The Evil Palace in Flames! Shin!
Only One More Step to You Now!!

The fated time has come! It is a world where men torture and kill other men. It is no longer the world of mankind, but rather a world of wild animals! And over the city of Southern Cross, the eye of the devil hangs the shadow of death!

There are those who will never escape death. Among them will be passed down the legend of a savior, who appeared at the century's end to become a beacon of hope...

Lin is waiting on the battleship, thinking if Ken really is dead -she refuses to believe that he is. Bat goes up to her and says that they have to go, and assures her that he thinks Ken has already gone to Southern Cross. He doesn't believe he's been killed either.

At Southern Cross, some slaves are being yelled at to work harder, as they finish part of a coliseum. Inside it is a a large statue of Yuria. Elsewhere, in Shin's fortress, Yuria is thinking about what Kenshiro told him...

"Yuria, live on! For my sake, stay alive!"

Yuria says she will keep her promise to Ken, no matter how hard things get. Saki tells her not to lose hope, and leaves the room. But when she does, two guards grab her.

Shin appears, and tells her that she's not a good influence on Yuria. One of the guards knocks her out, and Shin orders them to take her away. Saki gets thrown into the back of a truck, which drives out of Southern Cross.

Shin tells Yuria that Saki is never coming back, and then says he has something to show her in the morning, which he's sure she'll like. Elsewhere, Balcom has gathered together some of the higher ups of King's army. He says he wants to talk with them about King. One of them asks about what reward they're getting, but Balcom says King told him he's not discussing it yet. This doesn't go down well, as they've lost most of their men in trying to kill the man with seven scars. One says King has told them that they can't attack women or loot towns, and believes Yuria has a bad influence on King. Balcom asks them if they think their Lord deserves to be called King any more.

Almost all of them agree that he doesn't. Balcom says he understands how they feel, and asks them to pledge their lives to him -if they do, he will bring down Shin, and they can build their own empire. Nearly all of them say they'll follow him, apart from one: Nariman. He says he doesn't like this, and tells them they should know their limits. He asks them whose strength was it that won them their territories.

One of them says it was their own strength, and Nariman says that's right. But if King wasn't around, they would have all ended up killing each other. One of them says that's probably what would have happened, and everyone starts laughing.

Nariman says he's not happy with how King obsesses over Yuria, but he prefers this to when it was total anarchy. He says to count him out of this, and starts to leave, but Balcom tells him to stop. Nariman says he won't betray them to King, but Balcom says that's not good enough. He jumps over to fight him. Nariman pulls out an iron claw attached to a chain, and starts spinning it above his head.

Balcom tells him he's a fool, who doesn't know which way the world is moving. Nariman throws his claw out, but Balcom kicks it. The claw ends up taking the head off a statue.

Nariman tells him he's not bad, and throws again. This time the claw latches onto Balcom's face, but he punches it into pieces. Nariman grabs one of the statues...

...and slams it over Balcom, but he survives. Balcom grabs him, and starts to crush his back, so he pulls out a knife and starts trying to stab him with it. Balcom says it's no use, he can deflect the knife just by using special breathing techniques.

Nariman tries anyway, and the knife ends up shattering. Balcom says no matter what power the South Star holy fist may have, it'll never be enough to stop him! He kills Nariman and then starts to laugh.

The next morning, Joker is at the battleship. He thinks this is the place where Kenshiro was supposedly buried alive, but did he really die? He starts teleporting around, thinking that Kenshiro's body was never recovered, and he has escaped their deathtraps time after time. He then hears a noise, and finds the source of it. A few seconds later, he sees a bright light, as the wreckage in front of him cracks open.

Back at Southern Cross, Shin shows Yuria the giant statue of her he's had made. He asks her if she likes it, as he had it built in honor of her beauty. For now it's only a stone image of her, but soon it will be adorned with gold and jewels from all over the world. She'll be forever known as the goddess of beauty. Yuria is horrified, and asks him if this means he will start fighting again. Shin says he will, to show everyone his power, and to proclaim her beauty to the world. Yuria thinks about how so much more blood will be spilled, so many more innocent people will suffer...

Shin tells her not to cry, but then senses something is wrong. He grabs Yuria and leaps up onto the statue with her, as many arrows pour down. Shin smashes some away from them, and then asks what the meaning of this is.

Hundreds of men appear in the coliseum, and Shin orders them to leave at once. Balcom appears, and says nobody here is following his orders anymore. He says Shin is not going to be called King anymore, so Shin asks him if he's daring to turn against him. He removes his cape, and says he accepts his challenge.

Balcom tells everyone to get him, so they leap down and make their way towards him. Shin also leaps down, but then does a vertical flying kick, which slices up several men instantly:

NANTO HIEN ZAN

(South Star Flying Swallow Slash)

Many men die within seconds, as Shin starts tearing them apart with ease.

Balcom sees things are going badly, and tells everyone with him to use grenades. They throw down lots of explosives, which go off and kill even more men.

Balcom believes Shin is dead, and once the smoke clears, he and the others head down. Balcom tells them to find Shin's body, even if it's just a part of it. He then tells Yuria to come down here, as he is the new King. Shin let her get away with a lot, but he's going to be a lot stricter with her than he was. He sends a guy to go up and get her, but as he gets close...

...something hits him, causing him to fall off the statue. The sky then suddenly goes dark, causing everyone to start panicking. Balcom yells for them all to shut up, as it's just an eclipse.

But Shin is then heard laughing, as everyone sees that he's on top of the statue. He tells Balcom not to be so conceited -did he really think he could take his throne with such a pathetic plan? Balcom tells his men to shoot Shin down, but they don't move. Shin tells him to not rely on others -he should try to take the throne with his own hands.

Balcom whips his cloak off, and fires a knife at Shin. But Shin catches it with just two of his fingers, and calls it typical of Balcom. The two jump kick towards each other...

...and land on part of the coliseum. Shin has a cut to his face, and Balcom asks if that was the power of the South Star holy fist. But his helmet then explodes.

Balcom charges towards Shin, so Shin starts hitting him. He shatters part of Balcom's armor, but as he hits him in the face, Balcom says it won't work. Balcom then charges Shin through a pillar.

As the two fall, Shin gives Balcom another kick. Balcom says his body is stronger than steel, but then his nose starts to bleed. Shin asks what kind of steel that would be. Balcom tells him to look at this: his special punch. He starts rapidly moving his arms around:

YOKI GENYU KEN

(Ghostly Illusion Fist)

Shin suddenly receives several cuts to his chest. Balcom tells him he can't see how his arms are moving, but Shin leaps back, and then tells him to try that again.

Balcom says he'll take his head this time, but as he gets close, Shin easily stops his technique. Shin says that he saw through his trick, and his mistake was getting too close to him. Now, he'll show him one of his secret techniques:

NANTO HIRYU KEN

(South Star Flying Dragon Fist)

Shin strikes Balcom many times, and then asks him how does he like the taste of the South Star holy fist? Balcom rips his shirt off, and asks if that was the best South Star holy fist can do. But he then suddenly starts screaming, as the veins on his body crack open.

Shin tells him that no matter how hard he makes his body, it won't work -the South Star holy fist can destroy and substance on Earth by sheer force. He overestimated his power, so now he can regret his conceit. Shin thrusts one of his hands into Balcom, killing him. He then asks who else wants to fight with him.

Everyone else flees from the coliseum. Shin goes up to Yuria, and asks if she saw that. Yuria feints and falls off the statue, but Shin catches her, just as the eclipse ends.

Back at the battleship, some debris blows apart, as Joker sees that Kenshiro is still alive. Kenshiro says the North Star divine fist has been passed down for 2,000 years -he can survive any situation! Joker calls him impressive, but Kenshiro asks what's wrong -isn't he going to run off like he usually does? Joker says the stars have brought them together -the time has come. They were fated to fight each other someday. He jumps up and starts throwing playing cards at him.

Kenshiro runs off, as the cars slice through some rocks. Kenshiro stops and then yells out, and the cards drop to the ground. Joker says that was the hakkei breathing style, but now it's time for one of his own secret techniques. He leaps towards Kenshiro:

NANTO SHOUTEN KEN

(South Star Hovering Fist)

Joker seemingly makes multiples of himself, and Kenshiro can't seem to hit him. The two clash a few times, and then Joker lands back down on the ground. But he doesn't know where Kenshiro has gone.

Kenshiro reveals he's behind him. The two start moving at great speeds, but Kenshiro is always right on Joker. He then gets right in front of him, and performs a technique:

HOKUTO ZANKAI KEN

(North Star Remorse Fist)

Kenshiro tells Joker to tell Shin this: he's coming to save Yuria. If he relays this message, his life will be spared. Joker tells him to spare him his sympathy, and says he has one last duty. He throws a card to his eagle, and tells him to take it to Lord King. As the eagle flies off, Joker tells Kenshiro he looks forward to see who will win: Kenshiro, or King. His head then explodes.

Saki's truck stops outside Southern Cross. As she gets out, the driver tells her that they are at her home village, as Lord King had given him special orders that she was to be returned here. He says that there's danger in the air of Southern Cross now, as those who don't like how Lord King rules things are planning to destroy the city. Saki asks for her brother to watch over Lady Yuria.

Back at Southern Cross, Yuria thinks that she is all alone now. Shin goes to her and says he's here with her, and the two kiss for the first time.

But Yuria bites Shin, causing part of his mouth to bleed. As he asks why she did this, Yuria says that Shin will never understand, as he is a warrior. She wants a kindness like the sea, a heart as warm as the sun, and the shine of a wind blowing through a meadow...

Elsewhere in the city, Shin's armies have turned on one another, and are destroying the place, and each other. Bat and Lin arrive on the outskirts of the city, and see that Southern Cross is burning. Nearby, Kenshiro has arrived, and also sees the city in flames.

Shin looks out at his burning city, and says everything he's worked for is lost. The statue of Yuria is toppled.

Shin's army is destroyed, and looters have set the city ablaze. Southern Cross, once a city of prosperity, is now covered by the shadow of death.



And the star of destiny leads Kenshiro and Shin closer and closer to the fated final confrontation...


NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

(Conclusion of Chapter One)

Kenshiro finally faces off with his nemesis, Shin! And a revelation awaits him in his reunion with Yuria! Next time, on Fist of the North Star: "Conclusion of Chapter One - Yuria Forever... As Well as Shin!"

Kenshiro: Bloody Cross... I won't forgive you.