At dawn in Anjiro, John Blackthorne kneels before Daimyo Kasigi Yabu while Father Sebastio interprets with open hostility. Blackthorne insists England and the Netherlands oppose Spain and Portugal, demands accurate translation, and gambles on intimidation. He claims passage via Magellan’s Strait using a stolen rutter and boasts of English and Dutch fleets threatening Manila.

Yabu and his lieutenants struggle with the priest’s poor Japanese and the geography. Yabu, intent on confiscating the ship and executing the pirates, weighs his hatred of barbarians against political constraints that protect Portuguese traders and priests. Before he can sentence them, Blackthorne lunges, snaps the Jesuit’s crucifix, and bellows defiance. Yabu halts the guards, surprised by such sacrilege.

Omi privately argues the foreigners’ anti-Christian stance could be useful against Christian rivals like Ikawa Jikkyu and, by extension, Ishido. Yabu suppresses his urge to torture, deciding instead to exploit the newcomers while “teaching them manners,” particularly targeting Blackthorne. He orders the ship seized and the men taken away.

The crew are crammed into a stinking fish cellar. Blackthorne imposes watches and considers escaping when a ladder returns, while memories of recent bathing and massage flicker amid his calculations. Above, footsteps come and go, heightening their tension.

As tempers fray, the men debate Blackthorne’s provocation; Spillbergen weakly recovers, and the zealot Jan Roper condemns Papists as God’s enemies. Desperate, they shout for water. Omi arrives with Mura and the priest; instead of relief, a barrel of rotting offal is dumped on them. Sebastio relays Omi’s terms: silence or escalating punishment; food and water twice daily; lives spared if they serve Yabu; one must die at dusk by their own choice—anyone except Blackthorne. The trap shuts as Omi notes Blackthorne’s unbroken resolve.