Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translations
Volume Fifteen--The Giant Against the Great Man
Part 128--Soujirou Takes the Field
(Houji pounds his fist against the table.)
Shishio: What is it, Houji.
Houji (shaking with rage): A telegram . . . from intelligence in Kyoto . . . The attack on
the Aoiya has failed. Iwanbou has fled, and Henya, Kamatari, Fuji and Saitsuchi have been
arrested . . .!
Shishio: In other words, the Ten Swords are all but destroyed.
Houji: Why! They even had Fuji with them, there was no way they could have failed! How did--
Shishio: They were stronger than we were. That’s all there is to it.
Soujirou (adjusting his wristguards): After all, in this world the flesh of the weak is the
food of the strong. The strong live, the weak die. But it’s okay. I’m strong, so I can do
the work of all of the Ten Swords, can’t I? (on his way out) Well, I’ll just be a
minute.
Shishio: The strong live, the weak die. Those words I taught him are the code he lives by.
It’s his only truth. Because he has suppressed all emotions but amusement, it’s impossible
read the lines of his sword. He uses his natural gifts to the fullest. A born prodigy who
surpasses even Battousai. And there's something Battousai didn't see at Shingetsu. The other gift of
Okubo’s assassin. The supreme violence I discovered and perfected in Seta Soujirou. You were
given a glimpse of what will destroy you, Battousai.
(Elsewhere)
Yumi (pushing herself away from Sanosuke): All right, I’ve had it!
Sanosuke: What’re you so mad about, I’m the one that had to carry you the whole way.
Yumi: Shut up. What woman would be happy about being carried like a dog?
Sanosuke: Kay, then how ‘bout like this? (holding a straw dummy in classic
bride-over-the-threshold manner)
Yumi: No way! (Not with you!)
Sanosuke: You can count me out too. (A twisted bitch like you.)
Yumi: What was that??
Kenshin: Miss Yumi. Is that the next room?
Yumi: Yes. That’s the room of Soujirou the Prodigy, strongest of the Ten Swords. This time,
you’ve met your destiny--
Sanosuke: Hey, I think I’ve heard of this guy. He any good?
Kenshin: Yes.
(Yumi: Are you listening?)
Kenshin: He’s the youth that cut through the reverse blade in an exchange of battou-jutsu.
We both withdrew then in a draw. Had we continued, it was obvious by looking at our swords
who held the advantage. But now I have the true reverse blade and the succession technique,
the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki. This time, I will not be defeated.
(They open the door. Soujirou is waiting for them.)
Soujirou: It’s been a long time, Mr. Himura. I’m pleased to see you arrived here safely.
Sanosuke (smacking his forehead): This is him . . .? (thinking)
Don’t know what kind of
hero I was expecting, but this is the kid Kenshin can’t defeat?
Kenshin: I thank you for your kind words, but I have no time for wit or conversation. Will
you fight, or let me pass? Answer me quickly.
Soujirou: Time . . . ? Oh, you mean the Aoiya situation. The Aoiya’s in no danger. We just
received word that our attack had failed. (noticing the shock on all three faces) Mr. Houji
was surprised as well, but, well, the truth is the truth. But now it’s I who has no time.
I’ve got to do the work of the Ten Swords all on my own. I can’t allow you to take up too
much of my time. And so--(falling into battou-jutsu stance)
(Kenshin takes the stance as well, and they charge towards each other. They strike, blocking
the other’s blade with their own, and fall back. Soujirou’s sword has a hairline crack at
the point of impact.)
Sanosuke: All right!
Yumi: Whadduya mean, all right. It was just a tiny scratch. They’re almost even.
Soujirou: Wow . . . It doesn’t look any different, but your new blade is very fine,
Mr. Himura. My treasured Kiki Ichimonji Norimune is nothing in comparison.
Yumi: Kiku Ichimonji . . . (thinking) But that’s an even greater sword than the Nagaso
Nekotetsu! He cracked that famous blade . . . !
Sanosuke: If the wielder is the best, then the blade is the best. Even a small crack will be
a huge disadvantage, fighting in this enclosed space. Whatever happened in their last match,
Himura Kenshin is faster at battou-jutsu. This time he’s got ‘em!
Soujirou: You’re gotten better, Mr. Himura. You were so strong to begin with, it’s amazing
that you could improve. But it’s strange. No matter how strong someone like you gets, I
just can’t understand you. Well, it’s all right. You’ll never be a match for Mr. Shishio.
I’ll just have to take you a little more seriously.
(He dashes forward and seems to disappear, reappearing beside Kenshin to take a swing at him.
Kenshin barely dodges.)
Kenshin (thinking): That--that leg strength. So this is the strength of the assassin that
cut down General Okubo in a moving carriage!
Soujirou: Huh? Did I miss?
FREE TALK
Hello, it’s me again. As I write this, I’m fighting off early-spring drowsiness. I’m
so sleepy . . .
As usual, I’m going to talk about games. Every time I write
these, I end up sounding like a gamer, and I thought I wouldn’t this time, but I’ve heard
some things I have to write about. First, the rumors about a polygon Samurai Spirits have
turned out to be true. To tell the truth, I heard it when it was just a rumor back in early
autumn of last year, but when Ten-Samu came out, I thought "So it is Gase, isn’t it?" . . .
As a 2D supporter, I was somewhat worried, but when I saw the released images, it looked as
though it might be good. I think it’s probably using the motif of the first Samurai Spirits as
its basis (I'm guessing from Nakoruru’s clothes--in the pictures I saw, her skirts were short) but it’s
too bad that the 2D Samurai Spirits continued into the fourth is coming to an end. Besides,
because Ambrosia itself probably won’t be resolved, and because I still want to see more of the
chracters’ lives, I’m still hoping for a sequel to the 2D version.
Speaking of games, someone's given me Final Fantasy VII (my thanks to S-san) but
I have no time, so I haven’t played it yet. I probably won’t get a chance while I’m being
serialized. I have the Samurai Spirits RPG waiting too. It’s too bad, but I’ll just have to
be patient.
To change the topic, my style has changed recently. I’ve receieved a number of opinions
from various people, but I myself think that since serialization began, this is a second
turning point. It’s pretty different; specifically, it’s more simple, with fewer wrinkles and
lines in the hair and clothes, and the eyes have gotten smaller. (Sadamoto Yoshiyuki-sensei
of Evangelion has had an especially great influence on the eye size.) A perfected style has
its charms, but for myself, I intend to change my style gradually as the flow takes me.
It’s only been three years that I’ve been able to earn my living though manga. It’s still too
early to be perfect, and at the moment I become perfect, I’ll probably be finished . . .
There are many ideal styles, but at the heart of it all is Obata-shishou. The road is too
long, but I’ll do my best.
Finally, the Ruroken anime. Lately it’s been very good, and I can just relax and watch
it every week. In particular, thanks to the effort Kantoku-san poured into the volume seven
manuscript, Kenshin’s farewell to Kaoru came out perfectly. I hope they’ll continue to keep
up this standard of work.
As for the latest development in Shonen Jump: the story from here on has all sorts
of difficult meanings that I’ve been racking my brains over. Let me verify something here,
though: as I’ve written somewhere before, in Ruroken I’ve fundamentally been aiming at a happy
ending. Please bear this in mind and enjoy the new developments. See you again in the next
volume.
--Watsuki Nobuhiro