These were the years when the warlord Iida Sadayoshi and his son, Sadamu, engaged in unifying the East of the Three Countries, compelled all to submit to the triple oak of the Tohan clan and looked westwards to expand.

The prosperous Middle Country, coveted by its neighbours, was ruled by the weak Lord Shigemori, head of the Otori clan, who had two sons, Shigeru and Takeshi, and two discontented and ambitious half-brothers, Shoichi and Masahiro, looking for any opportunity to seize power themselves. Where there is weakness powerful men will impose… and retribution will soon follow.

Meanwhile, on a remote mountainside Kikuta Isamu discovers that the Tribe