Galford tells Haohmaru to calm down, but he tells them all to get away from him. Losing himself to rage, he causes an explosion of power, which knocks all of the other holy warriors back. When things return to normal, Haohmaru is gone. Wan-Fu says they've got to stop him, if he gets to Edo first, the consequences could be dire.

Haohmaru is on the run, and thinks that he'll avenge his mother. The other holy warriors are also running, but a bunch of shadows leap out of the ground. More of Amakusa's soldiers have found them, led by Genan.

Galford tells the others to leave this to him and Poppy, whilst they go off and reach Haohmaru. Back at the shrine, Amakusa is watching Haohmaru's movements through a magical orb. She says this is exactly what she planned.

Haohmaru arrives in Edo, but bumps into a woman holding a child. She asks for help, just as a bunch of Amakusa's solders arrive. Haohmaru quickly cuts them all down, and then says that Amakusa is next.

Galford throws some plasma blades at the soldiers, taking them down. Genan tries to attack...

...but Poppy charges into him, knocking him down. He tells the others to run away, which is what they do. Galford laughs at them.

He asks whoever is up there if they enjoyed the show. Jubei jumps down, and says he's on a mission to find the holy warrior, and Galford tells him he's found one. But he then remembers something: Jubei Yagyu works for the shogun, who in turn works for Amakusa. He points his sword at him, but Jubei explains that he is not one of Amakusa's followers.

Meanwhile, as Haohmaru arrives at Edo Castle, he demands for Amakusa to show herself, whilst killing more soldiers that try and stop him. The other holy warriors arrive at the castle, and are instantly confronted by many of Amakusa's troops. Since they still need to find Haohmaru, they decide to split up, and charge forward to take on anyone who gets in their way.

As the holy warriors continue to fight, Haohmaru finishes off a few more soldiers. He looks down and sees Charlotte and Wan-Fu fighting against some soldiers.

The two take down several soldiers easily, and Haohmaru admits these guys are good. He then hears that woman he saw earlier, who tells him that if he's looking for Amakusa, she's over here. She and Haohmaru run inside the fortress.

Charlotte shouts at Haohmaru to not do it, but he's already gone inside. Jubei and Galford then show up. Charlotte tells Galford that Haohmaru has gone inside, so she's going after him. She tells Galford to get the others, and then follow her in.

Haohmaru is walking around a strange place, but then realizes the woman who was with him has vanished. Charlotte then appears, and tells Haohmaru not to do this, as they're not ready. Haohmaru says he can take care of his vengeance all by himself, so just let him be. Charlotte tries to explain about what happened a 100 years ago, but Haohmaru says that's ancient history. Charlotte warns him that he can't defeat Amakusa all by himself, but he tells her to get out of his way. She says first, he'll have to kill her.

Haohmaru draws his sword, and says he won't hold back. He goes to strike her, but she blocks the attack. The moment this happens, the two are suddenly teleported to the shrine.

Amakusa appears, and laughs. She welcomes them, but when Haohmaru realizes she's Amakusa, he says he'll kill her. He runs towards her, but Charlotte tells him not to do this. She gets in his way, and gets hit by a projectile.

Meanwhile the other holy warriors have entered the castle, but aren't sure where to go as Poppy has lost Haohmaru's scent. But then they are suddenly transported to where Amakusa is, and find themselves tied up. Haohmaru tries to attack Amakusa, but she easily knocks him down.

Amakusa says how nice this all is -after 100 years, the holy warriors are reunited once more. Haohmaru doesn't understand all this holy warrior stuff, but he says he's here to get revenge on what she did to his mother. The whole room then starts to shake, as Amakusa tells them to feel the power of Ambrosia. She rises up into the air, and her orb glows brightly. Outside, Jubei is fighting the remaining soldiers.

Everyone stops when they see what is happening. Something rises out of the ground:

Amakusa says this entire castle is now protected by an invisible barrier of energy. Haohmaru tries to attack her again, but again she easily evades his strike. She tells him his tiny mind is so full of anger, Ankokushin shall enjoy feeding on his rage-soaked soul. Haohmaru tries yet again to attack, but she jumps out of the way, and tells him he never learns.

Wan-Fu tells Haohmaru to not surrender to his anger, but he keeps fighting. Charlotte tells him not to be a fool, he can't beat Amakusa all by himself. Haohmaru tells them to shut up, and takes yet another swing at Amakusa. She dodges it, and says his mother was killed on her orders. He starts wildly swinging at her, and as she avoids his strikes, she tells him to kill her.

Haohmaru gets enraged, as Nakoruru warns him that anger is Ankokushin's path to his soul. Amakusa says no one can resist the power of Ankokushin, not even a holy warrior such as herself. Tam Tam calls her a traitor, and says she isn't one of them. Nakoruru asks her why she broke the seal of Ankokushin Ambrosia. Amakusa says she did it because she discovered how powerful Ankokushin truly is. No longer is she retrained by such mortal failings as friendship, compassion and love.

Galford tells her she's mad, and Wan-Fu tells her she sold her soul to Ankokushin -letting loose a terrible evil in doing so. He says the people of this land will rise up, and topple her Tokugawa puppets. Amakusa says to let them try, but once she's absorbed their immortal souls, she'll be invincible. Haohmaru then goes to strike her again, but she avoids it. She tells him to fan the flames of his hatred.

Haohmaru's aura changes color, from red to blue. Wan-Fu tells him to remember why they lost 100 years ago -he can't defeat Ankokushin by himself. They've got to work together, and the people will join them! Amakusa thinks that's wishful thinking, as the people have no courage.

Haohmaru continues to try and attack, as Amakusa continues to laugh at him. Nakoruru tells the other holy warriors that they've got to break the barrier, and pull their power. The holy warriors concentrate their own energy...

...and combine it into a stream of fire. This creates a large hole in wall, revealing some kind of warp gate. Wan-Fu tells Charlotte to get out now, and she tackles Haohmaru.

The two fall into the warp. Amakusa tries to kill them, but the warp vanishes just as her projectile is about to hit it. She is angered, but says that Haohmaru's soul will be hers.

Haohmaru and Charlotte blast out of the fortress, and arrive back at Haohmaru's village. Charlotte wakes up first, and tries to wake Haohmaru up, but he doesn't respond. She wonders where they are.

The kids then appear, and see Haohmaru is unconscious. Charlotte realizes when they went through the gate, Haohmaru's subconscious must have brought them here. The kids ask if Haohmaru is dead, and Charlotte says he's not -but his soul is in great danger. She asks the kids to help her move him to someplace safe.

They take him into a building, and he remains asleep for over a week. Charlotte hears an explosion in the distance. She sees that just beyond a hill, there is a plume of smoke -no doubt Amakusa's troops are closing in on them. Meanwhile, inside Haohmaru's mind...

...Haohmaru's spirit is being taunted by Amakusa. She tempts him with Ankokushin's power, asking him to join with her. Does he fight against her for the sake of other people? She thinks that is foolish, as loyalty goes no further that your own skin. She reminds him of the woman he helped who led him into a trap, and his friend, Moichiro, who betrayed his village. In the face of death, no one can be trusted.

Charlotte tells the kids that Haohmaru is beginning to weaken. She'll have to merge her spirit with his to bring him back. But it'll leave them defenseless, and if they're discovered, she won't be able to protect Haohmaru's body. The kids say they'll protect her, so she enters Haohmaru's mind. As this is going on, Amakusa asks Haohmaru if he remembers the battle of Shimbara.

She says that then, she fought then for the oppressed, but where was his God during that battle? Amakusa fought in that war, only to be struck by one of her own Generals. They very people she sought to save, had betrayed her. Badly injured, she has one last chance left: to release Ankokushin. She set about releasing him from his slumber.

She collapsed on the small shrine she created, begging for Ankokushin to return. As she did, a large amount of energy was released, and flames appeared all over her. But Amakusa got up, declaring she had been revived, and let loose with several powerful energy blasts that burnt alive the armies nearby.

Back in the present, Amakusa says she holds the world in her grasp, and then moves close to Haohmaru. She asks him why he should waste his time on those who would betray him. It would be better to kill them first. A voice then calls out to Haohmaru, telling him not to listen to her, as Charlotte appears. Amakusa is impressed with Charlotte's spirit merge.

Charlotte tells Haohmaru not to be seduced, and to remember his oath as a holy warrior. Amakusa tells her to die, and fires an energy blast at her. Charlotte tries to block it, but her armor shatters and she's sent flying away.

Back in the real world, Genan and some of his troops come across a house by the river, and decide to take a look inside it. Meanwhile, Amakusa tells Haohmaru that Ankokushin will offer him unlimited wealth and power. Charlotte returns, and tells Haohmaru not to be fooled -soon the people will rise up and destroy Ankokushin. Amakusa says her people will only betray her.

Meanwhile, Genan's group approach the house. But before they can go inside it, they jump back and away from an explosive projectile. Hanzo has arrived, along with an army of ninjas and villagers.

The two sides start to fight, and inside the house, the children realize they're in trouble. They beg Haohmaru to wake up. Back in the spirit world, Charlotte asks Haohmaru if he can hear the voices of the children, who are calling out to him.

Amakusa says it is too late, Haohmaru is now hers. She knows he wants the power she tempted him with. She offers him enough power to even kill her, and tells him to step forward. Haohmaru begins to move, but Charlotte stops him. She tells him he must remember his holy vows, and he must be able to hear the voices of the children calling out to him. She tearfully tells him that he has a greater destiny. He seems to react to the word "destiny".

Charlotte says he must come back to them. Amakusa beckons him to her again, before throwing out another projectile beam which hits Charlotte in her back.

She tells him not to give in to Ankokushin. Haohmaru suddenly snaps out of it, remembering who he really is, and saying how he knows the truth. One of his fists unleashes a projectile, which hits Amakusa and removes her from the spirit world.

Back in the real world, Genan has entered the house, and sees the kids. He says they should run, but he then sees Haohmaru rise up behind them. Haohmaru unsheathes his sword.

Seconds later, Genan is sent flying through a door, and lands outside. Genan thought Haohmaru was meant to be asleep, but it doesn't matter, as he'll shut his eyes forever. The two clash and then break away from each other, and then Haohmaru uses the kogetsu zan (arc moon slash) technique.

Genan manages to avoid it, but Haohmaru kills him by slicing him in half. The kids run over, and are glad to see Haohmaru is back. He is surprised to see them, and they explain that they were at the river catching fish when their village was attacked. When they were returning, they saw their village was on fire, so they hid in the mountains.

Haohmaru says it's alright. He then thanks Charlotte for everything, and says sorry for what happened earlier. He is sure that Amakusa would have had him for Ambrosia if she hadn't come and rescued him. This makes the kids think that Haohmaru and Charlotte are going to be lovers, but he tells them to stop being silly.

Hanzo and his army then appear, as Hanzo wants to speak with the holy warriors. He and his people will no longer bow to Amakusa, and he wants their help in defeating her. Haohmaru says they're the ones who'll be needing their assistance, as they could defeat Amakusa forever! Later on, Haohmaru and Charlotte fly towards Amakusa's fortress.

Haohmaru uses a secret move called the tenha fuujin zan (heaven supreme sealing god slash), which shatters the energy barrier around the fortress. Inside the fortress, the other holy warriors are released. Galford says it felt like he was frozen, and Wan-Fu wonders what freed them. Nakoruru senses that Haohmaru broke Amakusa's barrier, and Charlotte is with him.

On the exterior of the fortress, Amakusa has found Haohmaru and Charlotte, and uses her sword to send projectiles their way. They avoid them, as Haohmaru hits back with a senpu retsuzan.

However Amakusa counters this with one of her own blue projectiles, which destroy each other. She asks him if he really thought he could beat her with such childish tricks, and then sends forward more powerful projectiles, which rip up the ground around her. Haohmaru and Charlotte have to jump back.

She asks if he remembers the last time -the smell of burning flesh, and all of the pain and agony he and the others suffered. Haohmaru hasn't got time to answer her, as he and Charlotte try to avoid all of the large projectiles being thrown at them. They end up falling off part of the fortress, but Charlotte grabs onto Haohmaru, whilst Haohmaru grabs into part of the cliff.

Amakusa asks Haohmaru if he's ready to die, and starts stomping on his hand. Before she can finish them off, she herself gets blasted back as the other holy warriors arrive. They all start using...

...various projectile attacks, which seem to hit Amakusa and cause a big explosion. But Amakusa soon reveals she didn't get hit by anything, and teleports behind them all.

As Haohmaru and Charlotte reunite with the other holy warriors, Amakusa says this is nice -she'll send them all to hell together. She fires a beam of energy at them, and they all leap up to avoid it. But even when it is 6 against 1, Amakusa proves to be able to handle them all.

She leaps high into the air, and uses her sword to create bolts of energy, which rain down on all of the holy warriors and blast them back. She then summons blue flames, and attempts to burn the holy warriors alive.

But then everyone hears a lot of yelling down below. The reason for this is because the rebels -who are led by Kyoshiro, Jubei and Hanzo -have begun their attack. Kyoshiro takes down a soldier, and thinks his magnificent sword dance was wasted on him.

Soon Amakusa's forces are being overwhelmed. Amakusa can't believe it, but as the holy warriors rise, Haohmaru tells her that the people have risen against her. When it comes to defending against evil... all people have the heart of a samurai!

She fires several projectile beams at him, but he blocks them all and says that nobody is scared of her anymore. He leaps up towards her.

Before she can do anything, Haohmaru stabs into her. She transports herself and Haohmaru to the shrine.

She weakly says that she is now free, and Haohmaru wonders if she has become a holy warrior again. She says that she has failed in her duty, and dies. The other holy warriors arrive, and learn of Amakusa's demise.

But they then see her body rise into the air, as a spirit leaves it -the spirit of Ankokushin Ambrosia! The spirit takes the form of a monster, which smashes through the ceiling of the fortress.

Wan-Fu says they must replace the seal, as he and the others leap up. But even when they combine their powers, they cannot stop Ambrosia. Ambrosia is even able to deflect their attack...

...back at them. Wan-Fu points out that there are only 6 of them now when there used to be 7, what are they supposed to do? Back in the shrine, Amakusa's sword vanishes. Amakusa then appears as a spirit, and tells Haohmaru that she gives him her holy sword. This sword holds the power of her life and soul, and he must use it to stop the evil she unleashed.

Haohmaru grabs the sword, and leaps towards Ambrosia. He stabs the monster in the head, causing it to explode. The entire fortress crumbles, as everyone down on the ground celebrates.

Hanzo says Ambrosia is beaten. The holy warriors congratulate Haohmaru, but he thanks them. Wan-Fu says it was also the people, along with Amakusa's sacrifice, which defeated Ankokushin.

Later on, a village is being rebuilt. Hanzo and Yoshimune stand on a cliff, looking at it, as Yoshimune wonders what to do. Hanzo tells him that the evil that threatened them has been defeated, and they must rebuild. What happened here could have happened anywhere, anywhere people allow evil to flourish in their hearts. Yoshimune can only wonder about the holy warriors, and hopes that they will always be out there, somewhere, waiting to protect them.

NOTES

-The secret move Haohmaru uses to destroy the energy barrier shows a series of symbols just before he does it. The symbols are actually joystick directions, followed by the letters B and C. It's how to use the move in the Samurai Shodown II game. This anime aired around a month before Samurai Shodown II was released in arcades, giving players with good eyesight an advantage.

The command is down-forward, half circle forward, back, down, down-back plus the medium slash (B) and weak kick (C) buttons together.

-The credits sequence shows several deleted scenes -see this page for more information.