Introduction[]
The Yorozuya, together with Kondo and Hijikata, fight through the forces of Yato to protect the Shogun's path for escape. While at the same time, Sarutobi struggles to save an injured Hattori.
Plot[]
After saving Hattori, Sarutobi throws a smoke bomb at the Kiheitai. Through the smoke, the rest of the Oniwabanshuu attack them and the bespectacled ninja flees with the injured man. Meanwhile, on the cliff walkway, the Shogun struggles with the fact that his friends and retainers were dying while he can do nothing but flee. Gintoki consoles him by stating that Hattori will survive thanks to their buddy (Sarutobi) and Shige Shige himself will survive thank to his buddies (Yorozuya) just as four Yato burst through the walkway's roof to surround them. Back with the two ninja, Hattori admits that his plan failed because he severely underestimated the Kiheitai. He tells Sarutobi to flee without him but she adamantly refuses, demanding that he still had one more job to do - that he and everyone else must stay alive so they all can return to Edo.
On the walkway, the Yato attack and in response, the Yorozuya and Shige Shige jump off the walkway, except Gintoki and Kagura who double back to strike at two of them. The other two jump after Shinpachi and Shige Shige but before GIntoki can chase them, he and Kagura are caught by the two they just fought, unfazed by the strikes. Just as the other two Yato reach Shinpachi and the Shogun, they are stabbed through the cliff-face by Hijikata and Kondou, who were able to survive and escape the ninja traps. But the two officers are surprised that the Yato were still moving as they still tried to target the Shogun. The two 7th division members were finished off when their two brethren were knocked into them by Gintoki and Kagura, who followed after. The six meet up on the ground to see the walkway they were on completely filled by the 7th division. The Shinsengumi duo and the Yorozuya admit that they will risk their lives for the Shogun but refuse to die together. Shinpachi and Shige Shige mainly flee while Kondou, Hijikata, Kagura, and Gintoki fight off the Yato; the four sustain injuries and are even saved at one point by the Shogun's kunai throws.
Back on the Kiheitai ship, the remaining Oniwabanshuu flee and Matoko chases after them with some of the Kiheitai. Takechi tells her group to be careful as she may fall into the ninja's trap to separate them, but Takasugi tells the strategist to let them do as they pleased as he believes its the last hurrah for the Shogun's faction. He starts to leave and tells the curious Takechi that in order for the Hitotsubashi-Kiheitai alliance's plan to succeed, they must destroy their biggest obstacle to it, Gintoki. Back with the Shogun's group, Shige Shige once again helps take down some of the Yato along with the teamwork the group exhibits. The six are surrounded and Gintoki states his surprise that they were being helped by the Shogun; Shige Shige responds that this is what friends do, protect each other's backs. They are interrupted by the arrival of Abuto, who admits his surprise that his division was having trouble against them, and for doing so, he will wipe them out just like the ninja he was fighting against sometime before, holding up (unbeknownst to him) puppet Momochi's head.
Gintoki states the head would not be a great guide and the head explodes. The stunned Yato are cut in half by the puppet-turned-shurikan wielded by the real Momochi. They take this chance to flee and Momochi reveals that the group that was slaughtered by the Yato division were the corpses of Fujibayashi's ninja reanimated by the puppeteer. The real ninja start to attack the division before they chased the seven and Abuto, now without his prosthetic arm, angrily follows. As the group runs towards a bridge, Momochi gives directions to a statue that leads to a secret exit out of the ninja lands so they can escape with the shogun. Halfway across, she destroys the bridge, separating the Yorozuya and Shige Shige from her, saying that she would stall the Yato division while they escape. Hijikata and Kondou, who were accidentally caught in her attack and trapped on her side of the bridge, decide to help and give the Yorozuya the "job" of protecting the Shogun. Gintoki accepts the "job" and they and the Shogun run off, stating they will make it back alive.
Sarutobi and Hattori reach the statue guarding the secret exit and after pressing a switch to reveal a tunnel, Sarutobi is stabbed from behind by Takasugi and shot by Kamui coming out of the tunnel. Tekechi had foresaw a potential exit and had contacted Kamui and some of the Yato division to blockade the other side. Kamui was happy to be involved as he saw an interesting moment, showing his umbrella gun was stabbed with a kunai. Takechi is stunned to see that Sarutobi was shot in the shoulder instead of the head because of the ninja weapon, belonging to Hattori. The injured Oniwabanshuu boss threatens them, but the Kiheitai strategist ignores him, about to command the Kiheitai to kill the two ninja. He is struck in the hand by a kunai, followed by a rain of them killing most of the Kiheitai men. Takasugi and Kamui block the falling knives, aware of the fact that the metal shower was a distraction to attack the two leaders. The two males abruptly aim their weapons at Hattori (who had hid himself under a corpse that fell between them) and tell him that his tricks are over. Hattori instead tells them that he had set up one last "trick" that was perfect for them. The "trick" is Kagura and Gintoki running down the cliff towards Kamui and Takasugi respectively.
Characters[]
- Hattori Zenzou
- Sarutobi Ayame
- Oniwabanshuu
- Kiheitai (Takasugi Shinsuke, Kijima Matako, Kawakami Bansai, Takechi Henpeita)
- 7thdivision (Abuto, Kamui)
- Tokugawa Shige Shige
- Sakata Gintoki
- Shimura Shinpachi
- Kagura
- Kondou Isao
- Hijikata Toushirou
- Iga (Momochi Rappa)