Kongō decides to leave the Iga aside for the moment and go after the next name while the Iga are busy defending themselves. This is Kaizuka Mino no Kami, the chief magistrate of North Edo (kita machi bugyō). He sends Hagenbō and Minbu to kill Kaizuka. They almost succeed despite Shintarō's careful plan to fool them but his sword skill prevails and he is able to defeat Hagenbō's "human steel" technique and lop off his arm, saving Kaizuka.
