[Yabushige is awaiting his execution at an oceanside cliff with Lord Toranaga]
If only I could have lived to see it... the day your plan comes together, whatever it is... my nephew’s first battle... when the Anjin sails against the Christians who burned his ship... so many days I could have seen.
If only it were that simple. The ship had to be destroyed. It was between that and the Anjin’s life. Appointing a watchman to spread gunpowder... wasn’t that hard. Mariko negotiated for the Church, and I agreed.
You burned that ship.
It was a necessary ruse to test the Anjin. Perhaps someday I’ll tell him the truth. By then he’ll have rebuilt the ship, and I’ll likely have to destroy it again. I don’t think it’s his fate to ever leave Japan.
How does it feel to shape the wind to your will?
I don’t control the wind. I only study it.
[Sighs] But how can you win this? With your forces outnumbered, the Heir’s army about to attack... is it Crimson Sky? I suppose it could work... but I don’t see how. At least tell me before I die...
Yabushige. After all we’ve been through, I thought you of all people would see. Crimson Sky is already finished. With the Regents united, I could never send an army to Osaka. It would have meant certain death. So I sent a woman to do what an army never could. Don’t you see what’s coming next? In just one month, we will meet our enemies at Sekigahara. Five armies squaring off on the field of battle. And you’re right... with the Heir’s army on Ishido’s side, I’d be finished. However, because of Mariko’s actions, Lady Ochiba has grown tired of her alliance with Ishido. In a letter to me, she secretly pledged to keep the Heir’s army from the battlefield. On that day, Ishido will have no banner. The Regents will turn on him before a sword is drawn. Only then will my dream be realized... I will start it in Edo, my center of power. A nation without wars. An era of great peace. All of us have made this possible. You, me, Lady Mariko... even the barbarian who came out of the sea. [Sighs]]How many times I’ve thought of giving his life away, but stopped. Not because he’s important... my banner would survive without him... [Chuckles] but because he makes me laugh. And my enemies need a distraction.
It’s hypocrisy, our lives... all this death and sacrifice from lesser men just to ensure some victory in our names.
Do you remember what the Anjin said on the day we met, when I told him his fight was pointless?
“Unless I win.”
If you win, anything is possible. Even Shōgun. [Yabushige gasps]
It’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it? You’re no better than us, in your secret heart... tell me the truth. I’ll take it to my grave.
Why tell a dead man the future? [decapitates Yabushige as he commits seppuku]
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