Doctor!
Please, Yutaro!
Protect the Divine Elixir!
You mustn't let them have--
Them?
Now, may I ask who you are?
Leader of the Sanada Ninja Squad...
Misanagi the Flowing Arrow.
I do apologize profusely for the rudeness.
I found it!
It's the doctor's notebook.
What's this thing?
It looks like an ordinary rock...
These are the only two clues we have, that they are...
Yeah...
But you know, why would the German military attack old Hans?
I'm not sure...
But, if they were moving under the orders of the German government...
...they wouldn't have acted so much like assassins.
Then, who in the world were they?
Dangerous German military guys...
...and the Divine Elixir.
I have no idea what the hell is going on.
How are you doing, Yutaro?
Have you found any clues in there?
How can there be clues?
These letters look like wiggling worms.
It's not worms, it's Latin.
In other words...
The doctor knew there was a chance his notebook might get stolen...
...so he used a difficult language on purpose.
So it isn't in German?
I leave this notebook for my dear progeny, Yutaro Tsukayama...
Although it was to keep you from unnecessary danger...
...I would like you to forgive me for hiding everything all this time.
Since you are reading this, it's likely that something has happened to me.
No, whether I'm dead or alive, you must learn everything that follows...
Several years ago, when I was researching documents on the East...
I found an old map and a small stone...
...that a portuguese missionary brought back from Japan roughly 300 years ago.
And, in the diary written by that missionary it mentioned...
...something called Nectar in old Greek, or Amrita in ancient Indian myths.
The legendary Divine Elixir, a secret medicine that promises eternal youth...
It was written that such a thing existed in Japan.
Yutaro, you are aware that...
...with the recent advance of microbiology, many viruses...
...which are known to be the cause of contractible diseases...
...have been identified by science.
I have fully considered those effects...
...and researched as many documents about the Elixir as I could.
As a result, I have ended up with the following hypothesis...
...that the Elixir has some unknown substance which hinders all viruses.
This is not just a legend or a fairy tale anymore.
This will bring a close to medical history...
...and cut a new path for the future of medicine!
A-Amazing...
If this can be proven...
What's so amazing about it?
Don't you get it?
By analyzing that Elixir, you could develop a miraculous cure for anything!
And if that happens...
...just think of how many people can be saved...
We could treat people who were beyond help before!
That old map must be the one that shows the whereabouts of the Elixir...
That means that those Germans who took the map are after the Elixir, too...
Military guys and a medicine...
I just don't get it...
There's more.
However, fearful hands of doom are creeping ever closer to me.
The hands of the Black Knights...
Black Knights...
The Black Knights...
...a European freemason group that has gathered power since the Middle Ages.
Members of this group...
...belong in fields such as the military, science, politics, and economics.
All of them are said to be elites in their respective fields.
Their objective is world domination!
They will use their ownership of the miracle cure to gain...
...an enormous amount of money...
...and use that money to help fulfill their desire for world domination.
If it comes to pass that the Elixir falls into their hands...
...it will surely become a seed of catastrophe, and lead...
...this world into war and chaos.
I see...
They are German militia, and simultaneously...
...they are members of the Black Knights, that they are.
So, that's why they came barging into Japan like that.
But really, world domination?
You've got to be kidding!
I can't let a crazy bunch like them get a hold of the Elixir!
But then, without the map...
What's this?
I guess the doctor couldn't decipher everything...
In the back of the notebook is a strange passage in archaic Japanese!
Where heavenly current flows upwards...
...there is the ocean of Suwa.
The four dragons climb to the moon.
And when God crosses, it leads to the tiger's mouth.
Even when lost in darkness with no light...
...from the place pointed out by the hand of the Shokannon...
...the path to the base of the grand Fuji will be opened.
These words have been passed down through our clan from long ago.
I'm sure that you Black Knights understand what this means.
I see, so this explains the whereabouts of the Elixir?
Probably.
There's one more line, but...
...the ink is smeared, and I can't read it.
I see...
But, I wonder where the actual place is...
Where heavenly current flows upwards...
...the ocean of Suwa, is it?
S-Suwa?
Could Suwa be that...
Miss Misanagi, I believe it was...
Your clan seems quite knowledgeable about the Elixir.
Until the documents concerning it were dispersed in the confusion of the wars.
Thanks to that, not even we know the way to solve the last mystery...
And so, we would like to join hands with the Black Knights...
...who have resources all over the world.
I'm sure it's not a bad deal...
It will aid your goals, as well...
Our goals?
Whatever do you mean by that?
Even after all this, you still cannot trust me?
Then, fine.
This deal is off.
Wait!
Miss Misanagi...
I beg your forgiveness if I made you feel ill at ease.
I understand.
I will speak frankly as you have...
Once I believed that the time it would take for our comrades...
...in each field to rise up and create our ideal world would be...
...ten full years.
However, if we can get our hands...
...on the Elixir as you said, then it would only take five years...
No, we could do it in three!
However, I would like to ask one thing.
For you, the Elixir is the treasure of your ancestors.
You really don't mind sharing such a thing with us?
No, I would be happy to hand it completely over to you.
A-All of it?
However!
However?
What do you wish for?
This country...
I would like to have the country of Japan.
I get it!
It's just like Mr. Sanosuke says!
The heavenly current is the Tenryu River...
...and I'm sure that the ocean of Suwa means Lake Suwa.
Then, what are the four dragons?
That's...
And what about them climbing to the moon, and God crossing?
The Black Knights are already on the move, that they are.
Before we are caught far behind them...
To Suwa!
Our leader has returned!
Open the gates!
What are those foreigners?
What are they here for?
So these are what they call ninjas...
They look like poor little mountain monkeys.
But, they do have an excellent demeanor...
I can't find one of them off-guard.
Enough chit-chat.
Yes!
Everyone...
From this moment, we of the Sanada Ninja Squad...
...will form an alliance with the Black Knights!
We are now under the leadership of First Lieutenant Meldars!
What was that?
Quiet!
You know what happens to those who oppose the decision of the leader!
I'm sure you haven't forgotten our rules!
It's huge...
The ocean of Suwa...
Lake Suwa really does look like an ocean.
We're finally here, but what are we going to do now?
The fact that there is something here is our only clue.
However, Suwa is a rather vast place, that it is...
I know, Suwa Shrine!
Maybe at Suwa Shrine, the place with the oldest...
...history in this area, there might be some legend about the Elixir...
Just dig through the place like a dog looking for a bone, huh?
Are we dogs?
We found it.
A bone, that it is...
Kenshin, what are you doing?
Over here, over here!
The Divine Elixir?
I wonder...
I haven't heard of such a tale...
I see...
No good, I guess...
I guess we have to try elsewhere.
Let's go, Kenshin.
Sir Priest, that pillar is...
A sacred pillar.
There was another one over there, while we were heading this way.
They are sacred trees.
You can't see them from here...
...but there are two more over there, and over there.
There are four pillars in total, and they are erected at the four corners.
In the first place, the Suwa Shrine has this upper main shrine, along with...
...the upper front shrine, and the two lower shrines...
...the spring shrine and the autumn shrine, on the other side of the lake.
The four shrines combined are called the Suwa Grand Shrine.
At each of the four shrines stands the four sacred pillars.
Four...
They cut sixteen large trees from the depths of Yatugatake...
...bringing them over mountains and across valleys.
It is called the sacred pillar festival.
It is a grand event for us...
During those times, we have many people visiting...
Hey, let's get going now!
Four pillars...
Four dragons...
Those pillars...
Couldn't they look like dragons?
That's it!
In some regions...
...there is a tradition of worshipping pillars or large trees as dragon gods...
...that would mean the four dragons...
...is actually a reference to these four sacred pillars!
It just looks like a big stick in the ground to me, though...
W-What was that?
But...
Hey!
I'm sorry, he has a slight fever...
If this is the dragon...
...then what about climbing the moon and God's crossing?
God's crossing?
Are you talking about the Divine Crossing?
On a cold winter night...
...a male god, Takeminakatanomikoto, who resides in this upper shrine...
...courts the female god named...
...Yasakatokomenomikoto who resides in the lower shrine.
During that season, the lake here in Suwa is frozen over completely...
...and that ice, with a...
Kaboom!
...of noise, cracks right across...
And that's why we call that phenomenon the Divine Crossing...
That's got to be it!
This place and Lake Suwa point to the Elixir!
But the shrine and Lake Suwa both are really huge!
If we wait for the Divine Crossing, I'm sure we can narrow the location down...
That's true!
That's right, that it is!
All right!
But...
The Divine Crossing happens only in winter.
Aren't you going to eat, Yutaro?
No surprise.
The front shrine, and the two lower shrines...
Everything we found out we already knew.
We're back to square one again.
It's mine!
If you're mad--
What?
Why are you so down?
Shinobi?
That man...
Damn you!
To think that someone of such a caliber exists in this day and age...
You two stay calm...
Missie!
Kyoto Oniwaban Group...
Misao Makimachi has arrived!
With Shiro...
...and Kuro!
You guys showed up at a great time...
It's only the Oniwaban Group!
Members of the Oniwaban Group!
If you dare cross blades with us, you will not escape unharmed!
You will find out about the justice of a shinobi!
Sanada Ninja Squad?
After the Toyotomi clan was decimated at the battle of Osaka...
...they apparently created a kingdom of their own in the mountains of Shinano.
It's said that they've been watching us Oniwaban since the shogunate.
We've been investigating because they've been acting strangely lately.
And that's when we bumped into you guys, Himura...
That should do.
Thank you...
Um...
I'm Yutaro Tsukayama, an apprentice of the Kamiya Kasshin Style!
His real job is that of a doctor.
Stop that, Miss Kaoru...
I'm a beginner.
I'm Misao Makimachi.
I may look like a pretty little Kyoto girl...
...but I'm the leader of the Oniwaban Group!
Nice to meet you!
Can you call me Charm Girl Misao?
O-Okay...
Don't worry about it, Yutaro.
She's just a ninja.
Though, people call her the Monstrous Weasel Girl...
Who are you calling a Monstrous Weasel Girl?
Then, just Weasel Girl.
That's not it!
What part of me is like a weasel?
Everything.
Kaita, what are you doing?
You were doing this while were out fighting with our lives?
This is something I cannot understand, no matter what our rules are!
To be commanded by those foreigners...
...and then to hand the Elixir over to them!
Our duty is to protect it!
And for that purpose, our fathers and grandfathers...
Times have changed!
Commander!
Leave the execution of these persons to us...
The reason why those Sanada guys attacked us...
...must have something to do with the Elixir.
If they know something about the Elixir...
...and we are at a complete loss...
...we must jump into their midst...
I know basically where the Sanada fortress is...
But what's going on with this Elixir?
We were given quite a challenge there.
Though they were traitors...
...I deeply sympathize with the loss of your fine soldiers.
No need for mercy!
More importantly...
I'm curious about the group who injured Kaita, led by a redheaded swordsman.
We have met them once before already.
What?
They were associated with Dr. Hans as well...
If they have arrived in Suwa, that means they must have found some clue.
Perhaps the key to unlocking the last mystery that you spoke of...
Then, we can round them up...
No, I have a better plan.
How about we let them find the Elixir for us?
Interesting!
Please be careful.
You, too.
When you arrive back in Kyoto, tell Okina not to worry.
Yes.
Destination, Sanada Fortress!
Well, let's go!
Red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his cheek...
No mistake...
It's him.