This OVA exists in the exact space Golden Kamuy fans needed filled, showing the Barato battle that the manga skipped over entirely. It doesn't try to be more than what it is: a clean action sequence with gunfights that move the political pieces into place. The animation holds steady, no cheap frames, no shortcuts. If you've watched Season 1, you already know this hits the same frequency. It's not here to make you love Ogata or Hijikata more. It's here to show you what happened when they weren't on screen together.

In the town of Barato, a gang war puts two rival parties on opposite sides in pursuit of the same prize. Word has spread that the Hidoro gang holds the tattooed skin of an escaped prisoner. Hijikata and Nagakura side with the Hidoro clan and gather intelligence on the inked convicts in town. Meanwhile, Ogata teams up with Kusuda Umakichi and leans on the police chief to back them. With a clue to the concealed Ainu gold within reach, both sides are eager to fight, until a betrayal makes everyone reconsider. The OVA was released alongside the fifteenth volume of the manga.