"Buddha! What a tranquil Long River, flowing down from Northern Country's Mount Ezo Fuji, just like the true heart of 'emptiness' and 'impermanence'..."
The Shiribetsu River flowed quietly, passing between the fleets facing each other, cutting through the killing-cold battle lines on both sides, and emptying into Ezo's Western Sea. In the same place, at different times, it witnessed two groups of people, alike and yet unalike, carrying blades across the river and meeting with smiles.
In the local Ainu tongue, "Shiribetsu" meant "the river belonging to the mountain," "the river born from the mountain." And that striking high mountain was naturally the boundary between Wajin and Ainu People, between farming and fishing-and-hunting: the nineteen-hundred-meter-tall "Mount Ezo Fuji."
"The pure white snow peak is the summit of the spirit. It should never have been stained by worldly dust, never touched by the slightest drop of bright red, only clear in radiance, blazing like golden light!..."
At this moment, Morino Kiyoshi brought Matsushita Shojiro, who was carrying a book chest on his back, across the "river of the mountain" and toward the army formation of the Sanda. In his heart, for a fleeting instant, there was melancholy, and for a moment, regret. But very soon, when he arrived before Zuwaro, who wore a feathered crown and ceremonial robes and smiled warmly, his face immediately changed into a broad smile, and he bowed deeply in salute.
"Honored Golden Chieftain! All things in this world are causes and conditions, suffering and joy are impermanent, winds rise and clouds surge... To meet you again at this moment is also brought about by Buddha's destiny. I am grateful for the depth of our bond!..."
"Haaha, blessed by the Main God! Mori, we meet again! I am very much looking forward to what kind of artisans