Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance

Ogami Ittō pushes a baby cart through a rainy countryside road while a sashimono banner marks him as a sword-for-hire. An unstable woman seizes Daigoro and tries to breastfeed him, but Ittō remains calm and refuses the money offered by the boy’s grandmother. The moment shows his mercenary life and that his son's hunger drives his actions.

Ittō recalls the murder of his wife Asami by three former samurai. He soon suspects the Shadow Yagyū clan is provoking the killings to frame him for treason and seize control of the shogun’s spies and assassins. The revelation places Ittō on a path of vengeance and resilience.

When Yagyū operatives come to finish him off, Ittō cuts down a senior member and his men with brutal efficiency. The confrontation demonstrates his lethal skill and willingness to risk death to protect his name and son.

With his wife dead, Ittō accepts a contract from a rural chamberlain to eliminate conspirators threatening the lord. He travels toward a remote mountain village renowned for hot springs where the conspiracy has taken root. The assignment launches the present-day sequence of action.

In a swift display of prowess, Ittō slashes behind the chamberlain’s back and dispatches the chamberlain’s two men. The ruthless strike foreshadows the path he will tread to root out treachery. The setting is a tense, dangerous mountain enclave.

While pushing the cart, Daigoro watches nature and Ittō recalls the moment after his wife’s death when he offered his son a choice between a toy ball or the sword. Daigoro chooses the sword, signaling that he will follow his father into the life of a ronin. Ittō speaks of their fate as living like demons at a crossroads to hell.

To force a duel with the Shadow Yagyū leader, Ittō agrees to a confrontation and uses a mirror strapped to Daigoro’s forehead to blind the opponent with sunlight. The tactic underscores his willingness to bend rules to protect his son and himself. The duel is a climactic moment in the past.

Ittō defeats the Yagyū swordsman and beheads him, a decisive victory that foils the clan’s scheme and marks him as a ronin. The act exposes the depth of the conspiracy and sets the stage for his life on the road with Daigoro.

Ittō reaches a mountain village controlled by conspirators who have hired a band of ronin to terrorize locals. With his sword still sheathed, he becomes a hostage among travelers and witnesses the town’s chaos and fear.

The conspirators threaten to force Ittō into sex with a prostitute while they watch. The prostitute initially scoffs at the idea, but Ittō’s resolve hardens as he embraces a harsher, Meifumado-style code. The moment marks his descent into a brutal, unflinching life.

Ittō reveals who he truly is to the conspirators and pulls hidden weapons from the baby cart, including a naginata and a throwing dagger. He slaughters the ronin in a ruthless, decisive assault, demonstrating his ferocity and resolve.

A conspirator fires twin pistols at Ittō, but he flips the armored baby cart and leaps over it to strike down the attacker. He then finishes the final conspirator with a swift, brutal blade cut.

The prostitute, having developed feelings for Ittō and Daigoro, attempts to follow, but he signals her to stay by cutting the ropes on the bridge to town. He and Daigoro set off again, leaving the village behind. Their bond remains their only map through a world of danger.

A sashimono banner on Ittō’s back proclaims his role as Sword For Hire and Son For Hire, a stark symbol of his mercenary life. The banner serves as a constant reminder that he can neither be bought nor tamed. It marks his identity to employers and enemies alike.

With Daigoro in the cart and the world behind them, Ittō and his son press on toward their next contract. The journey remains bleak but purposeful, their father-child bond guiding every mercenary step into an uncertain future.