Facing starvation at the hands of the Nobuseri, the farmers of Kanna Village send Kirara, Komachi, and Rikichi on a journey to find samurai who will protect their people.
The young, untried samurai Katsushiro volunteers his services to Kirara - and gets a chance to prove his worth when Kirara is kidnapped by the Magistrate's son.
Since the Great War ended, samurai struggle to find new ways to survive. For one battle-scarred man, that means entertainment, exploiting his skills for daily bread. He may be exactly what the farmers need.
The group has gotten the Magistrate's attention and he orders them executed, farmers and samurai alike. As they battle a string of assassins, Kambei encounters a silent, skilled samurai he is determined to recruit.
Kambei's frustrated group hears of a wandering, moneyless man who chops wood with his sword to pay for meals. As they soon learn, that is only the start of this nomad's peculiar, rice-loving, philosophizing ways.
After the Imperial Envoy is murdered, a citywide hunt for all samurai begins. The team plans a fast escape, but blundering Kikuchiyo seizes the moment to prove himself to the team.
Kambei leads the samurai into a city of relaxation and pays a visit to an old friend from the Great War, Shichiroji. He now lives a peaceful life with a woman he adores. Will he take up his sword again?
The samurai find themselves in a cavern city under the watchful gaze of the mysterious Shikimoribito. Are they man or machine? Ally or enemy? A new friend tries to explain, but she is hiding something, too.
The samurai must leave the caves to rescue Kikuchiyo, but as soon as they reach daylight, the towering machines ambush them. Clearly a traitor is in their midst.
Knowing that the Nobuseri will be searching for them soon, Kambei decides the group must go to Kanna. To avoid detection, they divide into small groups and take three separate paths to the village.
Threats from the Bandits have shaken the farmers' resolve, and as preparations for war begin, the samurai must confront a new danger: betrayal from the farmers who have hired them.
Kirara feels she's pushed Katsushiro into making his first kill before he was ready. Meanwhile, the village debates what to do with the traitor, and only Kikuchiyo's surprising revelation can reunite the group.
The first battle has finally arrived. Are the villagers ready? Or has all of their hard work been in vain? They will find out only when their defenses are tested at last.
The first attack has sent the Bandits into a retreat, but it won't take them long to strike back. Now Kambei initiates an even bolder plan - handing Kyuzo, Gorobei, Katsushiro, and Kikuchiyo over to the enemy. With the entire village on the brink of destruction, can the samurai defeat the Bandits from the inside of their own massive ship?
Kanna is bombarded by rainfall as the Bandits make their final assault on the village. They attack from every direction, and in the battle's furious climax, it becomes clear that not all of the samurai will survive.
The samurai must come to terms with the aftermath of battle. They can't look to Kambei for leadership; he departs on a solitary trek to the Guardian's cave, having an even more perilous mission in mind.
Little is known about the Capital and the divine ruler responsible for the rise of the Merchants, the energy trade, and the Bandits torment of the peasants. With sword in hand, Kambei is about to find out more.
Kambei is in a prison cell, awaiting his fate as the purported assassin of the Imperial Envoy. But the turmoil at the Capital is far from over; a political whirlwind has engulfed the empire with Ukyo at its center.
Kambei is to be executed in a public display. Kikuchiyo and Katsushiro's rescue party arrives just in time to hear the news of their leader's scheduled beheading. Can they battle quickly enough to save him?
With Kambei pardoned, Sanae and Muzuki freed, and peace promised to Kanna, it seems the samurai's work is done. But Maro has a warning: the true struggle has only just begun.
Kambei's rescue has created deep rifts between Katsushiro and his sensei. At a time when every move is critical, with Ukyo's plot rapidly unfolding, can the samurai survive their team being split in two?
Ukyo is calling on ronin to defend other villages from the Bandits, while secretly ordering the Bandits to increase their attacks on the villages. All the while, he's planning to burn Kanna to the ground.
Katsushiro has returned to Kanna to defend it from the approaching Capital. Meanwhile, Kambei and the rest of the samurai are racing toward the Capital as well, poised for the final showdown.
In addition to the Capital's terrifying Mujou Gun, Ukyo has created a fleet of Nobuseri drones. Undaunted by the impossible odds, Kambei drives the samurai directly into the heart of the massive fleet.
The fight against the Capital continues, with both sides suffering major losses. Saving the village now will take more costly sacrifices. What will happen to the survivors who must bury their fallen friends?
