Before dawn, a black-clad assassin infiltrates Toranaga’s inner fortress using a rope and the correct password, silently killing guards. Kiri glimpses him and raises the alarm as he races to a sleeping chamber and attacks the figure on the futon. The target proves agile; when samurai arrive, Naga interposes himself before Blackthorne. Cornered, the attacker invokes Amida and commits suicide; Naga decapitates him and reveals an Amida Tong tattoo.

Naga executes the shocked officer of the watch, orders the failed watch punished, and confirms Blackthorne is unhurt. Reporting to Toranaga, Naga is fined half his revenue and ordered to depart immediately for Yedo; Toranaga demotes the watch, forbids their seppuku, and has the dead guards dragged for shame. He quadruples his own guards, cancels outings, and doubles Blackthorne’s protection, concluding the assassin’s true target was Blackthorne.

Toranaga reflects on Blackthorne’s value and his earlier measures: placing Blackthorne in Kiri’s care and secretly attempting to extract an imprisoned Spanish monk. The monk has died just as retrieval was ordered, leading Toranaga to suspect Christian silencing. He recalls arranging the staged bandit ambush to thwart Ishido’s attempted transfer of Blackthorne, underscoring the stakes around the pilot’s knowledge.

At dawn on the battlements, Lady Sazuko serves tea as Toranaga privately questions Yabu about the Amida Tong. Yabu explains their secrecy and hiring methods. Tested on loyalty and ambition, Yabu admits Ishido tempted him with Suruga but declares himself Toranaga’s ally, proposing a regiment of 500 gunners and 20 cannon trained by Blackthorne. Hiro-matsu denounces the plan as dishonorable and premature amid mobilizations.

Toranaga haggles terms: secrecy in Izu near Anjiro, carrier-pigeon links, Yabu’s command with Toranaga’s deputy, and Blackthorne as trainer under Toranaga’s authority. Yabu swears obedience, and they seal the bargain by urinating together from the parapet, recalling a pact with the Taikō. After Yabu leaves to prepare departure by galley with guns and Blackthorne, Hiro-matsu furiously condemns the deal. Toranaga refuses his seppuku request and orders him to summon the Jesuit interpreter, Tsukku, then laughs, holding his course.