Troubled by the pressing and pestering concerns presented by Godaigo, Shingen plans to leave his hometown when suddenly he hears about the unexpected death of his only family member, his estranged brother, who has been slaughtered like an animal. Upon reaching his brother's house Shinjen finds nothing has been touched which is quite unusual for a raid except for an old smoking pipe-a family heirloom to be missing. He is initially curious as to why such a useless item is missing but dismisses it among his random thoughts. Upon investigation, by pulling some strings from old acquaintances Shinjen finds numerous witnesses who testify about how Minamoto's forces were responsible for the heinous massacre except for Kaito, a down-on-his-luck young farmer, treated as a gaijin by society due to his unorthodox lifestyle. Unable to bring the true culprits to justice Shingen finally accepts Godaigo's offer and seeks to find Minamoto. He starts by locating Nobuko, an ex-communicated general from Minamoto's clan who has now been living on the outskirts of the Heishi region but the current whereabouts of Nobuko are unknown.