Trigun Maximum Vol. 6: The Gunslinger

By Yasuhiro Nightow

Starting with the news of the 2 indestructible forces being plants is reiterated, meanwhile Marlon, a gun smith is refusing service to an angry fella, Murdock, who threatens Marlon'd be sorry for denying him for "worthiness". Someone recognizes him as Lightning as he's walking away. Mer chats with Wolfwood in the bar about Vash's arm being a key to some specific destruction, and to consider everything before getting further involved, and gets herself and Mil the "cute little partner" out of this place which isn't "the place" for them... mhm. Vash's testing a gun with Marlon and he agrees to fix his and gives him a temporary pistol, for now.

Murdock is heaving a bitch fit on who's keeping the town safe for so long, and how the sheriff passed him up for an unknown, and fixing his gun to boot. Meanwhile, Mer recollects to Mil her 1st experience shooting someone and how she didn't care how emotional she'd become in front of whover could've been audience. Then some weird-looking guys called Ying and Yang plan to enter town and raise money so they could eat. Murdock sees Vash practicing his shots and macho man gut-punches him to show how he doesn't like him, as well as saying so.

As Murdock goes on to talk shit of Marlon being crazy and despite coming from gunsmiths, has lost it. Marlon walks up and pipes in he wouldn't ever make a gun for a twitted itchy-fingered rube like him. Which blows Murdock up to calling him to draw. Murdock's dumb ass is interrupted by a large explosion caused by Ying and Yang. Mil and Mer hide near a building, the former panicking as Mer attempts to calm her with both having seen worse.

Murdock tries his luck with standing off against the 2 slow-moving fellas. Murdock soon realizes he's fucked as how many guns ended up being pointed in his face. Mer and Mil worry of what they should do as they listen to Ying and Yang chat of putting Murdock out of his misery. Then Vash pops up dodging bullets, Ying and Yang shocked, 1 of 'em asking who he is, and Vash instead responding on how they should continue to chat peacefully so no one ends up harmed.

Instead Ying and Yang grab at him, Lightning tosses his gun at him in time, and Vash makes his perfect shots. Chapel's getting drunk until the owner calls it a night, Beast calling on behalf of Knifes, but not showing himself for not wanting to get shot, so he shares Knives' message to "keep it up", he still chatting, but Chapel not interested, so leaves. Chapel considers the message as meaning to do Vash by any means like they'd done a different time. 80 hrs after the Geneora Rock Crisis, Wolfwood sees Knives in his tube, he readying to shoot a wire connected to him.

Instead, he seems to be struggling as Knives communicates with him temporally to continue helping his "little bro" and get him to him safely. Vash sees Wolfwood's return, playfully calling him a night owl and as Wolfwood's walked up behind Vash, who's still seated and points his gun at him before deciding against it, since only taking out 1 part of the threat right before Vash turns, saying they should go see Ying and Yang get arrested, and Wolfwood warning he should try staying alive long enough to face off with Knives. Wolfwood backs up Vash on Ying and Yang, he thanking him as he turns his back to Wolfwood as his guns still up in his direction, Wolfwood recognizing Vash's alpha dog senses. Mil wakes from a good sleep to Mer's deflated look.

1 new enemies are sent after Vash, Double Fang and Trip of Death. Then, Knives crazily goes to a man who knew him when he was a boy, Knives declaring he needed Revenant Vasquez's brain, who can't reconcile the nuts fella in front of him. Vasquez confesses how Knives hair looked like it's gotten drier which means a plant is in its last stages, usually showing great strength before dying, so Knives killing himself with overusing his power. Knives also learns Vash's hair was also darkening. Mil's teaching an art class when she chats with Mer of how Vash's acting normal and going to church, but seems off.

Then, Vash's confronted outside by a bounty hunter telling of a personal bounty on him and he's done, she having lost her fam in July because of him. As this occurs, an emergency news broadcast goes on about a mass murder occurring and possibly by a new armed group. After Vash dodges the bounty hunter's shot, the town urges him to fuck off, Mil asking how he could still be smiling, if not one of strained exhaustion. As he runs off with Wolfwood, he essentially concludes with a cya chicks later, and Mil decides Vash's outlook by smiling was his way of coloring the sadness with a more upbeat shade.

Conrad meanwhile, is breaking down how either the next stage between the 2 bros'll either fizzle due to overuse of power or start revving up more, and Conrad's hoping Vash'll be the winning horse...plant. Vash and Wolfwood've come to the spaceship to see where an unID'd body and plant tech's beheaded body were found, which sucks Vash into a memory with Tesla. Rem'd made a funny mask and gives Vash b/day wishes after Knives tells him where to meet her. Later, after Rem'd reminisced how unbelievable, yet wonderful the last yr'd been, she'd fallen into motherhood with the 2 plant boys.

The 2 discuss if they'd truly be able to befriend humans even back then, Vash acknowledging it'd be difficult, but yes, since they created them. The last bit showing young Vash woken, and instructed with Knives to buckle in for a bewildering emergency message, Rem going off to deal with it as she wonders where the crew is.

Cute inbetweener story, so to the next!