When they arrive on the mainland, Shichika finds a strange world full of people and has difficulty on distinguishing one person from another. After a month of travelling, Togame and Shichika reach Inaba in their search for the next sword, Zantō Namakura. Inaba has become an ever-growing sandy desert and they eventually reach the Gekoku castle sinking into the sand. Outside, they stumble across the body of the "reverse-talking" ninja Shirasagi Maniwa who has just been killed by the ronin Uneri Ginkaku...