The Hero on Horseback, Rock!
I Don't Believe in Kenshiro!!

Kenshiro looks at Raoh's medallion. He wonders what Raoh was going to try to do in this land. He then walks up to Kosem, who is holding the dead body of one of his sons. Kenshiro asks if is is alright, but Kosem wants to know who he is. Kenshiro says his name.

Kosem gets angry, telling Kenshiro that the reason this has happened is because he has come here instead of Lord Raoh. He questions why it has to be this way -why wasn't it Raoh who came? He then collapses. Kenshiro picks him up, and walks away from the burning village.

The tragedy continues! With the collapses of Raoh's legend, Asuras, who aim to clean up the remnants of the rebellion, continue to attack one village after another. They start capturing anyone who tries to resist.

Lin and Shachi watch a burning village. Shachi explains what's happening, and says that the strong rule over the weak -those who resist are killed. That's the painful reality of this land. Lin thinks about her past, and recalls what happened to her family long ago. Lin asks Shachi if he has anyone he should be protecting. Shachi says he's already died once, and he'll live and die by his ambition.

He says he wants to do this so his fist can conquer the land. Lin asks him why he must go this far, but he calls her a strange woman... staying with her might make him like her though. He starts to walk away, but then tells Lin to stay away from the village. She'll get caught up in the chaos and will just throw away her life if she tries to intervene. He then runs off.

Link looks up at the stars, and thinks this long, dark night will continue on. The next morning, Kenshiro heads towards a village, unaware that several men are horses are heading to the same place.

Kenshiro arrives at the village, but sees that the place has been attacked. The streets are full of dead bodies, and Kenshiro thinks if this land really is his home. The guys on horses then ride up.

The group's leader, Rock, asks of it was the Asuras who did this, and Kenshiro says it was. Rock's group head off, but before he goes, Rock tells the traveler to take this. He tosses him a water flask, and asks him to pray for the souls of the deceased.

Meanwhile, some Asuras are annoyed that they've found Leia's school, but Leia and the kids are nowhere to be seen. The Asuras start tearing through the village to try and find find them. Leia's group are trying to leave the village by moving through the back streets, but they are spotted by an Asura.

The Asura tells them they don't need to run any more, as he'll put them out of their misery. But before he can, a rag stabs him in the back, killing him. The rag tells Leia's group to hurry and follow him.

The rag takes them down through the sewers, and he says that this waterway leads to the outskirts of town. Leia asks who he is, but he says he's just a rag. The group get on a raft, and get out of the village.

They end up at Jukei's place, and he asks them what's going on. Leia explains that the Asuras attacked, but Jukei says they'll be safe now. This swamp is a holy ground, and Asuras aren't allowed here.

Leia looks behind her, and Jukei asks what's wrong. She wonders where that rag went. Nearby, the rag, who is Shachi in disguise, watches. Shachi says that Leia's group should be fine now.

At another village, Kosem wakes up. The women there explain to him that a traveler brought him here, along with Raoh's medallion. Kosem takes it, and realizes it was Kenshiro who did this. The woman start crying, and say that the Asuras came here yesterday. They took all of the village's men away. Kosem tries to get up, but is too injured.

Elsewhere, a kid called Johann runs through a canyon. Two Asuras get in his way, and ask him where he's going. Johann points a gun at them, and tells them to give him his father back. The Asuras mock him, and ask where he got that toy from. They quickly knock him down, and one of them says that the penalty for resisting them is harsh indeed.

Rock then appears, and kills one of the Asuras. The other one jumps towards him, so Rock leaps off his horse and throws a couple of knives. The Asura is able to deflect one, but is hit by the other.

Rock then stabs him again, mortally wounding him. The dying Asura asks them who the hell they are, and Rock says they're nameless blades of grass, who are waiting for the day flowers bloom again.

Rock asks Johann what that look is for, and passes him a towel to wipe his face. Rock then returns to his village, and sees that his father is dying. He tells him that they came back once they saw that the river was red. He asks where Chain is, but Kosem has to reveal that his younger brother is dead. He explains that a practitioner of the North Star divine fist did appear, but it wasn't Lord Raoh.

He says that the man's name was Kenshiro, and he is the man who defeated Raoh. Rock can't believe it, and wonders what the point of waiting was. He thought he would be able to fight beside Lord Raoh one day, and had honed his skills for it. Kosem tells him to say no more, but then says it looks like this is the end for himself. He tells his son he could never do anything for him, even bring him simple joys.

Rock cries and says he is happy to be his son. Kosem says the only thing he can leave to him now is Raoh's medallion, which he hands over. He says that Lord Raoh will live on in their hearts forever, but he then dies from his injuries.

Later on, Rock and his group hold a funeral for Kosem and Chain. Rock says that he will carry on Raoh's legend, and the first thing they'll do is save the villagers. He tells his men to follow him.

At a coliseum, some Asuras are busy murdering villagers. The leader, Bruce, says he's terribly saddened in having to execute precious laborers like them, but he will grant them one last honor -the honor of being killed as an Asura's training partner. Another rag is shoved forward, as an Asura goes to kill him.

But then some smoke bombs are thrown in, as Rock and his group enter and start attacking the Asuras.

Rock confronts Bruce, and says that they are Raoh's army. Bruce tells him to observe an Asura's power, as he grabs Rock's horse by its head. He goes to punch Rock, but Rock throws his cape at him, and jumps up.

Rock drops back down, and stabs the Asura in the back. He then slashes his throat, which kills him. Rock's group start freeing all of the prisoners.

Nearby, another Asura, Xie, appears. He thinks the Asuras here were pathetic, so he decides to step in. He bursts out of the ground, and removes his goggles.

Xie says he'll show them the true power of an Asura, and uses a technique called koga dansui (alternate fang judgment compliance). He sheds part of his armor, revealing massive claws on his arms. He uses these to start slicing some of the prisoners apart. Rock throws an explosive at him...

...which detonates in front of him. José pulls out a bazooka and fires a shot, which strikes Xie in the chest.

Xie is knocked down, and everyone thinks it's over. But he gets back up and shatters his armor, saying that stuff like that won't do a thing to him. He's about to attack again, but then someone kicks a rock at the back of his head.

He looks behind him and sees Kenshiro. Rock recognizes him from earlier, as Kenshiro says that fighting a monster is no easy task. He says crab dishes aren't his favorite, so Xie decides he'll fillet him instead. He leaps up and smashes through the ground Kenshiro is on.

He then attacks Kenshiro again, making several rapid swipes, but he can't hit Kenshiro. As Rock watches, Kenshiro asks Xie if he's trying to corner him. Xie tells him that figuring that out now won't do him any good, and he lunges forward. His strike seems to pass through Kenshiro.

Kenshiro has gotten behind him, and with a single finger poke, sends Xie smashing into a wall. As Xie gets up, he tries to attack again, but then stops. Kenshiro tells him the food is ready, and whilst Xie tries to move, he ends up exploding.

Rock thinks the traveler must be Kenshiro. Kenshiro confirms that he is, so Rock tells him that, next time, to stay out of this -he doesn't want his help! He knows nothing of the history of the people who were repressed in this land. He doesn't know of the tears of those who waited for Lord Raoh. Because he came, and not Lord Raoh, he's stolen the only hope in this land! He tells Kenshiro to never show his face again.

He, along with everyone else, leave. The next morning, Kenshiro enters another village, but finds that he's not welcome -the villagers run away and hide when they realize who he is, and want nothing to do with him. Kenshiro thinks about Rock's words.

At Hyoh's castle, an Asura says that Han's body has washed up. Hyoh tells his men to salute.

The Asuras dip their flags into the red water. Hyoh then enters the water and hugs Han's body, telling his friend to rest in peace. He says he will avenge him -and his enemy is Kenshiro!

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

The followers of Raoh's legend fall into a wicked trap! Asura blades gleam in the darkness, and close in on Ken! Next time, on Fist of the North Star 2: "Men Who Need No Introduction! Finally, the Seven Warriors Attack Ken!!"