After the bloody dockside fight, Toranaga’s disguised ronin clear the galley, douse flares, and form defenses while Browns hold a breakwater against approaching Grays. Toranaga appears in armor, boards with calm authority, and city signal fires flare as Osaka wakes to his escape. Yabu takes command to cast off.

Buntaro and the girl Sono burst from the dark under pursuit, reach the jetty, and Buntaro smashes the attackers while ship archers cut down the rest. As the galley edges away, Blackthorne begs to return for Buntaro; Yabu refuses. Blackthorne improvises, launching a great oar to help them. Sono tries to ride it but loses her grip and drowns; the ship cannot go back.

Alone on the wharf, Buntaro removes his arms and prepares seppuku. Mariko, wounded but conscious, tells Blackthorne, “He’s preparing to commit seppuku,” and explains the necessity of avoiding capture and the ritual’s honor. Supported by her niece, Usagi Fujiko, she laments that Buntaro lacks a second. The galley rows seaward, where Blackthorne spots fishing boats crammed with samurai blocking the harbor mouth.

As Browns falter ashore, four mounted allies race in with a spare horse. Toranaga publicly orders Buntaro to escape. Torn between honorable death and obedience, Buntaro abandons the dagger, mounts, and flees under escort with Grays in pursuit. Laughter and relief ripple across the galley—Toranaga, Yabu, and even Mariko—while Blackthorne rails at the cost in lives.

The mirth ends abruptly when the bow lookout cries alarm, confirming fresh danger ahead as the galley bears down on enemy-held waters.