Young Lord!
Katsushiro!
Katsushiro-sama!
Young Lord! If you had hit one of the Shikimori, there would have been hell to pay!
It's frustrating, isn't it, Katsushiro? That's good.
These people are also grateful to you. That's what it takes to be a warrior.
You are the fifth.
Sensei...!
Samurai-sama! Cut them down!
Kill those bandits!
You're not acting normal.
I... I...
...sold my wife... to the bandits!
What?
Rikichi...
Why, you're...
Being able to understand each other,
and to share with each other,
are both as short-lived as a bubble on the water.
Obscured by the sands of time,
unable to hold on,
I gave up, until I saw you again, asking
"How much pain
have you been carrying, all alone?
And how much loneliness
is hidden behind your eyes when you smile?"
Embrace this miracle of an encounter now,
By gazing upon each other, we can become stronger.
And if this isn't what you call love,
then what is it you call love now?
The samurai ain't here yet, huh?
And we ain't heard nothin' from either the Mikumari-sama or Rikichi
since their last letter.
This was a crazy idea altogether.
What the hell're we supposed to do now?
All we can do is wait.
Wait on the bandits... wait on the samurai...
wait on the sun... wait on the rain...
Waitin' is all we ever do.
Gonna be a bumper crop this year, what with their heads bowin' like this.
We'll have to harvest it before long.
We ain't gonna harvest it yet.
Grandfather!
W- what're you sayin', Grandfather? If we don't act soon, the rice will be...
If we harvest it, the bandits'll come.
We'll leave it be 'til the samurai come.
But they're gonna come watchin' us!
What're we supposed to do when that happens?
We're the ones that know the most about rice!
And if we say we ain't harvestin', then we ain't harvestin'!
Honoka...
You really are scared of the bandits, huh?
All we need to do is keep going straight down this canal, right?
You don't need to guide us any longer.
No...
The route splits into many different directions.
Unless you're familiar with them, you'll never reach the bandits.
Please follow me.
Thanks, Honoka-san.
Good grief, that guy is always making trouble for us, isn't he?
I guess you could say it's just like Kikuchiyo to do this.
Isn't that what makes him so endearing?
Could be.
Sister...
He's finally gone to sleep.
I bet he wanted to go with Kanbe-sama and the others.
We would have just slowed them down, you know.
Now, now...
Sister, I understand what you meant when you said at first
that he doesn't have the smell of the battlefield about him.
Katsu-noji isn't intimidating.
What's the matter?
We're surrounded.
Bandits...
An ambush, eh?
But, why?
Gorobe, see to Honoka-dono and Rikichi.
Right.
I'm fightin', too!
So... just as we were told.
Whew, they're such bumpkins, I can't stand it.
What business do you have with us?
You're the samurai that the peasants bought.
The secret's out.
What are you going to do about it?
We can't just let you go.
How low you've descended.
What?!
You've cast away your pride as samurai, and now conduct yourselves as bandits?
For shame.
And you, who have been purchased with rice--
Are you not yourselves living in disgrace?!
Look out!
Wha--?
And you call yourself a samurai?
--Shichiroji! --Gotcha!
Shall we take flame again then, after all this time?
Allow me to demonstrate the Woodchopper style!
It was nothing.
This way, quickly!
Amazin'...
Kanbe-sama!
Indeed... This is a handy little gizmo, huh?
Oh, that was you, Hyogo?
Kanbe-sama!
Whoa there, don't you move.
W- what?!
Why, you...!
I will be the one who cuts you down.
Enough.
What did you say?
We know now the extent of their strength. We're leaving.
We were being tested?
Kanbe-sama!
You can't very well go back to your comrades.
Let him go.
Does it hurt?
Nah, it's just a scratch.
Are you unhurt?
Yeah. The Mikumari-sama was right in her judgment.
You samurai-sama are really strong!
Thanks to you, the bandits'll be gone from our village!
We can't win against firearms.
But...
During the great war, many of my friends died because of them.
So, who would have guessed that Maro would be using bandits as his pawns?
That's a merchant for you. There's not a single thing they can't buy, is there?
Uh-huh. That's how come they were able to ambush us here.
And yet, the Shikimori have countless exits to the surface.
I wonder how they could have known we would come out here.
Would you care to tell us, Honoka-dono?
You must be joking.
What're you talkin' about?!
She didn't hesitate for one moment to bring us this far.
Yes, indeed.
She had her village burned down by the bandits!
Her whole family was killed!
Was it to stay alive?
Gorobe-sama, not you too...
There is no reason to blame her.
The Shikimori!
So, you can talk after all, can you?
Who are you?
It's true, she was a snitch for the bandits,
but she was not trying to set you up.
Snitch? I see, so that's how the bandits found out.
Damn it! Damn it! Kill me! Kill me! Kill me already!
Damn it!
Shut up.
This really is a handy little gizmo. It has a charm you don't find in a katana.
A samurai that uses a gun is the lowest of the low!
Maybe I will kill you, like you want. The young lord did say to kill you.
Damn you!
It appears you haven't been favored with any followers.
Weren't there five samurai?
What?
Kyuzo, wasn't it? You're no more than a city dog.
You would do well to watch your words. Who was it that gave you this information?
Our snitch.
Let him have it! Let him have it! Fight! Fight!
Sorry.
Soube-dono, we will draw our own distinctions.
Right now, dealing with them is our first priority.
It's unavoidable.
If you guys don't kill me now, you'll regret it for sure! Nyah-nyah!
Dispose of him! He's so annoying, I can't stand it!
We can still make use of him.
The bandits who made Honoka their snitch were after our electric cells.
They seek to control the electric cells.
You knew about that?
You shouldn't underestimate us.
Letting an enemy move around freely so we can expose them is standard for us.
So did the news about us go straight to the bandits?
How come? Then, does that mean the story about your family being killed was a lie?
That was true. But...
But what?
The bandits have my sister!
So, she's the same as my wife.
They said that if I would just do what they told me to, they wouldn't hurt her.
And you believed them?!
It was so she could stay alive.
I can't... I can't understand this...
This is the exactly why your wife went over to the bandits, isn't it?
So that you could go on living?
I can't blame her.
For my part, I passed myself off as a performer, in order to go on living.
What did you divulge?
I told them that all of you were heading to Kanna Village.
How could you do that?!
Katsushiro-sama...!
Oh, my, are you sure you should be getting up already?
Mm-hmm. My fever appears to have subsided.
That medicine worked, huh?!
I'm going.
But...
The sensei has acknowledged me.
Unless I repay his kindness, I will not be able to escape criticism
that I am unprepared to follow the warrior's code.
So, what do we do with this woman?
Please, let her go.
But if we let her live, harm will come to the Shikimori!
You don't need to concern yourselves about us.
Honoka-dono...
We will reunite you with your sister.
Thank you so much!
Are you sure you're not going too easy on her?
It is not a samurai's place to pass judgment.
Shikimori...
Can we ask you to take care of Rikichi and Honoka-dono?
Very well.
Kyuzo...
Why did you cut down that bandit? Kanna Village is defying their authority.
We need to make this known as soon as possible.
Are you that hung up about that samurai?
Cutting down one destitute samurai will not earn you any fame.
I will not say anything to His Excellency.
As long as we're in Kogakyo, we will be secure. Come back.
Kyuzo...
He has done this?
Oh, dear. They've given up on him.
Ee-yow-ow-ow!
Kikuchiyo!
Kanbe-dono!
What?!
Kanbe-sama!
Ha-ha! Dirty tricks like taking hostages won't work against him!
What?
After all, you see,
he is-- no,
they are--
samurai, after all!
You got that, you bogus samurai?! Anyone who uses a gun is no samurai!
Kyuzo! If you want to cross your swords with him that badly,
then I'll stand with you. Fight your heart out.
Once you cut him down and return with me,
we will say nothing more about your arbitrary actions up to now.
And in the event that you are cut down, I will kill him.
And then, this task will come to an end.
Kanbe-sama!
Damn it!
Kyuzo!
Ah, that's much better! Thanks, Katsu-noji!
Katsushiro, how is your injury?
Sensei!
I'm fine now. The Shikimori led me here.
Hey!
We've come to help!
Here comes that loudmouth again!
You're in it now, samurai.
You're not going to get away with this.
Right now, Soube-dono is heading for the main shrine.
W- why... Kyuzo...?
I wanted to try living.
You miserable fool...!
Can I ask you to come with us?
When do we leave?
Right now.
You're leaving? We'll miss you.
The bandits now know about us. There isn't a moment to lose.
Kanbe-sama...
Don't worry. Wait for us here.
My sister and Rikichi-san's wife must surely be in the bandit's main sanctuary.
Let's go.
This man is our enemy!
I've heard some disconcerting rumors.
As such, I would like to confirm whether they are true or not.
Yes...
I've heard that you have hired samurai, and are planning to attack us.
Is this so?
That is ridiculous. Who on earth told you such a thing?
Lying to me won't do you any good.
I ain't lyin'.
We could burn your village down right now.
However, you can be grateful that, as your betters,
we are willing to offer you a reprieve.
In time, we will know the truth. That is, if any samurai come here...
When the samurai come here, say nothing, and bring them to us.
Do this, and we will go easier on you.
If you value your village, you know what to do, don't you?
Do not lift your gaze. Just go on living with your eyes fixed downward.
The old man merely gazed off into the distance
from the hideaway in which he lived.
The baby cries, seeking only
for the warmth of his mother.
We are born paying the price
for someone's punishment, for someone's sins,
but there is no such thing as a future without salvation,
and the present slips quietly into the past.
We string together nothing but hollow ideas,
and tell nothing but hollow lies.
And as the rain falls down upon us,
something appears and then fades away.
Okara-chan, the sixth samurai-sama has finally shown up!
Kyuzo, the funny-looking samurai that stood up to Uncle Kanbe long ago
has joined our side.
Kyuzo-sama is incredibly strong, but it looks like he enjoyed fighting with Uncle.
If that's the case, he should have joined us a long time ago.
He's a little peculiar.
He doesn't talk much, so I might not get along with him too well.
Kyuzo-sama wants Uncle really badly,
and that has Sister on edge, and me on pins and needles.
It's not good for everyone to be so concerned. We should get along.
Oh, yeah, Katsu-noji is up and at 'em again,
thanks to that strange medicine and some mushroom sap.
Just what you'd expect from those mysterious Shikimori.
They could go into business selling medicine.
Well, please tell Grandfather that we're going to cross the desert
and come to the village. Bye, now!