Sakigake!! Otoko Juku 135

Fighting in the midst of a terrifying snowstorm, Momo is suddenly trapped not just by the elements but by mysterious underground blades manipulated by Shu Kougen! Can he solved their source before becoming torn up by them?

Chp. 135: The Dreadful Senshou-jin
(TN: “Senshou-jin” is in reference to the attack from the previous chapter’s “Senshou Gohoujin”: while the full attack name is “Broadly Submerged Five-Direction Array”, the shortened “Senshou-jin” is merely just “Broadly Submerged Array”)

47.
Togashi: Wh…what is…is that---!!
Toramaru: That…High Priest guy has disappeared and blades have emerged from within the snow, surrounding Momo~~~~~!!
Shu Kougen: Fuffuffu: at my home of Gandhara, there is snow that covers which that doesn’t disappear throughout the year!! So to say, a snow field is like a garden for us. Using the snow that is here, it’s natural that I can arrange my many secret techniques……………!!

48.
(Title page: Yep, neither Momo nor Shu Kougen are going to let this match go away)

49.
Shu Kougen: It’s best you savor this: the dread of Gandhara’s Senshou Gohoujin~~~!!
Momotarou: !!

50.
Momotarou: Th…this is…………!!

51.
Toramaru: Wh…what: those five blades are waging fierce attacks at Momo, as if they were living things---! What’s going on over there----!!
Date: ………………!!
Shu Kougen: Fuffuffu: do you get it………………!! I can’t speak of how you’re not moving around enough, without even bounding around on the snow! Soon, you will run out of strength, and when your leg muscles weaken and you bend to the ground, the blood in your body will dye the snow red as you’re split in two!!
Momotarou: !!

52.
Shu Kougen: Senshou Tenkaijin!! Can you prevent these attacks!!
Toramaru: Ooh, the blades are rotating with amazing force surrounding Momo---!!
Togashi: At…this state, it’ll be dangerous if he takes a simultaneous concentrated attack~~~!!

53.
Momotarou: Ku!!
Momotarou: Uh!!
Momotarou: !!

54.
Togashi & Toramaru: Mo…Momo’s been hurt~~~!!
Rasetsu: ………………!! It’s not a great injury: Momo removed it from his vitals with the layer of skin above it!

55.
Shu Kougen: As expected of just being called the boss of Otokojuku!! If you were an ordinary person, you would have become split in two with that blow now!
Shu Kougen: Fuffuffu: It seems my match with you will be a bit more interesting, but that’s beyond my power. Later, I must put away all of your allies.
Momotarou: This will finally be your end.

56.
Momotarou: …………………!!
Shu Kougen: GANDHARA HIOUGI: SENSHOU ONSHUUJIN!!
(TN: “Senshou Onshuujin” = “Broadly Submerged Hidden-Gathering Array”, mostly the same as the former “Senshou Gohoujin”, only with “Onshuu” replacing “Gohou”)
Toramaru: Wh…what~~!! They…vanished~~~! All five blades dived into the snow~~
Togashi: And…and even so, what exactly is he moving to do with that sort of set-up---!!
Momotarou: I can’t read it……!! All indications of him have disappeared…………! I’ll get killed with this…………!!

57.
Momotarou: I only have one chance of victory left………!!
Toramaru: Wh…what~~~!! What sort of plan is that, Momo~~~!
Togashi: He…cut his own wrist with his sword~~~!!

58.
Momotarou: SHINGANKEN: ICHINOTACHI!! You should come at me from anywhere.
(TN: Reminder, “Shinganken” = “Mind’s Eye Sword”, “Ichinotachi” = “Long-Sword of One”)

59.
Toramaru: Wh…what is he doing: he drew a surrounding circle in the snow with his own blood and concealed his eyes with his handkerchief!! Can he defend an attack that may come out from anywhere with that~~~!

60.
(Guess Momo has found the source of Shu Kougen’s attack…mice?)

61.
(Change that…stabbed, dead mice)

62.
Toramaru: Wh…what are those~~~!!
Togashi: Th…those animals were attacking with blades attached to their back while inside the snow~~~!!
Raiden: Those are Snow Mice…………!!
(TN: The Japanese name is “Yukinezumi”, but it’s sort of easy to translate so I’ll keep it translated for once)
Togashi & Toramaru: Huh!! Sn…Snow Mice……………!?
Commentary:
Snow Mice…mammals of the carnivore order and the rodent family, with the technical name of “kougen shironezumi”; small animals who primarily live in the snow fields of central Asia in elevations above 6,000 meters. Their characteristic is possessing a strong power comparative to their size of their body, and excelling in its cleverness.
Since they are always forced into living within the snow, their forefeet have developed like a mole that digs through the dirt; their alias is also as the “snow mole”.
Their meat is terribly delicate and was made the main dish of Manhan Quanxi, the ultimate feast of the Chinese court.
-From “Animal Inhabitation Collection”, Taikoubou Books
(TN: Three major notes this time, going to split them up accordingly:

1. First of all, a major comment that has to be made: mice are not members of the carnivore order. The order that the mouse exists in is “rodentia”, which is an order of mammals but not in any way, shape or form connected to the “carnivore” order; in fact, you have to collect them in the superorder of “boreoeutheria” to be anywhere close in connecting rodents and carnivores. Rodents split off from there into the “Euarchontoglires” Group from “boreoeutheria”, which includes their own superorder of “glires” (which includes lagomorphs, the order with rabbits) and the superorder of “Euarchonta”, the order of “primates”; while at the same time, the carnivores are members of “Laurasiatheria” group from “Boreoeutheria”, which include other orders including those for “insectovora” (moles, hedgehogs and shrews), “chiroptera” (bats), and the ungulate groups of “cetartiodactyla” (which combines even toed ungulates like pigs, cattle and sheep with the “cetacean” order that includes whales and dolphins) and “perissodactyla” (odd-toed ungulates such as horses and rhinos) Of course, considering this is Otokojuku, they probably decided to have a special rodent section of carnivores alongside the other sections tied to the “canine” and “feline” differentiations.
2. The technical name of the Snow Mice, “Kougen Shironezumi”, includes the obvious section of “Shironezumi” or “White Mouse”, but also includes “Kougen”, which can have a translation either as “wide field” or “plateau”, either works to tell the truth
3. Manhan Quanxi, also known in Japanese as “Mankan Zenseki” (as it is referred to in this chapter), is the “Manchu Han Imperial Feast”, stated as the “ultimate feast” in Chinese history prepared in honor of the 66th birthday of emperor Kangxi in 1720 as a means to bring together the two civilizations of the conquering Manchu and the Han Chinese who made up the majority of the nation. It was stated to be a three-day feast with over 300 dishes, including 196 main dishes which stated to include 32 delicacies using some of the rarest ingredients of the empire. In general culture today, a Manhan Quanxi is also in reference to a huge feast, maybe not to the magnitude of the original but large enough to incorporate many different meals of many different varieties)

63.
Shu Kougen: Hao---!!
Momotarou: Nuu!!

64.
Shu Kougen: You’re a great man. I’ve completely lost my Snow Mice, which I’ve placed table salt on and piled on training over these long years…!!

65.
Shu Kougen: I didn’t think of that: using the instant-freezing property of blood at a low temperature, you created a barrier with a membrane of thin ice on the surface of the snow………………!! And thus, when the mice drew close, you could sense their position through the weak sound of them breaking the ice!!
Momotarou: What I’ve killed wasn’t just the Snow Mice! There was one other big mouse as well!! Its sense of pain has been paralyzed due to being in the snow for too long.
Shu Kougen: HUH!?

TN: Yeah, Shu Kougen probably isn't the best to be called a mouse...more like a big, fat, trapped rat. Momo's fights always seem to lead to a perfect manipulation of physical phenomenon not just in the means of the battle but taking advantage of an opponent's obvious weakness that they expose themselves to in order to defeat an opponent they never expect is as tough (or as smart) as the First-Year Head. Not only was it bizarre to see him perfectly controlling the mice, but he essentially trapped himself by his obsession in fighting in these cold temperatures, leading to his numbing and ultimately not feeling Momo when he did slash him. But I guess with those sacrifices, you usually don't end up facing the smart ones.