Kenshiro collapsed before Souther's South Star phoenix fist! He was then taken captive, to serve as a human sacrifice for the Holy Cross mausoleum.

But Shiva, the only son of Shu, the resistance leader, saved Kenshiro. The Holy Emperor's forces were closing in. Then Shiva decided to sacrifice himself...

A Bloody Battle, Shu Vs. Souther!
Love is Drowned by the Tears of the Star of Benevolence!!

Souther's forces find Shiva in the desert, and surround him. They want to know where Kenshiro is, but Shiva remains silent. He then pulls out two lit sticks of dynamite.

Kenshiro sees a massive explosion in the distance, and realizes what Shiva has done for him. Not only has Shu saved him, but now, so has his son. He tries to walk, but can't, and collapses.

He starts to crawl through the desert, determined to see Shu again. But as the hours pass, a sand storm sets in, and Kenshiro collapses. Two of the Fist King's men then find him.

Kenshiro wakes up, and finds himself back in the base of the resistance. He sees Bat and Lin, and also notices that his wounds have been patched up. He asks them if they did this, but they say that when they found him near the base, his injuries had already been treated. Kenshiro wonders who could have done this, whilst Lin is just happy that Ken is back.

At Raoh's fortress, the two men return. They ask if this was the right thing to do. Raoh says it's fine -Kenshiro still has something to do for him.

At the resistance base, Shu is waiting outside. Kenshiro walks up to him, and tries to tell him about what happened to Shiva. Shu says that they couldn't even fine one piece of his bones. Kenshiro apologizes, but says he can't even find the proper words to say.

Shu says to commend Shiva, as he just was. He tells Kenshiro there's no need for him to grieve, as the blood of the star of benevolence flowed through Shiva's body as well. She says he is very proud of his son.

Elsewhere, outside another resistance base, some men carry a box towards the entrance. Some guards stop them, but the men explain that Shu sent them with some food. They've been ordered to stay here and protect the village. The guards let them inside.

The group enter the room and put the box down, but one of Souther's men jumps out, wielding a mini-gun. He starts shooting down resistance members.

The other guys who carried the box in are also Souther's men, and they join in with killing everyone in the room. Later on, one of Souther's captains sees a smoke signal, and says that their advance troops have succeeded.

Souther says that before they topple Shu's resistance, take 100 women and children hostage. But any others are to be killed, as there will be no mercy. Anyone who opposes him, the Holy Emperor, even a surrender will not be enough. Souther's forces then being their attack. Someone runs in and tells Shu that Souther's army is attacking this base.

Lin tells Ken that they're in trouble, and begs him to wake up. But Shu explains that he gave Ken a powerful sleeping pill, and even Ken won't be able to wake up from it. He asks Lin and Bat for a favor.

He takes them to an underground waterway, and has a boat ready. He tells Lin and Bat that if they go straight on, they should be able to get away. He tells them that when Ken wakes up, tell him this: their wishes, and all children living in this age depend on his fist.

Shu tells Kenshiro that when he first met him, he must have been around the same as as Shiva. He wishes he could have seen him as a grown man. But even if he perishes, he and Shiva will become the South Star as father and son, and will watch over him. He tells Ken that he's counting on him, and then bids him farewell. As Shu starts to walk away, Lin stops him and tells him he must not die, no matter what happens. Shu tells her that it's alright -her tears will make him even stronger.

She then joins Bat on the boat, and they head away. As they do, Lin shouts for Shu to promise her that he won't die. Shu starts to walk away.

Souther's forces arrive at the main resistance base. Some of the resistance try and attack, but get killed. The hostages are then brought out.

Souther's men tell the resistance that the hostages will be killed, if they try to resist. They decide to show they aren't bluffing, and one guy grabs two children. He says that he's going to kill them both.

Shu then jumps in, and kicks the guy with so much force that it splits him in half. Souther sees that the leader of the rats is out in the open, but he won't be able to defeat him. His star is the polar star, all the other stars merely orbit around himself.

Shu says that if he can't defeat him, he'll still fight furiously until his life burns out. Souther says he'll witness the final moments of the South Star white heron fist, and signals for some of his men to step forward. They do, and start swinging around claw weapons, which make a lot of noise.

They surround Shu, and think that think that as he uses his hearing to sense opponents, they will disrupt it. After doing this for a few seconds, they all throw their weapons at him at the same time. But Shuu jumps up to avoid them, and then lands. He then does a fast kicking technique called Nanto rekkyaku zanjin (South Star fierce kick formation).

The men who were surrounding him are all decapitated. The captain wants to know how Shu was able to locate their positions, so Shu tells him: neither his eyes or ears sense his enemies. He sensed them with his soul. Some other men ask him how he'll deal with this, as they swing a giant sword at him.

Shu jumps over it, and lands on two of the men, breaking their necks. He then does chop which splits the middle guy's head in half. With them out of the way, Shu then leaps towards Souther.

Shu goes to strike Souther, but Souther avoids it just be casually tilting his head. Souther tells Shu that was pretty close, and pulls his hand out. He lets go and tells him to strike again if he wants, but can he sacrifice 100 hostages?

Souther tells him to go ahead and strike, as he won't try to resist. It's his greatest wish to defeat him after all, and he'll be able to do what even Kenshiro can't achieve. It's not a chance he'll get again. The woman tell Shu to defeat Souther, but Shu hesitates.

Shu then rises his fist up, but Souther tells him that's far enough. He uses a slashing technique to cut open Shu's legs.

Shu falls to the ground, and Souther jumps down next to him. Souther says that the secret techniques of the South Star white heron fist lie in its footwork. He's cut Shu's leg muscles, so he'll never be able to use the style again. The captain then orders his men to slaughter everyone. Shu tells him to wait -that's not was Souther had promised.

Souther tells him he's only saved the hostages here -he said nothing about anyone else. He won't tolerate even a single rebellion, and any who disobey him will be killed. He tells Shu that no matter how brightly the star of benevolence may shine, he can't save all the people and the world alone. He has his men drag Shu away, and tells him that he has a suitable death prepared for him. As Shu is taken, he tells Kenshiro to listen to him -listen to the scream of his soul! He screams Kenshiro's name.

As Bat and Lin continue their journey, Lin suddenly turns around. Bat asks her what's wrong, and Lin says that she thought she just heard something. Meanwhile, Souther's forces start their attack on the resistance's main base.

Inside the waterway, a man orders his children to hurry up and go on, as they may be able to catch up with Kenshiro. But two of Souther's men then appear, and stab him in the back. They find the two kids, and say that they can't let anyone get away.

The larger soldier enters the water, and tells the other one to kill the two kids. He is about to do so, but then suddenly sees that his friend has placed his head on his shoulder. He tells him to cut it out -it's creepy! -but then realizes that it's only his head that's there.

He tosses the head away, but then he has his pressure points struck, and explodes seconds later. More of Souther's soldiers enter, but all are killed -Kenshiro is awake again, and he says he can hear it -Shu is calling him!

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

Shu has fallen into the hands of the Holy Emperor! Just what is the command star, Souther, up to now? Next time, on Fist of the North Star: "The Bloody Holy Cross Mausoleum! Shu! My Heart Will Hold Your Tears!!"

Kenshiro: The rage of the tempest is calling me.