1600. Now this place is called Gifu Prefecture. The Battle of Sekigahara has just ended. Among the corpses of dead soldiers, there's a living one. A Japanese young man, Shinmen Takezō, with long black hair, brown eyes, wearing some blue kemono. He silent lies in a ground, all covered in mud, observing the night sky above him.
Takezō: "The Battle of Sekigahara... has ended. I'm a failure."
It's morning already. Somewhere else on a field of fallen samurais, there's another living soldier, Matahachi Hon'iden. He has the similar tied long back hair, wearing green white kemono. He lies on a ground, face down, not trying to get up.
Matahachi: "Forgive me... mother... I left Sakushū... to make a name for myself... but it all came to nothing."
Takezō appears in front of Matahachi, pinning a spear in the ground near Matahachi's head.
Takezō: "A survivor..."
Matahachi, inside his head: "Refugee hunters!'
Takezō: "I survived too... Matahachi."
Matahachi lies in his back, surprised to see Takezō: "Takezo!! His eyes starting to well up. "You did that on purpose!"
Takezō: "Can you walk?"
Matahachi, continuing: "To scare me!"
Takezō: "Let's get going."
Takezō helps Matahachi to get up, continuing to help him standing on the ground.
Matahichi, panting and huffing: "I can't walk anymore. Takezō. Just leave me here. hak I'm finished." Matahachi leaves Takezō's grip, walking forward on his own with help of spear, while Takezō watches him from behind. "These past few days... All we've had to it was grass." Matahachi actually leans towards pretty tall grass, and takes one bite of it.
Takezō, sitting on near stone, bandaging his left knee: "Once we find a village we'll get some medicine."
Matahachi, sitting on a grass, still huffing: "Takezō... Is this... all we amount to?" Takezō's face gets more serious. "We left Sakushū to make names for ourselves... Maybe take down a general or two... But... forget about the enemy... The only thing we cut down was the grass to make roads."
Takezō, more serious: "We were handed machetes instead of spears... And now we're on a losing side."
Suddenly, Takezō notices something behind them, but doesn't tell Matahachi anything.
Matahachi, not aware, still huffing: "I don't thing... I'm going to last much longer... uf ... Takezō, if I die... I want you too... take care of Otsū..."
Not knowing what happens behind him, Matahachi feels a sword being positioned to back of his head, and then hears a voice behind him.
A refugee hunter: "A survivor..."
Matahahich thinks it's Takezō, so he just smiles, thinking: "Give me a break. You can't fool me twice, you jerk. Take a load of this." Matahachi looks behind. "...Had enough?"
Matahachi reaction instantly changes when he sees it wasn't Takezō. The hunter swipes his katana, and delivers a cut to Matahachi's right outer forearm. After the man suddenly slips on the blood under his feet, what gives Matahachi a time to run away.
A refugee hunter, standing up: "You little bastard."
Matahachi, running away, screaming for Takezō: "Takezō! The real thing! Refugee hunters!"
Suddenly, Takezō arrives and stops Hunter's katana swing with his one. The hunter has only one thought on his head, seeing Takezō overpowering him, "This kid... is strong."
Takezō: "If you're gonna try to kill me... I'm gonna kill you." Takezō finishes his speech with a strong headbutt right into hunter's face, before grabbing the man by his face and smashing it onto the nearby tree with powerful force.
Meanwhile, Matahachi flees away from other two arrived refugee hunters. Takezō picks up a near boulder, amd throws into directly into right face side of one hunter who was swinging his katana near Matahachi. Then, Takezō slams the man with a found tree branch on the top of his head, and then stick the branch into hunter's neck. Matahachi just watches the scene with his eyes wide. As the last hunter horrifyingly observers Takezō, the latter just smashes his head with a boulder.
Much later, at night, Takezō and Matahachi continuing to walk through the fields, both huffing and supporting each other.
Takezō: "Those damn samurai! No way I'm gonna die. Not me... I'm... Shinmen Takezō!"
Matahachi, trying to copy Takezō: "No way I'm gonna die! I'm Hon'iden Matahachi!!"
Takezō: "Matahachi. We're going to make names for ourselves."
Matahachi smiles, but then suddenly starts to feel very weak. After few seconds, Matahachi passes next to Takezō, leaving the latter perplexed.
Some time later, Takezō, now alone, continues to wander in search of a village.
Takezō, watching the field of dead soldiers around of him. "No sign of any villages. What's going on? This area's sprawled with corpses... from the battle two days ago."
Takezō sits down next to one of barely alive soldier. Suddenly, Takezō starts to feel very weak, and vomits right into soldier'a face, before collapsing on a ground.
Lying on the ground, Takezō notices a young woman approaching him.
A woman: "Someone's there. Another bandit?"