"He would have died a martyr to his own greed," Kenshin answers. "I wanted him to live long enough to be forgotten."
Kanryu kidnaps Kaoru and Yahiko to force Kenshin into a final confrontation. The battlefield is Kanryu's mansion, filled with explosive charges and hired killers. But the true trap is emotional: Kanryu has also unearthed the grave of , Kenshin's first wife—whom Kenshin himself killed by accident during the revolution. The Rurouni Kenshin
Kaoru's dojo is rebuilt. Yahiko trains with a wooden sword. The roof still leaks a little. "He would have died a martyr to his
Saito: "You call yourself a protector. But a wolf who wears a sheep's mask still has fangs. The only difference between us, Battosai, is that I admit what I am." But the true trap is emotional: Kanryu has
"Because I have already killed enough," Kenshin replies. "Ten years ago, in Kyoto. I was Hitokiri Battosai . The manslayer who opened the door to this new era. But a door that opens on corpses… is still a door to hell."
In the autumn of 1880, Tokyo is a city of brass bands, silk top hats, and festering shadows. Former samurai, now destitute, drift into crime or drink. The police are undermanned; the government, paranoid.