Weakness and Strength Gabimaru believes that the elixir of immortality, Tokijiku no Kagunomi, does exist after seeing the chief of the Iwagakure survive a series of fatal injuries. As he and Sagiri arrive in the shore of their destination, he tells her that the elixir may not come from this place. Suddenly they come under attack from the condemned criminal Twisted Keiun, a weapons expert accompanied by the Yamada Asaemon Kisho. Gabimaru survives all of his attacks and brutally kills Keiun with his own weapons, even with his hands tied at Sagiri's insistence. As Kisho heads back to the boat with Keiun's severed head, he tells Sagiri that the criminals have already began killing each other and predicts that shortly almost all will be eliminated, however this only means that the Iwagakure will be sent in their place. After Kisho's departure, Gabimaru attacks Sagiri with a sword so he can find the elixir unhindered but finds himself unable to deliver the killing blow. They both realize that he is not hollow and still has emotions as a result of his love for his wife - that accepting emotions is not a weakness but a strength. Elsewhere, the criminal Tamiya Gantetsusai is stung by what looks like a human-faced butterfly and quickly severs his left-hand which withers and sprouts flowers. Both he and Gabimaru are confronted by strange monsters and simultaneously surrounded by bizarre creatures.