The Shogun's forces engage the rebel army in the battle of Shimbara.

As these forces fight each other, nobody at the battle seems to notice that everything is shaking. Above a fortress, the clouds change into a skull, and a bolt of lightning hits the structure.

The fortress emits a powerful light, which hits the two armies and burns everyone alive. The fortress then collapses.

Some time later, a samurai called Haohmaru arrives at the burnt battlefield. When the Earth shook, he could feel it, as it meant the seal had been broken. He demands for Shiro to reveal herself, and in front of him, some blue flames gather together into one. They form the one Haohmaru is looking for: Shiro Tokisada Amakusa.

Haohmaru is angry with her, as she is a traitor. Why did she break the seal of Ambrosia, the dark God? Amakusa calmly tells him that he soon learn which God has the greater power. Haohmaru decided to challenge her, revealing his blade and using it to throw out a projectile.

The projectile causes a large explosion, but Amakusa has already teleported around it. She appears behind Haohmaru, who spins around and slashes at her with his sword. But with just one hand, she blocks his strike.

She says Ankokushin will crush those who stand against him. Haohmaru asks how she can even ask him to betray his God, but Amakusa tells him to abandon his holy vows and join with her -or die. She pulls out her own sword. She asks if he's even a little tempted, but he says he's not -his sacred oath as a holy warrior will never be broken. She tells him he will join Ankokushin -not as a disciple, but as a sacrifice!

She summons a large energy blast from her sword, and Haohmaru struggles to block it. As this is going on, Amakusa has to jump away from a projectile someone threw towards her.

The other holy warriors -Galford, Wan-Fu, Tam Tam, Charlotte and Nakoruru -have arrived. Charlotte says it is their duty to protect the seal, and asks why Amakusa has broken it. Wan-Fu reminds Amakusa that she is also a holy warrior, and Galford asks why has she betrayed them.

They all rush towards her, but she says they're foolish. She blasts them all back, and they get knocked down, covered by blue flames.

Haohmaru tries to attack her, but she leaps up and uses her projectile technique again, hitting him and all of the other holy warriors. With them all defeated, Amakusa laughs.

Suddenly, the bodies of each holy warrior vanish, leaving behind a glowing red orb. Amakusa says the bodies are dead, but she won't let their souls escape. The souls rise up into the sky.

She attempts to use a spell to trap the souls, but she fails, saying there were too many of them.

She decides that it's alright, as in 100 years, their spirits shall be reborn. She will be waiting, her and Ambrosia, the lord of darkness. Since the dawn of time, there has been war between the forces of good and evil. Now she will end it -the last battle is at hand!

In a village, an elder is talking about how a soul will be revived in times of need, when some people run past in panic. A bull has gotten loose and is on the rampage, when one man steps forward to challenge it. The man is Haohmaru, who charges into the bull, and grabs it by the horns.

The bull tries to push him back, but ends up being thrown over, defeated. Haohmaru tells the bull to be nice and behave. As the villagers applaud him, Haohmaru says it was nothing. He picks his boards back up, and walks off.

Nearby, Galford, Poppy, Wan-Fu and Charlotte are waiting around. Wan-Fu says this courtyard is a place crossed by many travelers. Poppy then growls at something, so the group head off and arrive at a dojo. In the dojo, one student gets knocked through a wall.

Haohmaru is beating up everybody, and doesn't think this place is much of a fighting school -can't anyone here beat him? The dojo master draws his sword, and goes to challenge him. Galford wonders if this guy is the one they're searching for.

Haohmaru avoids the master's attacks, and then counters with one of his own. He's so fast the master never gets a chance to evade his move, and gets hit in the stomach. It isn't a fatal blow, but it is enough to defeat him, and make him drop to his knees. Haohmaru says the game is over, and goes to leave -but he tells everyone he'll be taking the sign at the front as a souvenir.

Having watched the battle, Wan-Fu says that guy was strong, but he's no samurai. Charlotte agrees, saying that he isn't the one they're looking for. Galford pets Poppy, but it looks her nose has failed them this time.

Inside Edo Castle, many warriors are gathered in front of a shrine, including three of Amakusa's followers: Genan, Earthquake and Shogun Yoshimune. Amakusa appears, and says she has lived for over 100 years, and slain thousands.

She tells her followers that under Ankokushin's guidance, they shall rule the world -this is their destiny. She asks Yoshimune if he has gathered any information about the holy warriors. He says he has, but as he takes it out, she uses her powers to take it from him. She reads it, and says the time has almost come. Yoshimune tells her he can have Hanzo and his ninjas go and eliminate them, if she wishes it.

Amakusa says her own soldiers are more than sufficient. Nobody defies her power, and its been 100 years since Shimbara was taken. Since then, no force has dared to defy Ankokushin. Her orders are law, and to disobey her is to invite a long, painful death. Nearby, there is a ninja, who backs off when he realizes Amakusa has sensed his presence. Amakusa refers to him as a fly, who should go now. She'll swat him later.

Elsewhere, at a kabuki play, Kyoshiro is pleasing his audience when the curtain closes and he gets to go backstage. As he does this, he sees a samurai he knows has come to visit him: Jubei.

A ninja then appears out of the shadows: Hanzo. Kyoshiro says he couldn't even sense him, but Hanzo says Amakusa could, and the witch already knows of their plot. The Shogun is already under Amakusa's influence, and he has no backbone at all.

Back at the fortress, Yoshimune leaves the shrine, and doesn't look too good. Hanzo says Amakusa's forces are already staring to move, so they need to counterattack. But Jubei says most of their warriors are just farmers or peasants. They need somebody to lead them. Hanzo says this is true, and he has learnt there are some that Amakusa still fears: the six holy warriors. He doesn't know why she fears them, but Kyoshiro says that doesn't matter -if the holy warriors are willing to help them, no price is too high. Hanzo says they must find these holy warriors before Amakusa does. Only then will their rebellion stand a chance.

Haohmaru returns back to his village, and dumps the dojo signs he took on the ground. A bunch of kids see that he's obtained 5 signs, and Haohmaru tells them that nobody has beaten him yet. They think he's the best fighter ever, and he says it's true. They then ask him if he can do something about the hornet's nest. Nearby, on the branch of a tree, the nest is hanging.

Haohmaru takes out a stick, and tells everybody to hide. He then leaps up and hits the nest, causing it to break and fall down. It hits the ground and cracks open, and the hornets start flying out. Haohmaru starts battering them all with the stick.

He seemingly kills them all and tells the kids it's all clear, but then one surviving hornet lands on his head and stings him. As he screams in pain, one of the kids says she'll heal him, just the way her mother does. Her healing method is to lick her finger and press on the wound.

This causes Haohmaru even more pain, and he runs off home crying. As he goes, one of his friends, Moichiro, sees him, but says nothing. Haohmaru goes back home, and tells his mother, Chiyo, about how big the hornet was. He thinks it was the king of hornets! Chiyo says some men from the next village came by earlier, warning about a large bear being on the loose. They said they'd pay Haohmaru to catch it, although they have no money -one of the villagers offered his daughter instead.

Haohmaru says he'd rather have sake than a wife. He heads out to catch the bear, and says he'll be back in time for dinner. As he leaves, he sees Otami outside. She comes up to him and asks if he's seen Goro, her son. As Otami walks off, Chiyo says it has been 2 years since Goro disappeared. Haohmaru says Goro was his favorite wrestling partner, and he's not the only one who disappeared from this area lately. Chiyo tells him to promise to be careful, but he tells her not to worry -there's no one out there who could ever beat him!

As he walks off towards a forest, he notices Moichiro. But the moment Moichiro spots him, he runs off. Haohmaru thinks that was strange. Elsewhere, Earthquake and a group of Amakusa's soldiers arrive at the village.

Haohmaru quickly finds the bear, and kills it. He apologizes and says for its spirit to rest in peace. He then feels the ground shaking.

Earthquake and his men have begun their attack on the village, and are slaughtering everybody. They also start setting homes on fire, and Moichiro sees that his home is now ablaze. He says they lied to him, but Earthquake tells his spy that he did good work. Moichiro tells him he said they wouldn't burn his house, but Earthquake says he didn't know it was his.

He then gives Moichiro his reward, and kills him by stabbing him in the back. Elsewhere, Chiyo runs out of her home, and sees Otami throwing rocks at one of the soldiers. One rock breaks the soldier's mask, revealing that the soldier is her son, Goro.

She hugs him and asks if he remembers her, but he remains silent, and doesn't react to her affections. Someone else then stabs her in the back, and he and Goro run off further into the village. Chiryo checks on Otami, only to find that she's dead.

Haohmaru gets back to the village, but sees that it's on fire. Chiryo starts yelling at the soldiers, asking them why they're doing this -they have nothing of value. She then gets shot in the back with an arrow. Nearby, Haohmaru starts killing anybody who gets in his way.

Goro goes to challenge him, and Haohmaru reluctantly fights back. He tells Goro to stop fighting him, but then Earthquake appears. He laughs and tells Haohmaru that he's wasting his time. These men are his slaves, and they'll do whatever he asks.

Haohmaru knocks Goro down, and tells him to snap out of it. Goro continues to attack, but Haohmaru breaks his sword. A piece of it stabs into Earthquake, and as he removes it, he says it's his turn now.

He wraps his chain around Goro's neck, and starts swinging him around, eventually sending him flying into a rock. Haohmaru goes to check on him, but he finds that he's dead.

Haohmaru starts to fight Earthquake, and jumps towards him, but Earthquake leaps back. Earthquake then starts rolling towards him.

The two clash, but neither of them hit each other. Earthquake tells him to stay still, and wraps his chain around his neck. Haohmaru tries to stop Earthquake from dragging him forwards.

As this is happening, Haohmaru suddenly has a vision, of himself and six other people. As the vision ends, his eyes start to glow red.

His entire body starts to glow red, as he says this is his secret power. Nearby, Tam Tam, Nakoruru and Mamahaha sense the disturbance. Haohmaru gets the chain off him, and then starts to walk towards Earthquake.

Earthquake starts rolling forwards, but Haohmaru unleashes a projectile technique, the senpu retsu zan (whirlwind rending slash). Earthquake collides with it, but gets blown away.

Haohmaru quickly moves in and kills him. Tam Tam and Nakoruru watch, and they believe this man is the one they're searching for. Tam Tam says who else could use the senpu retsu zan, it must mean this man is Haohmaru. Nakoruru sends Mamahaha off to get the others.

Haohmaru quickly defeats the rest of Earthquake's soldiers, and then returns to his village. However he finds that everybody there is dead. He then has that same vision again, and looks at his sword. But the red glow disappears.

He goes to check on his mother, but finds her with an arrow in her back. He removes it, and says it's him. She's still alive, and is glad to see he's safe. He wants to get a doctor, but she tells him to listen. She reveals that she is not his real mother... she had been thinking for a long time to tell him this.

Several years ago, something came from the sky, and hit the ground. Chiyo went to investigate, a found a baby in a basket, along with a sword.

Chiyo tells Haohmaru she knows he has a greater purpose, something he was born to do. She tells him to seek out and find his destiny, and he tells her he will. She tells him that her spirit with be with him always, and says not to worry. She then dies, and Haohmaru yells out to the heavens.

Later on, Haohmaru has buried everyone. But then he realizes he is no longer alone, and spins around to see two other people have appeared. They are Nakoruru and Tam Tam, who say they've finally found him. He really doesn't think they're friends though, and asks if they are with that fat pig he killed earlier.

They try to tell him that they're not, and are actually his friends, but he refuses to believe them and goes on the attack. As Nakoruru evades his moves, Mamahaha flies in and distracts him. Nakoruru tells Mamahaha that was nice timing. Haohmaru says he doesn't have time for this.

Galford then appears, and looks at Haohmaru. He says he isn't quite what he expected, but Tam Tam says he is the one they are looking for. Haohmaru asks how many of them are there, and then sees Poppy, Charlotte and Wan-Fu. Charlotte wonders why Haohmaru doesn't know them, if he is the one. Wan-Fu says it would appear that Haohmaru has not yet fully awakened. Galford tells Haohmaru it's time to wake up, but Haohmaru tells him to shut up. He goes on the attack again. As the others watch them fight, Nakoruru says unlike the rest of them, Haohmaru doesn't remember he was a holy warrior. Charlotte says it explains why Haohmaru's technique is so poor.

Haohmaru goes to strike Galford, but Charlotte gets in his way, and the two cross their swords. As their weapons clash, Haohmaru has the same vision again, and then stumbles back.

The others think he must be beginning to remember. Nakoruru tells him he's just like the rest of them -one of the holy warriors. That scared sword he's carrying is what proves it. Haohmaru looks at his sword, and then thinks of what his mother told him about having a greater purpose. Nakoruru says he must have heard of the legend of the seven samurai, the ones who defend the gates of heaven -that's them! Haohmaru looks at the group, and realizes that together, there are only six of them.

Wan-Fu says the seventh was Amakusa. Haohmaru says that can't be, Amakusa died at the battle of Shimbara. Wan-Fu says that is what was said, but in truth, she broke her vows as a holy warrior, and became a servant of Ankokushin. It was her soldiers that destroyed this village. It's Amakusa's ultimate goal to fan the flames of his burning hatred. Haohmaru says he'll kill the witch himself -vengeance will be his!

NOTES

-In the games, Amakusa is male. In this anime however, Amakusa is female, is both the Japanese and English dubs. It is believed that this was a mistake by the production staff, as in the anime's novelization (which I believe was only released in Japan), Amakusa is male.