I'll never be easily loved...
Am I just too clumsy?
That girl who looks good in pink...
Is that who you want?
Is red not good enough?
The rabbit with red eyes runs away.
Even though I loved you so much...
If I'm sad, I'm going to die.
The rabbit that you like...
...isn't on the moon. It's just a rabbit...
The wings of hatred will not stop so long as the heart makes waves.
I want to tell you something before Takayoshi comes back.
Because of my weakness, we banished a man to the darkness.
If because of that, misfortune should fall upon you...
...I don't want you to blame that man.
Because it is my father and I who are at fault.
Grandpa?
We must just accept it, if we don't want to lose everything.
What did you wish for?
That no misfortune should fall upon anyone.
Conquest
Mutenichi-ryu Asano Dojo
Golden Wasps!
You have trained so hard...
I, Kuroi Sabato, am deeply moved.
Although trying to defeat me with that technique is but a dream of dreams.
So beautiful...
It's like gazing upon the face of a goddess.
It was worth waiting these two years.
I shall take my leave for now.
You're running away?
I trust in the Buddha of immeasurable light You're running away?
I trust in the Buddha of immeasurable light
What I desire is your heart.
Until that wish is fulfilled, I will have you survive.
You there, girl. Who sleeps in that grave?
I can sense your thirst for blood from back here.
But within your thirst lies a deep despair.
My father sleeps here.
I wish to avenge his death.
How noble. How trifling.
Even so, nobility and trifles are not useful tools of revenge.
The most essential thing is...
...strength that is nearly inhuman.
Does this person even exist?
He looks like a total moron.
Hyaku, come on...
Shut up!
What about this?
That's the same as before. Look.
Stop horsing around, Shinriji. You cheated, didn't you?
I didn't . We aren't betting money to begin with, so why would I cheat?
Then why haven't I won once?
So, Hyakurin...
...did you see that guy?
No, what I saw was the aftermath.
The Hundred-man Slayer, huh?
I think I'd get along with him.
If he joins us.
It'd be a problem if a guy like that became our enemy.
Either way, sitting here and talking about it won't do anything.
I'll talk to the guys at the top.
You sound awfully confident.
It's better not to make a move till then.
I know.
You woke up, huh?
Whatever.
Don't come out yet. The splinters'll head that way.
Okay...
Do you do them all that way?
Hell no.
Oh, I see...
Sorry, it's burned.
What's wrong? It's delicious.
Thank you.
You're really not that scary, which is a relief.
You're Manji, right?
An old lady named Yaobikuni told me about you.
You won't die no matter who you fight with, right?
Pretty much.
That means you're really strong, right?
Well, that's 'cause...
Please! I need your help!
My father was a samurai and was killed by people called the ltto-ryu.
Also, my mother...
I want to destroy the ltto-ryu with my own hands...
...and get my mother back from them.
But I can't do it on my own...
That old lady told me.
That a strong man named Manji vowed to kill 1,000 evil men.
She said if I asked, he would help me out.
Gossiping old hag.
I beg you!
Please help me destroy the ltto-ryu!
Go on home before it gets dark.
Could it be... you want money?
I'm not talking about money.
This happened a long time ago.
I helped out a villain and killed many innocent people.
I don't want to do that anymore.
So if I'm gonna do it, I gotta know who's good and who's evil.
Right...
So who's bad?
Your father and those ltto-ryu guys... Who's bad and who's good?
Well, that's ...
Obviously it has to be them, right?
But who's to say?
When people are telling their own story, of course they're the righteous ones.
I don't wanna be the co-conspirator of some " saint" who's playing the victim.
I do that, and I'm just another criminal.
But they...
Wasn't your father a samurai too?
There's no good or evil when samurai kill each other.
I understand what you're saying, Manji.
But...
It's frustrating. There were so many of them.
And to kill him like that... That way...
Talk to me.
What you saw with those eyes of yours... What you heard with those ears...
Tell me everything that happened.
Manji...
Infinity.
Mother, it's already past nine.
Maybe Father is having an affair.
What are you saying, child?
I said to him this morning, "Father, I turn fourteen today."
He promised me that he'd come home early.
Didn't you hear about the special meeting at the dojo tonight?
Something about those attacks on the other schools.
Those men attacking the other schools...
It's rumored that they used to be our dojo's students... Is that true?
I'm not really sure.
Father!
Rin, get back...
Mother, it's Father!
Honey!
Forget about me.
Both of you, hurry and run...
So in other words, what you were saying is...
..."We won't surrender to you bastards." Right?
I must defend my school.
I understand these things all too well.
But it's all for naught.
All the followers of the Mutenichi-ryu, except for you alone...
...have been killed.
H-How could you...
I swear I'll kill you all... even if it costs my life...
"Even if it costs my life..."
What should we make of this simple, honest reply?
Kuroi.
Yes, sir.
Wait!
Why are you doing this? Why the Mutenichi-ryu?
I heard that your style has the same origins as our own.
How can you make peace with your ancestors after this betrayal?
Interesting words just now.
Damn you... Don't touch my wife...
Master Asano, you will die tonight. So I'll tell you this now.
Then you can watch us from the realm of the dead.
This is the beginning of our long, long drama of conquest.
Fifty years ago...
My grandfather, Anotsu Saburo, and your father, Asano Takayuki...
...were rival kengo over the Mutenichi-ryu's secret teachings...
...which were granted only once a generation.
The bandits who attacked them were all defeated.
Asano killed four, and Anotsu nine.
But...
Expelled?
I do not understand!
It is not about technique.
Anotsu, it is simply that the essence of your swordsmanship is lacking.
You must have seen it on that night!
My swordsmanship surpassed Takayuki's !
And yet...
I see your true intentions now!
You talk of " essence" and such now, but the truth is...
...it's because Takayuki is your son.
You never had any intention of sharing the secrets with an outsider like me!
Mutenichi-ryu Certificate of Initiation You never had any intention of sharing the secrets with an outsider like me!
Anotsu, you know the words of the Mutenichi-ryu doctrine.
"Skill with the sword begins with decorum."
No matter how strong they may be...
...those who scoff at form can never comprehend the way of the sword.
But...
In battle the other day, you fought with a sword in each hand.
One was a blade from foreign lands.
Our Mutenichi-ryu has no tradition of two-sword techniques!
Moreover, it is inexcusable to use a foreign blade!
I did that to protect you!
Takayuki, say something!
I know you agree with me!
Takayuki!
Anotsu, you are the son of a cloth merchant.
Your confusion regarding these concepts is understandable.
But if we do not preserve our teachings, Mutenichi-ryu cannot stand!
Mercy... Please have mercy!
I...
I defended you!
Y-You bastard...
Why?
Master Asano, what do you think of the way of the sword?
If this were the Warring States Period...
Even then, would you stand by customs and formality?
It wouldn't be like living in a peaceful society.
If you don't win, you die. The way of the sword is the way to victory.
When I look at you, it becomes perfectly clear...
...what happens when people forget that.
The contempt suffered by one expelled from a distinguished samurai's school...
...runs far deeper than we think.
The stronger a swordsman is, the lower he falls.
There's no way back to the light, ever.
I understand what you're saying...
...but that was fifty years ago.
And my father, Takayuki...
...was tortured by his own weakness till the very end.
It doesn't matter what you say. We've made our decision.
I will destroy every sword school in the country...
...and unify them under the ltto-ryu.
What? Have you lost your mind?
So, Master Asano, it's time for you to die. Are you ready?
Once we're finished here, have your way with the wife.
You bastard...
Got that?
Yeah.
However, don't touch the daughter.
I think you'll agree that assaulting children is vulgar.
Anotsu Kagehisa, you're scum!
Honey!
The bell rings against a heartless sky.
The raven caws, "No mercy."
All walk the path that leads to nothingness.
Is this the way of the samurai? Ganging up on someone like this?
Don't get the wrong idea. The only two who fought were Anotsu and Kuroi.
Take your own life. If you're the wife of a samurai, it's your duty.
Magatsu, stop taking charge.
We don't like wasting our time like you.
You think we're here for idle chitchat?
If you want a woman, why don't you just go to a brothel...
...instead of taking someone's wife in a place like this.
Taking a man's wife in a place like this is what makes it interesting.
You're such a kid.
What?
As you can see, this woman has no intention of killing herself.
Do as you please.
Don't kill her...
Don't kill my mother...
Close your eyes and cover your ears.
Does it hurt?
Are you ready to throw it all away for revenge?
Then prove it right now.
If it hurts so much, prove how serious you are about this.
B-But...
What's wrong? You all talk?
Then do whatever you want with me.
Sorry.
Goodbye.
Wait.
Let's go.
Right.
Will Manji save the girl...
...or will it be the girl who saves Manji?
Either way, it's the fate life brings.
Sadly, I awakened...
Overflowing reality is just...
...more of the empty lies.
To be honest, I have to get ready for the next one.
The morning slides in from the window.
Regardless of what I see, I remember.
I remember...
The unchanging wind always...
...just said this as it passed by...
"What's needed for this endless journey?"
Where should I go?
Infinite Preview
Love Song