Sakigake!! Otoko Juku 38

One by one, Momo has watched his friends sacrifice themselves to stop the Gougakuren Sanmenken. But with only Date himself left, will he be ready for his final "Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu" challenge? And what of the other first-years?

Chp. 38: Otokojuku’s “Katsukon Flag”

28.
Matsuo: It’s…gone out…Toramaru’s Lifespan Candle………………
Tazawa: E…even that Toramaru died……………
Matsuo: Uuh!!
Matsuo: Uooo---!! Why, why----!!
Students: !?

29.
Student 1: Wh…what is that charging towards us---!!
Student 2: Uwaaa---!!

30.
Edajima: No, I’ve mistaken the breaks and acceleration.
Edajima: I AM THE PRINCIPAL OF OTOKOJUKU, EDAJIMA HEIHACHI!!
First-Years: Pr…Principal---!!

31.
Edajima: Hoo, so J and Togashi and even Toramaru have died?
Edajima: Next is finally the climax of the “Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu”, the boss fight of Momo and Date. Which will really live and return from hell?
Hidemaro: Stop that.
Matsuo: Hidemaro………
Hidemaro: It’s too much already. Further, our classmates have died. Stop that now, you fool----!!
Edajima: Fool…………

32.
Hidemaro: Geho!!
Edajima: Let’s fight! A fight of men!!
Tattoo:
KYOURA DAIYON KYOUSATSU:
GREATLY COMPLETED
SHOWA 25 (1950)
Edajima: Men bet their lives in a fight. This can’t be surpassed by a boy’s desire.

33.
Tazawa: Th…that’s………..is a great completion of the Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu……!!
Matsuo: So…then, the sole survivor in the past 300 years of the “Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu” as Oshou said was……!!
Edajima: I brought a nice thing for all of you. Take it out of the truck’s carrier.
Students: …………….!!
Students: O…Ossu.
Tazawa: Th….that’s---!!
Matsuo: Wh…what is that--!?

34.
Date: Fuffufu, it’s finally just the two of us. It can’t be I didn’t think that Otokojuku would come this far facing our Gougakuren.
Momotarou: Don’t get conceited. The match starts now.
Date: You can’t win against me. Fuffufu, even without fighting, I’ve already seen our match.

35.
Fuukai: ATTENTION!!
Fuukai: This is the summit of Mt. Fuji.
Fuukai: Now, get up here. This is the “Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu”’s final stop.
Date: ……………………!! We’ve come to this point.
Date: Ha--!!

36.-37.
Date & Momo: !!
Fuukai: THE 4TH HELL OF THE “KYOURA DAIYON KYOUSATSU”: CHOUKYOKUTAISOUKAFUN-KAN!!
(TN: “Choukyokutaisoukafun-kan” = “Barrier of the Summit’s Maximum Web Fire Eruption”)

38.
Date: So a “Tenjou Fight” using a large crater at the top of Mt. Fuji…………!! Truly an appropriate stage to adorn the end of the “Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu”…
(TN: “Tenjou Fight”, or “Tenjoutou” = “Sky Chord Fight”)
Momotarou: A “Tenjou Fight”………!?

39.
Commentary:
A Tenjou Fight……a discipline where you fight while asbestos ropes stretching in the form of a spider web are burning on all sides; as time goes on and the fire gets closer to the center of the web, you vying with your techniques for the terrifying center.

Commentary (continued):
It vigorously occurred among the martial artists that were at the center of modern day Hebei in the latter period of the Han Dynasty in China. At first they did it high above on scaffolds, but it immediately escalated and was done on the crater of Daisenbou. There are even records remaining on them. However with its danger, there was a proclamation ordering it’s banning by the emperor in the Tang Dynasty. A digression, but the meaning of being lead into the predicament of a “desperate situation” came forth from crossing the Tenjou borderline.
-From “Great View of Chinese Military Arts”, Minmei Publishing
(TN: Hebei is a Chinese province that makes up the outskirts of Beijing and Tianjin. As for “Daisenbou”…I tried to look it up and it does seem like a mountain in China, but couldn’t quite find anything further)

Fuukai: The fire on the asbestos ropes will burn across everything in about an hour. If we haven’t reached the match’s completion by then, then both opponents will go headlong into the depths of Hades.
Date: Fuffufu, five minutes will be enough………!!
Rinkai: Now will both teams come forward.

40.
Kanji: OTOKO (Man)
Edajima: “Katsukon Flag”, the great school flag that is the pride of Otokojuku. This is Otokojuku’s soul.
(TN: “Katsukon Flag” or “Kakkonki” = “Scolding Soul Flag”)

41.
Edajima: A 50-tatami mat monster school flag, 10m long, 7m wide, with an included pole weight of 300kg. No matter how much of the Great Chime’s yell is heard, it isn’t a true Great Chime if you don’t have this.
(TN: The measurement of “Tatami Mats” is typical for the determination of the size of the floor of a room)
Edajima: It’s also known as “the unrising flag”. It is lifted not just with mere physical strength but by having large emotional strength.
Edajima: Now who will become the lead standard bearer to wave this flag into the sky so the wind can splendidly move this within Momo’s eyes as he fights on top of Mt. Fuji?
Tazawa: A…300kg unrising school flag…………
Student: I’ve heard a rumor of a person who challenged this and died when he failed and broke his ribs. There are also those who come to be bedridden for life.
Voice: I’ll do it.
Hidemaro: I’ll raise our great school flag.
Headband: OTOKO TAMASHII (SOUL OF A MAN)
First-Years: Hi…Hidemaro---!!

42.
Date: Finally we’ve come to the conclusion.
Momo: Yes, this has been long.
Fuukai: Both of you head to the center.
Rinkai: We’ll ignite it.

43.
Fuukai: As is rule in accordance to the final ceremony of the “Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu”, will both sides give their names.
Date: President of Kantou Gougakuren: Date Omito.

44.
Momotarou: Head of First-Years at Otokojuku: Tsurugi Momotarou!!
Momotarou: Let’s go!!
Date: Uou!!

45.
Voice: Hoist the Great School Flag--!!
Hidemaro: I will certainly make this stand. So, Momo, don’t lose this at all!!

TN: Yeah, it probably was obvious that it was Edajima who was the only survivor since these sorts of ordeals are his sort of thing. (plus Shura Oshou's comment hinting at it too) But strangely while Momo had it hard in this chapter (considering he's about to fight on a burning spider web against the leader of the Gougakuren and his collapsible spear), the most interesting of developments occur via Hidemaro and the introduction of the Katsukon Flag. The little guy has for the most part spent the arc worrying and not doing as much compared to Matsuo and Tazawa (well Tazawa has mostly keeping track, we know what Matsuo pulled in the Togashi fight). So to go from worrying about Momo and his final fate with the last match of the Kyousatsu to literally volunteering himself to lift the 300kg flag for one more massive Great Chime shows how far that he's come since he was a snot-nosed brat forcing Togashi into the Oil Bath at the start of the series. I sort of wished Hidemaro did get more developments after this...but considering his trials in the next few chapters, it does seem like a culmination of his own development. Oh BTW: is it just me or do the Minmei blurbs take way longer and are much more confusing to translate than a lot of the chapters? (trust me: the first chapter I did today took way less time than the Minmei blurb in this chapter to translate...and I still think it's slightly wrong!)