Kambei recruits Gorobei, and they easily dispatch of the assassins sent by Ayamaro, the magistrate. Angered, Ayamaro sends his two bodyguards, fellow samurai, after them. Kambei faces off against the mysterious Kyuzo. They fight until Kambei admits that though he can't defeat Kyuzo now, the fight will have to wait until after a promise is kept.