Himura.
Hey, Himura!
You know, Himura...
I don't know exactly what's going on...
But you don't have to take the trouble to fight that Shishio guy.
You should just leave people like him alone!
Right?
You should!
What's this?
It's just that I'm worried about you!
There are people out there that would be sad if you died, right?
Like family you left behind in Tokyo...
...or your friends!
There are friends, that there are...
Well then, I'm sure they're all worried about you by now, Himura!
Do you really think so?
Of course, they just have to be!
Are you half asleep or something?
Because...
...they're friends!
Right?
Stop it, Himura.
Stop fighting!
When we arrive at Kyoto, come by our place.
I'll treat you to lots of food!
And we'll lounge around!
All right?
Now, let's hurry on, Himura!
Himura, hurry!
Friends, huh... Himura, hurry!
I wonder how they're all doing now...
Himura!
This isn't good...
It looks like I'm really lost now.
Which way is Kyoto, dammit!
No, before that...
Where the hell am I?
Dammit!
Has Kenshin already arrived in Kyoto?
Are Yahiko and the Missie headed towards Kyoto as well?
What about Megumi?
She has her patients...
I'm sure that guy's headed to Kyoto too...
Somehow, I feel like I've seen this forest before...
Is it just me?
Dammit, now that I'm pissed off, I'm hungry...
The last one...
After this, I have to catch a frog or something and eat it...
Oh well...
Dammit, who the hell did that?
Interrupting someone's meal...
Is it a monk of Mikkyo or something?
But this...
What kinda spell is this?
That was amazing...
That's the ability trained monks can use by borrowing power from Buddha...
...the Horiki, right?
That's the first time I've seen it...
Are you...
...lost?
Yeah.
I'm sorry, but can you give me directions?
And...
If you got any food, I want some.
That's not an attitude to have when asking for a favor...
I see...
You ended up with mud on your food because of my training.
I do apologize about that.
That's all right.
I have a warm meal right now because of it.
And I got to see something rare, your Horiki.
That was not Horiki at all.
In the first place, Horiki is just a bluff to encourage people's beliefs.
I myself have never seen it once, and I have walked the path of Buddha.
If there really is such a thing...
There is no way I could use it now...
Are monks allowed to eat meat and drink booze?
I'm a Hakaisou...
A destructive monk?
No...
A Hakaisou is a fallen monk who has broken the commandments of Buddha.
I see...
So that's why you looked rather evil for a monk.
Someone with your face shouldn't talk.
But if you threw away your belief in Buddha...
...why are you training in a place like this?
Even though I lost my belief...
...I have not lost the wish in my heart, to save the world.
And saving the world is not done by the hands of Buddha...
Only human hands can save the human world.
My training is to gain such powers.
To achieve my goal, I need a power above that of the gods and Buddha...
So, you didn't become a Hakaisou because you gave in to desire...
Do you...
...know about the Buddhist hunts ten years ago?
If you don't, then it is no use to telling you about it.
Well, I don't know what your reasons are...
But, if that power wasn't Horiki...
...that means someone who is not religious like me can use it, right?
I won't use it for evil!
Can you teach me some of it?
Why do you seek power?
What?
Is this Zen questioning, like other monks do?
Well, there are many reasons...
But to put it in one sentence, I want to be stronger than I am now, I guess...
There's a guy that I had a duel with when I left Tokyo.
He told me that I had nothing in terms of defense...
I thought about it for a bit...
...but fundamentally, defense isn't a part of my fighting style.
I want to be stronger in my own way!
Please, come on, teach me!
I'll do anything, even training!
I advise against it!
Why?
There have been many people who seek strength like you do.
But, not one of them has been able to withstand my training.
You don't know that until I try!
Most likely, you will lose your life.
It is better for fledglings to stay put, like fledglings should.
Whether or not I'm a fledgling...
...why don't you try it out and see?
I need power!
There is a reason that I need power!
It's a personal reason compared to yours, wanting to save the world...
But to me, the reason is enough to risk my life!
Answer one more question.
What do you think of the current Meiji government?
What?
What does that have to do with...
Just answer the question.
Honestly, I hate it.
They not only killed my mentor, but they...
...tarnished his name by calling him a traitor.
I won't forgive them...
But what does that have to do with anything?
All right.
Let us say that you use the impact from your fist to break this rock.
But, because there is resistance in everything, including rocks...
...the impact doesn't fully effect the rock.
In other words, some of the impact is wasted.
And?
How should you get rid of that waste?
First, you create an impact with your knuckles raised.
And, just as the impact of the first blow meets the resistance of the rock...
You bend your knuckles, and deliver the second blow.
Then, the impact of the second blow meets no resistance and fully...
...penetrates the rock, pulverizing it.
This is the ultimate form of destruction I gained from ten years of training...
...called the Futae no Kiwami.
Futae no Kiwami...
By applying it, things like the Touate that I was testing earlier are possible.
T-That sounds really easy...
l-ls it all right for you to teach me your secret so easily?
Try it.
What?
It didn't turn to sand?
That's just two consecutive blows.
The moment of impact is very fast.
It is only one fleeting moment, a wink of an eye.
You need to deliver the second blow in that moment!
Once I reached this ultimate reasoning...
...it took me an entire month to pulverize one rock.
I want you to achieve that in one month.
Since you said you will risk your life...
If you can't, I will have you die right here!
The Futae no Kiwami is a secret attack that I created to save the world.
Originally, it was not something to be taught...
...let alone passed from one person to another.
Are you satisfied with that?
Nothing less from a Hakaisou...
To have me die, you sure are a different kind of guy.
All right, I'll risk my life.
In any case, I don't have time to slack off in my training.
I don't need a month!
I'll master this Futae no Kiwami in seven days!
Dammit, it's not going so well.
I just pound into a rock twice really quickly...
It should be easy, but I can't do it at all...
It is easy to say, but difficult to do...
You now see how hard it is...
...to bring reasoning into practice.
It is impossible to master in one week.
How about changing your mind?
No way!
A stubborn man.
It's only the third day.
I still have four more days.
Judging my ability four days from now will be something to look forward to...
I guess it's useless to preach to a horse...
Who are you calling a horse?
Then, a chick.
Shut up.
All right.
Your time limit is one week, and you have four days left.
And if you can't master the Futae no Kiwami by then...
...I will have you die, just like we promised.
Great!
If it's something I can get without risking my life...
I don't want it in the first place.
What I want...
What I long for...
Useless...
Useless effort...
The Futae no Kiwami is the crystal of ten years of training...
It is not so cheap that it can be gained with just willpower.
It's far from the Futae no Kiwami...
Dammit!
Yahiko!
It looks like your seasickness finally died down.
Yeah, and if I sit around forever...
...my skill with the Kamiya Kasshin Style will go to waste!
All right, Yahiko!
I'll give you your first lesson in a while!
Come on!
Looks like you've feeling better too, Kaoru.
Then, I won't hold back!
You've still got a way to go, Yahiko!
What?
I'm just getting warmed up!
Oh, wonderful!
W-What are they?
I think they're foreigners going to Kobe...
l-lt's hard to practice here...
How did he...
Tomorrow is the promised day, too...
Not yet!
I still have one night left!
Not yet, not yet!
I still have time until sunrise!
Not yet...
I still have time...
I crushed all the good rocks in this area already...
I have no choice, I'll go grab...
Dammit...
I may have time, but I don't have strength left...
Damn...
Damn, is this the end of me...
Here, where I have no idea where I am?
Sanosuke...
Captain...
Sagara?
A-Am I having a dream or something like an illusion?
Legs, he's got no legs!
It's all right, Sanosuke...
You've done enough.
You've done your best, and gone to your physical limit.
If you admit defeat, that man surely will not take your life...
If you overexert yourself now, then you will have no guarantees on your life!
But, Captain!
Just forget about everything, and rest now.
This is the Captain's orders...
I'm sorry, Captain...
I can't obey that order!
Back then...
...when we Sekihoutai were wrongfully branded a fake imperial army...
...and when they showed off your head after beheading you for that crime...
I hated the imperialist government from the bottom of my heart.
But, to tell the truth, I hated myself just as much as I hated them.
I hated myself for being so weak...
...I couldn't do a thing when the person I admired most was brutally murdered!
It's been ten years.
There was a good guy who put the life back into me when I was half rotten.
Right now, he's involved in a huge battle, and he might die!
I never want to have those regretful feelings from ten years ago again...
And, I won't let it happen to anyone else, either!
That's why I have to become stronger right now!
That's why I need the power to blow away any unreasonable violence!
Captain...
If you're a dream...
Or an illusion...
Or even a ghost...
I'm happy that I saw you even for a fleeting moment...
So all strength left him and died...
It's a shame that he died...
I'll give him a proper burial and pray--
Hey Monk, don't kill me off yet!
I was just tired, so I was sleeping!
But, looking at the size of that rock...
...were you able to master the Futae no Kiwami?
It really was just a few minutes ago that I could start doing it, though.
Once you get the hang of it, stuff of this level is a piece of cake!
You have great potential...
Hey you, I really was close to dying!
So, don't write it off...
...with a cheap word like potential!
That's true.
Sorry about that, let me rephrase...
You are a great man!
Now, I lost a lot of time already...
I have to hurry to Kyoto now...
Kyoto?
Yeah.
If I can get to Nakasendo, I could wing it the rest of the way...
Then, it's easy.
We're currently in Shimosuwa, so if you go through this forest that way...
...you will soon arrive at the Nakasendo inns.
Shimosuwa...
Yes, anything wrong about that?
No wonder why I thought I knew this area!
Shimosuwa...
This is where the Sekihoutai met its end!
It's strange saying this in front of a Hakaisou like you, but...
I kinda want to start believing in the guidance of Buddha now.
What?
No, nothing, don't worry about it.
Well, Monk, thanks for everything!
I'm Sanosuke Sagara!
If there's an occasion, I hope to see you again.
I am Anji Yukyuzan, be careful on your way.
But he matured so much overnight...
He's like a different person now.
He was just a fledgling yesterday...
Oh, there you are.
I've been looking for you, Mr. Anji.
Lord Sojiro.
The battle is about to begin.
To gather the special attack squad Juppongatana to Kyoto immediately...
...is Mr. Shishio's order.
We're finally here, Kaoru.
Once we land in Osaka tomorrow, Kyoto is just a small ways away.
Yes...
We'll be in Kyoto by tomorrow...
And then, I'll be able to see Kenshin!
Hey, Himura, hurry!
You don't have to rush...
But, if we go over that mountain, we can be in Kyoto by tomorrow!
I wonder if Gramps and everyone else are doing well...
I can understand she feels rushed by everything...
Miss Misao must be longing for her home...
If we get home, it's my game!
I'll have him confess about Lord Aoshi with truth drugs!
It's been ten years since...
I'll be back in Kyoto, where I never thought I'd set foot ever again...
There is no doubt that the world of warfare is waiting for me there.