Three Outlaw Samurai

Sakon Shiba arrives at a mill where three peasants have abducted Aya, the local magistrate's daughter. A dispatch of the magistrate's soldiers arrives and proposes clemency in exchange for Aya's return, but the peasants refuse. The soldiers' attempt at a sneak attack is rebuffed, and the lord assigns a new party to end the standoff.

In front of the mill, Shiba meets the new party and convinces the vagabond samurai Sakura to switch sides, revealing his sympathy for the peasants' plight. Sakura agrees to join with Shiba and the others against the magistrate's plan. The alliance shifts toward protecting the peasants and resisting the corrupt authority.

After the initial engagement, the magistrate assembles a new group of mercenaries to end the standoff and takes Gosaku's daughter Yasu as a hostage. The hostage raises the stakes and pressures both sides toward a desperate bargain. The new force prepares for a decisive confrontation.

Confronted with Yasu's capture, the peasants and mercenaries reach an agreement: Aya will be freed and the peasants will be left unharmed, as long as Shiba accepts 100 blows. All parties swear on their honor to uphold the deal. The pact cements a fragile balance between mercy and punishment.

Shiba is taken into custody and whipped for the 100 blows. Aya witnesses the brutal punishment and pleads with her father for mercy. The magistrate allows the beating to continue, and Shiba vows revenge for the violation of samurai honor.

The magistrate orders the killings of Yohachi, Gosaku, and Jinbei. Jinbei throws his petition into a river just before his murder, signaling defiance and the importance of the petition as a symbol of resistance. The stage is set for further upheaval.

Sakura sneaks into the magistrate's house and informs a servant of the peasants' murders. Shocked by the magistrate's treachery, she frees Shiba but is killed by a dungeon guard. Kikyo's later willingness to switch sides deepens the rift between loyalty and treachery.

Kikyo arrives and, moved by Shiba's integrity, frees him from the dungeon. She then joins the outlaws at the mill, signaling a decisive shift in loyalties. The trio of Shiba, Kikyo, and Sakura strengthens their cause against the magistrate.

Aya finds Shiba crawling through her house after his escape and hides him, now convinced of Shiba's and the peasants' virtue. Her act strengthens Shiba's resolve and deepens the peasants' moral stance. Trust between the characters grows as danger tightens.

While filling a bucket of water at a stream, Sakura stumbles upon the lost petition that could influence the regional lord. The find increases the stakes for the peasant cause and prompts the outlaws to press for delivery, despite increasing danger from the magistrate's forces.

Elite samurai arrive to recover the petition and attack the mill. They wound Kikyo and kill his lover Omaki, prompting Kikyo to switch sides and join Shiba, Sakura, and Aya against the magistrate. The alliance tightens as loyalties blur under pressure.

Ouchi arrives with a large force and assaults the mill. Shiba defeats Ouchi and seeks to deliver the petition to the lord, but the peasants refuse to surrender it. Aya intervenes to stop Shiba from killing the magistrate, and Shiba publicly humiliates him by severing his topknot before the trio heads off in an uncertain direction.