The samurai must leave the caves to rescue Kikuchiyo, but as soon as they reach daylight, the towering machines ambush them. Clearly a traitor is in their midst.
The first battle has finally arrived. Are the villagers ready? Or has all of their hard work been in vain? They will find out only when their defenses are tested at last.
The fight against the Capital continues, with both sides suffering major losses. Saving the village now will take more costly sacrifices. What will happen to the survivors who must bury their fallen friends?
Knowing that the Nobuseri will be searching for them soon, Kambei decides the group must go to Kanna. To avoid detection, they divide into small groups and take three separate paths to the village.
Kanna is bombarded by rainfall as the Bandits make their final assault on the village. They attack from every direction, and in the battle's furious climax, it becomes clear that not all of the samurai will survive.
With Kambei pardoned, Sanae and Muzuki freed, and peace promised to Kanna, it seems the samurai's work is done. But Maro has a warning: the true struggle has only just begun.
The group has gotten the Magistrate's attention and he orders them executed, farmers and samurai alike. As they battle a string of assassins, Kambei encounters a silent, skilled samurai he is determined to recruit.
In addition to the Capital's terrifying Mujou Gun, Ukyo has created a fleet of Nobuseri drones. Undaunted by the impossible odds, Kambei drives the samurai directly into the heart of the massive fleet.
Kambei's frustrated group hears of a wandering, moneyless man who chops wood with his sword to pay for meals. As they soon learn, that is only the start of this nomad's peculiar, rice-loving, philosophizing ways.
Kirara feels she's pushed Katsushiro into making his first kill before he was ready. Meanwhile, the village debates what to do with the traitor, and only Kikuchiyo's surprising revelation can reunite the group.