Our Yahiko has grown a lot. He shows great courage in defeating a thief who threatened to rob the Akabeko. Hiruma Goheh, who coincidently just passed the Akabeko and saw what happened notices Yahiko... You know that he can't be up to no good...
As Yahiko's skills improve, his ego gets blown out of proportion! He even says that he's already graduated from using wooden swords and should begin using real swords, like a real swordsman. Kauro laughs at the idea, saying that he will fall down if given a real sword and Kenshin tends to agree, telling Yahiko to concentrate on his studies and not on his ego.
Meanwhile, Goheh and another man are entering a forest while talking about two brothers who are supposed to be excellent assassins. Suddenly, the man gets hanged in midair as if he was attacked by a ghost of some kind. The terrified Goheh attempts to run away, but it's of no use. He falls down and begins being lifted in midair as well. Enter two strange-looking men. Goheh tells the men that he is a client so they shouldn't kill him. They take him down and lead him to their cave, where Goheh requests their assistance in murdering Kenshin. Hiruma Goheh has a secret plan to take out Kenshin, but the Onizaki brothers don't seem to care about anything but money...
Back at the Kammiya Dojo, Yahiko is busy cleaning the floor (and complaining about it) as a piece of wood is thrown at him. Goheh's head pops out of the bushes as he admits to be the one who threw the plank. Goheh tells Yahiko that he could defeat him anyday, even if his fingers were crushed. Yahiko wants to prove himself and they begin to dual, Yahiko with his shinai and Goheh with his umbrella. They both manage to hit each other and declare a draw, but Goheh says that if his was a real sword then Yahiko would have surely died, whereas he wouldn't have, since the Kammiya Kasshin Ryu forbids the use of weapons that can kill. Yahiko, who is irritated with Goheh, says that he could still defeat him, since there's the option of using Kenshin's Sakabatou... Goheh runs away happily (knowing that his plan worked out perfectly) and tells Yahiko to meet him in a shrine outside of town.
Kenshin is back from grocery shopping and has tons more work to do. Yahiko, who thinks that Kenshin won't notice, steals the Sakabatou for his match with Goheh... Surprisingly, Kenshin, who did notice, doesn't attempt to stop him and just lets him go with his reversed-blade sword. Yahiko hurries to the shrine with the Sakabatou, but is surprised to find the two Onizaki brothers who easily defeat him and cause him to faint.
Kauro and Kenshin receive a note from Hiruma Goheh, ordering them to get to Kikyou Garawa (Kikyou Hill) before sundown if they ever want to see Yahiko again. Kenshin explains to Kauro that he let Yahiko take the Sakabatou, thinking that he will be frightened by the weight of a real sword and return it- he didn't think that it was a trap.
Goheh tied up Yahiko in some rundown building and left the Sakabatou near him, informing the tied-up boy that Kenshin will die soon, since he has no chance against the brothers without his Sakabatou. After Goheh leaves, Yahiko rolls towards some pieces of sharp wood and manages to slice the ropes that tied him, severely injuring his arm in the process. He garbs the stolen sword and begins running towards Kikyou Garawa, fearing that Kenshin might really be in trouble because of him. On the road Yahiko needs to avoid police officers who bug him because of the sword, so he jumps in the river nearby and plans to swim all the way to the Kikyou Garawa.
Meanwhile, Kenshin and Kauro arrive to the hill where the Onizaki brothers await. The brothers introduce themselves as Tekken and Gengo Onizaki of the Tsuchigumo Ryu and the battle begins. The unarmed Kenshin seems to avoid all of Gengo's attacks with extra ease, and when he realizes that all Gengo was trying to do was lead him in a certain direction it's too late... Kenshin's right arm and both his legs are suddenly pulled backwards, leaving him almost completely unable to move. Just at the nick of time, Yahiko arrives with the Sakabatou, but life isn't easy... Before he will be able to give Kenshin back his sword, he'll have to face Goheh, who wields an actual sword rather than an umbrella this time. Yahiko unsheathes the Sakabatou... But can he really win his first battle with an actual sword...? Goheh is well aware of his advantage but Yahiko doesn't seem to mind. He manages to block Goheh's attack, but then remembers what Kauro once told him about using the opponent's strength against him. So instead of continuing to block the attack, Yahiko just stops blocking, catching Goheh completely by surprise and leaving him open to attacks. Yahiko slides beneath Goheh, kneeing the huge man in the no-no zone, and throws the Sakabatou back to its rightful owner just at the right time. Kenshin grabs the sword and hits Gengo's forehead just as he was about to attack. He then proceeds to cut the invisible strings that were holding him back, saying that the technique is easy to evade once one knows what's going on. Tekken gets annoyed and runs straight to Kenshin's painful Do Ryu Sen. With both brothers on the ground, Yahiko apologizes to Kenshin for his arrogance. Kenshin accepts the apology, saying that it takes a big man to apologize and Yahiko proves to be just that.
