01x25 - The.Way of the Sword

[bunniefuu]

[Japanese theme music playing]

BAKI-DOU: THE INVINCIBLE SAMURAI

[lyrics in Japanese]

[music fades]

[tense music playing]

[air whooshing]

- [shocked murmuring]
- [man 1] Huh?

What happened?

Point-blank?
He slashed him at point-blank.

I should've known.
He's good with close-range attacks.

[narrator] The boy could feel it.

He had been cut.
Of course, there was no physical wound.

After all, he wasn't actually cut
by a real sword.

And yet, all the same.

[Doppo] There it is.

[Shibukawa] As effective as ever.

[narrator] No matter how hard
he may try to resist it,

Baki was overwhelmed
by the feeling of being cut.

Though he willed his mind to deny it,
his body simply could not ignore it.

I enjoy close quarters as well.

[Baki groans]

- [bones crunching]
- [Baki moaning]

[pained yelling]

Looks like he's mastered it.

- [pained groaning]
- [Musashi] Hmm.

[Baki groans, gasps]

- [sword slicing]
- [Musashi grunts]

[air whooshing]

[Baki grunts painfully]

[gasps] A tackle?

He'll hit him with anything!

A battle is a battle.

That's a move
we haven't seen Musashi use yet.

He's at w*r.

It's as if we plucked him
from the b*ttlefield.

Skirmishes like that aren't won
with just swords.

Chopping, thrusting,
stabbing, choking, throwing.

To hope that Musashi's diminished
without his sword

is like wishing for a miracle.

[Baki shuddering painfully]

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] It is said
the brain emits a signal

half a second before a choice is made.

So if one can catch
their opponent's intention

before they know it…

The battle becomes
about suppressing an action

before it can be started.

[zinging]

[air whooshing]

[thwack]

Oh… He's leading him on!

[music fades]

[boy] There was this time
where one of our classmates

pulled out his chair as a joke.

- He pulled it right out from under him.
- Huh?

[boy] Yeah,
everyone understood right away.

Huh? Oh.

[boy] This guy just had to be training.

CLASSMATE
HAJIME KUBOI

Nah, I didn't say it out loud at the time,
but I was sure of it.

This wasn't the first time either.
I'd noticed his strength before.

Even compared to the big guys
in sports club. Baki has 'em all beat.

- [dramatic music playing]
- [crowd murmuring]

- He's so strong!
- How do you fight that?!

He's on a whole different level!

It's no wonder.
I likely would've fallen for the bait too.

If the brain signals the intention
before they know it,

then Baki should have been able
to stop his next move.

But by the time that Baki got to him,
Musashi was already ahead.

It's an intense mental battle.

Each desperately trying
to outpace the other.

I thought I'd understood it,
but this is something else entirely.

Musashi isn't trying to outpace him.

He's deliberately sending false signals
to bait him.

One singular contact decided the match.

An era where defeat meant certain death.

For the trained practitioners
of that time,

these skills of heightened perception
were probably taken for granted.

[Gaia breathing nervously]

Then he'll never win. How could he?

- Is that what you think?
- Huh?

[Shibukawa] He's facing
the real Musashi Miyamoto,

a veritable god of w*r,

revered by modern martial artists
all over the world.

Is this where we'll see it?

See the greatest masterpiece
of modern martial arts fall to defeat?

[music fades]

[Shibukawa] On the morning of the day
that Izo squared off against Musashi,

I visited him at his residence.

The conversation turned
to the topic of daily training volume,

which is when Motobe decided
to drop this cheeky line.

A few times a day,
my heart strays from martial arts.

[Shibukawa] He's at his craft all day.

Whether walking, standing,
sitting, or lying down.

Which then made me wonder

if I have that much love
for the martial arts.

And what about my master, Mikoshiba?

Or the founder of Aiki, Sokaku Takeda?

Motobe, I'd like to know.
Where did you learn this discipline? Hmm?

Let even my walking
be a form of martial arts.

I once believed that I lived my life
by that precept, but…

"But"?

A certain someone flipped
my view of training on its head.

It's someone
you're rather well acquainted with.

It's Baki Hanma.

- [intriguing music playing]
- Hm?

He lives in it, in every moment.

Whether he's striving or enduring,
he manages to make everything fun.

He's at play.

He spends all day playing around
with his martial arts.

And that's his strength.

That's what makes him unbeatable.

No matter how much effort
one might put in,

they'll never defeat someone
who enjoys it.

Hey, boy!

What do you hope to accomplish
by giving a samurai a sword?

[dramatic music playing]

I wanna copy you.

What will copying me accomplish?

I'll put us on even footing.

Yes, but I can still cut,
even without a sword.

But if I slaughter you
before you pull a blade,

that wouldn't look good.

[in unison] Did he say slaughter?

Slaughter?

Are you sure
you're not losing your mind, boy?

Just who's gonna slaughter who?

It ends here.
Time to say your goodbyes, Musashi.

There will be a slaughter,
but I will be the one left standing.

I'll continue to cut my way to the top.

I'll slash, slash, slash my way up!

And then I'll look down on this country
from the summit!

[Baki] You're a liar.

You can't cut your way to the top here,
and you know it.

You've known it all along.

Musashi, you don't belong here.

[Motobe] The way he's holding it!

[Tokugawa] That's Musashi's grip!

- [man 1] He's throwing it?
- [man 2] That'll never work!

[crowd gasping]

- [man 3] He caught it with his bare hand!
- [man 4] Unbelievable!

[Baki] You arrogant fool.
You played right into it.

I knew you would catch it.

And that when you did,
both of your hands would be occupied.

[shocked gasping]

Hello, again.

Well, now.

[music fades]

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] The boy couldn't help
but draw the comparison.

The martial arts battles of the modern era
can be repeated numerous times.

Whereas on the other hand,
during the age of the samurai,

a match meant life or death.

It's a simple inscrutable fact.

There is no comparison in terms
of the severity of the consequences.

There are no higher stakes
in a battle than death.

That being said,
he also realized something else.

Opponents might suffer
a ten-second knockout after a strike,

or they might tap-out after a joint lock.

Others pass out from being choked.

Do you understand?

In any of these outcomes,

the winner holds the power
to grant or take life at will.

Baki understood.

Modern martial artists
are capable of taking life.

But the practitioners have chosen
not to follow that path.

All right, then.

Yoo-hoo.

Wakey, wakey.

[shocked gasping]

[crowd gasping]

Musashi.

It's time to end this.

[dramatic music sting]

I dropped both of them.

Both swords left my hands.

Things that can be held
can also be dropped. [chuckles]

If you hadn't dropped them,
I'd probably be in pieces.

And now you're trying to feed me modesty?

Let's not put this off.

Time to go back to the grave.

Now.

Back to the grave? By you?
And with that sword?

You must be joking.

[shocked gasping, murmuring]

What? You don't think
I know how to use a sword?

[chuckling]

[shocked gasping]

You're still an amateur,

but you seem to understand
the basic concept well enough.

Even an amateur can cut.

Swords cut, and they slaughter.

[Motobe] Is he going to cut him down?

[gulps]

Is he really gonna do it?

Oh…

[Musashi] You've seen it for yourself.

You can drop a sword
like an iron club to a demon.

It's a saying
that's meant to be reassuring.

After all, the demon and the iron club
are separate entities.

The demon can't always be wielding it.

But a sword that can never be dropped?

That's what I want,
a sword that I can never let go of.

I can put up with loneliness,
but parting with a sword is misery.

[shocked and confused murmuring]

The swordless blade.

He who fights barehanded.

It's something you modern fighters
had already understood.

Each of your bodies
has been forged into a weapon.

And the body cannot be let go of.

The way of the sword,
or rather, the way of the swordless blade.

Where, in the end,

the follower cannot recognize
the purpose of the original tool.

[chuckles]

That is the path I walk.

[Baki] Well…

Aah… [chuckles]

Boy, this is awkward.

I know you're still kinda at it.

Like there's still more to learn,

but do you mind doing it over there?

Over there?

[Baki] Yeah, you know,
like where you were before this.

Where you were, you know,
drifting along or whatever.

Not this world. That one.

Okey-dokey, then.

[dramatic music sting]

Here I come.

[air whooshing]

- [Baki grunts]
- [blow landing]

That was easier than I thought,
but then you do always catch it.

[Musashi gasps]

- [dramatic music sting]
- [Musashi grunts]

[shocked gasping, murmuring]

[Sabuko] Mm! Aaah!

- [chanting Buddhist scripture]
- Who's that?

- What the?
- With deepest reverence and respect,

I bow before you
and declare my words in awe.

[Sabuko] Hear my plea
and take now the soul of Musashi Miyamoto.

Some old lady?

May his spirit walk with you once more
as he returns to whence he came.

To the great beyond.

Through the power of my sacred vow,
may this humble request be fulfilled.

I petition thee
with reverence and respect.

So let it be done.

[mysterious music playing]

[rolling spit in mouth]

[supernatural tinkling]

- [man 1] Huh?!
- [man 2] Do you see that?!

[crowd gasping]

[man 3] He's dead?!

METROPOLITAN POLICE
TOYOKAZU HINO

And he wasn't defeated? He just died?

[officer] I'm as confused
by the report as you are.

Our men on the inside…

DEPUTY INSPECTOR
HISASHI MABUCHI

…they all said that they witnessed
his soul leaving his body, sir.

His soul has left his body,
well, that's great.

But now what am I supposed to do
with a thousand officers?!

[Mabuchi] Well, sir. I, uh…

[officers murmuring]

[shocked murmuring]

[Baki] Sabuko.

Thank you for your help.

Too little, too late.

I was a reckless fool,

calling the spirit of Musashi
into that body.

Then it became a reality,
and everything changed.

Some things are destined to happen,
while others never occur at all.

I should have been able
to conceive of the consequences.

But there was little
that could convince me to stop.

In the end,
we unleashed a ferocious monster

and set it loose on the city.

Somehow, I always knew it would happen,

but I could not cast aside my curiosity.

[dramatic music sting]

Both I and this failure
have committed a grave sin.

An act that deserves a thousand deaths.

If I'm honest, everyone was afraid of him,
but we expected a lot too.

Couldn't help but feel provoked.

And then, of course,
there's that curiosity. We had to know.

See the power of his sword.

Its sharpness.

To challenge it.

So even for his bloody rampage,
in some way,

we're all guilty.

The nation took action
the only way it knew how,

and Musashi had no choice
but to respond in his own way.

[awed music playing]

[Tokugawa] To everyone present,

this is no funeral procession.

It's a glorious send-off,
celebrating history's greatest swordsman!

Don't bow your heads in prayer,

but lift them high in salute
to an honorable warrior

and offer him a send-off
befitting of so fine a soldier.

[siren wailing]

[machines beeping]

[Nonomura] Pulse, respiration
blood pressure, and body temperature.

All within normal levels.

And, as you can plainly see,
there is no trace of brainwave activity.

[Tokugawa] So then, he's returned.

Yes, that's right. Back to his time.

Musashi has returned to where he belongs.

Will the vessel survive, Nonomura?

You have me on the job.
I've already devised a plan to stop time.

[uneasy music playing]

What is this stuff?

It's pure liquid nitrogen.

[Tokugawa] But isn't that usually
minus a hundred-something degrees?

[Nonomura] Yes, but I'm keeping it stable
around zero degrees,

but will begin lowering
the temperature gradually.


to be precise.

It should take six weeks to reach
the final temperature of -196 degrees

using our ultra-slow cooling method.

[Tokugawa] But won't freezing the body
destroy all his cells?

We have the finest team
of scientists in the world.

We solved that problem two years ago.

You see the tube inserted in his mouth?

It hasn't been officially announced yet,

but it's a new pharmaceutical agent
we've developed.

He's being fed a steady stream
at 0.9 milliliters a minute.

Slowly, the fluid makes its way
down his throat

and is swallowed and ingested
through normal digestive processes.

That drip becomes 20 liters

as, over 15 days,
he'll consume 20,000 milliliters.

It is this method
that allows the preservation liquid

to permeate the cell
even at the nano level.

Put simply,
it's like antifreeze for flesh.

Antifreeze? And it actually protects
the cells from frost?

In the name of science,
our team's work will never be complete.

[Tokugawa] Will that also keep the blood
from freezing too?

[Nonomura] Do you see the tube
connected to his thigh?

That's a direct conduit
to his aorta and vena cava.

Adding the fluid to his circulatory system
is also going smoothly.

In less than77 hours,
the antifreeze will fill all his vessels,

making the process complete
by early next week.

[Tokugawa] Mm.

Thank you, Mr. Nonomura.

And thank you, everyone.

[scientists gasping]

Musashi may have broken our laws,

but can the present really
bring charges against him?

These musings are irrelevant.

How could you not preserve him?

Someone as scientifically valuable
as this?!

[Tokugawa gasping softly]

Musashi will remain!

[tense music playing]

[all gasping]

[Nonomura] We've employed
a liquid nitrogen preservation method.

The process began five days ago.

The temperature's being lowered
at a rate of 2 degrees Celsius a day.

Now at day five,

the temperature of the liquid
is -10 degrees Celsius.

It'll take a total of five weeks

to reach the final temperature
of -196 degrees Celsius.

[confused gasping]

You all serve as witnesses.

Musashi will remain.

Why preserve him?

Unless you intend to try
and bring him back again someday?

Is that it?

I don't think you get it, Kureha.

So then he'll just stay preserved
like this forever?

Does anyone assembled here
have a problem with that?

It's not so much a problem
as it is a concern.

Come on, Tokugawa.
You're the one who started all this.

Just promise me

you're not keeping him
for ulterior motives.

Let me ask you this.

Is the Musashi Miyamoto
here with us now alive?

Of course he cannot be called alive.

But then is he dead?
That is not entirely accurate either.

We've stopped the flow of time.

[Tokugawa] This is Musashi Miyamoto
in his most perfect form.

Could cremating him and interring him
even be considered proper rites?

I'm not willing to accept that.

Musashi has set out on a journey,
but he is always welcome to come back!

So I will look after his home,
should he return!

That is what it means
to offer sincere devotion to the departed.

Even if he never
crosses that threshold again,

his home will always be there for him.

The most powerful swordsman
the world has ever known

deserves nothing less.

THE END

[music fades]

[Japanese theme music playing]

[music fades out]