Sakigake!! Otoko Juku 281

In a shocking move, Akashi has chosen to take on the remaining three criminal opponents of Alactraz...all by himself! Can the elder Otokojuku student stand up to a showdown with several deadly opponents...or will he just be shot down?

Chp. 281: Sword vs. Gun!!

47.
Hakuhou: ……………!! I…don’t believe this……………!! A…Akashi-senpai has br…brought those three together and made them his opponent……!!
Akashi: Well, what’s wrong!! I won’t show mercy to all of you heretic opponents!!

48.
(Title page…yeah, Akashi may be powerful…but he’s also mad)

49.
“Gunslinger”: Fu, as you said.
Doc Rotten: I alone will be enough for someone like you. Doc Rotten will now eternally shut that arrogant big mouth.
Akashi: Did you come from a movie set somewhere!?
(TN: While I translated this as “movie set”, the Japanese term here is “eigamura”, which literally translates into “movie town”. This is basically akin to a theme park based around the movies with areas similar to various film sets, sort of akin to the Universal Studio theme parks in the United States. The most famous “movie town” is one developed by Toei Studios which opened around Kyoto in 1960 and still in operation)
Doc Rotten: My mocking will come to be repented!!
Doc Rotten: Chief, return to me that!!

50.
Siegfried: Fufu: understood, I’ll return it. This is what should be called a part of your body!!
Doc Rotten: It’s been a while. I hadn’t thought that I would come to have this in my hand again.
Pharaoh: Wh…what---!! A…pistol---!! Th…that’s what he has----!!
Hakuhou: We’re having a match where a gun is used---!!

51.
Doc Rotten: Fu, don’t give a complaint. If the conventional weapon for all you Japanese is the sword, then it’s the gun for us Americans.
Doc Rotten: You should see this!!
Doc Rotten: My skill hasn’t changed a bit with my time in this corrupt world!!
Doc Rotten: Ha!!

52.
Hakuhou: Uoo, that guy instantly opened up air holes in the center of those six coins----!! Bu…but what’s going on!? In spite of opening those six holes, the gunshots I heard was only one!!

53.
Momotarou: Ri…right, that’s Six-On-One.
Hakuhou: What---!! Six-On-One---!?
Commentary:
Six-On-One…in the frontier period of the United States of America, guns were around the uncivilized lands and were an important weapon for protecting the lives and property of the pioneers. Within such environments, the skills of natural marksmanship were diligently applied and there were cases of duels where lives were controlled by who could pull the trigger faster, even if it were under a second. The thing that should be called the utmost limit of quick-draw is Six-On-One; the origin of it’s name is where the gunshots of a revolver where six are fired consecutively all overlap and are heard as one due to being too quick.
-From “Sorry for Quickly Shooting”, Akebono Hourai Newspaper Company

Doc Rotten: Fufu, we can’t have a match like this. In this case, I’ll give one chance to you.
Doc Rotten: There is a dueling method for competing in the traditional quick-draw. You too should have seen it in Westerns on TV or the movies. It’s where we mutually will match up our backs and walk out in the opposite direction, turn around when we’ve walked the number of paces we’ve decided on and fire outwards in appearance.

54.
Doc Rotten: This match will be an instant. How about it; will you undertake it!!
Akashi: Excellent, it suits my nature as well.
Hakuhou: HUH…!!
Date: A…duel of sword and gun…!!
Doc Rotten: Fu, hasn’t it come to this. How about if the paces we walk is ten, as is the usual method!?
Akashi: I don’t care what it is.
Doc Rotten: Fufu, that’s really good guts.

55.
Siegfried: So then, how about I do the count?
Doc Rotten: SO, LET’S GO!!

56.
Siegfried: ONE!!
Siegfried: TWO!!
Siegfried: THREE!!
“Big Man”: Fuhoho, that daredevil. Does he truly think he can win with his sword against the gun of Rotten, said to be the greatest gunman in this century!?

57.
Doc Rotten: That idiot!! I read his plan!! Walking the distance of ten paces won’t reach me from that place, even with his great sword!!
Siegfried: FOUR!!
Doc Rotten: Saying so, his only way is to throw that sword!! But I’ll make him into a beehive before then!!
Akashi: Hey, Umibouzou and Beret-Hat over there.
(TN: “Umibouzu” is a youkai of Japanese folklore notable for living in the ocean and capsizing ships of anyone who dares to speak its name. Its appearance is notable for its large round head like a monk, just like the big bald guy)
“Big Man”: !?
Siegfried: FIVE!!
Akashi: I should have said that I’m coming after the three of you together. Both of you shouldn’t forget what I said in the middle of this fight!!
“Big Man”: Ah---what’s that!?

58.
Siegfried: SIX!!
Siegfried: SEVEN!!
Siegfried: EIGHT!!
Siegfried: NINE!!

59.
Siegfried: TEN!!
Doc Rotten: DIE!!
Akashi: Nun!!

60.
Doc Rotten: !!

61.
Doc Rotten: Y…YOU---!!

62.
Doc Rotten: Huh, he…snapped the bullets…!!
Doc Rotten: UO!!

63.
Doc Rotten: Th…that’s………!!
Hakuhou: Ooh, I…can’t believe this……!! A…a sword re…really w…won against a gun…!!

64.
“Soldier”: Fufu, you’re really a startling man. With that, we’ve become two.
Akashi: Wrong, you’re not two. The remainder is you alone!!
“Soldier”: What’s that!? What do you mean by that…!?
Akashi: I should have said this: both of you shouldn’t forget what I said in the middle of the fight!!
“Soldier”: !!

65.
“Soldier”: Wh…what---!?
“Big Man”: Ababa
Akashi: It was the bounced bullets from when I repelled them from the gunman guy with my sword!! He too wasn’t my match after all!!

TN: I need to say this now: Doc Rotten probably is one of the coolest character designs of this arc. Yeah, I know some would say he's a typical wild-west gunslinger, but in a series like this with so many Japanese factors and Chinese kenpou, having a wild-west gunslinger is a cool thing. As for the fight: three words: short, sweet and awesome. The way Akashi allowed for himself to take part in a duel, avoid the bullets and then reflect Rotten's bullets onto the big fat guy (who somehow I thought seemed like another KoF fighter due to my theory the beret guy became an influence for Heidern) showed he used quite a bit of strategy and actually took care of two opponents in unique ways. In some ways, this felt more like an earlier fight in the series than some of the ones we've seen as of late where you know it's essentially going to be "HAHA, I AM UNSTOPPABLE...OH NO, YOU FIGURED OUT HOW TO DEFEAT ME...AAAAARGGHHHH"...like this series feels like sometimes with it's predictability. Sure you could say maybe they didn't need to make it like a duel and maybe it could have made things more interesting, but I'll let it slide because I like this chapter.