The episode starts off with a scene of some dude carrying a large device beating up some people to a bloody pulp... However, this man does not appear to be just a mindless goon who fights for blood thirst as he quickly gives up the fight, saying that his opponents are way too weak.

Back at the Kammiya Dojo, Yahiko and Kauro are fighting as usual but they stop the fight when they notice Kenshin is about to prepare lunch. Unfortunately for the residents of the dojo there is a shortage on money and they can't afford to have any good food. They can't until Kauro finds an old Chinese ink painting drawn by her grandfather, that is. So Kauro decides to sell the painting and Kenshin, Yahiko, Genzai-sensei, Ayame, Suzume and herself go to the Akabeko for lunch.

At the Akabeko everyone is having fun until they hear a dispute between three loud mouthed drunks, arguing about the values of democracy, who eventually throw their plate at the back of Kenshin's head for no apparent reason (oro?!). The mysterious man from before seems to be watching from afar. The three drunks just continue on arguing like nothing happened without even noticing that they almost crushed somebody's skull. Yahiko stands up and gives the drunks a piece of his mind, he tells them to apologize immediately. Tae, the manager of the Akabeko, politely asks them to stop fighting in order to not disturb the other costumers. A big drunk slaps her away, telling her to shut up. Just then the spiky haired mystery man catches Tae and gives the drunks a little speech. He says that democracy is for the weak and that they should not oppress them and then blame it on their drinking. The drunks are mad and so a match has been declared.

Outside of the Akabeko it's the mystery man in the white outfit versus the tall drunken maniac. The man tells the drunk that he wants to test his strength and gives him the opportunity to charge at him straight forward, the drunk doesn't hesitate and runs fast towards him, it looks like he was hiding a hidden dagger between his fingers! He hits the mystery man on the forehead, however it has no affect. The drunk finds his arm broken and when the other two drunks try to help their friend Kenshin asks them to leave before he will have to get involved. After the drunks leave the man asks Kenshin for a match, Kenshin declines and as the man walks away we see the writing "aku" (evil, wicked, bad) written on his back. Hiruma Goheh (see episode 1) walks out from the shadows, he says that that man is Zanza, a strong fighter for hire and that maybe he will be strong enough to finally get rid of Kenshin.

In the evening Goheh and Zanza meet. Goheh gives Zanza the job to kill Kenshin, However, as we soon find out, Zanza does not kill for money unless he enjoys the fight against a strong opponent. Goheh promises that he will indeed enjoy his fight since the opponent is non other than the legendary Hittokiri Battousai. Zanza seems thrilled at the prospect of the upcoming fight because the opponent is an Ishin Shishi, he takes the huge object (seen in the first scene) and goes to the Kammiya Dojo.

Kenshin and Zanza meet at the backyard of the Kammiya Dojo. Kenshin declines the fight but Zanza says that since he was hired he must perform his duty. He seems to know everything about Kenshin's past as Hittokiri Battousai... Well, almost everything. He reveals his real name, Sagara Sanosuke, and his trusty companion, a huge weapon called a Zanbatou, to Kenshin. Sanosuke attacks Kenshin, and does it fast even with the huge weapon he's carrying. He tries to hit him twice but misses both times. That's when Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan wake up from their nap. Zanza says that real fights should not be fought in front of children. He leaves, for now, but this fight cannot be avoided, it seems.