After surviving a poisoning attempt and being rescued by a mysterious man named Gisuke, the shinobi Kinoto finds herself caught in a power struggle between the vengeful Magoroku and his rival, Rihei. When confronted by the deadly assassin Karyuu, Kinoto refuses to fight and instead warns her that Magoroku is untrustworthy, urging the assassin to look beyond her orders to discover who her true enemy really is.