Rurouni Kenshin Manga Translation
Volume One--Kenshin * Himura Battousai
Part 6--Showdown--Sagara Sanosuke
Goheh (wearing a Sanosuke wig): "The legendary Hitokiri Battousai! The street fighter Zanza has been searching for a
match like you!" It’s been two weeks! Where is that rooster head?
Kiheh: I can’t believe he would get scared and run off.
Goheh: "I’m just looking forward to the fight!" Heh, what a joke!--
Zanza (boxing his ears): You're the one joking! You keep up that weird copycat stuff and I'll
hang you upside down.
Kiheh: O-oh, Mr. Zanza. Where have you been?
Zanza: The fight.
Kiheh: The--a different fight?
Zanza: No, stupid. The fight doesn’t start with the kicks and punches. But a fake god of
wealth and a muscle-bound freak wouldn’t understand.
(he picks up his bundle and leaves.)
Kiheh: The street fighter Zanza . . . He’s well known in the underworld of East Tokyo as a
fighter-for-hire. He decides how much to charge for a fight by how much he enjoyed it. He’s rude, a
lone wolf. But he’s strong! They say that after he’s done with someone they see the
character on his back for months in their dreams. If we use him we’ll be rid of that annoying
pest for sure. (thinking) That Himura Battousai!
(the Kamiya dojo. Yahiko is eating rice balls, Kaoru is reading.)
Kenshin (standing up): There’s a visitor outside.
(he walks down the hall, Kaoru hurrying after him.)
Kaoru: Wait, Kenshin, what’s wrong?
Kenshin: I felt his ki. (He opens the door to see Zanza standing in the yard.) It couldn't be
hidden. This foolishly straightforward fighting spirit.
Zanza: I’m here for a fight.
Kaoru: It’s him!
Kenshin: I thought it might be you. I told you that you’d have to excuse me.
Zanza: That’s no good now. I'm here as a hired fighter, I can't back out. Especially since my
target is the patriot Himura Battousai.
(General shock.)
Zanza: The Choushuu patriot Himura Battousai. Practitioner of the old style of kenjutsu
Hiten Mitsurugi, who wielded his sword as the Hitokiri. He worked for five years, from the
age of 14 to 19. For the first half, he literally were a killer, a cold-hearted assassin who
killed in darkness. For the second half, he defended the revolutionaries from the Shogun’s swordsmen units
like the Shinsengumi, acting as a bodyguard. Originally he were meant to remain obscure, but today he’s
gained great fame for his work. Then, the decisive war of Boshin. After the first battle of
Tobafushimi, he disappeared. To live as the vagabond Himura Kenshin.
The real fight begins when you know your enemy and decide how to fight him. I had to
go to Kyoto, the center of the Bakumatsu bloodshed, to find out about you. Was I more or
less right?
Kenshin: Have you decided how to fight?
Zanza: There’s the problem! All I could find out was a rough account of your career. What
kind of kenjutsu is the Hiten Mitsurugi school? And changing from a cold-hearted assassin
to a gentle vagabond is an important point I don’t understand at all. I haven’t figured you
out yet, so I’m just going to meet you head on. A fair fight.
(the Hiruma brothers are watching from behind a fence.)
Goheh: Hey, brother, do you really think this Zanza guy can win?
Kiheh: His opponent is Battousai. The outcome is already decided.
Goheh: But--
Kiheh: Don’t fuss. My plans have included Zanza’s failure from the beginning! Zanza will
lose, but I’ve heard he’s a very strong fighter. Even if he’s killed, he won’t go without
giving a good fight, probably wounding Battousai. Immediately after the battle, I’ll bring
him down the instant he lets down his guard. (he draws a pistol out of his kimono.) I
brought it from the foreigner’s quarters in Yokohama. This should do the trick!
Kenshin: I also do not understand.
Zanza: Huh?
Kenshin: I’ve seen that you hate bullying the weak. Why then make your living ignobly as a
street fighter? Why do you wear the character for evil on your back? Your nature seems
upright, yet now you are terribly warped. What could have done this to you?
Zanza (echoing him): What could . . . (then he smiles) Stop. That’d make a sad story
before a fight. If you really want to know, fight me and beat me! Let me just say this. I
hate the Ishin Shishi--you’re all hypocrites. You did whatever you wanted all
in the name of justice. Those who disagreed with you were destroyed, even if you had to distort
the truth to do it. All those pretty words about equality of the four classes were just one big
lie. So I want to destroy you, the legendary
Hitokiri, the strongest of the Ishin Shishi, with all my heart!
Kenshin (bowing his head): I understand. I accept your challenge.
Kaoru: Kenshin!
Kenshin: But answer me one thing. Are the Hiruma brothers the ones who hired you?
Zanza: Bull's eye. Very clever.
Kenshin: They’re the only ones in town who know my past. And in the shadow of the wall, dirty
killing ki hangs in the air. (to the wall) Don't hide, come out.
Zanza: So you really are a first-class swordsman. Hey, give it up.
(They watch the wall.)
Zanza: I said, come out.
(the brothers approach.)
Zanza: That’s good. Now hand it over.
Kiheh: What?
Zanza: Don’t give me that. (He grabs the gun.) Maybe I can’t read your spirit, but I know
how a bastard like you thinks. You hired me for this fight, but after it’s paid for it’s
mine. Any stupid interruptions like this--(he smashes the gun between his fists)--I won’t
stand for.
Kaoru: . . . Kiheh.
Kiheh (snarling): The land will be mine, little girl!
Zanza: The dojo’s a little small. Let’s take this down by the river.
(They form a little procession going through town, Zanza balancing the bundle on his
shoulders.)
Yahiko (thinking): He doesn’t stand out or anything.
Kenshin: Yahiko. Were you surprised?
Yahiko: Well, kinda. But I’m not really shocked. Even if you are the Hitokiri, I'm not scared
of you.
Actually it's kinda comforting to know there's a reason why you're as strong as a demon.
(Kenshin and Kaoru both smile.)
Kenshin: Then that’s all right. (he looks up and notices the huge bundle) Oro?
Yahiko: Whadduya mean, oro. Look at that thing. It’s gotta be a spear. They say if it’s spear
against sword he’ll have three times your power.
Zanza: It’s not a spear, kid. It’s much better than that.
(at the river bank. They prepare for the fight.)
Zanza: Well, just so everything’s equal, let me introduce myself. My name is Sagara
Sanosuke. In the underworld, I go by Zanza.
(He pulls the wrappings from his bundle, revealing a huge sword. The blade is at least a
foot and a half wide, with a pole for a handle.)
Zanza: Sanosuke of the Zanbatou. Zanza for short.
Zanbatou--a giant sword developed during the Sengoku era with the aim of killing both horse and rider
when fighting a mounted opponent. Among the various types of swords it is the largest and
the heaviest. Because of its weight, it's said that no one can master it perfectly.
Goheh: So this is the so-called . . .
Kiheh: Zanza’s "partner."
Zanza: It’s an antique from the wars of another age. It hasn’t been sharpened since then
either. Even though it's a sword it’s got no edge on it at all. But, being bludgeoned to death
is a definite possibility.
Kenshin (drawing his sword): Himura Kenshin, wielder of the reverse blade. But you knew
that already. You’ve done your research.
Zanza: Yes. So let me give you one piece of advice. Throw away all your pretty thoughts of not
killing. (he charges) Or else you’ll be the one to die!!!
Goheh: He’s fast!
Kaoru: Even carrying that heavy thing!
(Zanza brings the sword down, breaking Kenshin’s sheath. Kenshin leaps clear, hitting Zanza
in the back and sending him flying.)
Yahiko: No matter how big that thing is, it doesn’t mean a thing if he can’t hit with it!
Kenshin’s got it made . . .
(He stops when he sees Kenshin’s look.)
Zanza (picking himself up): You're as strong as I've heard. No wonder you became a legend.
Kaoru: This isn’t good . . . We misjudged his strength. This isn’t good . . . We were wrong
about his strength. His true strength is neither the monstrous force that destroyed a large
man with just one finger or the great blows of the zanbatou. He took a suntetsu between the
eyebrows and didn’t move a muscle. It’s his strength of endurance that’s extraordinary!
(thinking) Until now Kenshin’s Hiten Mitsurugi techniques
have defeated all enemies with a single blow. That blow had no effect on this man!
Zanza: This is a fight, not a duel. The better swordsman isn’t going to win. It’s going to
be the man left on his feet.
Kenshin: You may give that speech when you’re the one left standing!
Kenshin * Himura Battousai--End