Marou converses with Shiratsuyu, a snake yōma, on what to do about the war between the Oda and Takeda clans. Marou orders Shiratsuyu to kill Hikage while he turns Mikawa into a "living hell". The kunoichi, later revealing her name to be Aya, travels with Hikage to a nearby village that has seemingly been untouched by the war. Aya goes to one of the villager's huts to stay for the night but soon comes upon a headless baby and the two learn that the entire village is dead, yet still walking. The village is shown to be in ruins and the two spend the night in a wrecked hut. The next day, Hikage leaves Aya behind and continues his search. He runs into and battles Shiratsuyu, along with Mai, a female butterfly yōma, and a tree yōma, Yoki. Meanwhile, Aya, upset that Hikage left her behind, encounters Kotone, a spirit of a woman. They talk briefly before Yoki captures them to gain an advantage over Hikage. With some difficulty, Hikage slays Mai and Yoki. Shiratsuyu, on the other hand, is possessed by Kotone and vanishes. After traveling for a while with no recent yoma attacks, Kazami appears before Hikage and attacks him. He claims to have been ordered by Katsuyori Takeda, the Takeda clan's new head, to kill him in order for Kikuga to be willing to lend them the power of the yoma. After a hesitation, Kazami is mortally wounded by Hikage as a result. He expresses no true desire to kill Hikage and does not wish for the power of the yoma. As it turns out, Marou only told the Takeda that he would help them in order to create more hatred and grudges during the final battle at Mount Nagashino. During which, the entire Takeda clan was decimated by the Oda, leaving Hikage no home to return to. Hikage gathers his supplies and plans to head to Mount Nagashino. Aya begs him to abandon his desire to hunt Marou and for him to stay with her, but he does not listen, leaving a sobbing Aya behind. Upon his arrival at the battlefield, Hikage fights off rock formation of hands before meeting face-to-face with Marou, the former asking why he has become Kikuga. He mocks his former friend and explained that he grew tired of living as a ninja and rationalizes his change into Kikuga. He justifies sparing