At Raoh's castle, a lot of screaming can be heard as Raoh is going around beating up his own troops. He says that they have betrayed him by shooting Fudo rather than himself, and he doesn't want to see them near him.



With Raoh getting angrier and angrier, his troops move away from him. Later they all gather in one room, but most have been injured by their own leader and a lot of them are beginning to think that siding with Ken-Oh was not the right thing to do after all. Yuria appears in the room and finds out from one soldier that Raoh seems to have lost his mind.



Yuria places her hand on his shoulder and heals his injury quickly. She then heals another badly injured man in seconds and tells them all that Raoh's destiny now is to fight Kenshiro, as he only lives for fighting.



The troops wonder if she is angry with Raoh, but she simply asks them to try and understand Raoh's feelings. The soldiers then see that this is the reasoning of the south star's merciful mother and that her light brings peace and ease to all. Many of the men kneel to her, as she turns round and thinks about what Raoh could possibly be planning next. Meanwhile, Kenshiro and the others stand before Fudo's grave.



More of Rihaku's men arrive and bring news that Raoh's defeat has caused mass turmoil in his forces and that many of his captured villages have struck back, wiping out his troops and taking back their home towns. Rihaku was expecting this, as news of his loss has stopped people from believing he is invulnerable. He then orders for his own troops to go out and help the other villages by fighting against Ken-Oh's shaken soldiers.



Kenshiro hears everything and knows that Raoh's ambition is crumbling away. Meanwhile, at the castle, Raoh stands in front of a fire with lots of blazing hot coals inside it. He puts his hands into the fire and picks up one without showing any sign of pain.



He then crushes it into pieces. There is nothing wrong his his perfect body, he thinks, but it still doesn't change the fact that he has felt fear twice now. It was because of the sadness in Kenshiro's eyes...now that he has felt fear, he feels that he can no longer call himself Ken-Oh. He works out that what made him feel fear was sorrow. Kenshiro's feelings for Yuria...Fudo's love for the children...does grief surpass the body? What is sorrow?



He thinks of what Tou told him...his heart belongs to Yuria. He then begins to think about Yuria, and if grief is love. Elsewhere, Yuria stands out on a balcony, observing a thunderstorm.



Raoh then appears behind her and says that he must take her life! He only has Kenshiro in mind now and he surpasses him in everything apart from the fact that he doesn't know what sadness or love are. But he's heard that love brings sadness and vice-versa, so if he loses Yuria he may understand them.



Telling her to prepare herself, Raoh lunges for Yuria, but before he can strike her down he is hit in the leg with an arrow. Some of Raoh's troops have banded together and tell him that he must not hurt Yuria and he can take their lives instead, as long as he doesn't kill her.



Raoh sees that they have been hit by the light of Yuria, but he still refuses to listen to them. Not caring if Yuria despises him, he is going to kill her anyway, but she rips part of her dress off...



...and tends to the wound on Raoh's leg. Raoh yells at her, demanding to know what she is doing. She says that with a wound like that he will not be able to fight to his full potential. Raoh tells her that he doesn't need pity, but she says that it is all she can do now. She then turns around saying that it must be hard for him to kill her if she looks at him, and that she is prepared to head into heaven. She can see the dawn of a new light, signaling the start of a new era.



She can see the forests, the streams, the flowers...for this era of new light in the world, fate cannot avoid the battle between Raoh and Kenshiro, and she must give Raoh her life if necessary.



As Yuria sits there waiting, Raoh knows he must not falter now, but he feels this intense feeling. As he stands there trying to work it out, he sees the spirit of Toki, who asks him if he realises it now.



Raoh thinks back to one time at the dojo when he and Toki saw Kenshiro and Yuria walk by. Raoh told Toki that one day he would make Yuria his, it is one of his ambitions. Toki told him that that is no ambition, it is love. Raoh said that he didn't believe in love, but Toki explained that whilst he may not know it now, love will turn even him to tears and move his heart.



Back in the present, Raoh now knows why he was thinking of his brother's words, as he is now crying! He sees that he must have been pursuing Yuria for love all along, but now struggles to take her life. But he cannot have Yuria for himself and now he feels he can call himself Ken-Oh once more. He tells her to forgive him, but she must live on as the sadness in his heart.












The heavens open and as the rain pours, Kenshiro's group see and feel it. It has not rained in so long, but Lin says it is like the heavens are crying, why? Rihaku thinks about it, but then realises that could it mean something terrible has happened to Yuria?



"It is over." Raoh's only words on what has just happened. Back at Fudo's village, everyone is collecting the rain water when they see something heading towards them.



It is Kokuoh, who goes up to Kenshiro and kneels before him. Seeing that Raoh is calling him, Ken gets on the steed and he begins to move. Lin wants to go wit him but Bat stops her, saying that only Ken has been called away. Rihaku says he will deal with things here, as Kenshiro goes off into his destined battle. The rules of Hokuto...he will protect them.



Kokuoh leads the way and as the rain stops Kenshiro arrives at the "Hokuto Renkitouza" (North Star mind and body training ground). Kenshiro knows that this was where all the battles for succession to the art have taken place.



He soon finds Raoh and after getting down off Kokuoh, it is time for the battle to begin. Will Raoh seize the heavens, or will Kenshiro shine the light on the century's end?


NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

The final battle between the two brothers begins in "Showdown at the Hokuto Renkitouza! No One Can Stop Them Now!!"

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