Niji-iro Tougarashi (Rainbow-colored Peppers) Translation by Wei-Hwa Huang (whuang@ugcs.caltech.edu) Book 7, Version 0 6/26/97-7/3/97 Originally published in Shonen Sunday Heisei year 3 (1991), week 16 to week 26 p5 ------------- PART 60 -- THE LIFEBOAT ------------- p7 Heh...I'm going to the bathroom. Oh...go ahead... p8 Looks like they're not together. From the pirate attack, we can tell that although they smile a lot, they're actually quite on their guard -- extremely alert and defensive. We may be able to exploit that. I have it! Come closer! Go away, little 500 ryou! Later! p9 Oh! Look! I caught another one. Mm, good wine, and good fish! I love sailing! p10 The sea is so big and wide. ... I wonder what's on the other side of the ocean? Mm... why don't you ask Chinpi? Because then he'd tell me the real answer! Can't you let me fantasize in peace? How immature! p11 Better an immature adult, than a child who's forced into maturity too early! Spending every day, no worries, no cares... Look! Flying fish! Yow! Hey, candyman! Uh...could I buy three of your candy sticks? p12 Ah! Yes, of course! Oh! The wind's blowing again! My old body can't take much more of this wind; I'll be going below deck. Bye! Have a nice walk! p13 What are you trying to do? Eh? I didn't do anything... Stop playing dumb! p14 What's that in your hand, then? Eh? Um, er... it's... Hey, you saw what happened, right? This isn't mine, right? I didn't see a thing. What? Shut up! p15 You tried to trick me! You're just trying to cause trouble! Hey! I'm not done with him yet! Heh... p16 Hey, guy! Where's the restroom? What are you trying to do?! Drop the act! You know very well what's going on! p17 Wah! Yah! Hah! Aah! What's going on over there? Heh! Must be a drinking game! p18 Yaah! Hi-yah! Hoh! Heh... Oh! Boss! Where've you been? Well? All according to plan, no? p19 -- but this way, the last one remaining will be the hardest one to get rid of! Don't worry, all seven 500-ryous and the last one will die together! Who'll kill them? Me, of course. What? Don't believe me? Uh! No, I guess... Listen. In five more minutes, this ship will be lying at the bottom of the ocean! p20 Oh? Master Takamitsu gave me a time bomb. I've already set it on this boat. tick tock tick S...so... We'll all... die along with you, Boss? Idiots! If I kill myself, who's going to collect the seven 500-ryou rewards!? Don't worry about that. Look! LIFEBOAT p21 I noticed it a long time ago, so I didn't have any compunctions about setting the bomb. Oh! Let's put it asea! Alright! Eh? Sirs! Don't touch that lifeboat! It's just there for show! For show? Yeah, the laws say that every ship has to have a lifeboat, just in case. But no one actually bothers to follow those stupid laws! p22 Hah! As if this boat was going to sink! That lifeboat's just for the authorities to look at. Hahah! Don't worry; with such calm weather, nothing's going to happen to this ship. Hah! tick tick tock tick tock p23 --------------- PART 61 -- EMERGENCY ASSASSIN ORDERS --------------- p24 tick tock tick tock tock Urrgh! What do we do, boss? Damn! Shouldn't have used superglue to secure it. pant pant pant tick tock tick tock p25 Are those sardines? Uh...yeah. p26 Don't you mean sharks? Yeah, that's what I meant....oh! Fi...five hun...mmph! If anyone jumped now, they'd die. H...how do you know? Sharks eat people. Then we're doomed! We'll all be shark dinner soon! Oh? p27 When the time bomb goes off, we'll all die! Idiots! Shut... Time bomb? Uh...nothing... I just discovered a time bomb someone set on the bottom of the hull... that's all... Chinpi, let's go! It's useless! It's too late! Tick! tock! Tick! p28 Only one minute left! Can you stop it, Chinpi? Of course not! It'll trigger the explosion mechanism in one minute. Waah! We'll be shark food!! Don't worry. It won't explode. p29 This sort of time bomb has a safety mechanism. Whomever set it must have forgotten to take it off. So, it's not going to explode. (ching) Whew! Lady luck must be on our side! Good thing whomever set it was a stupid idiot! Yup. "Good thing whomever set it was a stupid idiot"! Yeah! p31 Oh...I see it, I see it! Ooh Kizu-Ooshima, birthplace of the legendary comedian, Goma! What a liar! Hah! p32 "" p34 Oh, we're there. Bring out that gaijin kid! p35 Port Authority p36 We've heard you saved a foreign child from the sea near Edo. Where is he? Huh...oh, him! Uh... p37 Kizu-Ooshima Ooita-Maru We've reached the destination! Thank you for riding! Eh? I thought there were more people when we came aboard. Is that so? p39 Emergency Assassin Orders Foreign Boy, approximately 13 to 15 years old, hiding on this island. WANTED dead. Reward: 1000 ryou. This mission takes priority over that of the seven siblings. 1000 ryou? For one gaijin kid? Looks even more lucrative... You can have him. I'll take the brats. Can't have that; how long do think it'll take me to track down one gaijin kid on a small island like this? Okay then; we'll just see who gets to him first! p40 Eh? Where'd the two assassins go? Forget them! Keep your eyes on the 500-ryous! Yes, sir! Look, boss! There's a gaijin boy over there! You don't see that every day! I said, keep you eyes on the kids! Sorry, boss. p41 -------------------- PART 62 -- THE GRAVE OF GOMA'S MOTHER -------------------- p42 Kizu-Ooshima p43 What a quiet island! Funny...where is everyone? p44 Forget it! Let's go to the graveyard. Good idea. Boss, there really is no one here? Yeah! The only human we've seen is that gaijin boy! There's no reward for a gaijin boy; forget about him! Either they all went to some gathering...or the manga-ka is trying to cut corners! Very likely! p45 Anyway, we can't lose them! When they split up, we'll take them down one at a time. That could take a while... grumble... Oh yeah, after that fiasco on the ship, we haven't had time to eat! And whose fault is that? Will you shut UP!? Sorry, sir. I'll shut up now... p46 Boss? Not bad for an old man. So, how come you haven't found the kid yet? p47 Haven't you noticed? What? Not just the foreign kid, but we haven't seen a single person on this island... True. That is strange! Where is he?! Uh...I'm pretty sure he was around here... p48 Idiot! It's all your fault for not noticing the note earlier! If those two assassins get to him first, it'll all be on your head! Ow... Look! 1000 ryou, y'know?! p49 The Grave of Goma's Mother p50 Asajirou-niisan? What are you doing? p51 Mr. Port Authority? How come there's no one on the island? What happened? See that little island over there? The islanders here started fleeing to there yesterday. Fleeing? Rumor is that Mount Mihara will erupt within three days. WHAT??! It's only a rumor! Mount Mihara hasn't been active in years! This is the product of years of observations! p52 I can't believe people would actually believe the soothsayer! Bunch of stupid citizens! I had to let them leave; but if it doesn't erupt in three days, the soothsayer will be executed in public! Look! So calm! There hasn't even been an earthquake in years! p53 When? Don't know. Judging from the past, it could be days or years... Maybe that's why everyone left... Inconceivable! How could they have known that the volcano was going to erupt? Yes! That's it! Grandma Nosu can predict the future! Who's that? She's over ninety years old; a soothsayer on the island! Soothsayer? Yes! And she's very accurate! Especially with regards to natural weather! I've heard she successfully predicted an eruption eighty years ago! Because of her, no ship from this island has ever encountered a hurricane! No one on the island doubts her word! p55 That's unbelievable! She once told me that I would rule the world when I grew up! That's ever more unbelievable! Perhaps we should leave soon. You haven't heard and birds since we came, right? p56 Where are you going? There's a cat there! Hey, don't run off! But it's so cute! I'm going to catch it. p57 Heh! Gotcha! Mew mew Click! mew rustle There's the 1000 ryou! With a 500 ryou bonus! p58 -------------- PART 63 -- KIZU OOSHIMA, THE SHAKING ISLAND -------------- p60 Gulp! Eh! p61 What are you doing here? Leave this island! Your life is in danger! Sushi! Tempura! Karaoke! Listen -- That mountain -- Um -- er -- BOOOOOM!! Volcano eruption! Boom! Understand? Eruption! p62 You take the 500 ryou. Yeah, right! We agreed on giving it to whomever makes the kill, right? Who are you? p63 Don't worry! We're not the tax collectors! Someone paid us to have you killed! Give me my sword! What is that toy? Whatever it is, we're not afraid! He doesn't understand Japanese! Fujiyama! Tomato! Ninja! p64 The 1000 ryou is mine! Yaaah! p65 This sword is no toy, I assure you! Old man! Let's kill both of them and split the 1500 ryou! Fine with me! p66 Behind you, chick! Wah! Couch! Waah -- M...my eyes! p67 Hey! Runaway while you have a chance! What are you doing? Just run! Hey! Stop! Boss! That was great! You're the best at cheap tricks like throwing sand into people's eyes! Whaddaya mean, "cheap trick"? p68 Ow...sorry! I meant, taking unfair advantage! Whaddaya mean, "taking unfair advantage"? You should say, better than best, trickier than trickiest! Yessir! And stop shaking the tree! It's dangerous! But boss -- we're not shaking the tree! p70 Weren't you just going to catch a cat? Eh, Natane? So why did you catch a gaijin boy too? Um... The ground's shaking. Yes. In any case, we have to leave as soon as possible. But is there a boat? If we miss it, we'll have to take a canoe to a nearby island. Urk! I...I hate canoes. p72 Mr. Port Authority! What are you doing? To keep the criminals on the island, all the canoes must be burned. Criminals?! Yes! Seven dangerous... What are you still doing here! I'll burn your boats! Yes, yes! We're leaving! p73 I visited this cove when I was a kid. It hasn't changed a bit! Through this tunnel is the port! p74 Whoa! What was that? The volcano? Oh no! Our exit is sealed! p75 Our entrance is sealed, too -- Success! Success! 1000 ryou, plus seven 500 ryous! HA! HA! HA! HA! Dolts! Stop shaking me! Boss! -- We're not shaking. p76 ------------------ PART 65 -- JAPAN, FAMOUS FOR EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES ------------------ p78 Master Kuroki! The earth is shaking! Shut up! Japan is famous for its earthquakes! There's nothing to be afraid of! What fools! How could that mountain erupt? p79 It stopped... Whew! That was frightening! Imbeciles! What's so frightening about an earthquake! See this? There's a lot of money in here! Keep then in there for a week, and they'll definitely be dead! Then I'll have 1000 ryou and seven 500 ryous! p80 Looks like it was a nasty earthquake! But it also seems like the tunnel getting sealed off had nothing to do with the earthquake... Yep! I smell dynamite! Who could it be? Oh! When I picked up this gaijin, I ran into some professinal assassins! They called us things like 1000 ryou, 500 ryou! 1000 ryou? 500 ryou? p81 I just remembered... "Someone is offering a reward for your deaths..." "To a certain person, your mere existence is an annoyance..." What does that mean? Who is it?! Why offer so much money for our deaths? Wait! Forget it for now; we have to figure out what to do! The volcano isn't going to wait for us to starve to death! Yeah! We're running out of time! But how will we get out? Heh1 Leave it up to the legendary comedian! No jokes, please, the volcano won't like 'em. Hey! Chinpi. You have a light source? Hold on. See, I grew up here...so I know these caverns! One of them leads to the coast; just hold your breath for a while and we can swim out! Gulp! p83 O, Shichimi-niisan, Shichimi-niisan, parting is such sweet sorrow... Don't worry. You can have this. Oh! Right! Now I can relax. (See Book 3 for Details) How about the kitty? Guess we'll have to put it in a bag and trap some air for it. There's a cavern up ahead, right? Oh? p84 Walk a bit further, and your feet get wet, right? That's the exit! How many years ago? Eh? It's a dead ebnd! Careful! There it is! p86 The bullet unblocked the tunnel! Great! Great! We're saved! Quickly! The cave's about to collapse! Jump! p88 Hey! Boss! It's shaking even harder! We have to leave! Idiots! This hill is full of treasure! We're leaving over my dead body! Whoa! Master Kuroki! Shut up! It's just a few earthquakes! That mountain isn't going to erupt! Yaah! p91 Whaa! It really erupted! p92 There's someone there! They're signaling for help! p93 Quick, let's save them! Hey, wait! How many people? Uh...eight! "There are seven dangerous criminals..." Okay, save them! Heh! Whew! Heh! Whew! p94 Whew! Not bad, not bad. Whew! One more! Aah! Welcome back! p95 ------------ PART 66 - A SUBURB OF EDO ------------ Sir! Why are we turning? Honorable passenger, don't you see? Mount Mihara is actually erupting! We'll all be in danger if we get closer! Don't turn back! Continue on! You must be kidding! You want us to die?! Go there or you die anyway! Uh...sir, please stop this joke...! p98 Look... Don't go there! It's dangerous! Turn back! See, even the people on the other ship say so, ... sir ... Ignore them! Hey! p99 Wait! Turn the ship around! What happened to "ignore them"? Didn't you hear me? I said, turn the ship around! Captain! There's some people in the water! They're signaling for help! Grab hold of the line! p100 Whew! Thank you so much! Ah! Hello! Nice meeting you *for the first time*. I am Ishino Jizou, a mere tourist to Kizu-ooshima... Oh, do I look like someone you know? Lots of people say that... I have a very generic face! Ha! Ha---ah! W-wait--! p101 Well, Boss Ishino Jizou? I'll kill him. If we don't die first! Don't worry! The main antagonist in the storyline never dies! Oh, no...that means... I'll kill him! p102 Edo -- p103 What's that sound, big brother? Oh! The outer citadel has sustained a lot of damage recently. It's leaking everywhere, so I've called people to fix it. p104 Oh, I see. Brother, you might consider choosing a more suitable location to build a new castle! A new location? For example, I've heard that you have a fondness for Hana Street; a castle near there would be convenient for night outings... In such peaceful times, you don't get enough exercise; going out would be good for your health. Hm! Great, Takamitsu! You're absolutely right about that! p105 The World is at Peace Peace on Earth -- Spring in the air -- Cherry Blossoms Blooming -- What Beautiful Times! p106 With such good weather, I bet those seven siblings are safe and secure! p107 What's going on? Everyone leave! This location is now off limits! Edo Castle Annex -- Projected Site Commoner Entrance Strictly Prohibited Under Penalty of Death! p108 Oh...my house! Please stop! Scram! You dare to criticize the shogun? p109 What? Edo Castle Annex? Oh... I remember Takamitsu mentioning something like that to me... Lord Takamitsu? Yup. But... I didn't give him... ...a definite answer. How come... p110 Oh...Lord Takamitsu! p111 All is done according to your orders! Please leave it to us! But...isn't this a bit excessive? This area is a rest place for the Edo citizenry... isn't just kicking them out like this going to cause bad publicity for the shogun? You're very observant. Thank you, sir! But --- -- I *want* that bad publicity. Understand? Huh? p112 Oh? Lord -- Takamitsu -- p113 ------------------- PART 67 -- WHERE IS THE MUSHROOM? ------------------- p114 I'm sorry! It's all my fault! p115 I was just planning it just in case; I didn't expect an overzealous servant to initiate the plan himself! What servant? Sakuma Fujibei, Executive Chief Magistrate of Construction -- he committed seppuku yesterday under my orders. What? But, it's really all my fault for not checking with you first! I'm sorry I've cause you all this trouble, brother! I can only commit seppuku to redeem myself! No need for that! Forget the whole thing. It's partially my fault, too; if I had given you a definite answer, this wouldn't have happened. In any case, stop work immediately! Restore the place to the citizenry! p116 Yes! Heh! Heh-yo! p117 I'll make sure your houses are rebuilt! Sorry for the inconvenience. This is a little bit of money... We didn't mean to cause you duress... Thank you! We're not worthy! Oh! Koumura! Build a gazebo there, so people can even enjoy the flowers on rainy days! Yes, sir! Lord Takamitsu -- is so generous! Yes! Isn't he the shogun's brother? I've heard that the evil shogun was the cause for all this annexing business! p118 He was just building the annex so that he could come out on night outings! Of course, we all know its because he wants to avoid his wife! At our expense! Don't you think? Yeah! So there! Good thing Lord Takamitsu talked him out of it! Saved our houses! To keep the shogun in check, to look out for our sake -- Lord Takamitsu's the best! Oh, I see! And... Where did you hear all this stuff? Oh? p119 Uh... Um... I heard it from someone else; I don't know the details myself... Heh. p120 Hey. Where's the gaijin kid? He's in the trees over there. p122 See? There he is. What is this? p123 Asajirou-nisan's a much better artist! Ah! I know what it's a picture of! It's a mushroom! A mushroom! Mushroom? Yeah! Definitely a mushroom! Yup! Mushroom! Finally, something he understands! Kinoko... p124 Kinoko! Kinoko! Looks like he doesn't like mushrooms! Yep! But isn't he overdoing it? Hey! Hey! Can't you aim better than that? That's a waste of bullets. Yeah! They're not easy to find in this country. Don't worry! I can make 'em! p125 In any case, we'll attract too much attention. Yeah! No more shooting, at least for today! p126 Hey! How many times do we have to tell you? Take off your shoes at the door! Stupid gaijin! And stop "what"ting! I give up. p127 Any suspicious characters? Looks safe for now... But it's best not to split up from now on. Is this for the reward? Maybe our father is a hated criminal. And sire such well-behaved children? O-Kyaku-sama! (Guests!) Your dinner is ready! Coming! Shichimi-nisan! Oh? That's going to be a problem... p129 Yow! Nothing, nothing! Eat, eat! Oh...that was a good bath! I'm really famished! p130 Eh? What's this hidden here? Oh...mushrooms! I love mushrooms! Yow! Boy, he really has a ... serious peeve for mushrooms! Yeah! p131 ----------------------- PART 68 -- WHERE IS THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL? ----------------------- p134 Wow! Young man! That's some awfully good stuff! Yeah! You've got talent! Nah... I'm just practicing. How embarrassing! Embarrassed? With your ability, you could make a mint in Edo town! Yup. Oh? Could you teach us a thing or two? Eh? If you become famous, we could brag about it! Yes! Of course! p135 Don't know about that... How about this? I'll cover my eyes and you attack me with those sticks. Uh...are you sure? Swing as hard as you want! Remember, we're not very good... Don't worry, I won't hurt you. You sure you can't see a thing? I don't cheat. If that's the case...we'll begin. p137 Oops! p138 Sorr... p139 Yama! (Mountain!) Ki! (Tree!) Tori! (Bird!) Sakana! (Fish!) Bishoujo! (Beautiful girl!) Uh... p140 Got it? Sakana! Weren't you listening? Bishoujo! He's got a good memory! Uh... whee whee whee Sanshou, stop it! Someone could get hurt! Hey! Look at all the fish I caught! Let's eat! Okay! Asajirou-nisan! Lunch! Okay! p142 Tee...hee... hee? Asajirou-nisan! Hya! ??? Coming! p143 They're Akamitsu's children, alright. p144 He's always hated swordplay, yet he still defeated his teacher at fifteen. They even say he's the strongest swordman in the family history of the shogunate! Oh... Can't judge a book by it's cover, I guess. Speaking of strong swordsmen... where's Furon? Why isn't he doing anything? Um... he is a defiant one... p145. That's right -- He's convinced that the girl isn't the shogun's daughter and refuses to attack her. How would he know something like that? Um... p147 Why? Why is she with those brothers... p148 Bishoujo -- Oh? Where? p149 ----------------------- PART 69 -- THE FEATURELESS ASSASSIN ----------------------- Niji-iro Tougarashi, On Sale Now! p150 Ohayo! (Good Morning!) Yaah! p152 Hired a new assassin? Haven't had enough, eh? Yes. His face is quite featureless... it sure doesn't seem like that of an expert swordsman. Hoho... his biggest feature is, perhaps, is lack of features... and he's not an expert swordman. But look! p153 Now *that* man was an expert swordsman. It looks like a suicide. It is. And guess who's responsible for that? p154 Don't get your hopes up. There's no way he could kill that troupe. Especially the second brother. He has no weaknesses. Maybe... ...and maybe he has a weakness for his dear sister, eh? p155 Up those stairs is the Jou temple. Oh! I hear it has the biggest statue of Buddha in Japan. No, not just that -- p156 -- it has the best view of Japan! It's a national attraction, with so many tourists every year... Funny, it seems much quieter than that... Entrance Fee Adults One Ryou Children Two Bun Vehicles Extra p157 Eh? What's the big deal here? What? Adults one ryou, Children two bun? Since when? Since recently! Rumor has it that the shogun ordered it himself. All national attractions get taxed now. The say it's for a golf course that's going to be built near Edo. p158 Golf course? Yeah. In other countries, it's a place where even manga-ka get to hit balls around into little holes -- -- at the citizens' expense! But don't worry! Those signs will be gone in a month. Lord Takamitsu won't permit it! Takamitsu? The shogun's younger brother? Yeah! He's awfully good at persuading the shogun against these silly plans. And where are you getting this information from? Urk! p159 Uh...No! Actually, I heard it from someone else; I don't know the details myself... Anyway, bye! This entrance fee is damned expensive! You think he was telling the truth? That it's for building a field just to knock balls around? Gotta hand it to the shogun! He's the father of that petulant princess, no? p160 Aaah -- choo! p161 Sniff. You'll catch a cold dressed like that, princess. Hey! Wait! Are those people back in Edo yet? Those people? Who are you talking about? p162 You know, those kids from the Karakuri Tenements! Oh! Yes, of course! I was there this morning; they weren't back yet. Don't you know where they are? Nope. Sorry. Actually, don't worry your little head over it. You'll see quite enough of them someday, I assure you. Funny, I have a strange feeling of deja vu... p164 Hello! Hello, granny! Oops! (thump) Granny! Are you all right? Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine... Your daikon... Oh, thank you, thank you! p165 Eh? What's this coin doing here? Huh? See? Oh! A coin! Oh... that's so strange... p166 Natane! Let's get going! ...for tomorrow will be your last day... p167 -------------------- PART 70 -- -------------------- p169 That Natane. Asleep already? She looked funny; I wonder if she's all right. Yeah, she definitely looked strange. Nahh! It's just the long trip! Yeah! Girls will be girls, and all that. True, it *has* been a while since we left Edo... What are you measuring? Uh...nothing! Nothing! p170 Hey! Don't play coy! I'm being your guinea pig again, eh? You'll find out! Hey! Billy! are you blowing on? Ha-ma-ni...sounds neat. Well? Lots of talented comedians in the world, but only one who can converse with gaijin! p172 A hypnotist? Yep. Also an expert disguise artist. Disguise artist? A hypnotist needs to get close to his target, AND do it without arousing suspicion! p173 And once that target is hypnotized, only a keyword is sufficient to set them off to kill anyone, without remorse! A "keyword"? Heh. In this case, it's best if it's a common, everyday word. One that every Japanese person would say; One that everyone says... every time the sun rises! p175 "Gudu Moruningu!" "Good Morning!" "Good Morning!" p176 "Good Morning!" Ah! What a "Gudu Moruningu" day! Where's Natane? Still sleeping. p177 How tired is she?! Shichimi-nisan, come here! Oh! "Gudu Moru-ningu, Miistah Chinpi"! How did this happen? "Gudu Moru-ningu!" "Gudu Moruningu!" p178 Look, little boy! A coin! Look! Whee! Hee! Uh...little boy... p179 Oh... That's your home? Wow! Your country sure is big! Compared to that, Japan is teeny! Are you sure this map is accurate? p180 Inconceivable. Hey! "Gudu Moruningu!" Well? Shichimi-niisan? Can't tell without testing it... p181 Hey! Sleeping Beauty's awake! Oh, so where were you born in this giant country? Big! It's so big! Uh... Oh. Here! Hay-oh? O-heeyo? Ohio? Ah, Ohayou!! It's the same as the Japanese for "Good Morning"! p183 Natane, there's some leftover riceballs; would you like them? ------------ End of Book