Blackthorne seizes command of Toranaga’s galley as the Santa Theresa bears down, the harbor narrowed by hostile fishing boats. With Yabu keeping the ronin ready and oarsmen spent, Blackthorne sets a precise course by moonlight, arms muskets, fuses powder kegs as last resort, and readies to fight through fire arrows. Fujiko brings him saké while he gauges the frigate’s tacks.

Following Santiago’s briefing, Blackthorne executes Rodrigues’s plan: he aligns the galley alongside the frigate to race the gauntlet under her lee, where archers hesitate after setting the frigate’s sails briefly aflame. The oarsmen and ronin push to the limit as grapnels and swamping boats threaten, but discipline and speed keep them moving.

Near reefs and fishing boats, Rodrigues edges the frigate toward collision, testing Blackthorne. With rocks to port and the frigate to starboard, Blackthorne fires a pistol shot across the Santa Theresa’s quarterdeck, forcing Rodrigues to yield. Rodrigues chooses not to kill him and gives way; the ships clear the channel together and escape into open water.

Aboard the frigate, Mariko translates as Toranaga studies guns and rigging, then insists on returning to his own vessel. Ferriera is displeased, orders stand-down after they part, and warns Rodrigues he will regret sparing the English pilot. Rodrigues accepts his decision, reflecting that with Blackthorne, heresy has entered Eden, while Ferriera pushes to make record time for Macao.