Blackthorne reaches Yokohama and confronts Erasmus’s charred hull. Vinck, unhinged by fear and loss, rants, brandishes a pistol, then collapses dead. Blackthorne buries him, performs a sea purification, and sees the camp anxiously on alert. A carrier pigeon narrowly escapes a hawk, but even that small victory cannot pierce his despair.

Toranaga arrives at speed with banners, guards, and Father Alvito. He rebukes the disgraced regiment, probes Yabu and Naga about the inexplicable Izu-night watch failure, and notes suspicions of sabotage. He restrains Blackthorne from attacking Alvito, then pointedly releases him to choose; Blackthorne confronts but does not kill the priest. Toranaga privately reassures Kiri, meets Lady Sazuko and his infant, and quietly confirms Yabu as Musket Regiment commander.

In private, Toranaga eases Buntaro’s jealousy by revealing he had ordered a divorce for Mariko after Osaka, and that Blackthorne preserved her honor in the siege. He gathers reports from Osaka samurai and Kiri; Kiri also relays Lady Ochiba’s message that Yaemon does not wish to lead armies against Toranaga, a potential strategic opening. Alone, Toranaga reflects that he himself ordered Erasmus’s destruction as proof of sincerity to Christian powers and to help draw Ishido from Osaka.

Toranaga compels Alvito to interpret under oath and listens through the night as Blackthorne recounts Osaka: the ninja assault, Mariko’s deliberate seppuku to force a crisis, and the priests’ power over his fate. After dismissing Alvito, Toranaga drives Blackthorne to swim and eat, then gives him Mariko’s letter. In it, Mariko declares her love, accepts the ship’s loss to save Blackthorne, and urges him to build another.

Energized, Blackthorne proposes a smaller fighting ship—about six months to build if Toranaga supplies carpenters, smiths, timber, iron, and gunpowder. Toranaga agrees to men, money, and seamen, and they plan to salvage Erasmus’s cannon. Secretly they set a target: next year’s Black Ship. Toranaga salutes Blackthorne as an equal and departs. Blackthorne, revived, begins planning the design and christens his future vessel “The Lady.”