welcome. This is the bridge of fate.

Excuse me?

The bridge of fate?

Yes. The bridge that will decide your fate.

Will you join me? Or will you end your lives in obscurity?

Don't waste your breath.

Go.

Huh?

Go get him.

H-How's he so strong?

Hijikata Toshizo.

I never noticed because I'm always with Serizawa-sensei.

Out of my way, small fry.

Never touch a sword again.

H-He's good. And ruthless.

Magnificent.

But a sword's not a hatchet. You shouldn't swing it so wildly.

Huh?

You'll chip or bend the blade and ruin it in no time.

Recognize this? It's a Kanenaga.

The shine, the brightness, the deep hamon... You can't help but admire it.

It's a masterpiece, forged late in the Kamakura period.

What's your sword?

It looks unremarkable, but what is it called?

A woman no one's heard of made it.

As for a name...

I guess I'll call it "No-Name."

Let's change the subject.

Would you tell me about your connections?

My what?

Who you know.

How many notables you have ties to.

Connections are the true measure of a man's worth.

You must know of Dairaku Gentaro.

I've drunk with him. You might call us sworn brothers.

Never heard of him.

Never heard of him?! You've never heard of Dairaku Gentaro of Choshu?!

He's a great patriot. A man of renown.

He ushered in this age of assassination in the name of divine punishment.

News to me. Who is he?

Well, these things do happen.

Let's try a different connection.

Speaking of Choshu, does the name Katsura Kogoro ring any bells?

Katsura?

I've debated with him.

Or take Kusaka-dono.

I've shared a bath with him.

In Tosa, I passed the Takechi Zuizan on the street.

I've even seen the great Saigo of Satsuma.

Never heard of them!

What?!

Wh-What ignorance.

E-Everyone knows Katsura Kogoro, even at the Renpeikan dojo in Edo.

I don't, and I don't care to.

It itches.

This thing itches like hell.

The longer you talk, the itchier it gets.

I've had enough. Now die.

Don't you care about making your mark on history?

I can't fathom that attitude.

Shut up already.

If our uprising succeeds— no, if it even makes a stir,

the Risshidan's fame will skyrocket.

And it won't end there. Once lit, the anti-shogunate flames will refuse to die.

I'll incite Tosa, Satsuma, and Choshu and change the course of history.

Yes, me! The man called—

Oh, excuse me.

I got sick of your bullshit.

What's this? Don't you even have a name?

You're all talk. Now, die.

That'll cost you.

You thought I was all talk?

It takes substance to gather a following.

Shindo Munen-ryu, Hokushin Itto-ryu, Kyoshin Meichi-ryu...

I've studied almost every school you've ever heard of.

O-Oh, no. This guy's good.

So why? If you're so capable, why obsess over reputation?

What drives you?

Nothing. Nothing at all.

Only shallow men like you assume every action has a motive.

Is that so?

A word of warning.

The way you stand and where you look make your strikes too obvious,

even if they do stray a little to the right.

When was it? There were these rare swallowtail butterflies.

I'd cross a hill or two chasing them, and my sister always let me have them.

I picked up a weird nickname from that.

"Demon Feet."

He's fast!

If you think dojos are all there is to sword fighting, think again.

Got him!

That won't work on me.

Huh?

Ch-Chain mail?!

Damn it!

Toshi, your swordsmanship is too predictable.

Oh, I give up!

I've got no talent. I can tell that much by watching you guys.

I can't change that easily.

Going back to peddling medicine and scrapping every now and then

will be the best thing for me.

You have it wrong, Toshi.

Grip it more like this.

Cup it gently in your hands.

You sulk over everything.

You think it'll get you more attention.

Hey! Shut your trap, Soji!

That's the spirit I want to see.

Shut up.

You win.

But gimme something to go on. What do I have to do to get stronger?

Always looking for help. You think people will tell you just because you ask.

Toshi, you're already strong.

You've never lost a man-to-man fight, have you?

Well, no.

You're not here to inherit the Tennen Rishin School.

Just study it as one more way to fight.

You do things your own way. What's wrong with the Hijikata School?

So a no-name school then.

This looks bad, Hijikata-san!

We need to fall back and regroup before—

It's too late for that. Sleep in obscurity.

I told you, that won't work on me.

Toshi, your first stroke is especially easy to read.

You're practically asking your opponent to counter it.

I told you, I can read you like a book.

So what should I do about it?

Oh, that's simple.

Strike again before they do.

What?

And after that?

A third blow, then a fourth.

Just keep battering them.

That's how a wild fellow like you ought to fight.

That's your Hijikata School.

What the...

Have you no plan? All you do is flail!

Kondo-san...

Was that a kick just now? How'd you manage that?

Bottomless greed, dedication, and humility. In the old days, he'd have been a daimyo.

Even now, he might go down in history.

What a sorry sight.

Did you get beat again?

Soji just blossomed one day out of the blue.

Hell, he's a prodigy.

By the way, I came up with a new move. Wanna see?

He might found his own school, or maybe start something even bigger.

I don't let on, but I can't wait to see.

So what about me?

What ferocity.

How long is he going to keep this up?

It's light, fits my hand, and can take a beating.

Chip it? Bend it?

Who cares?

Sakura...

You're a damn genius.

I don't know why, but I'm surrounded by folks who make my jaw drop.

W-Wait! Let's talk! Yes, talk!

First, tell me your name and...

All of you can go down in history.

Not me.

I'm a man of the soil.

I'm happy being a grain of wheat,

helping someone else grow on the land. In this dirt.

My name is...

My name is...

Bide...

Bidebu... zaburo...

A name?

What's that worth?

As for me, I threw my lot in with the guys who saved me.

Forget anyone else. That's all I need.

Unbelievable.

I got chills.

Huh?

I want to be like you.

Noguchi! What're you crying for?

Hijikata Toshizo!

Keep it down.

Now, hurry it up. We've got more to send packing.

Matsubara Bridge

That wasn't even a warm-up.

So it's you.

Man of

the Soil

Next time

This is Saito Hajime.

So I'm fighting that Ayame guy, huh?

Something about him gives me the creeps, but I must keep the city safe, no matter what.

No, that's not right.

I don't want to let anyone beat me.

I just want to keep getting stronger.

I promised I would.

Next time: "Successor."

Successor

Don't you dare miss it.