1
00:00:18,030 --> 00:00:24,710
A condemned storyteller once asked
to be beheaded while telling a story.

2
00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:39,300
My father, Yamada Asaemon Kichiji,
accepted his request.

3
00:01:00,950 --> 00:01:03,120
Even after he was beheaded,

4
00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:06,620
the storyteller finished his tale.

5
00:01:08,420 --> 00:01:10,920
He didn't even realize he'd been beheaded.

6
00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,670
It was the perfect blow,
painless and devoid of emotion.

7
00:01:16,630 --> 00:01:21,640
After that, I made it my goal to duplicate
that stroke my father made.

8
00:01:44,330 --> 00:01:46,410
An impressive blow.

9
00:01:46,410 --> 00:01:48,460
Brilliant work for a woman.

10
00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:51,290
Thank you.

11
00:02:00,550 --> 00:02:02,350
There's fear.

12
00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:04,140
In your swordsmanship.

13
00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,270
Doubt and fear.

14
00:02:07,140 --> 00:02:09,350
You'll make the condemned
die painful deaths.

15
00:02:11,810 --> 00:02:13,230
I'll work on it.

16
00:02:31,420 --> 00:02:32,500
Sagiri...

17
00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:34,460
Look at your blade.

18
00:02:37,050 --> 00:02:39,720
The truth is reflected in the blade.

19
00:02:40,180 --> 00:02:44,220
My blade, heavy with fear,
causes the condemned to suffer,

20
00:02:44,220 --> 00:02:46,100
which makes my blade heavier still.

21
00:02:48,270 --> 00:02:49,350
What should I do?

22
00:02:50,140 --> 00:02:54,190
How can I eliminate doubt
and fear from my heart?

23
00:02:57,740 --> 00:02:59,530
Like my father.

24
00:03:04,450 --> 00:03:05,580
Perhaps...

25
00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:14,380
if it were a life I could take
without doubt or hesitation.

26
00:04:53,230 --> 00:04:56,900
Thank you for coming, condemned criminals.

27
00:04:57,690 --> 00:05:01,150
The man sitting before you
is the 11th Sei-i Taishogun,

28
00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:03,650
His Excellency Tokugawa Nariyoshi.

29
00:05:03,650 --> 00:05:07,660
Normally, you'd never have the opportunity
to have an audience with him.

30
00:05:07,660 --> 00:05:08,370
What was that?

31
00:05:08,370 --> 00:05:09,160
You ain't so special!

32
00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:10,370
You lookin' down on us, huh?

33
00:05:10,370 --> 00:05:11,660
What's a shogun?

34
00:05:11,660 --> 00:05:12,490
Who do you think you are?

35
00:05:12,490 --> 00:05:14,790
Is it safe to have so
many of them gather here?

36
00:05:14,790 --> 00:05:16,790
It's what the shogunate wanted.

37
00:05:19,790 --> 00:05:23,550
A burglar who killed 30 people, Tanio Seikichi.

38
00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,550
The serial arsonist, Nikimaru.

39
00:05:28,930 --> 00:05:31,810
The former constable and murderer, Kido Shukan.

40
00:05:32,220 --> 00:05:34,860
They're all heinous criminals
who've caused chaos.

41
00:05:36,730 --> 00:05:39,650
Aw, man. I can hardly breathe.

42
00:05:39,650 --> 00:05:41,820
I wanna see Tokugawa in person.

43
00:05:41,820 --> 00:05:43,070
You cannot.

44
00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:45,820
Here are your secret orders.

45
00:05:45,820 --> 00:05:50,910
You will travel to Shinsenkyo and return
with the immortality-granting Elixir of Life.

46
00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:55,830
Whomever completes this task
shall receive an official pardon...

47
00:05:56,830 --> 00:06:00,330
in the form of this certificate.

48
00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:04,550
The atmosphere changed.

49
00:06:08,430 --> 00:06:11,800
With that, I could go
on a killing spree again.

50
00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:13,100
Adachi Matagoro...

51
00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,850
A fiend who killed only woman
and children, and only for pleasure.

52
00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:23,860
Could I kill a truly evil person who's
better off dead without doubt or hesitation?

53
00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:41,130
Are you Gabimaru the Hollow?

54
00:06:41,580 --> 00:06:44,380
Your hair color and build gave you away.

55
00:06:44,380 --> 00:06:47,380
You're pretty famous in our line of work.

56
00:06:48,170 --> 00:06:49,380
But...

57
00:06:51,260 --> 00:06:53,050
I'm disappointed.

58
00:06:53,050 --> 00:06:58,140
You're way smaller, more wretched-looking,
and even tinier than the rumors say.

59
00:06:58,140 --> 00:07:00,770
You've even been apprehended, too.

60
00:07:01,270 --> 00:07:03,020
Sorry to disappoint you.

61
00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,280
I was certainly wary of him at first.

62
00:07:07,070 --> 00:07:09,990
But now he's so listless,
like he's a different person.

63
00:07:11,070 --> 00:07:13,820
Is this man just like the other criminals?

64
00:07:13,820 --> 00:07:18,540
Or is he even more evil than
that, as the rumors claim?

65
00:07:23,500 --> 00:07:27,670
I shall now describe to you
the island you'll be going to.

66
00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:29,340
It is like Paradise...

67
00:07:29,340 --> 00:07:30,420
We already heard that!
It is like Paradise...

68
00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:32,130
Whatever!

69
00:07:32,130 --> 00:07:33,840
Is this some kind of fairy tale?

70
00:07:34,550 --> 00:07:37,060
Remove your masks, criminals.

71
00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:43,560
I can finally breathe again.

72
00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:57,580
He's the only sergeant who returned alive
from a recent expedition.

73
00:07:58,330 --> 00:08:01,460
As you can see, he's no longer human.

74
00:08:06,210 --> 00:08:09,760
When he returned,
he had lumps all over his body.

75
00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,510
They began blooming the next day.

76
00:08:14,340 --> 00:08:18,760
The roughly 60 other members
of the expedition are still missing.

77
00:08:21,020 --> 00:08:23,640
We don't have
the slightest clue what happened

78
00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,520
on the island, considering this
is our only source of information.

79
00:08:28,650 --> 00:08:31,030
No one said the island
would be so dangerous!

80
00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:33,110
What's the problem?

81
00:08:33,110 --> 00:08:37,030
Blossoming into flowers would be
a mystical blessing.

82
00:08:37,030 --> 00:08:39,540
It would almost be wasted on you lot.

83
00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:41,040
Screw you!

84
00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:42,370
What are you talking about?

85
00:08:42,370 --> 00:08:43,540
I'm not going!

86
00:08:43,540 --> 00:08:45,460
Don't mock us!

87
00:08:45,460 --> 00:08:47,040
Enough.

88
00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:49,630
You're criminals sentenced to death,

89
00:08:49,630 --> 00:08:53,300
and you're being granted
an opportunity to travel to Paradise.

90
00:08:53,300 --> 00:08:56,890
Don't you realize how generous
His Excellency is being?

91
00:08:57,850 --> 00:08:58,800
Hey!

92
00:09:00,510 --> 00:09:02,810
You don't know anything
about the island, right?

93
00:09:03,140 --> 00:09:05,640
What if the Elixir's not there?

94
00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:07,150
Yeah!

95
00:09:07,150 --> 00:09:08,940
Can we come back empty-handed?

96
00:09:09,230 --> 00:09:11,730
They've got excuses for everything.

97
00:09:11,730 --> 00:09:14,650
If you don't like what we're offering,
then you can drop out.

98
00:09:14,650 --> 00:09:15,950
Participation is voluntary.

99
00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,700
Then I'll pass. Gives me the creeps.

100
00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,330
I'd rather die with my
boys waiting for me at the—

101
00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:31,960
I forgot to mention one thing.

102
00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:35,220
When you arrive on the island,
you'll be assigned monitors.

103
00:09:35,220 --> 00:09:37,590
M-Monitors?

104
00:09:39,470 --> 00:09:42,720
You've already been condemned to death.

105
00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:44,980
That still applies on the island.

106
00:09:45,230 --> 00:09:46,640
In other words...

107
00:09:55,740 --> 00:09:59,740
Act out on the island, and you'll
be beheaded on the spot.

108
00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,790
The Yamada Asaemon will
accompany you as your monitors.

109
00:10:04,660 --> 00:10:06,910
Don't get any funny ideas.

110
00:10:06,910 --> 00:10:09,000
They're from the Yamada clan.

111
00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:12,000
Turn against them,
and you'll end up like him.

112
00:10:12,250 --> 00:10:18,010
Naturally, if your monitor dies, whether by
accident or homicide, you'll be beheaded.

113
00:10:18,010 --> 00:10:22,260
If your monitor isn't with you,
you won't be allowed onto the return boat.

114
00:10:23,140 --> 00:10:24,140
Really?

115
00:10:24,140 --> 00:10:25,270
Yes.

116
00:10:25,980 --> 00:10:26,890
I see.

117
00:10:28,100 --> 00:10:32,520
I can't tell if he's brave or just dumb.

118
00:10:32,900 --> 00:10:34,270
Hey, you.

119
00:10:38,650 --> 00:10:40,280
Yes, Your Excellency.

120
00:10:40,860 --> 00:10:43,530
Sorry, but there's one more thing.

121
00:10:43,950 --> 00:10:47,540
Before you land on the island,
you need to reduce your numbers.

122
00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:48,830
What?

123
00:10:49,710 --> 00:10:52,710
All of you won't be able to
land on the island.

124
00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:57,720
The ship's capacity and the number
of Asaemon available are limited,

125
00:10:58,130 --> 00:11:01,470
so we'd like you to reduce your numbers.

126
00:11:01,470 --> 00:11:03,470
Reduce?

127
00:11:03,470 --> 00:11:05,470
You're a bunch of idiots.

128
00:11:06,220 --> 00:11:08,230
In other words...

129
00:11:08,230 --> 00:11:11,600
You want us to winnow the chaff here, right?

130
00:11:13,230 --> 00:11:15,770
Wh-What are you...

131
00:11:15,770 --> 00:11:16,980
See?

132
00:11:16,980 --> 00:11:19,990
They're not saying anything
after witnessing that.

133
00:11:21,950 --> 00:11:24,530
They want us to kill each other.

134
00:11:24,530 --> 00:11:26,740
If you don't act quick, you'll be killed.

135
00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,960
Well, that's one way to interpret it.

136
00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:33,500
Anyone who dies here
would've been useless anyway.

137
00:11:34,750 --> 00:11:38,380
Oh, and don't untie your hands.

138
00:11:41,510 --> 00:11:42,340
Die!

139
00:12:20,300 --> 00:12:22,170
Die!

140
00:12:24,050 --> 00:12:26,100
My, my.

141
00:12:26,100 --> 00:12:30,810
You don't often see fights
to the death in this day and age.

142
00:12:32,140 --> 00:12:34,810
I've always wanted to see one.

143
00:12:35,100 --> 00:12:37,060
Stupid shogun...

144
00:12:37,060 --> 00:12:39,940
What point is there in doing this?

145
00:12:40,570 --> 00:12:42,950
They can't fight properly
with their hands tied.

146
00:12:43,450 --> 00:12:45,700
It's a brawl. A chaotic free-for-all.

147
00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,200
In the end, they'll all be useless.

148
00:12:51,500 --> 00:12:54,830
So, which ones have red seals?

149
00:12:56,500 --> 00:13:00,090
You mean the criminals
with exceptional skills.

150
00:13:00,090 --> 00:13:04,340
One might even describe them as superpowers.

151
00:13:04,340 --> 00:13:07,850
They've been stamped
with red seals in the registry.

152
00:13:07,850 --> 00:13:09,680
That man is one of them.

153
00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:12,390
Despite his young age,
he led a group of bandits.

154
00:13:12,390 --> 00:13:14,230
He's an extraordinary
fellow who established

155
00:13:14,230 --> 00:13:16,100
a bandit village deep
in the mountains of Iyo.

156
00:13:17,350 --> 00:13:21,900
Last year, that woman was involved
in the invasion of Sagiwa Castle.

157
00:13:21,900 --> 00:13:26,110
She's a kunoichi who neutralized
every last retainer in the castle.

158
00:13:32,620 --> 00:13:36,290
He's a master swordsman known as the "Blade
Dragon" or "Unparalleled in Eight Provinces."

159
00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,090
He's a massive fellow said
to eat bears head-first.

160
00:13:41,090 --> 00:13:44,470
They say neither swords
nor spears were effective against him.

161
00:13:46,340 --> 00:13:49,390
It's like a Warring States picture scroll.

162
00:13:49,390 --> 00:13:55,060
Among them, the most notable is
the living legend, Gabimaru the Hollow.

163
00:13:55,060 --> 00:13:56,270
Over there.

164
00:13:57,940 --> 00:14:03,320
Wait, what? The legend hasn't moved at all.

165
00:14:09,700 --> 00:14:11,830
Feeling overwhelmed, Sagiri?

166
00:14:12,620 --> 00:14:14,120
Eizen-dono...

167
00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,040
It'll be even more brutal on the island.

168
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,880
Not just among the criminals.

169
00:14:21,170 --> 00:14:23,550
You'll be exposed to harm as well.

170
00:14:24,460 --> 00:14:27,340
When that happens, will you be able to kill?

171
00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:34,470
Let me take this opportunity to tell you...

172
00:14:35,470 --> 00:14:39,350
you're not suited to this job.

173
00:14:42,730 --> 00:14:45,570
Why would a woman bother to wield a sword?

174
00:14:45,570 --> 00:14:49,740
The daughter of a warrior should
live quietly in her mansion

175
00:14:50,740 --> 00:14:53,620
and stay far away from
the fate of an executioner.

176
00:14:59,670 --> 00:15:05,050
With all due respect, Eizen-dono,
I would have if I could.

177
00:15:18,980 --> 00:15:25,230
Testing swords on bodies, beheading criminals,
making medicines from corpses...

178
00:15:25,770 --> 00:15:27,690
Even if you don't wield a sword,

179
00:15:27,690 --> 00:15:32,740
everyone born into the Yamada clan makes
their living through people's deaths.

180
00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:38,120
Wait up!

181
00:15:43,630 --> 00:15:45,340
Daughter of Neck-Chopper Asa!

182
00:15:45,340 --> 00:15:47,210
Daughter of Cannibal Asa!

183
00:15:47,210 --> 00:15:48,590
Murderer!

184
00:15:50,380 --> 00:15:52,260
Get out here!

185
00:15:52,260 --> 00:15:54,390
Come on!

186
00:15:59,930 --> 00:16:02,140
You can try to turn a blind eye to it.

187
00:16:19,500 --> 00:16:22,410
But the truth is reflected in the blade.

188
00:16:27,750 --> 00:16:28,670
Damn.

189
00:16:28,670 --> 00:16:30,340
We've got no choice.

190
00:16:30,340 --> 00:16:32,930
We'll have to break through
the samurai to get out of here.

191
00:16:32,930 --> 00:16:33,930
Boss...

192
00:16:33,930 --> 00:16:36,300
That samurai is a woman.

193
00:16:36,300 --> 00:16:39,260
We'll kill her and take her sword.

194
00:16:43,890 --> 00:16:45,230
Can you kill him?

195
00:16:50,860 --> 00:16:53,200
I can't escape the executioner's fate.

196
00:16:53,740 --> 00:16:54,740
In that case...

197
00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,830
I refuse to quietly accept it.

198
00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,710
I'll see for myself what my fate is.

199
00:17:22,220 --> 00:17:23,180
Why?

200
00:17:26,310 --> 00:17:27,350
Why?

201
00:17:31,530 --> 00:17:33,820
Killing people is never okay, y'know.

202
00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:41,410
Can't you come up with another way
to choose who's going?

203
00:17:41,410 --> 00:17:42,700
When did you...

204
00:17:42,700 --> 00:17:43,950
Get back!

205
00:17:43,950 --> 00:17:47,460
We might be murderers, but not all
of us killed because we wanted to.

206
00:17:47,460 --> 00:17:49,290
What are the guards doing?

207
00:17:49,290 --> 00:17:51,670
I won't let you do this to us.

208
00:17:52,250 --> 00:17:54,920
How dare you tell His Excellency what to do!

209
00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:56,340
Oh, come on.

210
00:17:56,340 --> 00:18:00,550
Not killing people if you don't have to
is the most natural thing in the world.

211
00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:04,480
Watch your tongue, fiend.

212
00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:08,310
If you don't want to participate,
then forfeit your chance at the pardon.

213
00:18:10,310 --> 00:18:11,650
You're not listening.

214
00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,650
Hey, you there.

215
00:18:15,650 --> 00:18:16,900
Huh?

216
00:18:16,900 --> 00:18:20,160
I'll send you on the expedition
if you kill this man.

217
00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:20,990
What?

218
00:18:21,410 --> 00:18:23,160
Seriously?

219
00:18:23,790 --> 00:18:26,410
Stay where you are.

220
00:18:26,830 --> 00:18:28,210
No, wait.

221
00:18:28,210 --> 00:18:30,830
You guys don't like this
pointless killing either, do you?

222
00:18:30,830 --> 00:18:32,540
Doesn't bother me.

223
00:18:32,540 --> 00:18:37,220
If that's what it takes to survive,
then it suits me just fine.

224
00:18:38,010 --> 00:18:39,090
Don't dodge that.

225
00:18:39,470 --> 00:18:40,840
Can't we talk about this?

226
00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,600
If you're not going to fight,
then shut up and die.

227
00:18:45,310 --> 00:18:46,730
Fine, then.

228
00:18:47,850 --> 00:18:49,350
You leave me no choice.

229
00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:51,610
Guess I'll kill you.

230
00:18:51,610 --> 00:18:52,480
Huh?

231
00:18:53,270 --> 00:18:55,480
If you try to kill me, I'll kill you.

232
00:18:58,950 --> 00:19:01,240
I thought you didn't want to kill anyone.

233
00:19:01,820 --> 00:19:03,160
I don't.

234
00:19:03,780 --> 00:19:08,410
But I can't afford to die either.

235
00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:11,250
So I don't have a choice.

236
00:19:11,250 --> 00:19:12,750
What?

237
00:19:13,460 --> 00:19:14,920
What are you talking about?

238
00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:16,760
Just thinking about what

239
00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,760
I'm going to be burdened
with weighs heavily on my mind.

240
00:19:21,510 --> 00:19:24,640
Aw, man. This sucks.

241
00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,020
This really sucks.

242
00:20:19,150 --> 00:20:21,990
He's a m-monster...

243
00:20:21,990 --> 00:20:22,910
This is...

244
00:20:28,700 --> 00:20:30,250
the Hollow.

245
00:20:32,410 --> 00:20:34,290
Just thinking about what

246
00:20:36,540 --> 00:20:38,920
I'm going to be burdened
with weighs heavily on my mind.

247
00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:49,430
His methods are brutal.

248
00:20:53,140 --> 00:20:55,440
Would you approve if
I made it pretty instead?

249
00:20:57,230 --> 00:21:02,570
Is it possible that what I needed wasn't
the strength not to fear killing...

250
00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:11,660
But the resolve to take on the burden
of that fear and the lives I took?

251
00:21:19,550 --> 00:21:21,920
Sagiri, are you all right?

252
00:21:22,590 --> 00:21:24,930
Perhaps this was too great
a responsibility for you after all.

253
00:21:25,430 --> 00:21:26,430
No.

254
00:21:26,890 --> 00:21:29,430
I will kill him.

255
00:21:32,430 --> 00:21:34,690
Stop, criminals.

256
00:21:34,980 --> 00:21:37,310
You will be joining the expedition.

257
00:21:38,770 --> 00:21:41,190
Aza Chobei the Bandit King.

258
00:21:41,980 --> 00:21:44,700
Tamiya Gantetsusai the Sword Dragon.

259
00:21:45,570 --> 00:21:48,410
Twisted Keiun, the Hunter of One Hundred.

260
00:21:48,410 --> 00:21:50,200
Nurugai of the Sanka.

261
00:21:51,490 --> 00:21:53,700
Horubo the Killing Prayer.

262
00:21:54,620 --> 00:21:57,210
Runaway shinobi, Gabimaru the Hollow.

263
00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:00,790
Akaginu the Cannibal Courtesan.

264
00:22:00,790 --> 00:22:03,210
Kunoichi, Yuzuriha of Keishu.

265
00:22:04,300 --> 00:22:06,720
Moro Makiya the Apostate.

266
00:22:07,550 --> 00:22:10,470
Rokurota the Giant of Bizen.

267
00:22:10,930 --> 00:22:12,890
The ten of you will be going.

268
00:22:13,470 --> 00:22:21,110
Each of you will be accompanied by
an Asaemon executioner of the Yamada clan.

269
00:22:26,530 --> 00:22:28,110
You will board a ship,

270
00:22:28,610 --> 00:22:31,620
travel to the uncharted
island in the southern sea,

271
00:22:31,910 --> 00:22:34,700
and find the immortality-granting
Elixir of Life.

272
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,040
Do this, and you will earn your freedom.

273
00:22:43,670 --> 00:22:45,630
Do not worry.

274
00:22:45,630 --> 00:22:51,470
You are going to Paradise.
Heaven. Shinsenkyo!

275
00:22:52,550 --> 00:22:54,260
There is no danger.