Seijuro Hiko Kenshin realizes he must continue his path alone and leaves the Aoiya inn, much to Misao's frustrations. She goes to the Shirobeko where she meets Kaoru and Yahiko. Kenshin, who has enlisted Okina's help to find someone, reunites with his former master, Hiko Seijuro, in the woods near the town. He asks Seijuro to teach him the final technique of the Hiten Mitsuruji Ryu to defeat Shishio, but Seijuro refuses. Sensing that his former student is desperate, he chastises Kenshin and reminds him that his abandonment of mastering the technique has led to his path as an Ishin Shishi, and subsequently, Shishio's rise to power...