Kotarō, who has lost five of his 10 Fūma, visits Kokufūsai who had deserted the Fūma five years before. Instead of killing him according to the Fūma code, he tells him to destroy Shintarō. He takes his daughter, Yuri, hostage as guarantee and Kokufūsai agrees. At Kobotoke Pass, Shintarō happens to rescue Yuri from the Fūma. Unaware of this, Kokufūsai takes Shūsaku hostage and challenges Shintarō to a duel. But once he discovers Yuri is safe, both he and Shintarō realise there is no point to the duel and sheath their swords. Kotarō's plan ends in failure.
