Raoh has dismounted from his horse -but only because Toki has appeared. He is the only one who can stand on the same ground as him. Kenshiro still wants to fight Raoh, but Toki stops him and then hits a pressure point on his chest! Kenshiro cannot move, and has to watch Toki head over to Raoh to challenge him.



The fight begins as Toki shows that his style is primarily for defense, as Raoh rushes forward and attacks him. But he dodges Raoh's blows and then attempts to thrust his hand through his opponent's head, but Raoh just manages to stop him in time. Raoh narrowly avoids having his head stabbed by his brother's other fist.



But he then makes his move by tossing Toki as high up into the air as possible. This gives him enough time to run over to Kokuoh and retrieve a sai, before jumping up into the air. Both he and Toki use jump kicks against each other.



As they land, Raoh stomps on his brother's foot and then uses the sai to pierce them both to the ground! He has stopped Toki from being so agile. Raoh knows that Toki has the same level of strength as Ryuken and himself. But he also knows that he is ill, just like how Ryuken was, so he will not have the power to defeat him now. Rei notes that it has taken a tremendous amount of energy for the two to fight each other and as Toki is sick, there was no room for error -but now he has been badly hit it could all be over for him. Lin tells Ken to go and help, but he still can't move due to Toki hitting one of his pressure points.



Raoh says that Toki's death will not be caused by his illness -it will be caused by him! Toki is thinking that his death must be coming and he hopes that it will make Kenshiro stronger, as he is the only one who will be able to beat Raoh. Bat asks why Toki doesn't want Ken to help him and Rei explains to everyone that the 2000 year history of Hokuto Shinken is much more important than they think -2 on 1 battles are not allowed and to Toki, the history of the martial art is that important to him that he is willing to die over it. Raoh then gets a new idea and shoves the sai deeper into the ground, causing them both to bleed more -he can take it, but he knows that Toki won't last for long, so he can just watch him bleed to death.



Toki thinks that this is the end for him, but then this is the a trial that the true successor to Hokuto Shinken must endure -he wants his death to empower Kenshiro. Toki has one last move to make and attempts to thrust his hands into Raoh's chest, but Raoh sees it coming and reacts quickly enough to move out of the way.



Toki's strike grazes his side, but it still fails to do any real damage against Raoh. Raoh grabs his hands and then punches him straight into the ground.



Roah believes that this is the end and is about to kill Toki, when he hears the sound of a crossbow being loaded behind him. He stops and turns around to see Mamiya taking aim at him, but he tells her she shouldn't try it. Rei warns her not to fire, as their is a Hokuto Shinken technique which allows the practitioner to catch projectiles with just two of their fingers, then throw them back.



She is still determined to shoot, her reasoning being that she is the only one who can fight now. Raoh thinks that she also must have seen the star of death. Rei begs Raoh not to kill her. Raoh figures something out: does Rei love Mamiya? Yes, he does! He says that she is the only women in this world to have shown him love, and he doesn't want her to die.



But his words just make Mamiya even more determined to shoot as it makes her glad to have lived in this world. Lin breaks down to tears as she knows that Mamiya will die unless Ken does something, but it seems to be too late as Mamiya fires! The arrow is heading straight to Raoh but as Rei warned, he just catches it with two of his fingers...



...and then throws it right back at her, with it aimed at her head! She hasn't got time to move out of the way but just as it is about ho hit her someone leaps in the arrow's path, and takes the hit.



Kenshiro has somehow managed to break free of Toki's hold and has taken the shot! Raoh can't believe it and neither can Toki; both of them realise that they have underestimated Kenshiro's power.



Ken says it was not his body which broke the hold -it was the the pure, strong spirit he has. That spirit overcame the bind of the pressure point Toki hit. As Kenshiro rips apart his jacket, Raoh gets up, removes the sai and tells him that he will end the 2,000 year history of Hokuto Shinken. He throws the sai at Kenshiro, but this attack doesn't go to plan...



...because Kenshiro kicks it back the way it came. Raoh moves out of the way, but the two soldiers behind him don't and are killed by the weapon. Raoh decides to give Kenshiro a taste of the power he has, and why he is now known as Ken-Oh (Fist King). He surprises Kenshiro by using a technique from the forbidden Rakan Nioh Ken style -Fuusatsu Kongou Ken! This creates a powerful wind which pushes Kenshiro back. Several of Raoh's own soldiers are hit by the attack and killed, as they are flung into buildings.



Raoh then unleashes another technique, where he seems to send quakes through the ground, which slash through Ken's legs -Rei says that was a secret move from a style of Nanto Seiken! Ken still manages to get back up.



Toki knows why Raoh is using different moves -he has learnt techniques and skills of other styles from the martial artists he had in Cassandra. Raoh continues to use the Nanto technique, but Kenshiro starts to run and avoids all of the quakes Raoh creates. He gets right up to him and kicks...



...and slices his neck. Raoh immediately kicks Kenshiro in his arm, and as Ken recovers, he realises Raoh just hit a pressure point -as part of his arm bulges out and explodes.



Raoh taunts Kenshiro by asking if that broke his bones, but then he realises that he has also had one of his own pressure points hit, as part of his right shoulder explodes. Kenshiro charges foward...



...as Raoh does the same. Raoh and Kenshiro begin to just pummel each other, striking as fast as they can. Both Raoh and Kenshiro...



...use the same rapid punching technique, until they both fall down. Toki knows that they both only have enough energy left to do one last strike each, as they have both lost large amounts of blood. Raoh stabs into Kenshiro's chest...



...but Kenshiro does the exact same move to him, and he can't block it. The amount of blood sprayed everywhere is immense, but both have survived as everyone looks on amazed at how much pain these two fighters can endure. The fight is over: it has ended in a draw.



"You've gotten stronger..."



"If you were the old Raoh...I could have beaten you..."



Ken-Oh's troops see this result as a disaster. They think that their so-called invincible leader hasn't won for the first time ever, and so his empire will surely collapse. They all decide not to serve him any more, making a break for it. Soon they have all left Mamiya's village, leaving Raoh the only bad guy to remain there. Lin starts to run over to Kenshiro but Toki stops her and says that it is alright, the two fighters have not hit any of their opponent's critical pressure points. Toki then heads over and says that the two of them should know that their fight cannot go on for any longer, and he separates the pair.



Kenshiro is unable to stand, but Raoh refuses to kneel and says that today marks the start of his war with Kenshiro. He will not die until he has conquered the world and the heavens, whilst also creating his own kingdom. As he walks off it turns out that not everyone has left him as his faithful horse, Kokuoh, arrives to give him a lift.



Raoh bids farewell to Kenshiro and leaves. Toki says that all of Raoh's men have left him, that horse is the only thing he has left. But he will surely show up again, so their battle is far from over. As everyone watches Raoh leave the village, the narrator says that there is no rest for these men. Tomorrow, new battles await them.


NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

Rei only has three days left to live, but Mamiya wants to help him. She travels to a city wanting to find helpful medicines, but she finds out that the place has gone to the dogs, literally. Tune in next time for "72 Hours to Live! The Harbinger of Death Drags Rei In!!"