Chapter 16: Separate Paths

Aboard the southbound train, Winry asks why the brothers suddenly need to see their old alchemy teacher. Ed explains their twin aims: to grow stronger in body and mind under her guidance, and, more urgently, to question her directly about Human Transmutation and the Philosopher's Stone, subjects that never came up during their training. They admit their recent brushes with danger have made gathering information essential, and that their teacher will be furious with them for it. To lighten the mood, Winry unpacks an apple pie from Gracia, and over the meal the three recall the kindness the Hughes family showed them and vow to repay it on their next trip to Central.

Back in the capital, Hughes' military funeral proceeds before a crowd that includes Armstrong, Mustang, Hawkeye, and Bradley. As the casket is lowered, little Elicia's uncomprehending grief moves many to tears and even sets the Fuhrer's hands trembling. Standing over the grave afterward, Roy bitterly scolds his friend for being promoted above him in death after promising to support his climb, and lets a single tear fall before departing. He and Hawkeye then head to central command to investigate, learning from Captain Fokker that Hughes struggled with someone in the records room, bled from a shoulder wound, bypassed the telephone office, and used an outside booth instead. Roy deduces his friend deliberately avoided the military line because he distrusted it.

Armstrong arrives and vaguely admits his men suspect who killed Hughes but cannot act without names, faces, or locations. When ordered to elaborate, he pointedly refuses, then mentions in passing that the Elrics recently passed through and their search continues. Mustang reads volumes into the exchange: the plural wording points to an organization, the flat refusal to obey a superior implies a gag order from higher command, and the mention of the brothers ties the Philosopher's Stone into it. He cannot yet connect the threads, but resolves that his coming transfer to Central will let him rise and hunt the killer, and Hawkeye pledges her support without needing to be asked. Elsewhere, Scar dreams of Ishval and the tattooed State Alchemist ordered to carry out genocide, then of his ambush by Lust and Gluttony, before waking bandaged in a tent. A young boy and an elderly man explain they pulled him from the sewers and sheltered him because he is Ishvalan like them, part of a hidden refugee slum outside East City. Learning that such communities have sprung up across the country, Scar smiles, and when the boy confirms his right arm remains, its elaborate tattoo is revealed, which Scar calls a treasured gift from his family.

The Elrics travel toward Dublith to confront their teacher about Human Transmutation and the Philosopher's Stone. Hughes is buried, and his daughter's grief shakes the mourners. Mustang and Hawkeye investigate and conclude an organized group inside the military orchestrated the killing, with the Stone somehow involved, and Roy commits to solving it after his transfer to Central. Scar survives his wounds and is taken in by Ishvalan refugees, his ornate right-arm tattoo revealed as a family inheritance.

Apple pie becomes the first item on Alphonse's list of foods to try once he is restored. The Viz edition mistakenly lists Hughes' posthumous rank as Major General rather than the correct Brigadier General. The chapter also shows the proper mourning attire for a state funeral: a black sash worn from the right shoulder to the left hip. The boy tending Scar, Rick, is drawn with light skin and hair and states his mother is Ishvalan, marking him as half-Ishvalan, a detail the 2009 anime omits. In that adaptation, Scar's dream and the refugee-camp scenes were placed before Hughes' death.