Chapter 92: Silver Soul (Earth Arc)

Many people wish for smooth, silky hair, but the harsh reality is that by middle age, the hairline recedes, and the once vast Pacific turns into a Mediterranean Sea. Thus, many choose the quickest way to salvage their image—wearing wigs.

"Miss Okakura, why must you come with us?" Yamazaki asked Okakura Take with a puzzled look.

"Well, just a bit curious. Sorry for causing trouble," Okakura Take replied sheepishly.

"No, no, that's not what I meant. But if there really are radical anti-foreigner rōnin inside, Miss Okakura, you must be careful," Yamazaki warned her.

"Yamazaki! What are you dawdling back there? Hurry up!" Hijikata, who was leading the group, shouted as he turned around.

"Yes, Vice-Commander!" Yamazaki quickly caught up.

Even outside the factory, the three could hear the mechanical noises inside—the clatter and clanking, which seemed normal enough.

"Shinsengumi inspection! Everyone, stop what you're doing!" Hijikata strode in first, standing at the entrance and holding up his police badge as he shouted.

Yamazaki stood beside Hijikata, about to say something, but suddenly froze.

Okakura Take was puzzled; why did those two suddenly fall silent? She walked over and looked...

They were all sporting afros!

Everyone in this factory had afros! Not only that, but the wigs they were making were afros too. How fond of afros could they be? They might as well rename this place the "Afro Factory"!

"Vice-Commander, they're all afros!" Yamazaki remarked with a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"..." Hijikata was stunned as well. It was the first time he'd seen so many afros sitting in unison.

"Hello, I'm Hibiya, the factory manager. May I ask what brings you three here?" A burly middle-aged man, also sporting an afro, approached and asked.

"This is a search. We suspect that criminals from a terrorist organization are being harbored here," Hijikata said coldly.

"Huh? Impossible. This is just an ordinary wig production factory," the manager said innocently.

"..." Okakura Take was speechless.

A factory producing nothing but afros hardly seemed ordinary!

"Enough chatter. Whether you're innocent or not, let us investigate first before reaching any conclusions," Hijikata said, walking directly to one of the wig production tables.

"Hey, show me the afro you're making," Hijikata said to a worker bent over crafting a wig.

"Hmm? What?" The worker looked up...

"It's you again!" Hijikata exclaimed.

"What are you doing here?" Okakura Take said.

Indeed, that focused wig maker was Sakata Gintoki. He raised the wig in his hands and asked the manager, "Manager, how’s this 'Oden' I made?"

"What 'Oden'? That’s just an afro!" Hijikata yelled.

The manager took the 'Oden' afro from Gintoki, examined it carefully, and said, "Mr. Sakata, your 'Oden' needs some refinement. See, the curl's arc is slightly off compared to the others. You need to make it more explosive. The afro is an art form; you still have much to practice."

"What art? That curl looks no different than the rest!" Okakura Take couldn't hold back. She walked over and tugged at Gintoki’s black afro.

"Gin-san, your own hair is already explosive enough. If you go any more explosive, your brain might blow up too."

"No! Take, I’ve found the meaning of life here—afros! They’re wonderful! I want to create art here and bring blessings to humanity," Gintoki shouted, clutching his 'Oden.'

"..." Okakura Take thought, this guy’s brain must have exploded along with his hair!

"Manager, how about ours?" On the other side, a row of afros stood up and asked.

Okakura Take, Hijikata, and Yamazaki turned to look...

"Why is it you fools again?!" they all shouted simultaneously.

Opposite Gintoki were Kagura, Shinpachi, Okita, and Kondo, all wearing afros. Kondo’s afro was the biggest and emitted a peculiar scent...

"Boss Kondo, why does your afro smell so weird?" Hijikata pinched his nose and stepped back.

Okakura Take also stepped back, noticing several flies buzzing around Kondo’s afro.

"Ah, it’s Shijuu! My hair and the hair on my backside were all shaved off the day before yesterday. Damn it, all because of Banana, who trapped the banana in a string—such a sneaky trap!" Kondo said angrily.

"Boss Kondo, you’re the only one who could fall for such a simple trap," Hijikata said wearily.

"But just as I was despairing over my bald head, the manager came to my rescue. He bestowed this ‘Pandora’ afro upon me, and at that moment, I decided to follow him to save all humans whose hair follicles had died, bringing them hope!" Kondo said excitedly, clutching his afro.

"Boss Kondo, didn’t you find your afro a bit odd before that?" Hijikata asked.

"Hahaha, odd? The manager told me the hair for this afro came from a gorilla. Quite rare," Kondo laughed.

"..." Hijikata.

"..." Yamazaki.

"..." Okakura Take.

That gorilla must be you!

"Hey! Sougo, why are you here? Did someone shave your hair too?" Hijikata asked another afro-wearing Shinsengumi member.

"No, someone tried to shave my head, but I took care of them. They said if you come here to get an afro to wear against someone you hate, that person’s head would explode. Come on, Hijikata-kun, try this afro I made," Okita said, smiling innocently as he held up a wig.

"You idiot! Blow up your own brain first! Die, you afro fool!" Hijikata roared.

"Vice-Commander, with so many idiots here, what should we do?" Yamazaki whispered close to Hijikata.

"First, let's pull Boss Kondo away. As for the other afro idiot, let him be," Hijikata said, massaging the vein bulging on his temple.

Okakura Take was exhausted. She approached Shinpachi, the most sane-looking among the trio, and asked, "Shinpachi, what exactly are you all doing here?"

Unexpectedly, Shinpachi looked quite happy. He raised his afro with a smile and said, "Miss Okakura, the three of us at the Odd Jobs have decided to help the manager make afros here, bringing hope to all humans with dead hair follicles. And the afro is the most beautiful hope."

"..." Okakura Take.

No, this kid is beyond saving—his brain must have blown up with those afros.

"By the way, Take-chan, here’s an afro I made. Want to try it? It's beautiful, aru," Kagura bounced over, presenting the afro proudly.

"This is just an afro. What's so special about it?" Okakura Take took the afro from Kagura and examined it thoroughly. No matter how she looked at it, it was just an afro!

Seeing Kagura’s expectant eyes, Okakura Take decided to try it on. She couldn’t disappoint the little girl’s hopeful gaze.

She put on the afro Kagura handed her.

*Beep beep* — Host confirmed. Phase one of electromagnetic wave implantation initiated.

What was that sound? The moment she wore the wig, a mechanical electronic female voice whispered in her ear. She froze, looking around at all the afros, suddenly feeling very happy...

"Miss Okakura, are you all right?" Yamazaki asked, watching her.

"So cute..." Okakura Take murmured.

"What?" Yamazaki asked, confused.

"Afros! Afros are just so cute! How can something this adorable exist in the world? Beautiful! Afros are the most beautiful art in the world!" Okakura Take said, throwing herself onto Gintoki and rubbing against his afro.

Gintoki calmly let her do so and raised his 'Oden,' saying, "Take, isn’t this ‘Oden’ I made nice? Let the priest wear it on your head, and we’ll have an afro wedding, okay?"

"Okay! I love afros the most," Okakura Take said happily.

"Replacing wedding rings with afros? What kind of cheap wedding is that! What’s going on? Why is Miss Okakura acting so strange?" Yamazaki held his head and shouted.

"Yamazaki, there’s definitely something odd about these afros. Let’s leave first and wait for reinforcements before making a move," Hijikata said cautiously, hand on his side sword.

No sooner had he spoken than Kondo grabbed an afro and tried to place it on Yamazaki’s head.

"Yamazaki! Watch out!" Hijikata yelled, kicking Yamazaki away.

"Vice-Commander, before warning others to be careful, you should be careful yourself," Okita smiled innocently, holding an afro.

"Yeah, Hijikata-kun, your V-shaped bangs look so outdated. Let me give you a new hairstyle," Gintoki added, holding an afro with a proud grin.

No... this is bad! The sadistic duo has teamed up!

Hijikata cautiously took a few steps back to avoid them, but suddenly, someone grabbed his arm from behind. He turned around to see Kondo grinning stupidly.

"Boss Kondo!" Hijikata exclaimed in shock.

"Shijuu, afros are really great! Come change your hairstyle with me and Sougo," Kondo said with a smile.

"Yeah, Hijikata-san, come on," Okita said, moving forward to place the afro on Hijikata’s head, his smile growing more smug.

"St-stop! Let me go!" Hijikata struggled as another grabbed his other arm.

"Be a good boy, Hijikata-kun," Gintoki said, sneering.

"You bastards! Let me go!"

"Vice-Commander!" Seeing Hijikata overwhelmed by a group of fools, struggling weakly with one hand, Yamazaki decided to flee.

Vice-Commander! Please hold on! Yamazaki would definitely bring reinforcements!

"Mr. Yamazaki, where do you think you’re going?"

As Yamazaki turned to run, a pale hand rested on his shoulder. He slowly turned to see Okakura Take smiling at him.

"O-Okakura-san..." Yamazaki’s mouth twitched, eyes full of terror.

Okakura Take held up an afro and tilted her head with a smile. "Mr. Yamazaki, why don’t you try on this afro too?"

"O-Okakura-san, stop! Aaaah!" Yamazaki cried in despair.

...

Ten minutes later, the rest of the Shinsengumi arrived.

"Shinsengumi search!" Ishida, the bald leader, charged in with a group, and everyone froze...

Before them stood a row of afros, each person clutching an afro, including some familiar faces.

"Director!"

"Vice-Commander!"

"Captain Okita!"

"Yamazaki!"

"Hahaha, what are you all doing?"

"This hairstyle is hilarious."

"Afros? What is this, some ancient relic hairstyle?"

Everyone’s first reaction was laughter; the four with afros looked absolutely comical.

The mocked four slowly lifted their heads, raising their afros together with a smile and said, "There are still afros here. Want to try one?"