Ep. 8: Hijikata tracks Yoichiro the Manslayer to Nemuro while Kiroranke plans a prison break.
Hijikata’s group searches near Kushiro for clues regarding an object held by Shinzo Doi, also known as Yoichiro the Manslayer, a former prisoner from Abashiri prison. They meet an Ainu named Kiraushi, who identifies the item as a kotan, part of a male puffin’s beak, and guides them to a breeding colony in Nemuro. There, Yoichiro is a frail old man nearing death. Assassins hired by victims’ families attack him, but he quickly incapacitates them. When Hijikata arrives, more assassins join the fray. Yoichiro fights back with a sword and escapes, but Hijikata pursues and kills him. As Yoichiro dies, he regrets his past actions as a tool of the imperial loyalists. Meanwhile, Kiroranke’s group hunts beluga whales off Ako. After eating whale soup made with miso stolen by Asirpa from Sugimoto, Kiroranke reveals his plan to orchestrate a mass prison break to mask Sofia’s release.
Episodes
- Ep. 4 · Sugimoto's group joins a circus in Toyohara to spread news of his survival.
- Ep. 5 · Kiroranke's group hunts reindeer with Uilta herders to secure supplies and cross into Russia.
- Ep. 6 · Kiroranke confesses involvement in assassination while Ogata survives sniper ambush and feverish memories
- Ep. 7 · The group reunites after a storm while Kiroranke infiltrates a prison to contact Sofia.
- Ep. 8 · Hijikata tracks Yoichiro the Manslayer to Nemuro while Kiroranke plans a prison break.
- Ep. 9 · Sugimoto's group seeks Asirpa in Ako while Kiroranke uncovers imprisoned revolutionaries.
- Ep. 10 · Sofia explains Wilk's name and Asirpa recalls the secret meaning of Horkew Oskoni.
- Ep. 11 · Kiroranke and Sugimoto's groups meet on the Strait of Tartary ice floe amid violent incidents.
- Ep. 12 · Kiroranke defeated and killed while Asirpa seeks truth about her father's death