In the hour before dawn, ninja silently infiltrate the Browns’ keep, killing sleeping guards and signaling further waves. A second force rises from garden culverts and the battlements; a wounded ninja commits suicide rather than be captured. While Sumiyori makes rounds, Yabu—bound by a secret bargain with Ishido—murders him and opens a concealed cellar door to admit a larger ninja unit, then shouts “Ninja!” to cover his complicity.

As fighting erupts across levels, ninja overwhelm positions with shuriken, chains, and fire bombs. Earlier, Yabu checks on Blackthorne, Mariko, Kiri, and Achiko; they prepare for the promised dawn departure, wary yet hopeful. The attack surges toward the audience room, seeking Mariko alive.

When red-spot ninja burst too soon, Blackthorne shoots their leader and a Gray captain dies buying seconds for retreat. Kiri leads Mariko, Blackthorne, Achiko, Lady Etsu, and maids toward Toranaga’s hidden iron refuge; Chimmoko dies resisting the pursuit. Barricaded, the ninja demand surrender, claiming they only want Blackthorne. Mariko realizes she is the true target, stops Blackthorne from yielding, and he struggles to unbolt a side door to the battlement.

Pressed for time, the new ninja leader ignites powder, blowing in the main door. The blast stuns Blackthorne and mortally wounds Mariko. Per orders, the leader kills Achiko, spares the others, scatters caltrops, and withdraws under a horn call as Browns counterattack through smoke and fire.

In the aftermath, Kiri and Sazuko tend the wounded. Blackthorne blesses Mariko before collapsing; she dies. Yabu summons a doctor and then hears Lady Etsu publicly attest that Ishido dishonorably attacked, that Blackthorne saved them, and that Mariko and Achiko chose honor over capture. Asking Yabu’s aid, Lady Etsu commits suicide from the battlement to seal her testimony.