We present an analysis of a Suzaku observation of the link region between the
galaxy clusters A399 and A401. We obtained the metallicity of the intracluster
medium (ICM) up to the cluster virial radii for the first time. We determine
the metallicity where the virial radii of the two clusters cross each other (~2
Mpc away from their centers) and found that it is comparable to that in their
inner regions (~0.2 Zsun). It is unlikely that the uniformity of metallicity up
to the virial radii is due to mixing caused by a cluster collision. Since the
ram-pressure is too small to strip the interstellar medium of galaxies around
the virial radius of a cluster, the fairly high metallicity that we found there
indicates that the metals in the ICM are not transported from member galaxies
by ram-pressure stripping. Instead, the uniformity suggests that the
proto-cluster region was extensively polluted with metals by extremely powerful
outflows (superwinds) from galaxies before the clusters formed. We also
searched for the oxygen emission from the warm--hot intergalactic medium in
that region and obtained a strict upper limit of the hydrogen density
(nH<4.1x10^-5 cm^-3).Comment: Typo corrected. The published version is available on-line free of
charge by the end of 2008. http://pasj.asj.or.jp/v60/sp1/60s133/60s133.pd