Original air date : April 14, 2024 [Adult Swim (Toonami)]
Higan mourns Emma’s death when a letter challenging him to a duel arrives from Zai. Mike and Jason want to leak the data they hacked from AUZA to the public but discover they can’t due to Emma’s external memory drive being encrypted.
* * *
Weakness is a sin.
♪♪
[Breathes shakily]
♪♪
♪♪
[Sighs, chuckles]
Aah! That hurts. [Grunts]
[Men grunting]
♪♪
♪♪
[Boys breathing shakily]
[Boys scream]
♪♪
♪♪
[Grunting rapidly]
♪♪
[Panting]
♪♪
[Grunts]
[Gasping]
Will you beg for mercy?
That’s good.
Your strength is the only thing worth believing in.
If you desire fangs that are sharp enough to kill,
then come with me.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
[Soft music playing]
♪ Rain, rain ♪
♪ Come wash away the pain ♪
♪ With demons in my head ♪
♪ Vengeance is the only way ♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪ We had love before the end ♪
♪ We had trust, belief, and friendship ♪
♪ Maybe something more, maybe something less ♪
♪ This is how I make amends ♪
♪ For the light, turned to darkness ♪
♪ Shedding blood ♪
♪ Till it’s earned ♪
♪ Rain, rain ♪
♪ Come wash away this goddamn pain ♪
♪ Pain ♪
♪ Now vengeance is the only way ♪
♪ I’ll make you pay ♪
♪ Make you pay ♪
♪ Until your heart stops, till your heart stops ♪
♪ You’ll be wishing you were dead ♪
♪ ‘Cause tonight, oh, a tooth ♪
♪ Won’t be all that you lose ♪
♪ I’ll make you pay ♪
♪ For what you did ♪
Jesus. Again with the energy drink.
How do you stomach that crap first thing in the morning?
No, thanks.
It’ll help you wake up.
[Groans]
Ugh, this tastes just like that nasty-ass cold medicine
I had to drink as a kid.
You know, that sweet, syrupy kind that
makes you want to throw up?
[Chuckles]
Hmm?
Holy crap, was that a laugh?
You’re imagining things.
No, no, I saw you smile. Come on, let’s see it again.
You need to get your eyes checked.
There’s no need to be shy, Ducky-poo.
One more smile. Come on now. Don’t ignore me.
Like I said…
Huh?
Listen, Ducky, this place is too desolate for her grave.
We got to make sure she doesn’t feel lonely.
So after we’re done taking care of business,
go and give her a proper burial, okay?
Back in her hometown.
Ninjas like us, we don’t have hometowns or even gravestones.
We’re just left to rot away as nameless corpses.
It’s the fate that awaits us all.
Let’s make this the place where she can rest in peace,
near the people she considered family.
Sure.
We’ll make sure that her soul finds peace
by putting an end to all of this.
I’ll hunt down Yamaji.
He’s the source, the center of everything.
Eliminating him is the only way to dismantle the organization.
I’ll make sure to take care of AUZA.
We got our hands on solid evidence of their corruption,
and once we leak that data to the media outlets,
it’ll become a feeding frenzy.
She gave her life for that info,
so there’s no way I’m letting it go to waste.
I really hate to ruin the mood,
but, unfortunately, we’ve got big trouble here.
So, like, all of the data we nabbed, it was encoded
by a frigging genius, and unless we crack it,
nobody is going to be able to see any of it.
God damn it. So it’s all locked up?
Yep.
Was that AUZA’s doing?
Nope.
Looks like the one who took it is the person who encrypted it.
Hmm? You mean Emma?
Yeah.
She obviously wanted to make sure
that it stayed safe no matter what happened.
At least until she passed it off directly to you.
Hmm.
Well, hate to tell you,
all of her forethought came back to bite us in the ass,
because now we got to solve this stupid-ass puzzle.
If we want to take a look at the data.
Can you do it?
Maybe. First step is analyzing the algorithm
to figure out what type of encryption method she used.
Wait a sec.
Reports are coming in that a facility being built by AUZA
has been hit by a terrorist attack.
Officials have said it’s likely
that extremist members of an ecological group
pushing for more environmental protections
are the ones responsible for the crime.
Are you satisfied now? Mr. Secretary,
my company is the victim of an unjust terrorist attack.
The explosion was no accident.
Allow me to once again guarantee you
that our facilities are 100% safe and secure.
And you simply expect me to believe that?
Yeah, obviously.
I mean, public opinion is going to be on our side.
I’ve already had a friendly chat
with all the members of the advisory committee
that you were so concerned about,
and they had no problems with it.
And I suppose that you had a similar friendly chat
with the press, too.
Hmm. In any case, there’s no problem
now that we’ve cleared up our misunderstanding.
Let’s get back to working together
and making those power plants a reality.
What do you say? We can all have a hand
in reinventing the world of tomorrow.
I will not rush my decision.
You still haven’t convinced me that the power plants
are as safe as you claim. And, further,
if you end up having trouble like this a second time,
we’re going to be forced to reconsider the plan itself.
I strongly suggest that you keep that in mind.
Also, while I have your attention,
I suggest that you learn to end your conversations
in a less reprehensible way.
Otherwise, you won’t be making any friends.
I appreciate the good advice.
Brainless turd.
Just shut the hell up and do what I say, God damn it.
Excuse me, sir. Apparently, someone’s hacked us.
It seems they were able to gain access
to the company’s main server.
What the hell?
It’s possible some of our top-secret data
that was stored there has been stolen.
Damn it to hell!
Why can’t anything just go how I want it to?
Things are not looking good, sir.
We’ve already obtained all the development data on the reactor
and the Gusoku gear. It shouldn’t be difficult for us
to establish our own production line.
Damn it. I can’t believe it.
They beat us to the punch.
It’s a waste of time to leak anything to the press now.
Yeah, AUZA probably has every outlet in their pocket already.
Journalism my ass.
The bigger the scandal, the greater the bribes
and corruption that they profit from.
I know. We could try finding independent media outlets
that are still willing to come out against them.
What do you think?
That won’t work.
Corporal’s already have way too much of an advantage.
We can’t leak anything to the press.
We’ll just end up getting screwed over
by media manipulation.
We need a platform that we know for sure will boost our message.
Why don’t we put it on ChikTak?
We can easily rack up to 3 million views
if it goes viral. Here’s the plan.
We display the AUZA data over footage
of a busty bombshell flaunting her chest.
Hey, calm down. I have an idea that might work.
You keep working on cracking that encryption.
Wait. Where are you going?
Huh?
[Gasps] Geez. It’s a frigging crow.
What’s that thing in its mouth?
A challenge. To a duel.
You’re going to fight a crow?
The ninja code is what unites us,
what keeps us safe, and what allows us to live.
Therefore, we must also meet our end by the ninja code.
Therefore, we must also meet our end by the ninja code.
The ninja?
The name of the strongest warrior known to man.
And whoever stands at the helm of the ninjas
is someone with enough power to rule over the entire world.
The power to rule over the world?
[Gasps, breathing shakily]
I surrender. [Grunts]
[Grunting]
That’s enough. You’ve already won.
[Grunts]
Weaklings like this have no right to be here.
This man is not a weakling.
He’s a ninja, just like us.
Just like us?
Yes.
A comrade who fights with us to defend Japan.
Anyone who proves unfit should be cast aside.
Choosing to cover for them leads to death.
Nobody survives by fighting alone.
It seems like you two have differing opinions.
There’s an easy way to prove which one of you is correct.
You should both just fight it out.
That’s the ninja way, isn’t it?
Fine by me.
♪♪
That ends it.
Looks like we have a draw.
You’re very good.
[Sighs]
[Grunts]
Despite how mean you are to everyone,
you sure are really nice to the crows.
You’re not so scary after all.
“The Reaper.” That’s what they call you, you know?
Every single trainee who ended up fighting you lost their nerve
and gave up on their teachings.
There was one exception, though.
What’s the deal with that guy?
I guess you’re interested in more than just crows, huh?
You’ll learn more about him, whether you like it or not.
After all, we’ll all be training to become ninjas together.
♪♪
[Panting]
[Both grunt]
Those who successfully passed the latest examination are
just these three.
I shall now assign a mission for you all to complete.
And should you complete it successfully,
then you shall be honored with the title of ninja.
♪♪
We got what we came for.
Now we just need to bring it back with us. Let’s hurry.
♪♪
Wait.
Reinforcements. They got here fast.
Someone must have leaked our plans.
This is the only road out.
It’s only a matter of time until they find us.
Out of my way.
Hey.
Are you going to try and hold them off by yourself?
♪♪
♪♪
[Men grunting]
♪♪
Goddamn freak! [Grunts]
[Panting]
♪♪
♪♪
Those who are weak die.
♪♪
That’s
just how it goes.
Hey. Hey. Come on.
Snap out of it.
[Sighs] It’s you.
[Explosions] [Gasps]
Hurry.
Cover my back.
[Explosion, gunfire]
♪♪
[Man grunts]
♪♪
♪♪
[Blade stabs]
♪♪
♪♪
That’s all I have to report.
You did this to test them, didn’t you?
We only seek the strongest.
Mm.
Why did you come back?
Your priority should have been finishing your mission.
Correct. We did exactly what was necessary
to ensure the operation would be completed.
There’s no doubt you’re strong,
but with the three of us united,
it makes us capable of much greater things.
You’re not alone. You should keep that in mind.
[Sighs]
I was abandoned by both my parents after I was born.
They left me alone to die and rot on a mountain,
but the crows fed me and kept me alive.
Now I only have faith in two things
the crows that saved me and my own strength.
I’ve never let anyone cover my back before.
That was new for me.
If I accompany you two, will I see new horizons?
Is that possible?
♪♪
Hm.
♪♪
♪♪
What do you mean you’re leaving the organization?
Why are you doing this?
Because we both broke the code.
[Gasps, breathes shakily]
But we made a pact
to put our lives in each other’s hands,
to journey together.
I’m sorry.
Fine, then. You better kill me now.
Because if you don’t,
I will be the one who hunts you both down.
♪♪
♪♪
[Breathing shakily]
Higan! Mari!
♪♪
[Glass shatters]
♪♪
♪♪
Whoa. This place is spooky as hell.
Yeah, this is where we used to hide out a long time ago.
He’s already here. I can sense it.
Aw, man.
You should have just ignored his request for a duel.
Why did we even bother coming here?
Because he’s part of the past that I left behind.
And I can’t move forward without facing my past.
♪♪
Exiled ninjas must face death.
I told you before that a time might come
when we would fight each other.
And now here we are.
Zai.
[Toft Willingham’s “Unbroken” plays]
[Tires screech]
♪ Your mind, burns like fire ♪
Uh…
[Sighs]
What the hell, Mike?
Crazy stuff. Huh?
One of your agents on the verge of retirement
suddenly becomes a terrorist.
Let’s take this somewhere private.
Emma’s dead, just FYI.
Oh, really?
But it was thanks to her that I got my hands
on evidence of AUZA’s dirty deeds.
She was true to her duty until the end,
unlike some people I know.
You, on the other hand, are AUZA’s lapdog.
The good news is, I don’t think they bothered to buy off
every single person in the FBI.
I bet there’s some honest agents left
who wouldn’t take that dirty money.
And since you got connections to AUZA,
you must know who those agents are.
Get to the point already.
It’s simple.
I want you to give the evidence
that Emma found to them.
I have no idea what you’re talking about.
It sounds to me like you’ve gone stark raving mad.
Besides, there’s no good reason for me
to give in to your demands.
Listen, I’m not here to file a report with my superior.
I’m here to talk with my partner.
He used to care when people broke the law.
Our duty is to protect honest citizens
from law-breaking criminals. Sound familiar?
Those are the exact words you told me when we first met.
Isn’t that right, partner?
♪ Lost moments are becoming clearer ♪
I don’t recall saying that. That was a very long time ago.
I just found Mike now. Get over here on the double.
Asshole.
♪ Will you be a lifetime wasted? ♪
♪ What will become of ♪
♪ The spirit raging that remains inside? ♪
♪ Will you be a warrior? ♪
♪ Will you fall apart like ashes? ♪
♪ We only know that ♪
♪ What fate will allow ♪
♪ Remains unbroken ♪
♪ So take control ♪
♪ The fight before you ♪
♪ Is more than simply flesh and bone ♪
You can forget about using your stupid tricks.
Just come at me with everything you have.
♪♪
♪ And find the strength to carry on ♪
♪♪
[Grunting]
♪♪
[Grunts]
♪♪
♪ Will you be a hero? ♪
♪ Will you be a lifetime wasted? ♪
♪ What will become of ♪
♪ The spirit raging that remains inside? ♪
♪ Will you be a warrior? ♪
♪ Will you fall apart like ashes? ♪
♪ We only know that ♪
♪ What fate will allow ♪
♪ Remains unbroken ♪
♪♪
You really should have killed me
when you had the chance.
You are the embodiment of my mistakes, and now I’m going to use your blood to wash my past clean.
I have a duty, something I must see through, and I cannot die until it’s finished.
Then let’s rid each other of our burdens once and for all.
