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bloody-fabre · 6 years

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The Head Jailer of Abashiri has a part of the tattooed map – An essay.

Let me go straight to the topic. I believe there are more than 24 coded tattoos. And the convicts are not aware of the extra owners. So far, we have seen 17 parts of the coded map, and three of them belong to characters that we didn´t get to meet in the canon (Tsuyama, skin from Barato, Yubari miner). Add to that the details given by the first prisoner caught by Sugimoto and Asirpa, and we get that a few, probably one or two, were killed by the others right then and there. That leaves us with 6-5 skins left as of now. (latest released chapter was 153) With the -convict of the week- lasting less and less as chapters pass by, we can easily infer all the 24 parts will be acquired in no time. But I strongly believe this is not the end of the road. And not only because of the fake skins that were introduced by Tsurumi, or the key that Asirpa will awaken in due time. My guess is that there are more, authentic, pieces of the map being carried onto certain individuals, and these ones don´t happen to be convicts. Yet, they were at the same place, at the same time. Below, I will elaborate on my theory for this, and put most of my focus on one specific person, who, as unlikely as it may seem at first sight, I now believe is quite possible the (non) proud owner of another part of the tattooed map. And this man is Kadokura, the (ex) head jailer of Abashiri Prison.

As we know, some 5 years or so ago, Noppera-bou was sent to Abashiri prison, and once there, developed a plan to reveal the location of the gold. During his time at the prison, he tattooed 24 prisoners with parts of a complicated map, which made no sense until put together. At some indefinite point, probably a couple months prior to the current time, the prisoners managed to escape as they were being transported elsewhere. Among them, acting as the de-facto leader, was Hijikata Toshizou. He instructed the surviving convicts to "Head to Otaru."

This is what we know, from Hijikata himself. But I have my doubts. Hijikata did not know all the details about the plan. He didn´t know Noppera-bou´s true identity, nor Asirpa´s ainu name.

Because of this, I believe there must be more things that Hijikata didn´t know, about the plan, and one of these was the following: There are more than 24 parts for the tattooed map. Or so Noppera-bou hoped. Hijikata knew about a 25th part. An ally he had within the walls of Abashiri Prison for a long, long time.

Ever since day 1 I wondered: How did Noppera-bou, someone who was MOST DEFINITELY on solitary confinement, manage to tattoo 24 well known inhabitants of the prison without being found out? The answer might be simple: EVERYONE wanted that gold, even the guards. It would´ve been easy for them to provide Noppera-bou with people to carry the clues to the gold, and then, as it happened, take them all elsewhere to gather all the leads. For this very reason, I believe it would´ve been very simple for Kadokura to get his very own tattoo as well. But why? Because I believe Kadokura had been plotting with Hijikata. I will elaborate on the reasons further below.

He´d convince some other guards to make it easy for the prisoners to release themselves while being escorted, getting a promise to share part of the gold in return. But, unbeknownst to everyone, he would be getting a tattoo of his own as well, so the puzzle would be unsolvable without his part.

"" That´s one big fat can of worms he opened there ""

Let´s begin tackling the points I discerned as clues of him being part of the tattoo puzzle.

The first of them being: He´s been succesfully hiding things from Inudou, most likely from day 1. Kadokura had been constantly acting behind Inudou´s back. Whether getting salmon bribes, lying about killing spies, or, you know, getting people from the outside into Abashiri to get Noppera-bou...

And yet, Inudou didn´t kick him out like he did with the other guards, who had been here for as long as him, if not longer. Because he completely bought the act of Kadokura being a "worthless, pathetic tanuki". *A small note: Volume 1 implies soldiers/police were in charge of the escort, as they also had the goal of finding out about the gold. However, on chapter 128 Kadokura himself claims the guards were blamed for the mass escape. As these two pieces of trivia contradict each other, I´ll proceed with the most recent one. Kadokura had been a guard in Abashiri Prison for seven long years. This is two years prior to the time Noppera-bou was taken prisoner.

"Any guard suspected of playing a part was kicked out. The only reason that I wasn´t was because I played the part of a useless, dumb, apathetic old tanuki." "Any guard SUSPECTED---THE ONLY REASON that I wasn´t--- BECAUSE I PLAYED THE PART---" In other words: Kadokura was involved in the escape of the convicts. And managed to keep his job by playing dumb. And he NEEDED the convicts out of Abashiri. For one, they were a danger, even behind bars. And even if a single one of them discovered he was tattooed as well, it was over. They would break him like a toothpick. Kadokura is weak. He´s old. He´s FRAGILE. Just a little smack of Sugimoto gets him to rub his hand. A non lethal shot on the shoulder from Usami gets him looking like he´s about to pass onto the next life.

"" He even gets his ass kicked in flashbacks unrelated to him ""

Imagine being on your own when the 24 criminals started killing each other then and there. The best option was to stay well away from all that chaos. Right now Abashiri was the safest place, as why would a prisoner that just escaped prison return right away just to murder a random guard that managed to escape from that carnage?? And two, if they were away, unprotected by the fortress, they would be hunted down. As EVERYONE wants to find that gold. A battle royale was bound to happen that very day. To summarize: Guards were blamed for the mass escape, and rightfully so. The convicts were a risk, especially if they figured out there were more tattoos. The guards needed them out. Preferably dead. But why would Kadokura go to such lenghts? Why risk himself like that? He´s Head Jailer. He´s got his own quarters, and even if he gets verbally bullied by his boss, this is quite the decent job, especially now that most of the crazy criminals are outside of the walls and not at arm reach. The answer is "because of the new government". Kadokura resents it, and all that implies, including Inudou and the previous wardens.

"Ever since the old days, most of the guards have had more in common with the prisoners than they do with the wardens." (I happen to consider this very line another item for my theory, in a literal sense, as if my theory is correct, he now has something in common with 24 of the former prisoners.)

The way he talked about his late father implies he was proud of him, and that he undoubtedly supports Hijikata´s goal and ideals. And wishes to join him once he gets what he came to Abashiri for (Noppera-bou, or, in worst case scenario, information about the gold) This leads me to think Kadokura might desire to help Hijikata find the gold, and with it, make true the wishes of the old soldier. And he´s been helping him from the very start of the gold business. And there is another reason. Kadokura might pretend to be a "worthless, pathetic tanuki". But there´s something he genuinely cannot hide. He´s a fucking coward.

"My philosophy is not to pick any fight I cannot win".

At this point in time most of the tattooed convicts are dead. And one of them, one he can actually trust in, has returned. Kadokura is ready to continue helping him in all the ways he can, even if he loses the relative safety of the Abashiri Prison in the process. After all, how would you feel if you had Hijikata Motherfucking Toshizou guarding your back 24/7? Pretty good I guess, he´s arguably one of the strongest characters in the canon.

While all this is nice and all, it has yet to explain why Kadokura, of all people, would have a tattoo. Right? I want you to consider this point, which I deem the most important despite it may sound outright silly. HE´S STILL ALIVE. This man is weak, unskilled, a coward, someone who gave up at the ripe age of (circa) 50. What purpose could he possibly serve after Abashiri Prison is no more? Do we need a Kantarou senior? Coming from a manga that is not afraid to kill its characters once they served their purpose: Why is Kadokura alive? To be further tormented by Usami? Hilarious, yet, not enough.

And since we entered Usami territory... -a cursed area on its own right, but that´s an essay for another day- I wish to point out that Kadokura is (rightfully) frightened of the Hokuchin Unit coming here and have a nice little chat with our good friend Noppera-bou. Is it because he knows most of them, if not all, are batshit insane and will shoot at the slightest provocation? Definitely, but... Is it enough? Would they kill a guard that willingly shows them the way to Noppera-bou? This good old man doesn´t seem to think so.

"" RIP good old man. "" Kadokura was wise enough to freak the absolute fuck out. But is getting out of the way/hiding in a corner enough to be spared by the Hokuchin Unit? Maybe (no, not really). But Kadokura is definitely not going to take that risk. And it wasn´t enough that he managed to escape. He wanted to make sure the Hokuchin Unit wouldn´t get out of Abashiri alive.

A good move. Because escaping alone won´t help keep Noppera-bou alive at all. And without Noppera-bou, there is no key to the gold. (or so would think most people) I´m not saying this particular tidbit was especially intentional, but instead of just escaping (he was shot in the shoulder, not his leg), he made a counterattack to get rid of the Hokuchin Unit, thus, protecting Noppera-bou (even at the expense of literally all the other prisoners), wherever he´s being hidden by Inudou. No man who calls himself a coward would give up on escaping just to protect one man completely unrelated to him or his goals

"I´ve got no real attachment to this job" This line right here contradicts his "playing dumb" act to keep his job back in the day. Sure, it can mean he wanted to keep putting bread on the table, but also that he knew where was the place to be as long as it meant a safe haven. And as long as Noppera-bou was still there, holding the information they needed.

A little something more, to finish my leads, as ambigous as it may be: Even after being in a -currenty- safe, well hidden place, and surrounded with trustworthy partners, he seems to be holding his pain instead of tending to his wound.

He´s still completely covered up to his neck with his shirt, which, as little a detail as it may seem, might imply he has his reasons not to treat the wound with people around. He does, however, seems to be wearing a makeshift sling to support the injured arm. The fact that he, as the Head Jailer, had his own quarters, would also provide a chance to keep a tattoo as big as the coded map hidden from everyone for as long as he needed.

I still can´t find a way on which he communicated with Hijikata before his group (plus Sugimoto´s) came to get Noppera-bou, but my guess is that they´ve been secretly in cahoots for a long, long time. Ever since Noppera-bou´s tattoo plan was put into motion. Kadokura, as everyone, was well aware of Inudou´s obsessive hatred for Hijikata, so he would´ve been an excellent ally, both against the Warden, and any other danger, if it came to that. And for that, he risked a lot, even as the coward he claims to be. And luckily for him, he survived this trial.

Below is a short summary of all the aforementioned hints. Which, I hope, helped convey the conclusion I reached, that there´s more to this Tanuki that he let us know.

-Literally the first thing we see him doing, is telling the new guy "Don´t get involved with Noppera-bou.” And boy, he should know about that by now. -Noppera-bou kept details away from Hijikata, why extra tattoos wouldn´t be part of it? -He´s definitely been in contact with Hijikata for a long, long time. -EVERYONE wanted that gold. Carrying a secret extra part of the map with no one else knowing was an advantage. If he/his allies ever manage to gather the rest. -Constantly hid things from Inudou, acting behind his back, being in cahoots with his ultimate enemy. -Was here before Noppera-bou arrived. Met him personally. -implied to be considered suspected in the mass escape, played dumb to keep his job and to constantly avoid suspicions from Inudou. -Resents the current government. -"i have more in common with the prisoners than the wardens" -Wants to help Hijikata in any way he can -he has literally no reason to be alive. We know what happens to GK characters when they fulfill their purpose. -Unlike the rest of the (unwise) guards, he was terrified of the Hokuchin coming here. -Stopped escaping to attack the Hokuchin. Kadokura, the self-proclaimed coward. -Not minding losing the job he played dumb to keep, once Hijikata manages to meet with Noppera-bou -Seems to be concealing unnatended wound despite being notably affected by it. -Had a place all for himself, the best when you need to hide something, like a big torso tattoo. -Might take the chance to add an extra item: I do not believe Inudou trusts him entirely, as Kadokura not only did not know where Noppera-bou was. He didn´t even know about the secret basement, after all this time.

This may seem far-fetched at times, because of his little exposition so far. I´m not going to deny I grasped at straws at some point. But if, in the end I managed to get some people to think "hey, it DOES sound plausible!" then I´ll happily call it a job well done.

*All the manga panels used for this essay are scanlations from EverydayHeroes Scans. Thanks to them I´m able to enjoy this manga over and over as I wait for the english volumes to be released and delivered to me :D

#kadokura #kinkamu #golden kamui #hijikata toshizo #inudou shirosuke

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