Makabe Rokurota, a loyal retainer of Princess Yuki-hime, has been commissioned to transport Yuki-hime and Akizuki's ample treasury of gold bars safely to the politically stable Hayakawa. They disguise themselves as humble firewood peddlers, hiding the gold bars inside the logs they are carrying so as to pass safely through roadblocks set up by Yamana, which is under the control of Takayama Gyobu, whose attire bears a striking resemblance to that of
