Fudosawa growls at
the interference of Sanosuke, but his uncle takes
it in a different way. Tani overlooks Sanosuke and
sees that he is a fight fighter, so in hopes of having
no differences with such a man, he offers a bribe.
Sanosuke stares at Tani, swearing he recognizes him
from somewhere. After a few seconds, it hits Sanosuke.
He remembers Tani from the Jin'e affair. Without another
second wasted, the street fighter kicks Tani straight
in the head. Tani does not fight back, all he does
is have his nephew and his men retreat.
On the road of retreat,
Tani explains to Fudosawa that the street fighter
he had hurt him is not a man they should make their
enemy. Since Sanosuke is a friend of Kenshin's, Tani
fears that if the man known as Battousai happens to
get involve in their situation, bad things will happen,
such as him losing his position in the government.
Thus, plans are made to settle the dispute as soon
as night falls.
That evening, Sanosuke
is invited over to the Higashidanis' house for dinner.
Despite the petty brawls that erupt before the meal,
there is some quiet time found when praying to Kamishimoemon's
late wife. The father of the household explains to
Sanosuke that his wife had fallen in after giving
birth to Outa, and had died two years ago to influenza.
Once their respects have been paid, it's time for
dinner, but yet again, it gets delayed. Noise is heard
outside, causing Kamishimoemon and Sanosuke to prepare
for the worst. They open the doors, only to find the
villagers standing before them.
The shopkeeper from
the store that Kamishimoemon had given the straw hats
to presents the Higashidanis with a large amount of
crops in exchange for the straw hats. He speaks on
the behalf of all the villagers when he tells Kamishimoemon
that they've made up their mind and want to fight
alongside him against Fudosawa. Sanosuke stops everyone
before they get ahead of themselves, reminding them
that they are up against a yakuza. Kamishimoemon seconds
that warning and suggests that everyone just leave
the fighting to those who are already fighting.
The truckload of crops
cannot be unattended to for long. Kamishimoemon invites
everyone inside for a big party. Little do any of
them know what's happening nearby.
