Blackthorne greets Fujiko, ashamed he had forgotten her, and examines her burn wounds from the fire. He finds them healing remarkably and resolves to learn the treatment. Using his multilingual dictionary, he helps Fujiko communicate more clearly, strengthening their rapport. He then departs to see Toranaga, briefly meeting a distant, preoccupied Mariko during a heavy rain.

With Toranaga, Blackthorne reports Erasmus ready for sea and outlines manning needs. Toranaga promises to grant vassals later and orders Blackthorne to wait in the castle, deferring any move to Nagasaki. After dismissing Blackthorne, Toranaga confronts Mariko about a quarrel with Buntaro; she confesses provoking him and repeats his claim that Sudara should assume power if Toranaga will not yield.

Toranaga summons Sudara and Lady Genjiko. Before they arrive, Chano, Naga’s mother and a Buddhist nun, briefly appears, grounding the scene. When Sudara and Genjiko enter, Toranaga accuses them of treasonous ambition. He orders them to kill their children as proof of obedience; they prepare to comply, but Toranaga reveals the children were preemptively moved to safety, withdrawing the command and declaring the test necessary to know them and his heir.

At midnight, Toranaga gathers senior generals and counselors under strict disarmament. In the tense council, General Serata Kiyoshio indicts Toranaga’s Osaka decision as treason to clan honor and accepts seppuku. The counselor Isamu also accepts death should Toranaga go to Osaka. A fearful monk-administrator, Numata, is ordered to kill himself for lying about his fear. Toranaga asserts absolute authority and, in a shock, removes Sudara as heir before departing.

Afterward, Sudara urges patience and fidelity until Hiro-matsu arrives in days, and the assembly moves to honor the fallen Kiyoshio. Alone, Toranaga acknowledges the peril of contagious treason and fear, resolves to cauterize them, and waits on Zataki’s answer while maintaining his mask of weakness.