Blackthorne is led from his cell as a monk urges a last confession, but instead of being taken to execution he is turned away from the crosses and marched through Osaka by Ishido’s Gray-clad samurai. Euphoric at his reprieve, he notes their allegiance and, amid brief memories of the Armada and Alban Caradoc, marvels at the city’s orderliness. Exhausted, he uses Japanese phrases learned in prison to request a pause, and the guards procure a kaga to carry him.

In a wooded district, another unit of apparent Grays arrives, exchanges formalities, then suddenly ambushes Blackthorne’s escort. The newcomers slaughter all ten guards, don masks, and reveal themselves as bandits who strip the uniforms and prepare to march Blackthorne toward the city, dismissing the terrified porters.

Near the forest edge they encounter a mixed force of Browns and Grays led by Kasigi Yabu. After a tense standoff and threats against Blackthorne, Yabu orders a charge; the bandits break and flee into the brush. None are caught, but Blackthorne is secured.

With no interpreter present, Yabu argues with an Ishido-aligned captain over who controls Blackthorne. Yabu weighs the wider power struggle—Toranaga’s silence, Ishido’s spreading influence and covert offers, and the potential to exploit Blackthorne’s seamanship.

Seizing agency, Blackthorne speaks halting Japanese to deny he is a prisoner, declare himself Toranaga’s friend, and demand a bath and escort to the castle. He climbs into Yabu’s palanquin to enforce the choice, to general amusement, and the party prepares to move on.