Mugen, Jin, and Fuu are once again starving. Along the path is a monk ringing a charity bell. Jin apologizes for they have nothing to give the monk, and they have had nothing to eat. The monk perks up and offers them a job.

In exchange, the monk gives them a place to sleep and eat. The monk kindly asks Mugen to do some chores, and he throws a fit being given orders. He knocks over a Buddha statue.

As Fuu runs an errand, she overhears a mob talking about another murder. The mob calls the murderer "Tsujigiri," for one who kills a passerby to test his/her blade. Skilled samurai have been the targets and a reward of 10 ryou has been set.

Fuu brings word back to the temple. Jin declines, but it sparks an interest with Mugen and he takes off. Fuu follows, while Jin is left to clean the Buddha.

They ask around for details and for whom the strongest samurai is in town. The man replies Momoi Seishirou the "Human electricity." Mugen finds Momoi and "confronts" his posse. Momoi begs for forgiveness, because his title was made up.

Fuu finds a man along the river who had seen Munetada's corpse. He said that Munetada's body had no wounds, but blood flowed from every orifice.

Out on the bridge, the tsujigiri is stopped by a group of thugs, who challenge him. The tsujigiri says he has no interest in killing the weak. A thug attacks him, and is instantly put to death. The tsujigiri casually walks through and the thugs take off running. Mugen, however, sees the man.

At the temple, Jin is chopping firewood. As he cleaves a block, one half spirals towards the monks head. The monk catches the block and Jin is puzzled.

Mugen finds a rag-tag spot to drink and asks for sake. He only has enough for one shot, but the man next to him offers his own. He drops the pitcher, but Mugen catches it and graciously helps himself to the remainder. Mugen questions the man about the tsujigiri, but he blows him off. Mugen wonders why he would fight only the strong, but the man is not sure either. But he tells Mugen a story.

A master mountain climber would climb the highest mountains, but no one had ever seen the mountains he climbed. So, they never knew the greatness. He continued to climb higher and higher. He than lived on the mountain and became evil...

They cross back over the bridge. As he parts with the man, Mugen draws his sword, and so does the tsujigiri. The man breathes in deep and a gust of wind flashes from his sword. Mugen barely dodges the attack, and he stops. The guards are alerted of the tsujigiri, and he retreats. But, he says that they will meet Mugen on the bridge again at the next full moon. Mugen stares at his palms, which have been cut.

Fuu joins Jin and the monk. She tells them what she has learned. Out of nowhere Jin draws his sword and slashes at the monk's head. He dodges. Jin knows that the monk is hiding something. Mugen joins them and tells them about his encounter.

The monk finally speaks and says the tsujigiri is a man named Shouryuu, who was once his disciple, Ukon. Ukon was dedicated to the martial arts, but he was lost at sea. He washed upon an island, where he learned a new technique. Ten years later, he returned as a different person, Shouryuu. He learned that his old martial art was weak compared to the Hakkei he had learned. He believed that the samurai were weak, and he wanted to teach them true martial arts.

During a practice, Shouryuu killed one of the students of his old dojo. He believed the martial arts were meant for killing, and he was expelled. He blamed his master's fear for getting expelled. He traveled the lands looking for another school, but was always turnded away. Not being a able to save the student that day, the master turned to priesthood.

Knowing what he is up against, Mugen begins to train in his own manner. Fuu comments that she has never seen Mugen train like this. Jin says that it is because Mugen is unsure if he can defeat Shouryuu.

The monk approaches Mugen as he is training. He says that Shouryuu uses ki, not a sword. It's called Kacchuu Kudaki. But if it doesn't hit, it cant do anything.

On the next full moon, Mugen heads out. Fuu reminds him of his promise. Jin tells him that he is the one who will kill him.

Shouryuu is waiting on the bridge. He explains that he will teach everyone what strong is. Mugen says he needs no explanation, and they fight.

Shouryuu asks Mugen why he wanted to fight him. He says that it was once because of his presence, but now it's for fun. As they stand-off, Mugen emmulates Shouryuu's technique. Enraged that his hands have been cut, Shouryuu charges at Mugen. As Mugen pretends to be out, Mugen stabs Shouryuu with a hidden dagger. The monk finally has some peace.

Notes:
The Tsujigiri's stance is very foreign.

Jin reminds Mugen that he will be the one to kill him.

Mugen trains himself through his own methods and teaches himself Shouryuu's Hakkei technique.