Having made it through the stressful Sekisho, Rin must decide how to proceed. Should she follow Anotsu to Kaga? And where in Kaga? And so, hoarding her money, she strikes out across Japan alone, a dangerous prospect. Can she trust the "kindness" of others? Meanwhile, Manji is making shifty deals on his own with the fabulous Magatsu, if he can restrain himself from getting in a duel with the estranged Ittö-ryü bad boy. Each divergent path has a drama of its own in the continuing, award-winning saga that is Blade of the Immortal.