Sakigake!! Otoko Juku 42

Overcoming insurmountable odds, Momotarou has finally made a massive blow to Date! But with both opponents descending below their dangerous battlefield to an even greater danger, the Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu finally approaches it's shocking climax!!

Chp. 42: Death of a Valorous Man

103.
Rinkai: The winner of the “Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu” is Date Omito, president of the Kantou Gougakuren.
Fuukai: No, wait, his appearance is strange.

104.
Date: Gufu!!

105.
Date: Unuu…he implausibly cut open my Black Copper-Steel…………………
Fuukai: They hit each other at the same time…………
Date: Nuuu……!!
Date: Gu!!

106.
Date: Uo!!
Date: !! That scent……!!

107.
Date: Huh…!?
Date: Wh…where exactly is this………!!
Date: !!
Momotarou: Hell is still ahead of us.

108.
Fuukai: Both of you listen if you want to live! That is Sekisan Lake, which is beneath the crater at the summit of Mt. Fuji…
(TN: “Sekisan Lake” / “Sekisanko” = “Red Acid Lake”)
Fuukai: You already know it, but you won’t get hurt if you touch Sekisan Lake, but the gas that is emerging there is a toxic hydrochloric gas! If you’re exposed to it enough, you will inevitably die!!
Fuukai: This rope can support only one large body. The fire on the ropes above you has been put out. Now we don’t have the time. Hold your final battle!!

109.
Fuukai: They’re bleeding just from the fighting they’ve done. Now they have most of their physical strength gone.
(TN: The dialogue actually mentions “Hotondo tairyoku wa nokotte orimasumai”, which sounded more like “they have almost all of their physical strength left behind”, but considering their tired state and the next line, I ended up trying to make it a negative, but I don’t mind if you make it the other way that “they still have their physical strength left”)
Rinkai: They can’t use techniques: what’s left is a match of spirit and spirit.
Fuukai: So which of them will truly climb this rope………!!

110.
Date: Uoo---!!
Momotarou: Nuuu!!

111.
First-Years: HOORAY—HOORAY—MOMO--!! HOORAY—HOORAY—MOMO--!! HOORAY—HOORAY—MOMO--!!
Edajima: Fuohhoho, it will be dawn real soon………we’re finally nearing the finale of this “Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu”.
Shura Oshou: Even so, this yell is a splendid Great Chime…it’s as if their souls have become one…I haven’t seen people like this for over 30 years.
(TN: Shura makes an expression using the word “sessou”…while “sessha” is usually used as “I” in an antiquated fashion, “sessou” uses the second kanji for “monk”, which perfectly describes Shura Oshou)
Edajima: Fuffufu, I am the principal of Otokojuku, Edajima Heihachi.

112.
Tazawa: DON’T DIE. DON’T LOSE, MOMO!!
Hidemaro: LOOK AT OUR GREAT SCHOOL FLAG.
First-Years: MOMO……! BENEATH THIS FLAG, OUR BODIES AND HEARTS ARE ONE!!
Date: Uh!!

113.
Date: Wh…where are you still getting that much power……………!!
Momotarou: You can’t hear the Great Chime Yell…the opponent you’re facing now is the soul of all Otokojuku First-Years.
Date: What are you joking about?
Date: Fufufu, the gas should gradually be dimming your conscious. Your disadvantage is greater than mine: I fell behind you.
Momotarou: Aah……!!

114.
Date: !!
Momotarou: Gu!!
Momotarou: Uuh………
Rinkai: Ooh, how amazing…………!! He stabbed his katana on the tip of his toe, concentrating on his pain nerves to stimulate his consciousness.
Momotarou: Fuu………Now, come at me Date!!
Date: Fufufu, I expected this Momo. Your tenacity…I too can see the Great Otokojuku school flag behind you.

115.
Fuukai: They’re at their limits. Perhaps both of them are betting everything on their next attack.
Date: NUOO~~~~~!!

116.
Date: Nufuu…!!
Momotarou: Haa---!!
Date: Nugugu!
Date: Na……!!

117.
Fuukai & Rinkai: GUAOO!!

118.
Date: Wh…why…why did a person resolved to kill me miss the vitals, why…I…I lost. End it, quickly.
Date: ………!?
Momotarou: If I didn’t see this, I would have killed you.

119.
Scars: (right to left) RAIDEN / HIEN / GEKKOU
Momotarou: Otokojuku’s Living Blood Vow Mark…those names of the dead Sanmenken……you and I can’t replace our feelings for thinking of our allies.
Momotarou: The match is over…even if I kill you; it won’t bring back our three allies…because of them, I forgive you.
(TN: Momo mentions “it won’t bring back those three”…but since I didn’t know if it meant the Otokojuku trio or the Sanmenken, I made it more ambiguous as if he’s speaking of both)
Momotarou: We don’t have time. Now, hold on to my shoulder.
Date: ……!!
Rinkai: What……!!

120.
Momotarou: Hold on tight. We’ll be saying goodbye to this hell soon.
Fuukai: Please stop, the rope is breaking!!
Rinkai: You won’t be qualified to be champion of this “Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu”.
Momotarou: Fuffufu, so this medal is a lingering regret now?
(TN: This was a hard one, considering that Momo is mentioning “kunshou” is “medal” or “decoration”, yet “miren” is a “lingering regret” or “attachment”, therefore I really didn’t have an easy time connecting them)
Date: ……………………!!

121.
Date: I thank you. A man like you can have this regretless match………………
Momotarou: Fu, what are you saying now………!!
Momotarou: HUH!!
Date: WAHHAHA, GOODBYE MOMO!
Momotarou: Da…Date……!!

TN: Dang...you have to admire Date: even in plummeting to his potential death whether by poisoning or the impact from the crater, he really knows how to show himself off, in complete control of everything he wants to do whether by winning or losing. Yet at the same time, even with his final loss in the Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu, he finally shows that he still has some allegience to the concepts that he learned at Otokojuku: the revelation of his Living Blood Vow Mark of the Sanmenken was an important turning point showing that even if Date was arrogant and obsessed with victory, he still respected and cared about those he worked with and that he still had the honor that he claimed he was no good for when he was at his former school. I know some would say Momo was probably soft for not killing Date off or that it probably is too much shonen tradition, but remember this: Momo is just as much a practitioner of Otokojuku code as anyone else and knows who to respect and who is just trash that deserves it. Aside from Date's salvation and ultimate sacrifice, the chapter in itself was just wall to wall epic in demonstrating the ending to the Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu: from Momo finally breaking through the Gougakuren leader's armor and losing his headband, to the images of the other first-years sacrificing everything to bind their souls to Momo...to even Edajima smiling and saying his trademark line in a confirming manner (I love those moments more than when he yells it, makes him show his control better), this was an incredible ending to an amazing arc. Heck, if you think about it, the chapter even seems to link everything this arc brought us from start to finish, from the Great Chime Yell and Date's past to even the usage of a similar poison as was used in the rugby game! But while this chapter really doesn't "quite" seem to be the end of the Gougakuren/Kyoura Daiyon Kyousatsu arc...trust me, the next chapter cleans up some stuff...but at the same time introduces the ideas and concepts for our next arc...when a scarier, more menacing (and more personal) enemy begins to make it's move!