Mamiya and Toki wait near some ruins. As Toki coughs, Mamiya puts a blanket on him and asks if he wants some water. He says he's fine and thanks her, and asks where Kenshiro and Rei are. She says they've gone to find food and a vehicle.

The Harbinger of Death Shines!
Fist King, Can You Rule Over Death as Well!!

Kenshiro and Rei have entered a desolate town. Rei says that the Fist King is a man who doesn't even fear God in order to satisfy his ambition. Kenshiro remembers back...

Years ago, at Ryuken's dojo, Ryuken asked Raoh and Kenshiro a question: what is an art of assassination? A door then opens up, and there is something behind it...

...a gigantic tiger. The tiger walks up to Kenshiro and Raoh, and Ryuken says it can sense the energy emanating from them. He wants them to defeat this tiger as if they were to assassinate an enemy. The tiger moves towards Kenshiro first.

Kenshiro stares at the tiger, which looks right back into his eyes. Kenshiro doesn't move, and keeps his eyes fixed on the tiger.

The tiger suddenly drops its head down, and even lets Kenshiro pat it on the head. The tiger then goes to Raoh.

Raoh remains in place, but keeps his eyes shut. The tiger growls and roars at him, but Raoh doesn't move.

The tiger stands up and is about to strike, when Raoh opens his eyes. The tiger instantly stops.

The tiger seems frozen in place, too scared to attack. Ryuken thinks Raoh was able to stop the tiger with only the energy radiating from his own body. Raoh suddenly strikes the tiger...

...and then, with just one swipe, decapitates it.

Raoh laughs and tells Kenshiro that it seems the tiger had no respect for him. To him, that's proof that the succession should be his. Ryuken thinks otherwise -he thinks Kenshiro should be feared more. Before Kenshiro, the tiger resigned itself to death. But before Raoh, it feared death. Ryuken thinks that Raoh's art cannot be called an art of assassination, but he does know Raoh is still powerful.

Back in the present, Kenshiro and Rei come across another town. They enter it, only to find that the place has been attacked, and most of its occupants have been killed. They find one man still alive, and Rei asks him who did this.

The man says it was the Fist King's assault squad, and points in the direction they went. Rei says that direction is the village Airi is in, so he tells Ken he's heading back there. If the Fist King's soldiers did this to such a small village, who knows what they'll do once they reach the village where Airi and Lin are. Rei runs off, whilst Kenshiro picks up the injured man.

Kenshiro thinks that the inevitable has come: Raoh is finally on the move. Meanwhile, Toki looks up at the stars, and sees the Big Dipper. He can also see a star shining brightly next to it, and knows that it's also known as the death omen star. It's said that death will come within a year to anyone who can see it.

Mamiya then comes back with some wood, and asks Toki what's on his mind. He says it's nothing, so Mamiya starts added the wood to the fire. As Toki looks at her, he says that she does look like Yuria so much, and thinks Raoh would also be shocked if he saw her. Mamiya asks about Yuria -what kind of person was she?

Toki says she was the only woman in this world that he's ever loved. And not just him -even Raoh was the same. Mamiya is surprised by this, and Toki says it was like that since they were young... at that point, maybe Kenshiro and Raoh were already destined to fight. He starts to tell her a story, which happened before the war...

Yuria impresses some kids with her origami skills, when some of the kids cower in fear. Yuria turns around to find Raoh looking at her. Raoh says that he won't let Kenshiro have her.

He grabs Yuria, and tells her to forget about Kenshiro -she is to love him from this day on. She tells him not to be a fool, and pleads with him to let her go. Raoh doesn't like her words, and starts to crush her.

Toki suddenly appears, and tells Raoh to let Yuria go. Raoh is impressed Toki was able to sneak up on him like that, but Toki says that a man distracted by a woman is no challenge to sneak up on. He warns him that if he continues to be this reckless, he will fight him on behalf of Kenshiro.

Raoh eventually shoves Yuria into Toki's arms, and says he doesn't feel like fighting with him. But he tells them to remember this: he will be the one who'll end up holding everything in his hands.

Back in the present, Mamiya thinks that protecting someone from afar, out of love... you can't beat that. Ken, Shin, Toki, Raoh... every man who knew Yuria, they all... there's no way for her to compete with that. She looks up at the stars and says it's ok, she's like that star. That tiny star, which shines alongside the Big Dipper.

Toki is horrified when he realizes that the star she is talking about is the death omen star! She says she can see it clearly, and then decides to take a walk. Toki doesn't tell her about the star's meaning, but is more concerned that she can see it at all.

Mamiya walks past a cliff, but then senses someone is there. She yells out for whoever it is to show themselves, but there's no response. She walks on, as Seeker appears. He can hide himself in the shadows, but he reveals himself to Mamiya. He says he's with the Fist King's recon squad.

He also knows that she's Mamiya, from Kenshiro's group. He thinks if he brings her head back on a plate, it'd bring Lord Fist King great pleasure! He then asks her to take him to where Kenshiro is, but she pulls out some spikes and throws them at him. He avoids them both...

...but it was just a distraction, so she could leap over him. As she runs away, Seeker tells her that it's no use. Mamiya continues to run, thinking that she needs to get some distance from Toki.

However she than finds herself in more danger when she runs straight into the rest of Seeker's squad. They rush towards her, but she starts taking them down with her yoyos.

She kicks the last two into walls, but then Seeker comes back. He tells her to just look at what she's done to his precious men. She tries to attack him...

...but he blocks her yoyos with his metal clubs. He then hits her twice and knocks her into a wall. As he moves in closer, he says that simply killing her would be no fun. He wants to kill her slowly and painfully.

However, something hits him on the head, causing him to bite his own tongue off. Kenshiro has arrived, and tells Seeker that his long tongue must get in the way.

Kenshiro asks Mamiya if she's alright, but Seeker sees this as his chance to attack. He tries to hits Kenshiro with his clubs, but Kenshiro grabs his weapons, and then uses them against him.

Seeker has his face bashed in, and collapses. Kenshiro says he can't believe that Raoh's reach has come all the way out here. Mamiya asks him where Rei is, and he explains Rei's heading to her village. Kenshiro's shoulder pad suddenly cracks, and Mamiya thinks it could be a bad omen.

At Mamiya's village, Airi goes to see Bat and Lin. She tells them that she has some big news -her brother and the others are going to be back soon. A traveler has just brought them a letter, which explains everything. Bat and Lin read it, and are excited by the news. The two rush outside, and Lin goes to her flowers. She tells them that Ken is coming back.

She's happy to see that one of the flowers has bloomed. Meanwhile, Bat runs towards the main entrance, and tells the guards there that Ken's group will be bringing Toki back soon.

The guards up above suddenly scream, and fall down, having being shot in the back with arrows. Bat and the others wonder what's going on, but then the other guards are also shot in the back. Bat looks at the main gate, and see that it's starting to crack open.

He runs away, just as the gate is broken apart. But he also gets hit by an arrow. The Fist King's forces have arrived, and begin their attack on the village.

Some villagers run, whilst some fight. Lin finds Airi, but Airi seems to have given up already -she says that there's no use running. Lin tells her to to say that, and leads her away.

Many villagers are killed, and the others are rounded up. Lin leads Airi into a storeroom, but Airi says it's no use... hiding is useless.

Nearby, Rei comes across some of the Fist King's soldiers, but he kills them all easily. He looks up at the stars.

He says he can clearly see the Big Dipper... he can even see the tiny star that shines alongside it. He then runs off towards Mamiya's village, unaware that he too can see the death omen star...

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

Mamiya's village is attacked by the Fist King! But Lin's trust in Kenshiro and her courage yield to no evil! Next time, on Fist of the North Star: "Those Who Fear Death! Listen to the Cry of Lin’s Fiery Heart!!"

Kenshiro: The North Star code... I will uphold it.