[1]

Go here and a postman rushes in Ryoma's direction. You get a choice of where to move to get out of his way, but it makes no difference what you pick. After the postman bumps into Ryoma, he injures his leg. He get's up saying he has no time to moan about the pain; he has to deliver these packages or his postman union might go bust! But as he runs off, he falls - the pain in his leg is too much. He asks Ryoma if he'll deliver his remaining 6 packages. Choose the BOTTOM OPTION to help him.

You now have 1 minute and 40 seconds to deliver the packages to these locations:

If you have fully upgraded your sprinting (via Dharma exchange), this is easy to complete with plenty of time to spare.

After delivering all the packages, the postman thanks Ryoma and rewards him with a Golden Stamp. You are also rewarded with 300 Dharma.

[1]

Go here after completing substory 8 (you start here right after completing that substory, so you need to leave then return - go into Gion and then come back). The postman from substory 8 appears, then a group of guys show up - they are the "Black Panther Postman Group" (got to love the shout out to the Kurohyou (Black Panther) PSP games). They are apparently the greatest postman group in Kyoto! Apparently they are out to destroy all other postman groups/unions so that all the post work goes to them. Ryoma asks what the Black Panther Postman Group wants with him - they say they saw Ryoma helping the postman before and said he's pretty good. There are rumours starting to go around that the Black Panther group is no longer the fastest there is, but this new guy (Ryoma) is! So they challenge Ryoma to a delivery competition. Ryoma says he's not interested, but the Black Panther group say they'll destroy the union that Kiyokawa (the postman Ryoma helped out in substory 8) is in if he doesn't compete. One of the members steps forward to be the one to challenge Ryoma. Whoever delivers 10 packages to customers first is the winner.

This picture shows the delivery locations:

This shouldn't be any problem if you have fully upgraded your sprinting.

After beating the Black Panther member, the group tells Ryoma that next time they meet, they'll show him their true power!

You are rewarded with 320 Dharma.

[1]

Go here and Ryoma sees Kiyokawa talking with Makino, the star member of the Black Panther group. Makino tells Ryoma that he's his next opponent in a delivery competition. Whoever delivers 12 packages first is the winner.

This picture shows the delivery locations:

Again, with fully upgraded sprinting this shouldn't be a problem.

After beating Makino, Inamoto - Black Panther Captain - shows up. He tells Ryoma that next time, he will be his opponent.

You are rewarded with 340 Dharma.

[1]

Go here and Ryoma sees a sumo wrestler on the ground. He complains that he's hungry. Give him any food item in the game. He talks to Ryoma and explains he's a low ranking sumo, so his wages aren't very good, so he can't afford to get lots of food, so he loses matches because he's hungry (because he's not at full strength), so he doesn't go up in rank. He asks Ryoma if he'll help him out by getting him food. Ryoma says he'll get him food. The friendship gauge with the Hungry Sumo Wrestler begins. You are rewarded with 150 Dharma.

[1]

Go hear and listen to the 2 men having a conversation. They talk about a guy with a sickle in Mukurogai. Apparently everyone who's ever gone after him has never returned, because he's so tough.

[2]

Go here and hear the mother and child talking. Ryoma steps in and asks what's wrong. The mother says her husband went to Mukurogai to defeat the sickle guy, but he hasn't returned and she fears the worst. The child asks Ryoma to save his father. Ryoma says he'll go over there.

[3]

Enter Mukurogai via the gate and Ryoma bumps into someone. Ryoma tells him he's here to meet the sickle guy. The man leads Ryoma to him. This isn't quite what Ryoma expected - he was expecting a fighter who uses a sickle, but instead he meets a group of transvestites.

Time to explain what the hell's going on (it's yet another pun/play on words). Everyone mistakingly thought this guy in Mukurogai was a "Sickle (Kama) user". But it turns out he's just the commander of a group called "okama" - "okama" is a term for male transvestite and/or homosexual.

Ryoma tries to leave, saying this isn't how he rolls, then they attack him.

After the fight Ryoma explains he's just here to look for someone who came here a few days ago. Ryoma tells the man that his wife and child are waiting for him, so he should return home. But the man says he's not a father - he's "Konoha" and has decided to spend the rest of his life here. He says he was tired of the life he had, so he ran away from it all. The commander tells him if he had known he had a family he would never have let him in and tells him to go back to them.

[2]

Back at 2, the man tells Ryoma he's going to try hard to be a father again. He apologises to Ryoma for the trouble he caused him and gives him a Pot Sound Opportunity. You are also rewarded with 350 Dharma.

[4]

After completing the substory, go here and speak with the commander. Ryoma gets a Super Rare Medical Soldier Card.

After completing substory 10, go to your house in Another Life. When you go near the entrance to the house, a woman named "Hirakawa" - boss of the Black Panther group - speaks to Ryoma. She asks him if he wants to join the Black Panther group. But Ryoma refuses, saying he's not interested in becoming a postman. She then hands over a letter from Inamoto, issuing a challenge.

[1]

Go here after getting the letter and speak to the Black Panther group. Inamoto tells Ryoma the first of them to deliver 12 packages will be the winner.

This picture shows the delivery locations:

Personally, I advise turning around right from the start and going a different route. The race starts with both of you running north of the starting location (1), but turn around and start with the delivery location closest to the starting location (by the gambling den) and then keep going (west) from there. It's a quicker route than the way the game tries to force you to take.

After beating Inamoto, Hirakawa shows up and fires the 3 Black Panther members who raced (and lost) aganist Ryoma, saying she has no use for such slow postmen. She then tells Ryoma that in his next race, he will be the one who will be humilated. After she leaves, Ryoma asks the Black Panther members why she's so serious about having the fastest postmen and they tell him that she changed after her husband died - her husband is the one who created the group. Apparently he was a legendary postman - fastest in the land! But one day he was killed while he was working. A young postman was slow delivering something to an important samurai, and the samurai was about to kill the young man but he stepped in to protect the young man. That's why she hates slow postmen - a slow postman was responsible for her husband's death. She changed after that and now her mission to try to protect the group is destroying her. Inamoto asks Ryoma to save Hirakawa - by shutting down the Black Panther group. He tells him if he beats the best man in the group - Takeda - it will hopefully make her come to her senses.

You are rewarded with 360 Dharma.

[1]

Go here and speak to the man. Ryoma asks why he's being so restless, but the man says he's patrolling - he's currently on a mission. Then he sees a couple of guys confronting a woman. The man patrolling man steps in to stop them and they tell him this is none of his business, but he says it is - he is out to protect all who are in danger. He fights the two men, but it turns out this guy isn't much of a fighter and is taken down with ease. They leave after beating him up and the man asks Ryoma if he has something to heal his wounds. Give him any recovery medicine item. The man then explains to Ryoma how he's not actually part of any group, he just goes around to protect people because he feels it's the right thing to do. The friendship gauge with the man starts up. You are rewarded with 150 Dharma.

[1]

Go here and speak to Takeda. Ryoma challenges him to a delivery competition. Hirakawa shows up and Ryoma tells her that if he wins, she can no longer boast that the Black Panther group is the fastest in Kyoto. Hirakawa tells Ryoma there's no way Takeda will lose, because he's as fast as her husband was!

The one who delivers 12 packages first is the winner.

This picture shows the delivery locations:

You can do them in whatever order you like, but I did them in the order listed in the above picture.

After beating Takeda, Hirakawa get's upset, saying she tried so hard to protect the reputation of "fastest in Kyoto" after her husband's death, but she failed. Takeda tells her she should just disband the group, because there's no need for her for to be so upset anymore. She says she won't know what to do if she loses both her husband AND the Black Panther group. The other Black Panther members show up. Takeda tells her that there's no need to care about speed and she should give up on the Black Panther group, so her pain no longer continues, and then they can all form a new Postman group together - called "Hirakawa Postman Group". Takeda apologises to Ryoma for everything the group put him through and gives him a Snake Skin. You are also rewarded with 400 Dharma.

[1]

Go here and Ryoma hears a woman scream. A group of thugs are telling her to hand over all the store's money or they'll kill her. Ryoma is about to step in to stop them, but then a samurai appears and he easily takes down the thugs. The woman thanks him, but screams when he turns around to look at her. She regains her composure, thanking him again, then leaving.

[2]

Talk to the samurai. Ryoma praises his skill in taking out the thugs. The man asks Ryoma if one's face really is so important. He explains that everyone he saves always freaks out when they see his face. Ryoma tells the samurai that one's appearance isn't what's important; one's character is. Suddenly, a woman passes by as notices the samurai and seems to recognise him. "Is that you, Aguri?". The samurai recognises the woman as well - her name is "Suzu". He asks her where he's going and she tells him she's heading to Kamo River to meet with a man called "Ikesugi", because he has something important to discuss with her, apparently. After she leaves, Aguri runs off after her. Ryoma thinks to himself he should check out what's going on as well.

[3]

When you get here, Ryoma sees the woman standing alone. It seems Ikesugi is late. Aguri is watching from the bridge and Ryoma goes up to him. Suddenly, Ikesugi shows up. He proposes to her! She says they haven't know each other that long and asks why he wants to marry her - He says because she's beautiful and wants to look at her forever. She rejects his marriage proposal, saying she doesn't care about appearance; she cares about personality. Ryoma tells Aguri that he still has a chance with her now. Aguri says it's not possible, with his appearance. He also points out that he doesn't want to risk ruining the relationship he has with her at the moment. You then have a choice of 3 things to say to him - choose the BOTTOM OPTION to say "Believe in Suzu". Ryoma points out that she says she cares about personality, not looks. Aguri says he'll go and talk to Suzu now. Ryoma notices Ikesugi is still by the river and he says "She won't get away with this!". He runs off to her, saying he's going to make her regret rejecting him.

[4]

Go here and Ryoma sees Aguri injured, with Ikesugi and some guys standing over him. They are about to kill him, but Ryoma steps in to save him. He tells Aguri to take Suzu and get out of here. A fight then starts against Ikesugi and his men.

After the fight, Ikesugi and Aguri have a stand-off, with Aguri saying he'll never forgive him for trying to hurt Suzu. After Aguri wins his duel against Ikesugi, he confesses his love to Suzu and she reciprocates. Aguri is surprised, pointing out that he's ugly. She again says that she cares about personality. Aguri thanks Ryoma for everything he's done and rewards him with a Gion Hood. You are also rewarded with 400 Dharma.

Also, after completing the substory, when you leave the area and come back into Mibu you will see Aguri sitting at the tea house. Speak to him to acquire him as a Super Rare Assist Soldier Card.

Go inside your house in Another Life to trigger this substory. Someone arrives at the house saying he has a favour to ask of Ryoma. Apparently there's this lord (called Okehazama) who is very obsessive when it comes to food and only eats the best meals. He says there's a rumour going around that there's often a lovely smell of food coming from this house, so this time Ryoma has been selected to make a meal for him. Choose the TOP OPTION to make a meal. He tells Ryoma he wants him to make "Sturdy Grilled Fish". Apparently this lord kills anyone who makes a meal he feels isn't up to a good enough standard, so everyone is afraid to cook for him. Then the lord himself shows up, ready for Ryoma's meal. Now you have to make the meal.

Note that if you make a bad quality meal, you get a less valuable reward.

After Ryoma makes the meal, the lord tries it and says it's delicious! The lord thanks Ryoma for the meal and leaves. Ryoma is rewarded with a Dragon Whisker. You are also rewarded with 350 Dharma.

[1]

Go here and Ryoma hears a child saying a bear was here. Speak to the child and Ryoma asks if it's true he saw a bear and what the bear looked like. As he tells Ryoma about it, a bear appears behind Ryoma! The man and child run away and Ryoma fights the bear.

If you want my advice, use your pistol and just shoot at him from a distance, because this beast can do some SERIOUS damage to you and can kill you with one combo if you're not careful. Make sure you bring plenty of healing items for this fight.

After the fight, the man and child rush back, amazed Ryoma defeated a bear. The boy asks if he'll be able to beat a bear if he becomes a samurai. The man thanks Ryoma for saving them and rewards him with an Inviting Hat. You are also rewarded with 350 Dharma.