Satoru Noda
Captured by renegade soldiers from the 7th Division, Sugimoto's life now rests in the hands of Asirpa and "Escape King" Shiraishi, who must work together to save him. Meanwhile, Sugimoto's list of enemies continues to grow. Hijikata, the former leader of the legendary Shinsengumi, intensifies his own search for the hidden Ainu gold, and another adversary teams up with an expert hunter—who knows the wilderness of Hokkaido at least as well
...Tetsuzo Nihei, the legendary Bear Killer, is determined to become the hunter who kills Retar, the last remaining Ezo wolf. Asirpa will never allow this, and she and Immortal Sugimoto race to stop his bloodthirsty quest. Meanwhile, in the port city of Otaru, Hijikata, the relentless head of the reborn Shinsengumi, leads a band of death row inmates against Lt. Tsurumi and his 7th Division. In this clash of iron resolve, only the strongest will survive.
...Sugimoto and Asirpa reach Lake Kussharo near Abashiri prison at last! The time has come to put all their plans to break into the prison and meet Noppera-bo into action. Their nemesis, Lieutenant Tsurumi, as always, is one step ahead and has his own agents inside Abashiri. Tsurumi himself is on the way, with a contingent of troops and a gunboat to back him up! But if anyone can survive being surrounded by enemies and still keep Asirpa safe in this
...Sugimoto and Asirpa's hunt for the tattooed treasure map has led them to a fishing village on the coast, where a deranged serial killer lies in wait. Lieutenant Tsurumi and his renegade soldiers are also hot on their trail, and if he catches up to them it's guaranteed that there will be hell to pay. Toshizo Hijikata also closes in, while an old friend shows up with a secret about Asirpa that no one wants to believe—but it just might take
...On the trail of a hoard of hidden gold, Saichi "Immortal" Sugimoto and the Ainu girl Asirpa have already tracked down some of the escaped prisoners whose tattoos form a map to the lost treasure. But their search has caught the attention of a group of rogue Japanese soldiers from the legendary 7th Division. Their leader, the utterly cold-blooded and driven Lieutenant Tsurumi, will stop at nothing to find the gold. And Tsurumi is not the only formidable
...Sugimoto and company have gone after some twisted individuals in their search for the tattooed skins, but none as perverse as the deranged animal lover Dr. Anehata. Collecting Anehata's tattoo will provide one more piece of the map to the Ainu gold, but saving the sick madman from himself won't be easy. As they close in on Abashiri prison, plans begin to form about how to get Asirpa inside to meet her father, but the fortune-teller Inkarmat has
...The coded tattooed skins have at last led everyone to the old fortress of Goryokaku, on the outskirts of Hakodate. Sugimoto's and Hijikata's groups have gotten there first, and are racing against time to find the hidden treasure before Lieutenant Tsurumi arrives with his forces. But is the gold really there? Did Wilk and his Ainu conspirators conceal something even more valuable all those years ago? What is the true legacy that Wilk left to Asirpa?
...After the chaos at the Sapporo Brewery, all of the rival factions have come away with the knowledge they need to finally solve the coded tattooed skins. As the pieces fall into place, Sugimoto drifts off to sleep, dreaming of a time before he was in the army, trying to make his way through the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. The seeds of Sugimoto's current situation were sown then, when he found himself caught up in the intrigues of competing military
...Asirpa and Sugimoto are faced with a shocking truth—Noppera-bo, the criminal mastermind behind the stolen gold hoard...is Asirpa's father! To confirm this they decide to go to the impregnable Abashiri prison to attempt to meet him. Along the way they find more clues to the location of the gold, and make a stop in a hellish hotel. Meanwhile, Toshizo Hijikata lays down his own brand of justice in a lawless town...
Rated: M
The enigmatic and beautiful Ainu soothsayer, Inkarmat, can see the paths to the past and the future—what fate has she seen for Sugimoto? Sugimoto and his friends continue their journey to the northernmost reaches of Hokkaido and the infamous Abashiri prison. Even if they can manage to meet with Noppera-bo, will he give them the answers they want? And what do rumors of an immortal bear have to do with the tattooed skin treasure map?
Rated:
...The search for the tattooed convicts leads Sugimoto, Asirpa, and Shiraishi to the infamous Botaro the Pirate, a man with nearly superhuman swimming abilities. Tracking him down will test Sugimoto's claim of immortality! Meanwhile, a serial killer stalks the back alleys of Sapporo—but is he another escapee from Abashiri prison, or someone else? The murders attract the attention of Lieutenant Tsurumi and Hijikata, and a deadly confrontation
...After the chaos at Abashiri prison, Asirpa, Shiraishi and Kiroranke head for Karafuto, unaware that Kiroranke has betrayed them for his own goals. The untamed island of Karafuto is even further north than Hokkaido, and home to both Japanese and Russian settlements. Asirpa is also now the only person who can decipher the map on the tattooed skins. Sugimoto, wounded and captured by the 7th Division after the battle, makes a deal with Tsurumi to go
...Sugimoto and Asirpa finally come face to face with Noppera-bo inside Abashiri prison, but as Asirpa looks into his eyes she realizes he is not her father! In the rush to escape, Anji Toni makes off with Asirpa, leaving Sugimoto and Shiraishi trapped inside, with Hijikata also set to betray them. Making matters worse, they're all caught between Warden Inudo and his guards, and Lieutenant Tsurumi's gunboat fleet on the river. With so much serious
...Only three of the tattooed skins that will lead to the hidden Ainu gold remain to be found. One of them belongs to an infamous serial killer stalking Sapporo's back alleys, and Sugimoto means to find him before anyone else does. But with Hijikata's group also on the hunt and Lt. Tsurumi and the 7th Division on the way, some forced alliances may be necessary. One thing is certain—only Asirpa has the key to solving the tattooed code!...Rated:M
...At long last, all of the tattooed skins are accounted for. Asirpa, the key to solving the code and the location of the Ainu gold, is in the hands of Lieutenant Tsurumi and the 7th Division. Sugimoto isn't about to lose Asirpa again and takes off after her, but he'll have to deal with Botaro the Pirate first. Meanwhile, Sophia and her partisans have also returned to make their play for the gold, and Hijikata and his men are still in the game. All
...The serial killings in Sapporo turn out to be the work of the infamous Jack the Ripper, who fled to Japan after his murderous spree in London. After tracking him to the Sapporo Brewery, Sugimoto's and Hijikata's groups have teamed up to find him before Lieutenant Tsurumi and the 7th Division. Keiji Ueji, another tattooed convict, is also on the scene and may hold the final key to the code leading to the lost Ainu gold. As a skyrocket lights up
...In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi "Immortal" Sugimoto scratches out a meager existence during the postwar gold rush on the wild frontier of Hokkaido. When he stumbles across a map to a fortune in hidden Ainu gold, he sets off on a treacherous quest to find it. But Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it! Faced with the harsh conditions of the northern
...Asirpa's quest to find out about her father has led her to a Russian prison on the frozen coast of Karafuto in hopes of breaking out Sofia, a former revolutionary. Sofia was also the leader of the group that Kiroranke and Wilk belonged to and she may be able to shed more light on Asirpa's father. But the truth about Wilk might ultimately be more than she can bear. Sugimoto and his party draw closer to catching up with Asirpa—and when they
...Sugimoto closes the distance between himself and Asirpa as she continues her journey north into the wilderness of Karafuto in search of the dark secret of her father's past and the key to the hidden gold. Now, deep in Russian territory, Kiroranke has more to say about Wilk—Asirpa's father and his former conspirator in the plot to assassinate the Russian Czar. Back in Hokkaido, Lieutenant Tsurumi ponders the coded tattoos himself as Hijikata
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