Surprisingly, Ichi goesout of his way to protect a thief on the run from the authorities. Ichi arranges for Masa to be hired as a bodyguard at the Katsuraya brothel where Ichi spends most of his time. Masa tries to find out more about Ichi without success, although he does learn that each of the members of the Five Leaves owe him a debt for helping them in the past. Meanwhile, Masa slowly become weak from a mysterious illness called Edo sickness, thought to be cause by the change in diet. A flashback shows the formation of the Five Leaves initially to help Ume rescue his daughter Okinu from a family which treated her badly.