After landing, Yabu forces the pace along a dangerous cliff path while six samurai watch John Blackthorne closely. They reach the lee of a headland and send scouts toward a distant village, then spot Rodrigues wedged above the surf, still clinging to a broken oar. The drop is sheer and the tide is flooding. When Blackthorne nearly slips, he realizes the samurai are guarding him for his value as pilot.

Challenged, Yabu rejects waiting for ropes and climbs down himself, partly to dominate Blackthorne and partly to win his allegiance. He falls the last distance, twists an ankle, yet reaches Rodrigues and discovers him alive. Yabu orders Takatashi to fetch a stretcher and a doctor. As the tide races in and escape disappears, Yabu accepts likely death and composes himself for it.

Above, Blackthorne fights the samurai’s fatalism. He tears clothing into an improvised rope and, searching methodically, spots a narrow ledge just above the tide line. Unable to get Yabu’s attention, the samurai collectively bow; one suddenly leaps to his death, shocking Yabu from his trance.

Yabu drags Rodrigues through the surf to the tiny ledge and holds on against repeated waves. The makeshift rope is too short, and they wait as darkness falls. After nearly an hour, Takatashi returns with proper ropes; the samurai rig a cradle and execute a skillful cliff rescue. A doctor resets Rodrigues’s fractured leg and dresses the wounds with herbs while Yabu refuses assistance and sits, composed.

Blackthorne thanks Yabu—"Thank you for saving his life"—and bows; Yabu bows back, inwardly pleased. The rescue forges a grudging respect between them, even as Yabu’s private ambitions to master barbarian ships and pilots take deeper root.