Lesson 554 is the 554th chapter of the Gintama series.
Summary[]
In the alley, Nobume informed the Yorozuya about the Tendoushuu and Utsuro. The Tendoshuu are beings born from an energy source called Altana, or "Ryuumyakyu," which is a planet's life energy that can be converted into tremendously practical uses for the universe. Due to its power, a non-aggression pact was created and a group of Amanto was created to control the Altana gates, originally known as 'The Altana Preservation Society', and later became the Tendoushuu. The organization ended up absorbing and controlling planets, sinking their claws on Earth because of the untapped Altana it held.
In addition, in a unique case on Earth, the Altana had a special impact on a particular person, Utsuro, the founder of Naraku. Technically, the name, as well as the clothes and techniques, had been passed down for generations of Naraku leaders. However, during the Tokugawa reign, the current Utsuro had vanished. He was found teaching at a school under the identity of Yoshida Shouyou as a completely different person. Consequently, Shouyou was executed but, surprisingly, he was alive again, with the aura of a different person. It was concluded that since the Naraku's founding, the thirteen generations of Utsuros was actually one man with immortality granted by the Altana, with Yoshida Shouyou being only one of his incarnations. In curiosity, the Tendoushuu took him in for study, and he somehow ended up becoming a part of the group.
At the same time, Utsuro and the Harusame Senate thanked each other for their own helps in defeating, respectively, the 7th Division and the Tendoushuu's enemies. Seeing the senate wishing for immortality similar to that of the Tendoushuu, Utsuro retorted that gaining eternal life will make living meaningless and empty. He then demanded the Senate give full control of the syndicate to him before destroying the place with all 12 divisions. As Utsuro survived the explosion, Nobume confirmed to the Yorozuya that he was the most dangerous creature alive.
Characters[]
Characters in order of appearance
- Kagura
- Sakata Gintoki
- Shimura Shinpachi
- Katsura Kotarou
- Imai Nobume
- Utsuro
- Kijima Matako
- Takechi Henpeita
- Yoshida Shouyou (flashback)
Quotes[]
- Utsuro: (To the Harusame Senate) The wish of the entire universe? Is that really true? Can one even call a 'life' without an end, a life? If not being dead is what you call living, then could a situation without that 'death' at all be called 'life'? That is utsuro. No life, no death, just 'nothingness'. In times of ongoing suffering, people wish for an end to come. But even in a time of happiness, if people learned that it will go on for all eternity, people wish for an end to come. And so, I have ended many times and been born many times. But no matter how many times I have repeated it, I have remained utsuro. So I was born. In order to kill all of me, in order to put an end to all Utsuro, the 12 divisions of Harusame.
- Imai Nobume: (Referring to Utsuro) As he is now, he is the most dangerous creature in the universe.
Trivia[]
- Ryuumyaku (Dragon Veins) is another name for the Altana energy. This was first referenced in Lesson 72, during the Inugami Arc.
- It was revealed that Yoshida Shouyou and Utsuro are the same person with different personalities.
- Utsuro repeated that his immortality was empty and hollow, which is the meaning of his name.
- It was implied that the primary reason for Shouyou's arrest and execution was because of abandoning the Naraku, which is a crime only punishable by death.