In the shogunate, the Elder, Ando Nobumasa, who replaced the assassinated Ii Naosuke, was promoting the marriage of Emperor Koumei's sister, Kazunomiya, to the shogun, Iemochi. To strengthen ties with the Imperial Court and restore the authority of the shogunate, Princess Kazunomiya's marriage sparks a firestorm of support for the Emperor and the expulsion of the barbarians. When Eiichi arrives in Edo, he is introduced to Ohashi Totsuan, an advocate of the reverence for the Emperor, and learns of Ando's assassination plot. Choshichiro decides he is ready to give up his life for the plan...