#Something something Chihiro taking the mistakes of the past to literally forge a new path for the future... maybe...

[hestzhyen]

Chapter 83 (Belated) Father's Day Posting

Yes I know it was last week but this chapter was intended to release that day, so... let's get into it, dear void.

Editor's notes: First Page: 座村に斬られ一度死んだチヒロが目を覚まし... [Samura ni kira re ichido shinda Chihiro ga me wo samashi...] "Chihiro wakes up after being killed by Samura..." Last Page: 明かされる7本目の宿命その力を示す刻が来た- [akasa reru 7-pon-me no shukumei sono chikara wo shimesu toki ga kita-] "The destiny of the 7th blade has been revealed. Now is the time to show it's power..."

Kunishige's Intentions and IRL Effects

Tell, don't show is actually okay in some situations like this!

And so we get... Enten's backstory! Awesome! I gotta say, Chihiro literally sinking into his memories of forging Enten with his father was gorgeous. Absolute 10/10 imagery and a huge reason I love reading this manga.

So once again we see another through-line from the past to the future. And another contrast between Kunishige and Samura. Both of them had massive regrets about the war haunting them, both of them looked towards the future through their children- then Samura faltered and was manipulated into retreating into his own head. He abandoned Iori and adopted an extremely myopic view of what needed to be done. Meanwhile Kunishige never lost sight of the light Chihiro cast for him to follow. Therefore Samura's ready to destroy himself to amend the past while Chihiro was given the power to reshape the future that the previous generation directed the younger one towards. Once again, I love this manga. I love it so, so much when we're focusing on the core themes.

It's the difference between two viewpoints: atoning for the past and improving the future. Both of them can look extremely similar from the outside since they're rooted in prior events. But atonement doesn't always guarantee a better future while looking forward at least opens up the possibility.

I mean, think about it. Saying "sorry we did that, let me fall on my sword as penance" doesn't do anything to help the future really. Samura's hellbent on killing the other Bearers to set them free from the contract before killing himself alongside the Sword Master. But what will that accomplish? Even if Samura succeeds, all he'll accomplish is dying and eliminating one potential source of another Malediction. It does nothing to solve the Kamunabi's corruption and propaganda issue, the lingering resentments of those who didn't believe that propaganda, nor do a damn thing to stop the Hishaku. The societal issues will still be completely unaffected. The nukes will still be around and available to be used by anyone who gets their hands on them. The only "positive" outcome is that Samura will get the death he feels he deserves.

Meanwhile, Kunishige tried to save the future by creating a sword that can undo all his other works. He made the ultimate nuclear disarmament tool by working with Chihiro! Sounds a hell of a lot better, doesn't it?

The implications of this are so, so clear: Samura, as the older generation who refused to involve the younger one, is doing what he thinks is best and telling the kids to sit down and shut up. He's going to do things his way and they can pick up the pieces once he's done. But Kunishige wanted to show Chihiro how to manage everything from the start. They worked together: Kunishige teaching Chihiro, Chihiro inspiring and guiding Kunishige. They made Enten together in order to secure a safer future. And doesn't that second scenario sound like a much better foundation than the prior one?

I feel like this is the author's voice coming through loud and clear: hey, adults, let us help you. Involve us. You don't have to carry that burden of what you did alone to try and spare us. We can handle it. And we need to know so we can actually make things better.

Remember, Hokazono's only 24 years old. And Japan's got some really touchy discussions over what and how much to teach the kids about what the country did during WWII going on. Even if it's not a direct or fully conscious thematic inclusion, it's still very much present this arc through Samura and Kunishige. And the author seems to be on the side of "stop only telling us what to do and involve us in the process". Very admirable and reasonable.

Disarmament is the way!

At any rate, all signs are now pointing towards Chihiro's mission being to break the blades. That's what he inherited from Kunishige; even if the sword wasn't especially forged for him to use, it's in his hands now and he's committed to taking it on. He'll pick up where his dad left off and see his vision through. The only necessary deaths are those of the blades... and the Hishaku.

The wrinkle of the Hishaku's exact role in all of this will probably complicate things for Chihiro's vengeance journey. Well, not "probably", but "definitely". It doesn't really affect what he's going to do with the blades though. It's clear that the best course for the future is to disarm the nukes and make sure they can't fall into the wrong hands again like what happened with Sojo. I'm incredibly glad that this is where the narrative went! I feel like the theme of undoing the wrongs of the past by directly addressing the root cause/issues instead of performative actions is the best possible way to look at this situation, both in fiction and IRL.

The nukes/swords aren't beings with agency that can act on their own for a particular cause. They can theoretically be stored away in safekeeping as some kind of implied threat to prevent another large-scale conflict. But as Kagurabachi makes clear -as the author is arguing- their mere presence is also an incentive for people to attain that power for their own ends. The "good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun" mindset breaks down when we're talking about weaponry that can cause mass deaths with ease. You don't stop nukes with more nukes. You can only get rid of them entirely.

I love it when Chihiro looks like the kid he really is.

Then why the hell are we cheering for Chihiro? Isn't he just a "good guy with a gun"? Yeah. But he's kind of the only true good guy with good reason to act in this situation. It's his own dad's legacy that he's trying to deal with AND he's trying to get rid of them, not just manage them. If he was trying to do the same thing Kunishige did at the start -only give them to skilled people he trusted- then it wouldn't be very clear if he was the right person for the job. But ever since the Sojo fight it's been obvious that Chihiro's got to be the one to do it. He was given the tool to dismantle the otherwise indestructible weapons, has the moral and familial imperative to do it, and clearly believes in carrying on his dad's wish to destroy them.

This will undoubtedly set him at odds with the Kamunabi down the path. Like any government, some of the the Kamunabi higher-ups will most likely want to keep them on-hand as that unspoken deterrent. Why destroy something that saved the nation once? That power could be needed again! Can't wait to see what happens with them after this arc... it also heavily depends on what Hakuri manages to do with the Shinuchi and what happens to him after. There's so much to look forward to once we're done with this fight!

The Fight, Though?

Okay that was a lot of yap. But what will happen to Samura? Poor misguided and insanely stubborn Samura, who just wants to do what he thinks is best for everyone?

Chancla to the face for not respecting one's elders.

For one, it's obvious by now that Chihiro won't be killing him. He's not some evil guy that needs to be put down like Sojo or Kyora. So what will happen? Well, the good outcome will probably be along the lines of Chihiro breaking Tobimune -proving his will is stronger than Samura's grief- then Iori talking to Samura and getting him to stand down.

After that, though... well, the pinky ring to signify the pact made between Samura and Yura was shown to us in chapter 59 for a reason. I have no doubt that if Samura must die then that will be what does him in. It would also be great motivation to keep Iori around and involved with Chihiro's quest. I don't know if I can handle Chihiro having to watch someone else get orphaned in almost the same way he was though.

Past vs. Future

As for the immediate circumstances, I'm pretty sure this fight with Samura won't go on too much longer. Chihiro's resolve is set and Samura's hand is starting to shake; he's feeling it now, Mr. Krabs. All those stunts he pulled off earlier are probably catching up with him- not looking so great for Mr. I Must Die Alone For Someone Else's Sins. Sorry Samura, but you ain't Jesus. You're just a mentally tortured war veteran, father, and widower.

First stop: breaking Tobimune, probably.

I also want to say something about Chihiro's resolve here. Again the official TL isn't bad by any means, but the formal tone of it didn't carry over very well.

この淵天を以って…俺 が真打を折る [kono enten wo motte... ore ga shinuchi wo oru] "I vow... to break the Shinuchi with the Enten." or something along those lines. Chihiro's not just making a statement here- he's making something of a solemn vow.

What About the Other Blades?

*Depending on where it is and who has it after this fight

Well, we can probably assume that Chihiro will try to break them as well since Kunishige explicitly wanted to destroy all of them after the war. How Chihiro manages to do that will be what keeps the story moving forward though.

As we know, the Hishaku are in possession of the two unknown blades still- and Kuguri's definitely got his eyes set on the Sushi bearer's. Meanwhile Hiruhiko's bonded to Kumeyuri but it's currently with Ro, who is allied to Samura and the Kamunabi. So Chihiro can ignore the other swords and make a beeline for the Sword Master once he's done with his business here at the hotel. It won't be so simple though- it never is when there's a set number of objects to seek out and destroy.

I have a feeling that there won't be much of a victory for Team Goldfish here.

Ch. 72

Chihiro's probably not going to want to kill the two Bearers still bound to the blade, so they will have to have their Eternal Contracts broken somehow before the Sword Master is dealt with. That means seeking them out and killing them or "killing" them with Tobimune's Suzaku ability. But if Tobimune breaks or Samura is killed, then that ability vanishes. Remember, Suzaku is Samura's True Realm ability- that's Tobimune responding to his strong desires. It won't necessarily work the same for someone else. So even if Iori or someone else is able to bond to the blade, they may not be able to use Suzaku.

Then there's the tidbit that the Eternal Contract itself needs the Sword Master to be alive, else the other bearers will die. This may well apply to Chihiro too.

Also ch. 72

Either Kunishige spent 15 years making a blade with a life-death contract independent of the Shinuchi, or he used the same binding technique and took his time on intentionally imbuing the blade with the ability to break the others. Maybe both, depends on Kunishige's idea about who would wield it and other intentions while he and Chihiro were making it. But for now, it's fair to assume that Chihiro could also be affected by the bond to the Shinuchi- and that's one of the big reasons why Samura went out of his way to kill him.

So the goal now must be to break the Shinuchi first. There's no other easy option to go for: killing and reviving the other Bearers is much less practical, especially when the Hishaku are waiting for exactly that to happen so they can have their own members bond to the other blades in their possession. That's a terrible outcome (and another very good reason to stop Samura). If Chihiro breaks Tobimune in this fight -which seems incredibly likely- then they really will have no other option.

This means that Hakuri and Uruha's situation is absolutely vital and likely won't result in something good for our protagonists. Hakuri's on his way to isolate the Shinuchi by putting it in his Storehouse... but whether he succeeds or fails will still be fine for the Hishaku. If he succeeds, he's now a primary capture/torture target that Chihiro will likely have to rescue. If he fails, then the Hishaku have the blade and will either kill The Sword Master or hand it to him- both very good ways of triggering another Malediction.

Basically, all signs are pointing towards Magatsumi remaining out of Chihiro's reach for the forseeable future. It's his goal to chase while dealing with other issues along the way in service of it.

As for Kumeyuri, I don't think it's getting broken here. Instead I think it will somehow end up back in the Hishaku's hands so Hiruhiko can train with it properly once he picks himself up. Hopefully without the Masumi making an exit from the story... please, let them live. It along with the other two blades will still have more time to shine before they're taken out and collected by Chihiro like Kuregumo was.

Okay. Sit tight and don't get too impatient. Try not to, at least. We're definitely coming up on the climax of this arc! See you next week, dear void.